About Pool Hall Green
by Sara Bell
66 pages / 27600 words
ISBN: 978-1-60370-977-4
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc, epub, and Sony Reader pdf
Drew Harris is a master when it comes to the game of pool, but family
is always a crap shoot and Drew rolled snake eyes. His parents want
little to do with him. The only time they call him is when they need
money, or when they want him to bail his gambling-addict brother, Vic,
out of a jam. So when Drew's mother calls in a panic to let Drew know
that Vic owes a local casino owner two-hundred and fifty grand, Drew's
not exactly shocked. Not shocked, that is, until he learns that the guy
Vic owes doesn't want the money: he wants Drew.
Casino mogul Evan Stacie never thought he was the kind of man to resort
to blackmail, but the death of his brother two years ago changed a lot
of things. He needs Drew's skill with a stick to ruin the man who sent
Evan's brother to an early grave, and if Evan has to fight dirty to make
that happen, so be it. Nothing, not his growing attraction to Drew or
the soft spot Evan feels for the guy, is going to stand in his way.
Sample
"I told you and Vic -- hell, I'm pretty sure I even told Dad -- the last
time I bailed Vic out I wasn't going to do it again." That was almost three
years ago, when Mom and Dad talked me into pulling their house out of
foreclosure after they took out a sixty-five thousand dollar home equity
loan to keep some shark from taking his markers out of Vic's ass.
"You could try having some compassion," my mother said on a sniff. "Vic has
a sickness."
"Please." I turned my back so Max wouldn't see the contempt on my face, but
I'm sure it was still in my voice. "Cancer is a sickness, Mom. Diabetes,
lupus, schizophrenia: those are sicknesses. Vic is selfish and he's weak.
The longer you and Dad make excuses for him, the longer he's going to stay
that way."
"Don't you think that's hypocritical coming from you?" My mother's voice was
filled with what my aunt would've called righteous indignation. "You
wouldn't be where you are today without a certain gambling--"
"The difference between what I did and what Vic's doing is I had a skill and
I used it. No gamble involved. Vic sucks at poker. He's either too stupid to
see it or too stubborn to admit it." I closed my eyes and leaned as far back
in my chair as the phone cord would allow, not even sure why I was having
this argument with her. She certainly hadn't minded my "dirty" money when it
saved her house. And I hadn't exactly heard her complaining all those years
ago when Dad lost his job at Reynolds and my ill-gotten loot was the only
thing keeping the whole damn family afloat.
Amazing how quickly they forget.
I opened my eyes and scrubbed my hand over my face. "I'm sorry, Mom." I'm
not sure if I was, but it seemed like the right thing to say. "Even if I
wanted to help Vic, I don't have two hundred and fifty grand." Looks like
your favorite's gonna learn to sink or swim on his own. I was about to hang
up when I heard my mother say, "Andrew, wait."
"I already told you, I don't have--"
"Would you shut up and listen?" My mother rarely yelled. She was more the
shame-and- humiliate-you-softly type. I sat still and waited. After a tense
minute she said, "Your father and I have already put the house and both
businesses into hock for this. We've got most of the money, but this guy
your brother owes doesn't want it."
After he lost his job at Reynolds, my dad opened his own fabrication shop.
He didn't make a fortune, but he did okay outsourcing maintenance work for
local plants. My mom had been a hairdresser for the last thirty years, ten
as the owner of her own shop. That they'd jeopardized not only their
livelihoods but their home (yet again) for Vic didn’t surprise me.
That the guy Vic owed didn't want it did.
"Who is this guy, anyway?"
"His name's Evan Stacie." Mom paused, like she was waiting for me to say
something. When I didn't, she said, "He owns a floating casino in
Mississippi."
"Where in Mississippi?"
"How should I know?" Her voice rose again, like the details weren't
important. "He also owns a property company here, in Florence. He called us
there, to his office, told us since we didn't have all the money, he wants a
different deal." Mom started crying.
I felt Max walk in behind me -- was slightly reassured by his hand on my
shoulder -- but most of my focus was on my sobbing mother. No matter how bad
the relationship, no guy remains immune to the sound of his mother's tears.
"Mom, quit crying and tell me what this guy wants. I can’t fix it unless I
know--"
"You," Mom said on a long, quavering sigh. "Evan Stacie's going to send your
brother to jail for non-payment of a gambling debt, fraud -- you name it --
unless you agree to meet with him."