And Good Will to All

By J.D. Walker

It's the middle of a very cold December, and Charlie Mayburn is in desperate need of a seasonal night manager at his self-storage facility. When he comes across a résumé from his childhood sweetheart, Lonnie "Mack" McDaniel, he’s beyond surprised. Mack left right after high school, determined to see the world and abandoning both Charlie and their small town for greener pastures. So what’s he doing back twenty years later?

As he's desperate and Mack is the most qualified applicant, Charlie hires him on the spot, along with leasing him a ten-by-ten unit. Mack does good work, but something’s off about him. He's very secretive, often bedraggled, and has holes in his well-worn shoes. Definitely not the clean-cut Mack Charlie grew up with.

When Charlie discovers, quite by accident, that Mack has been living in the storage unit he rented -- in the middle of winter -- he takes matters in hand. He offers Mack a place to stay, no strings attached. It takes some doing, but Charlie finally gets Mack to tell him how he ended up homeless. The tale almost breaks his heart, but Charlie is determined to take care of his long lost friend, no matter what.

Perhaps this Christmas, both men can find their way through old hurts and forge a new beginning, with good will for all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Dec 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781611527049

J.D. Walker

J.D. Walker likes to keep her stories short and sweet. A multi-published author, she is also a musician, artist, and lover of all things knit and crochet. For more information, visit lifebyjo.com/jdwalker.

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And Good Will To All

By J.D. Walker

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2014 J.D. Walker

ISBN 9781611527049

Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

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This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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And Good Will To All

By J.D. Walker

My heart skipped a beat as I read the name on the last résumé in the stack of applicants on my desk. Lonnie Mack McDaniel was looking for a job as a seasonal night manager at the self-storage facility I owned.

I hadn’t even known he was back in town. Of course, I tended to get lost in my work, since I lived and breathed this business. I set the document aside and leaned back in my chair, lost in thought.

God, it had been decades since I’d seen him. Our last words to each other had been filled with vitriol. It had taken years for me to forgive his need to leave our small town in order to see the world. It had just…hurt that I hadn’t been enough of a reason for him to stay. Okay, so maybe I was being a bit selfish, but when the man you thought was your soul mate skipped town…well.

Anyway, it wasn’t as though I’d been celibate in the last twenty years. But Mack had always been the man I’d used as a measuring stick to judge my infrequent lovers. They usually failed, but, hey, a man had needs, right? It still didn’t change the fact that, after all this time, I, Charles Mayburn, continued to carry a torch for one Lonnie McDaniel.

I sat up and reviewed his credentials. He was, far and away, the most qualified person for the job. He’d traveled all over the country and worked for a wide range of companies in a managerial capacity. The last few years were a little spotty, though. No address was listed, just a phone number.

Girding my loins, so to speak, I picked up the phone and dialed the number on the page before me. A male voice answered on the first ring.

Hello? Mack’s voice was a little bit deeper now, but I’d recognize it anywhere.

Mr. McDaniel? This is the manager at MyStorageHouse. I didn’t give him my name, wanting to see if he would recognize my voice without prompting. You applied for a job here.

Yes, I did.

Not a hint of recognition,