Today's Reading

Noting the look on the owner's face, the woman turned and gasped, clumsily stumbling backward in an effort to shield her son. The thug's eyes narrowed and focused past her.

Mere seconds had passed when behind the thug a bottle was retrieved from its carton and smashed down over the hand gripping the gun, breaking the bone in an audible crack.

The masked teenager screamed and dropped the gun. In a panic, he scrambled backward and lost his balance, falling to the floor. The eyes behind the mask were wild and changed their focus from searching for the gun to searching for an exit. Whirling around to find the glass doors behind him, the teenager immediately pushed forward and lunged outside, on one good hand and both knees.

Over the icy concrete, he struggled to his feet and bolted clumsily for the waiting car. Flinging its door open, he jumped in, screaming.

Inside, the cashier retrieved a revolver from a shelf below the counter, then, after watching the car rocket from the parking lot, turned to his male customer with a stunned expression. The man was still holding the bottle in his hand, while the woman at the counter stood immobile, still clutching her son behind her.

Without a word, the man placed the beer bottle back into the card- board holder and glanced at the gun on the floor. Bending over, he picked it up, then stepped past the trembling woman to place both items on the counter and retrieve his wallet.

He held out a bill to find the owner staring at him incredulously, before simply shaking his head and motioning for him to take the item. The customer nodded in appreciation and picked the carton back up, leaving the gun on the counter. Without comment, he turned and pushed through the glass doors, back into the snowy night air.


The first bottle was empty by the time he reached the stop. With crunching snow beneath every step, he slid it back into the carton and opened another.

Upon reaching the idling bus, he gently tapped the base of his second bottle against the vehicle's tall glass door, which was promptly opened from the inside.

The driver frowned from his seat. "No open containers."

The man, sporting a heavy two-day shadow, stared at the driver and nodded. He scanned the area surrounding the tiny station and found a trash can. He approached it, finished the second beer, and discarded both empty bottles.

He returned and looked to the driver for approval, and the driver motioned him up the steps.

The last to reboard were the mother and son, the woman staring in silence as they retook their seats.

The man looked out his window, into the darkness at the shadowed outlines of their surroundings. One of the houses on the far side of the street was still illuminated by what looked to be a living room window. The rest of the buildings lay dark and appeared as muted shapes obscured beyond the increasingly dense snowfall.

He paid little attention. His thoughts were elsewhere. On his destination...when he was interrupted in his seat.

It was the woman. The mother. Of the boy, who was perhaps seven or eight and peering cautiously at them over his seat's headrest.

The woman was standing over him, appearing flustered. Unsure of what to say.

"I just," she stammered, "wanted to say thank you."

The man's expression was wholly unconcerned, but he nodded receptively while the driver put the bus into gear and slowly accelerated.

"No problem."


CHAPTER TWO

The trip through southern Minnesota was met by even harsher weather, blanketing the landscape in thick white snow, the only exception being the dark tire tracks directly in front of them, traversing the lonely two-lane highway before disappearing ahead into a flurry of white flakes, all brightly illuminated by the bus's headlights.

The driver steadily slowed as the visibility decreased, and he was barely able to see the headlights of oncoming traffic as they approached and sped past. Grumbling under his breath at their recklessness, the older man leaned forward with both hands firmly gripping the oversized steering wheel. His old eyes intent and undeterred.
...

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Today's Reading

Noting the look on the owner's face, the woman turned and gasped, clumsily stumbling backward in an effort to shield her son. The thug's eyes narrowed and focused past her.

Mere seconds had passed when behind the thug a bottle was retrieved from its carton and smashed down over the hand gripping the gun, breaking the bone in an audible crack.

The masked teenager screamed and dropped the gun. In a panic, he scrambled backward and lost his balance, falling to the floor. The eyes behind the mask were wild and changed their focus from searching for the gun to searching for an exit. Whirling around to find the glass doors behind him, the teenager immediately pushed forward and lunged outside, on one good hand and both knees.

Over the icy concrete, he struggled to his feet and bolted clumsily for the waiting car. Flinging its door open, he jumped in, screaming.

Inside, the cashier retrieved a revolver from a shelf below the counter, then, after watching the car rocket from the parking lot, turned to his male customer with a stunned expression. The man was still holding the bottle in his hand, while the woman at the counter stood immobile, still clutching her son behind her.

Without a word, the man placed the beer bottle back into the card- board holder and glanced at the gun on the floor. Bending over, he picked it up, then stepped past the trembling woman to place both items on the counter and retrieve his wallet.

He held out a bill to find the owner staring at him incredulously, before simply shaking his head and motioning for him to take the item. The customer nodded in appreciation and picked the carton back up, leaving the gun on the counter. Without comment, he turned and pushed through the glass doors, back into the snowy night air.


The first bottle was empty by the time he reached the stop. With crunching snow beneath every step, he slid it back into the carton and opened another.

Upon reaching the idling bus, he gently tapped the base of his second bottle against the vehicle's tall glass door, which was promptly opened from the inside.

The driver frowned from his seat. "No open containers."

The man, sporting a heavy two-day shadow, stared at the driver and nodded. He scanned the area surrounding the tiny station and found a trash can. He approached it, finished the second beer, and discarded both empty bottles.

He returned and looked to the driver for approval, and the driver motioned him up the steps.

The last to reboard were the mother and son, the woman staring in silence as they retook their seats.

The man looked out his window, into the darkness at the shadowed outlines of their surroundings. One of the houses on the far side of the street was still illuminated by what looked to be a living room window. The rest of the buildings lay dark and appeared as muted shapes obscured beyond the increasingly dense snowfall.

He paid little attention. His thoughts were elsewhere. On his destination...when he was interrupted in his seat.

It was the woman. The mother. Of the boy, who was perhaps seven or eight and peering cautiously at them over his seat's headrest.

The woman was standing over him, appearing flustered. Unsure of what to say.

"I just," she stammered, "wanted to say thank you."

The man's expression was wholly unconcerned, but he nodded receptively while the driver put the bus into gear and slowly accelerated.

"No problem."


CHAPTER TWO

The trip through southern Minnesota was met by even harsher weather, blanketing the landscape in thick white snow, the only exception being the dark tire tracks directly in front of them, traversing the lonely two-lane highway before disappearing ahead into a flurry of white flakes, all brightly illuminated by the bus's headlights.

The driver steadily slowed as the visibility decreased, and he was barely able to see the headlights of oncoming traffic as they approached and sped past. Grumbling under his breath at their recklessness, the older man leaned forward with both hands firmly gripping the oversized steering wheel. His old eyes intent and undeterred.
...

Join the Library's Online Book Clubs and start receiving chapters from popular books in your daily email. Every day, Monday through Friday, we'll send you a portion of a book that takes only five minutes to read. Each Monday we begin a new book and by Friday you will have the chance to read 2 or 3 chapters, enough to know if it's a book you want to finish. You can read a wide variety of books including fiction, nonfiction, romance, business, teen and mystery books. Just give us your email address and five minutes a day, and we'll give you an exciting world of reading.

What our readers think...