"Sounds a might bit easier than lobsterin'," Patrick said.
"It will be. He's worked hard. He deserves a break."
"Speaking of breaks, how long until you fight again?" Caleb asked.
"Couple weeks," Patrick said and Shannon scowled.
"You hardly give yourself time to heal," she grumbled under her breath.
He ignored her as he tended to do with statements like that. There was no arguing with her. Those were fights he knew he had no chance of winning. Instead he just kept on training, fighting, trying not to think about the worry on her face, the anger at how hard he trained, her loneliness when he was gone so much. He couldn't think of any of those things. When he spoke, he spoke to everyone, but hoped Shannon was listening.
"Before a fight, I get real serious. Sometimes it seems as if it's impossible, the task before me...this hard, painful, insurmountable job...I try not to think bad thoughts, ye know? I won't consider that there's any chance I might not win, but I do think on how hard it's going to be. I face it and I've learned to not let it shake me. I think on the last time I won. Then I go into the job before me and give it everythin' I got, rememberin' what it feels like to win. Every minute that goes by, I'm a minute closer to it. And when it comes, it's a great feelin'," he said, grinning. "One more little victory that will keep me goin' another day until one day, I get to the top."
As the waiter approached to take their order, Patrick laughed. "I probably don't make a damn bit of sense," he said.
Little victories.
The women and their struggle to create a winter market.
Jean coming to terms with what his mother was.
Muzzy fighting for her paper, her passion.
Peter seeking right over wrong.
Aryl facing his addiction and coming through stronger.
Caleb forging his own destiny, come what may.
And Jonathan, for the first time choosing to fight harder for a friendship than growing a business.
He sat back with a ghost of a smile. "No, Pat, you make all the sense in the world."
MLG
This marks the end of Season One of Purling Road. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it.
As always, thank you for reading.
Season Two is now available on Kindle.
In Season Two of Purling Road, the financial hardships are temporarily eased as Jonathan and Aryl find success with a new business venture. Even with this small reprieve, everyone is faced with a long, hot summer. Relationships are brutally tested. Some are broken, never to be the same again and even Maura finds it difficult to help her friends.
The fuse is lit when boredom and frustration lead Claire, Ava, and Arianna to a girl’s night that reincarnates Arianna to her former glory. After suffering a loss, she reaches her breaking point and Caleb is left to deal with the aftermath of her destructive decisions.
Ruth moves to town with her son and finds the women welcoming her friendship and advice.
Tempers rise faster than the tide when Claire makes a decision that Aryl can’t live with. Ava and Jonathan welcome a new member of the family, and soon after, she is forced to reveal a carefully guarded secret, but not before Jonathan assumes the worst.
With her paper on more solid ground, Muzzy is forced to take drastic action to save her reputation, taking Rockport by surprise.
As everyone focuses on their own crises, it becomes increasingly hard to come together—the only thing that has saved them in the past.
Season Two is nothing short of explosive as everyone must look within themselves for answers.
Purling Road - The Complete First Season: Episodes 1-10 Page 27