The Quarterback Next Door novel · Chapter 22 of 24
Chapter 22: Ashes
The Hollander garage had burned down to a black rectangle of slab and twisted shelves.
Saturday morning was cold and bright, and the ashes had a smell.
We wore work gloves and boots and old clothes, and Russ handed out shovels.
"Anything metal, we save," he said.
"Anything that smells like burned plastic, we leave it."
My mother arrived at ten with a thermos of coffee and a bag of bagels, wearing her scrubs under a flannel coat.
She had come straight from a night shift and looked ready to fall into the nearest pile of rubble.
"Sit down, Joanne," Russ said, steering her to an overturned bucket.
"I'm fine."
"You're gray."
"That's the lighting."
He gave her the first cup of coffee, and she wrapped both hands around it and shut her eyes.
Russ stood there a moment longer than he needed to.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of The Quarterback Next Door are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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