“This is it,” I confirm.
“Holy shit, dude. This is… you did this?”
“I did,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest and planting my feet wide. “You like it?”
He looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “Uh, yeah. I’m actually in awe right now.” As Chase inspects the vehicle, I see the approval written all over his face. When he opens the door and sees the custom interior with his logo embroidered in the camel and white diamond-stitched leather seats, he whispers, “Holy shit. Is this for real?” That’s the point that I let out a sigh of relief and walk closer to show him around his new vehicle.
“You’ll notice the interior is all about you. The floors and seats are matching with the custom diamond stitching but incorporating your logo makes it a little more unique to just you. We followed the same color pattern for the dash and doors, too. I figured this way you could keep it for you or, if it’s your type of thing, you could use it as a giveaway to boost your charity.”
He looks at me and blinks. “You know about my foundation for foster kids?”
I nod. “I did my research.”
He moves to stand beside the pickup. “I’m impressed.”
“Part of the job.”
“To research your clients?”
I shake my head. “To know more about my clients so that their custom vehicle matches who they are and what they stand for,” I explain. “We got the dimensions and permission to use your logo and wanted to incorporate it.”
“Did I already tell you I’m impressed?”
“You did, but you can tell me again,” I say with a smile.
“Well, I am. Everything about this truck is… wait, is this… paint?” he asks, surprised when he notices the back panels.
“Yeah, it is. I didn’t want to just buy some decals and throw them on it. If you ever get sick of it, we can repaint it.”
Chase looks closely at the mud splatters, shaking his head. “This is incredible. I take it you’ve gone mudding a time or two and know how to make it look authentic.”
I grin and chuckle. “Maybe just a couple times.”
“Wanna go now?”
“Right now?”
He nods and shrugs. “You have a place? I’d love to test it out. I can’t just drive it around town, ya know?”
“Yeah. I know a place. I need to lock up the shop first.”
“Can I come in and see it? I’m curious where you work to create this kind of magic.”
“Knock yourself out,” I tell him, holding open the door for him.
He doesn’t hesitate in walking around, much like Katie did when she first came here. He inspects all the different areas of the shop, asking questions here and there. He seems to know quite a bit about vehicles, which means that we have plenty to talk about.
“Cash fan?” he asks, noticing the picture I have hanging in the office.
“Definitely.”
“He was the reason I pursued my singing career.”
“No kidding?”
“Not like I met him and he told me to go for it,” he explains, “but his story, his music, his faith, the way he loved June.”
I nod, understanding completely. Johnny Cash is a legend in country music, so it doesn’t surprise me that Chase would admire him, but, like me, it’s more than just the songs he sang. It was the way he lived his life. He apologized for mistakes he made and was aware of his faults.
Once he’s seen all there is to see, including peeking under a couple of the tarps to see what other vehicles I’ll be working on next, we lock up the shop.
“Keys are in the truck.”
He grins and murmurs, “Small towns, am I right?”
“They’re the best. I rarely lock my door at home, either.”
“I can’t imagine.”
“Well, to be fair, I don’t live in a million-dollar mansion,” I joke as I go around to the passenger door.
“Aww, gee, that’s too bad,” he says jokingly.
“Not all of us can be rock stars.”
He laughs and then like an excited kid in a candy store, he climbs in behind the wheel and doesn’t even wait until I’m in my seat before he starts it up with a smile on his face. He looks at me with comically wide eyes and I lean against the door, seat belt firmly in place because I have a feeling this might be a crazy ride.
“Holy shit,” he repeats what he said earlier. “That’s. Awesome.”
I grin at his giddiness. “Like that sound, do ya?”
He throws the truck into drive and we take off out of the parking lot of my shop. “Oh, yeah. I like that sound. This truck might be the best thing I’ve ever driven, and I once drove a Lambo so… here’s your warning. Your idea of giving this sucker away for the foundation is a fucking amazing one but I’m gonna have a real hard time letting go of this so this one’s mine and I’m hiring you now to build one like it, but make it a little different because this one’s mine.”
“I can do that. We’ll have to coordinate with Eric on when I have time.”
“I’ll have my people call your people,” he teases.
“Jackass,” I joke.
“Thank you. Now. Where am I going? And are we still grabbing food somewhere?”
“Planned on it. A friend was going to join me but if you’d rather…”
“Let’s hit up a diner or fast food and you can show me all the spots around town. I’ve actually been looking to buy some land I can hunt on, maybe build a little cabin. Maybe Benton’s it for me.”
“Yeah? All right. Let me shoot off a quick text. Once you hit Murphy’s for burgers, you’re gonna be moving in next week.”
“You’ve not led me astray yet so I’m gonna believe you on that one. My trainer can kick my ass later for eating a greasy cheeseburger.”
I slap him on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit. Turn left here then a right at the stoplight.”
“This the only one?”
“No. Smart ass. We have three.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “My mistake. Damn, I love this place already,” he says, looking out his window, straining to keep an eye on whatever caught it.
Meanwhile, I grab my phone to text Katie and hope she’s not mad.
Me: Hey, are you going to be pissed if I cancel dinner tonight?
Katie: Pissed? No. Of course not. Are you embarrassed of me? That why you’re bailing? LOL
Uh oh. I know the LOL tacked on the end isn’t her laughing at all. Girl code means she’s actually scared that’s the truth but is playing it off otherwise.
Me: Get that shit outta your head right now. Trust me when I say I want you here but he’s got ideas of mudding and looking at land.
Katie: Mudding? For real? Land? Like… to move here? I have so many questions!
Me: Apparently a cabin so he can hunt. I don’t know. He’s like a little kid all excited.
Katie: I take it he likes the truck then?
Me: Understatement, I think. I’ll tell you everything when I’m done here. Can I stop up?
We come to the stoplight and I look over at Chase to see he’s busy messing with the radio and not paying attention to me. I also decide to remind Katie that I’m into this with her and even when my option is to spend the evening with a famous country singer, I’d prefer to be doing nothing with her. Or a lot of something. One or the other, I’m not picky.
Me: I really wanted to see you tonight.
Katie: Aww. You miss me! Of course you can stop up. I’ll probably zonk out around 9 though. **snoozing emoji**
Me: Zonk out, huh? That’s something my grandmother used to say.
Katie: I met her once. She was hilarious.
Me: I’ll try to be there before 9. Have a good night.
Katie: You, too.
I put my phone down and point. “There’s Murphy’s on the left. Just flip a U-ey and pull in.”
He chuckles. “If I did this in Nashville, I’d probably get tossed in jail.”
“Small town life,” I explai
n with a shrug. “Speaking of, do you want to come inside or want me to go order? It doesn’t look busy but I can’t guarantee that people won’t recognize you.”
He cringes just slightly. “You mind? Kind of enjoying the solitude for a bit.”
“Wouldn’t have offered if I minded. What do you want?”
“I’ll keep it simple with a cheeseburger and fries. Coke, too.”
“You good with bringing food in this thing?”
He makes a face. “Fuck. I didn’t even think of that.”
“There’s a cooler in the floorboard. We can put the food in there and eat on the tailgate when we get out to the spot I’m thinking of.”
He looks in the back seat. “You’re fucking brilliant. There’s a cooler in the floorboard? How did I not know that?”
“Haven’t shown you everything yet. But that’s not me. That’s something Dodge did.”
“I might marry this truck,” he says.
“Write a song about it,” I joke as I get out. “Be back in five. They’re usually pretty quick.”
“Definitely moving here,” he murmurs.
The bell above the door chimes when I walk through the door to Murphy’s. Estelle, Murphy Junior’s wife — Murphy Senior opened up the joint in the 60s and Murphy Junior took over and the way I hear it, Murphy III will be taking it over soon — looks up with a welcoming smile.
“Hey there, Brody. What can I get ya?”
“Keeping it simple tonight, Estelle. Two double cheeseburgers with everything and fries. Two Cokes. And an order of onion rings and some mozzarella sticks.”
“Boy, that girl can eat.” She giggles.
“Yes, she can. But, this isn’t for Katie tonight. Got a friend in town and he was hungry.”
“Sounds like it.” She winks. “You got all that, babe?” she hollers behind her to her husband who always works the grill during the week. Their son tends to do it more on the weekends because Junior’s knees can’t handle much.
“Of course I do,” comes Junior’s raspy voice. “Comin’ right up, kid!”
Estelle rings up our order and I pay, then she hands me two bottles of Coke. I take a seat at a table in the corner while I wait and scroll through email on my phone, responding to what I can and making notes of what I need to.
A text from my mama pops up and I debate for a few seconds about whether or not to open it. Especially when the preview showed three simple words that could mean pretty much anything in her world.
Mama: I need help.
Groaning, I know that I’ll answer her eventually so I figure now’s as good a time as any.
Me: What’s up?
Mama: I am having trouble with my washer and wondered if you could come by to take a look at it?
Me: Is it under warranty? If so, the company you bought it from should come out and service it.
Then, because I’m an asshole and can’t help myself, I add: Or did you not actually purchase it?
Mama: That was hurtful. Of course I purchased it.
Me: Warranty? I know I’m being a jerk, and I should just offer to go over there and help her but she’s honestly one of the most selfish people I’ve ever met. She only texts or calls me when she needs something.
Mama: I really don’t want a stranger in the house.
Me: I can’t come tonight but I can stop tomorrow before I go to the shop.
Mama: You’re such a good son. Thank you! See you in the morning! Maybe bring some doughnuts with you when you come. And don’t forget your tool kit because I really don’t have any here. And while you’re here, do you mind looking at the heater? It’s getting colder at night and I’m not sure it’s ready for winter.
I don’t respond. This is why I hesitated to help her. I give an inch and she’ll take a mile every single time. I’m honestly surprised she didn’t send me a grocery list, too. Though, it wouldn’t surprise me if that came in before the morning.
“Brody! Your order’s up!” Estelle calls out.
I thank her, grab our food, and head out to Chase’s new truck. He hops out as soon as he sees me and I show him the hidden cooler in the floor behind the driver’s seat. “Seriously coolest fucking truck I’ve ever driven.”
“It’s pretty badass,” I admit.
Once we’re back in the cab and he’s backing out of the parking spot, he turns to me and says, “I saw yours sitting in front of the shop. It ain’t too shabby.”
“Thanks, man. I agree. I love that thing.”
“Where we headed now? I’m ready to see what this thing can do. Those tires look like they can eat a lot of dirt.”
I direct him where to go and within three minutes we’re running down a gravel road, kicking up dust behind us. Within ten, we’re at Johnny’s pa’s cabin. I’ve had the keys to this place since I was eighteen. Johnny’s parents died in a car accident when he was twelve and his pa raised him. Pa died a few years ago, leaving Johnny a wreck for about six months. His only saving grace was this cabin and the memories it holds.
“This is incredible. Yours?”
I shake my head and climb out of the truck. “Nah. My bud’s. We practically grew up here, though. Spent our summers out here having bonfires and fishing. It didn’t have plumbing so we stunk to high heaven.”
“Probably loved it, too.”
“Absolutely.”
We settle on the tailgate and dig into our food. I watch him closely as he takes his first bite of the best burger he’ll ever eat.
“I don’t care if my trainer makes me do a hundred burpees, this is worth it.”
I smirk and dive into my own meal. We talk about random stuff while we eat and he surprises me by being one of the most genuine and relaxed guys I’ve ever met. And that’s saying a lot because my best friend is Johnny who’s absolutely the most relaxed person I’ve ever known, and aside from Johnny’s pa passing away, nothing seems to bother or upset him.
I don’t learn much about his time spent putting on concerts or going on tours because he seems to want to know more about me and Benton than talk about himself. Which, I suppose, isn’t too surprising considering his line of work. He probably never has a chance to not think about himself, what with everyone constantly asking him about himself.
“Time to see what these tires can do?” he asks.
“Seems about that time,” I agree. “I’ll show you where to go. It’s a little pocket of land that’s just notoriously wet and muddy. When we were growing up, we buried lots of vehicles out here.” I laugh, reminiscing.
As we’re driving to the spot, a memory hits me full force. One that I hadn’t thought of in so many years, I’m surprised it wasn’t buried forever. The memory is so vivid, I don’t even pay attention to Chase’s whoops and laughter as we’re flinging mud all around us.
A bunch of us were celebrating the start of summer after our junior year of high school and came out to go mudding then camp out by the bonfire and in the cabin. Tate and Katie were there, and a couple of us ended up having to pull him out of the mud.
When we got them unstuck enough that they just had to drive over to the cabin, we figured all was good. But, Katie was freaking out because, it turns out, Tate had been drinking and she wanted out of his truck. He’d driven them all over country roads and she didn’t know he’d been drinking until they’d gotten out to the field. Then he pulled out another beer and she freaked on him. He laughed it off and said he was perfectly fine to drive, but she didn’t find it very funny. By the time we had gotten to Tate, we realized he was not only being a dumbass because he got himself stuck, but that he was also being a dumbass because he put Katie, himself, and anyone else he came into contact with in danger by drinking and driving. I resisted the urge to throttle the idiot and I got him in the passenger seat of my truck while I took over in his.
“You okay?”
“Brody, oh my gosh. I was so scared.”
“I can’t believe he was stupid enough to drink and drive. Especially with you in the truck with him.
” Even though my voice is calm, I’m fuming inside. Does Tate not realize how bad that could have ended up? Sure, it’s not like mudding is fast driving or anything, but what’s the point in risking it?
She shrugs and that almost sets me off more because it immediately makes me wonder if that means she’s used to him drinking and driving. “Katie.”
“Hmm?” she asks, looking out the window.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she whispers.
“Just fine? It’s the last day of school. You should be great.”
“I know. I know. I’m just a little nervous to be out here, I guess.”
“Nervous how? Why? It’s just us.”
She turns her head to look at me and I see fear in her blue eyes and it scares me but also angers me, which is confusing as hell. I’m a seventeen-year-old kid, I’m not exactly aware of other people’s feelings but for some reason, when Katie looks at me, it’s like I can feel whatever she’s feeling. And right now, she’s scared out of her mind. A little nervous was a lie.
“What’s going on?”
“Hmm? Nothing. Just… I don’t want to stay the night. Is that okay?”
“I mean, obviously, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Did someone tell you that you did?”
“No. Tate will probably be mad at me but he’ll get over it. I just don’t think I can stay.”
“Okay. You’re kind of confusing me. Did Tate hurt you or somethin’?”
“He’s great. Honestly. It’s not him.”
“Someone else hurt you?”
Her lips press together tightly and that anger I was feeling earlier turns into rage. I don’t know who has hurt her, or what she’s afraid of, but I’ll find out. Come hell or high water, I’ll find out. And I won’t just sit on that information, either. I’m gonna make sure whoever it is that’s freaking Katie the fuck out pays for it.
I unclench my jaw and release my tight hold on the steering wheel. “I’ll take you home. Whether you want to go now or later, that’s up to you. But you don’t get in a car with anyone else tonight, you hear me?”
“B, you don’t have to do that.”
“I do and I will. Promise me that when you’re ready to go home, you’ll find me.”
She looks at me with her big blue eyes, her lips parted and blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail and I have the sudden painful urge to take her into my arms and kiss her. But I can’t do that. Because she’s not mine. And that sucks.
Without You: A Friends-to-Lovers Small Town Romance Page 12
