Chapter 36

Best of all, he looked to his window, a picture frame that looked out on…well, the house next door. But still, it was a lot more than he’d had in the rat hole of an attic he had been living in until so very recently.

The bedside alarm clock told him it was just past six. He’d need to get up soon and make breakfast so he and Ollie could begin their workday.

He put his feet to the floor and stretched, dying for a smoke, but knew Ollie would have a fit if he lit up inside. He snatched the pack of Marlboro Reds off the nightstand and crept downstairs. Ducking out onto the front porch in only his boxers, T-shirt, and bare feet, he cupped his hands over the lighter and cigarette as he lit up. He blew the smoke toward the lightening sky, enjoying the silence.