Free Unlikely Praise by Carla Rossi Page A

the trailer to check the floor. This is an older home so my dad thought we should brace it with something.”
    “Did you?”
    “Not yet.”
    Max picked up another slice. “What movies did you bring, Rock?”
    He pulled the cases from the side of his chair and handed them to Shade. “ Transformers , The Fast and the Furious , and, if you’re interested in a classic, I brought the original Terminator .”
    “Definitely The Fast and the Furious ,” Max decided for them. “But I don’t care if we watch ‘em all. I don’t have to get up in the morning.”
    “I don’t care, either,” Rocky interjected with his mouth full. “I never have to get up.”
    Max rolled his eyes. “Really, Rock? That one’s not even funny.”
    Shade loaded the DVD. “I don’t care if we watch them all either, but I do have to get up in the morning. Goin’ fishin’.”
    “Nice,” Max said. “Headin’ out early for the coast?”
    “Nothing that exciting. Just my uncle’s pond.”
    “Family thing?”
    Shade sat back down and scraped a glob of cheese and pepperoni off the bottom of the cardboard box and flicked it onto the top of another slice. “No, me and Candi are going out there to see if anything’s biting.”
    The room became eerily silent except for the quiet hum of the television. The FBI warning appeared in glowing green high definition and illuminated Max and Rocky’s suspicious glares.
    Max was so serious he put his food down. “Candi, as in church Candi, the one we know?”
    Rocky, too, slid his box onto the coffee table. He leaned forward in his chair and crumpled his paper towel into a tiny ball. “You steppin’ out with my girl, Shade?”
    Shade alternated between each of their lethal gazes. He felt a nightmare coming on. “Whoa, guys, it’s not like that. And, Rocky, if I had any idea you were seeing Candi I would’ve kept our church business at the coffee shop.”
    Rocky’s upper lip twitched as he glanced at Max. They both howled with laughter.
    “Gotcha.”
    Max jerked his head back so hard the recliner laid him out flat again. “Candi and Rock?” He struggled like a turtle on its back as he tried to pull himself up while laughing. “That’s a good one.”
    Shade finished his can of soda and reached for a fresh one. Nothing about this was funny. “You got me.”
    Rocky tore off another paper towel and blotted his right eye. “No worries, Shade. Candi and I didn’t hit it off that way. And as for the pipsqueak here destroying your couch, she’s not interested in rowdy boys .”
    Max pushed the foot rest in and planted his feet firmly on the ground. “I don’t think she’s interested in anybody. I’ve never seen her out with anyone, have you, Rock?”
    “Nope, but maybe if we grew our hair out like Shade’s she’d let us take her fishing, too.”
    Max seemed captivated by the idea. “Dude...let’s do it. Seriously. I will if you will.”
    Rocky shrugged. “Why not?”
    Shade tugged his pizza apart. “First of all, she hates my ponytail. Secondly, it’s business. The pastor has us meeting regularly to discuss the projects we’re working on. She said she liked to fish so I suggested we meet at the pond.”
    This time their silent gazes were more curious than deadly.
    “She actually said she liked to fish?”
    “Yeah.”
    Max plucked a piece of cheese off his chin. “Did you read the manual?”
    Shade paused. “What manual?”
    “Oh, yeah,” Rocky agreed. “If Candi said she’d go fishing, I’m sure there’s a policies and procedures manual. She does everything by the book. And if there isn’t a book, she writes one and makes sure everyone has a copy.”
    “I bet there’s a whole chapter on live bait versus store-bought fish eggs,” Max offered.
    “And one called The Great Bobber-Sinker Question: Is Either Really Necessary? ”
    Shade tossed his crust in the box and chuckled. “C’mon, she can’t be that bad.”
    “Don’t get me wrong,” Max rushed to add. “I love