And Good Will to All

Chapter 1

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, but I had to admit to sounding raspier than I used to. Probably from the cigarettes I gave up smoking a year ago. Mack didn’t say anything further, so, trying not to let disappointment deter me, I ploughed on.

“Well, I’d like to setup a time for an interview. Are you available this afternoon, say, around three?”

“Sure, that would work.”

“Great. See you then.”

“Thanks.” He hung up before I could say goodbye.