CARBON COPY

Chapter 1: Something Like A Family Man

Chapter 1: Something Like A Family Man

The BankGorge Docks, Keedon, Georgia.....(1992)

      A salty breeze filled the space of the seemingly endless parking lot as a lone man stood amid the blowing breeze that shifted his unkempt dark hair and a red and black checkered shirt and blue jeans. He ground the dirt beneath his brown cowboy boot and glared out over the horizon at where he'd just come in from working on a distant oil rig for the past six months. He'd spent one hundred and eight days toiling with the best of them to save every red cent and crumpled dollar bill in a bid to garner ten thousand dollars. He had been done with his stint given the level of homesickness he had endured while away from his wife and boy, but he was confident the money would make up for his absence in some small part.

The lone man had been quite handsome as he leaned over the long rail staring out over the water and taking one last look at the churning ocean. His dark-tanned complexion and unkempt dark hair stood out amid the sea of faces in the small crowd. He'd been quite tall, six foot one in terms of stature and given to lean muscle as far as his physical form had gone. His gold wedding band had been quite visible as he briefly looked down at it recalling his wife, and the life they had back home.

He was six years her senior and there wasn't a dull moment in their life, either due to him or her for that matter. She was something of a blonde bombshell, mostly due to a bottle of peroxide and a phase in her youth believing that blondes had more fun. He had been the one who knew all too well that she'd been born a brunette and that he'd love her either way. Looking out over the churning waters of the vast ocean, he'd been reminded of his wife's baby blue eyes and missed her a lot more than he'd initially allowed himself to once he'd taken off.

She was a feisty sort of woman and he had known all too well she'd still been sore at him for his lack of contact and taking off when he did but he'd only had that one opportunity to make money on the rig and didn't have time to phone home.

Together they had a fourteen-year-old son by the name of Whitmore who had been something of a perfect blend of his wife and him all at once. Whitmore had his father's dark hair and eye color, and towering height as well as his mother's fair complexion and stubbornness. He was as mischievous as his father and sharp as a whip. More importantly, he was a sweet lad with his share of talents and ambitions. The lone man couldn't have asked for a better son even if the boy had inherited his tendency for rabblerousing.

In the distance, a lone silver car approached the parking lot and by extension the lone man as he moved from the guardrail and turned his attention toward gathering his two duffle bags. One had been all black and packed to the brim with cash while the other had been what he managed to pack with a week's worth of a change of clothes despite his haste to leave home before the time spent on the oil rig.

The silver car pulled up toward him as close as possible and he noted the vastly aged driver, an old man with short white hair and dark brown eyes. He treated the lone man with a smile as he picked up his bags and headed toward the passenger side of the car.

"Thanks for the lift Ed Earl." said the lone man getting into the car.

"Don't mention it J.W." said the old man.

He'd been dressed just as casually as the younger man had been when he filed into the car and pulled out of the parking lot and toward the long and winding road that led to the main portion of town.

The younger man known as J.W. had settled into his seatbelt and looked out the window anticipating his return home as the older man known as Ed Earl drove them further down the highway.

"So how's the climate back home?" asked J.W. with an arched brow.

"Your Mrs. has been in a tizzy for quite some time since you left without a word," warned Ed Earl. "And your boy's been getting a bit too happy with his new license and your truck."

J.W. smirked as he pictured how they would react to his return and their relatively interesting antics while he'd been away.

"Sounds like I got my work cut out for me when I get home," he said recalling just how feisty his wife had been when she was in one of her moods. "How's Momma?"

"She's doing alright, aiming to tan your hide for all that business with the Greenlee girl," replied Ed Earl honestly.

"Aw shit, I forgot about that," replied J.W. with an uneasy expression filed across his handsome face. "Listen ain't nothin' happen between me and her."

"That ain't what the vast majority of folks heard, rumor has it, that it's why you took off like you did," replied Ed Earl with a somber head shake. "Can't say that I envy you J.W. not with that lot after you."

"Ain't nothin' happen." insisted J.W. annoyed. "I just walked in the damn barn at the wrong time, besides I ain't got no interest in little girls...legal age or otherwise."

"It's one thing to say it J.W. but your track record proves otherwise," admitted Ed Earl as he continued his drive.

"I ain't got no damn track record," growled J.W. still annoyed with the topic. "That was one time and last I checked Wilma Jean was still my wife."

"I ain't one to judge J.W., You of all people know that I'm just sayin' that folks have been talkin'," replied Ed Earl. "Just thought you should be aware."

J.W. rolled his eyes despite appreciating what Ed Earl was warning him about. Such was the downside of living in a small town like Keedon, Georgia, everyone that lived there knew one's business and rumors always got to running about when nobody had any actual information.

He'd been silent for most of the drive toward his place as Ed Earl focused his attention on the long drive and the winding dirt roads.