by Jayne Rylon
“Eager to check on your consultant?” Bryce raised an eyebrow from where he wiped his tools clean with a soft rag.
Kaige shrugged, though he couldn’t possibly pull off nonchalant when Rebel knew him so damn well. Plus there was the whole email fiasco, which had made the full extent of his Nola-obsession breaking news in their apartment last night. You’d have thought it was a politician’s sexting scandal by how riled the Hot Rods had gotten.
He’d been chatting with Nola again. They’d exchanged enough messages throughout the day and two nights they’d been apart to trigger his computer’s spam warning.
Dumb stuff. Important stuff. Background stuff. Cute stuff. Business stuff.
He’d lost track, really, content to chat with her about anything.
At some point, he’d taken a couple empty beer bottles from his side table to the kitchen, then stopped by the bathroom to piss.
When he emerged from the tiled space, the living room had gone deathly quiet, something that almost never happened in their apartment. All seven of his garagemates huddled around the couch. At first, he thought they were going to get it on again, and he was game to watch. Then Holden snorted and Kaige knew…
“Hey,” he’d bellowed as he attempted to rescue his laptop from their clutches.
But it was way too late for that.
“So this is what you’ve been going crazy over?” Swinger pointed to the special folder he’d made for Nola’s six hundred and thirty-seven messages. “We thought you’d gotten sucked in to gambling online or found some extra-perverted porn or something you were hoarding on here.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen your fuck face…and you’re wearing it when you look at her emails.” Alanso’s revelation could have been another of their usual jabs or a real accusation, Kaige couldn’t tell. Not with his heart pumping double time like his pipes were gummed up with ancient oil, or whatever caused this slick feeling in his guts.
Had he broken some unspoken pact between the Hot Rods by flirting in overdrive with Nola?
He shouldn’t have worried. In the next instant they began harassing him to take things further.
“So when’re you going to ask her out?” Carver had slapped Nova on the back. A wicked grin creased his face. “She’s hot. And smart. Tough, too. She can probably take you.”
The shadow that flashed over Bryce’s face spoke of something else entirely. Would Kaige upset their balance if he acted on the attraction growing stronger between him and Nola by the minute?
He didn’t have time to worry about it right then, because the guys had all chimed in, acting more like fourth graders when they teased him about his pen pal and writing notes. Sally had even piled on, asking if he’d sent one that had two check boxes after the questions, Do you like me? Yes or no?
It felt good to laugh with his friends. A relief to have the full extent his irrational yet undeniable feelings out in the open, as if the Hot Rods could have stayed ignorant for long. Hell, half the time he’d been slinking around the garage with a hard-on. That certainly hadn’t gone unnoticed.
They made sure he knew it too.
Except then the heckling had disintegrated to wrestling, which had resulted in a broken coffee table and a pile up of an entirely different nature.
He’d observed from the sidelines as they bonded.
Now he was spinning his wheels.
Torn between the gang he belonged in.
And the girl he’d just met.
To comfort himself as he’d lain wide awake, he’d reread her witty emails a half-dozen times each before trying to top her in an equally playful response.
So what if he’d looked forward to the little bing of the delivery notice like a teenage girl in the throes of puppy love until he’d drifted off, still clutching his computer?
This morning Sally had given him crap when she’d caught him checking out his reflection in their stainless steel refrigerator before heading down to the shop. At least before she saw him swallow hard and realized this meant something to him. Then she’d rearranged his dreads and smacked him on the ass through his coveralls, promising he was a “sexy beast”.
The day and a half since Kaige had last seen Nola had seemed like a lifetime. When she’d strolled into the shop a few hours ago in skinny jeans that hugged every curve of her willowy thighs along with a sheer blouse the color of rust, a chunky silver cuff—with a skull and lightning bolts carved into it—that dwarfed her slender wrist and a pair of beige leather heels that even Sally had drooled over…
Well, he’d nearly dropped to his knees and begged her to take the day off. With him.
Instead, he’d walked her to the temporary office and helped her set up her tablet on the shop’s WiFi. They’d both agreed she had way better presentation skills than he did. So she intended to organize his strategy and jam it into a format that would allow him to show the rest of the Hot Rods, clearly and concisely, what he’d been scheming about for months.
After hovering around her for a couple minutes, and stealing one tiny peck, Kaige had gotten kicked out. Nola laughed as she told him to do some work while she got busy. What he wouldn’t give to be getting busy with her.
He tucked his gloves in his back pocket as he ducked Bryce then appeared—he hoped—to mosey casually toward the break room. Hell, he actually had skipped lunch to try and bang out his jobs with enough spare time to collude with Nola. Or maybe just to watch her in action. Pathetic.
“If you’re looking for your lady friend, she’s outside taking a break. I think she might turn into a troll if we keep her locked in that dungeon much longer.” Mustang Sally poked her head out when he passed by the paint booth.
Kaige winced. He should have checked on Nola sooner instead of flying through his list of to-dos. He wandered out of his open bay, scrubbing his hands on a rag he tugged from the empty belt loop of his jumpsuit. He turned his face to the warmth of the summer sun, closing his eyes to absorb the heat and light. Not a bad idea to soak in the rays after being cramped beneath the shadowed underbelly of the beauty he’d installed a new suspension on today before playing with Nola’s ride.
It had been well worth the cramps when he finished, but a timeout was in order. He took a lap around the building, stretching his legs. Okay, really searching for the one person he wanted to share a minute or two with.
There, near the storage shed, her pert ass made a hell of a reward for his efforts this morning. What the hell was she doing rummaging around in that junk though? She was likely to cut herself on something that’d require a tetanus shot.
“Nola?” He would have liked to have laid his palm on her bottom if he didn’t suspect she’d bolt upright and crash into the pile of stuff waiting to be taken to the dump or get recycled.
“Oh!” Sure enough, she stood straight. Engrossed in whatever she’d been doing, she probably hadn’t heard him come up from behind. Her smile was offset by the worry lines creasing her forehead. “I’m glad you’re here. I was taking some pictures of the grounds for the slides on the additional outbuildings we discussed and I thought I heard something in here.”
“Like what?” Kaige tilted his head and strained. No sounds reached his ears past the thumping of his heart and the rustle of leaves in the trees as a summer breeze morphed heat into something pleasant instead of unbearable.
Just when Nola opened her mouth, he caught it too. A soft whimper and some scratching.
“I think it might be a puppy. There was a tiny bark when I first came over.” She dove toward the scraps, climbing on an old bumper in those hot yet completely inappropriate shoes. She’d make a fine circus act balancing precariously like that.
After a moment of envisioning her in a spangled unitard with her mile-long legs showcased, he shook his head and wrapped his arm around her waist. He lifted her to safer territory and went to investigate in her place.
“Hang on a second. You’re about to ruin that blouse. Or hurt yourself. Let me.” He whipped his gloves from his pocket and tugged
the thick leather over his still-sore fingers. Though honestly, one more nick or scratch would hardly be noticeable.
He tipped a few things this way and that, wincing when something crashed in the far reaches of the pile.
“Careful, don’t squish it.” Nola leaned in. “Is there a flashlight somewhere?”
“Actually, yeah. Above the side door, near the first-aid kit.” He smiled at her adorable concern. “Would you mind?”
She trotted across the lawn on her toes as if she could win a triathlon in those stilettos. Hell, Sally could hardly manage not to break her ankle walking on flat surfaces. Kaige didn’t deny himself the pleasure of observing her rearview, though.
Another tiny cry had him crouching and wiggling his hand. He didn’t like to think about what else might be hiding in the crack along with their newest visitor. Still he couldn’t quite seem to reach whatever was inside. “Hang on, little guy. We’re gonna get you out of there in a minute. I promise.”
As if his voice might actually have some calming effect, the whimpers slowed down.
Nola cleared her throat from behind him. When he peeked over his shoulder, she had a funny look on her face.
“What’s wrong? Couldn’t find it?” He scrunched his eyes. The sun haloed her hair enough to turn it auburn instead of nearly midnight as it appeared indoors.
“No, it’s just…I like the way you were talking.” She flipped on the beam of light and directed it through the super contrasting shadows. “I didn’t think you’d be so sensitive.”
Nola squirmed. Holy crap, was she turned on by him talking to an animal?
Shit, he knew what it was like to be a stray.
He’d never leave whatever had hijacked a trip in one of their restores, or wandered out here in search of shelter, to fend for itself.
Kaige didn’t answer her. Instead, he followed the sweep of her yellow light. A flash of something. Eyes. “Hang on. Right there.”
A tiny puppy stared up, then blinked rapidly at the sudden change in illumination. Dirty and thin, it wriggled against a sheet of grating they’d put in the heap a few days back. Had it been trapped all this time?
“Okay, I’ve got it now. Let me jiggle this a little…” He hadn’t moved the metal more than a couple inches when a blob of black and once-white fur burst from its prison and cowered against Nola’s ankle.
She reached her hands out as if to scoop up the puppy, who shivered and licked her, but Kaige beat her to it. The thing needed a bath. Bad.
The grime coating the furball didn’t stop Nola for a moment.
She pressed close to Kaige as she inspected it for obvious wounds and found none. As concern dwindled, she fell in love right in front of Nova’s eyes. Her giant heart melted all over the baby dog.
“Oh my goodness, he’s the cutest thing ever.” Nola patted the puppy until Kaige got kind of jealous of her gentle strokes and scratches. He’d wag his tail too if she treated him to such generous caresses.
“He’s yours, then.” Kaige might have developed a soft spot for a woman who took in pets without parents if he let himself. After all, he’d once been as homeless as that pup too. “I’m sure he’ll adore being spoiled rotten by you.”
Her face fell. The sparkle in her deep almond eyes faded a bit and suddenly he felt as though he’d kicked the bundle of energy squirming in his arms, trying to nestle against those lush breasts pressed so close. “There’s no way my landlord will let me have him. He practically made me sign my firstborn over to him in my lease. Strictly no animals. ‘Dogs’ might have been underlined about six times.”
“Ah, shit.” Suddenly Kaige had the urge to make it right for her, somehow. She’d kept her head down, collaborated with him on their project and let him retain the final say about everything they drew up together. Like it or not, he respected their outside consultant.
Damn, her.
And her displaced little dog too.
Because there was only one way this was going to end.
“Well, the shop could use a mascot. Don’t you think?” Kaige scratched his jaw, wondering who the hell was going to take the thing for walks and make sure it got fed. Responsibility was not his forte.
He studied the black-and-white markings on the baby beast. Lavishing the stumpy thing with attention, he worked off some of the sneaky protectiveness and the urge to coddle someone—the Hot Rods, or Nola even—that had been building in him since Monday.
What? Just because he was going to turn thirty this year didn’t mean he had to get all…paternal…did it? Maybe it was the infants their Powertools friends kept flashing around every time they got the chance to brag about the rugrats. Ugh.
To prove to himself that the Kaige he knew and had come to terms with still lurked somewhere inside, he made sure to scratch behind the puppy’s ears, brushing his knuckles up against the plump mounds of Nola’s breasts in the process.
He wasn’t sure which of the two leaned into his touch more.
Hmmm, a good sign, he thought.
“Would you guys really give it a home?” Nola aimed those big wide eyes up at him. He might have said yes to anything to make her happy.
“Let’s see what the rest of the gang thinks.” But he already knew what their answer would be. None of them would be able to turn away their garage crasher.
Before he and Nola made it inside, Sally emerged from the side door near her studio. She smiled when she saw them, then squealed when she realized what Kaige had cradled to his chest.
Mustang practically galloped toward them. Fast enough that the puppy quivered and burrowed deeper into Kaige’s grasp, seeming more and more likely to lunge for Nola’s bosom. The creature was smarter than he looked.
“Sorry, fella.” Sally slowed her approach and softened her voice until she cooed. “No one’s gonna hurt you here. You’re safe. Look how freaking adorable you are. I could squeeze you right now.”
“Try not to pop his head off, huh?” Kaige couldn’t believe the sight of one mangy runt could thaw even Mustang Sally. They were doomed.
Sally’s slap only reinforced his opinion of her strength. It stung a little more when Nola laughed at the abuse he took from the Hot Rod’s puniest member. The two women had quickly become friends, making him wonder if they’d been exchanging some emails of their own in the past two days. He’d even overheard them chatting about going shopping together this weekend while he had been beneath one of his projects. Weirder still because Mustang Sally bitched about trips to the mall most times, at least when she had to stick to their mission-style outings. The guys went for an item then made a beeline back to their cars.
Nola and Sally sounded like they’d be missing for hours, wandering aimlessly in retail hell.
Their excitement seemed to draw a crowd. When Bryce straggled from the garage to see what was up, the puppy whimpered. For a moment, Kaige thought it was objecting to the crush of people peering down at him and wiggling their fingers in his face. As the big guy got closer and the dog made it tough to hang on to him securely, Kaige began to think maybe he feared the hulking dude.
Until a yelp from the bundle of fur startled Nola. Kaige reflexively put a hand on her back to keep her from losing her balance, but with only one hand left to secure the squirming creature, the puppy refused to be held a moment longer. He wriggled until Nova had to bend to deposit him on the grass. That or let him kamikaze dive the whole way.
With a happy bark, their new friend hopped through the tall blades right toward Bryce.
“Well, who do we have here?” Laughing, Rebel picked up the puppy and looked at it eye to eye. He examined the black-and-white markings and pointy ears of the junkyard castaway. Had someone thrown out a litter of puppies?
Kiage rubbed his chest. Nola linked her fingers through his free hand and squeezed.
The dog’s miniature tail wagged like windshield wipers in a monsoon.
“I’ve always liked Boston Terriers. Is he yours, Nola?” The wistful stare he shot the woman by Kaige
’s side sealed the deal.
“No.” She shrugged, dragging Kaige’s linked hand along with hers when her shoulders rose. He liked her warmth and the ease with which she’d touched him.
Unafraid. Despite the glimmer of temper she’d seen slip through his control that first day in Eli’s office. Could she handle one of his full outbursts? Why should she have to? Maybe he could be better for her.
“I think he’s yours.” Nola beamed, her bright white smile hitting Kaige in the gut. “He seems to have adopted you.”
Eli, Alanso, Carver, Holden and Roman had joined them by now.
The rest of the Hot Rods talked excitedly about the possibility of an addition to their family. Except right then, Kaige was thinking of inviting someone else entirely into their midst. Could this work?
Would they welcome a woman with arms open as wide as they were for this pup?
He thought they might. The guys appreciated Nola—her hard work, her humor, her refusal to be cowed. Sally had latched on to her in a way that made him realize how short of female companionship the painter had been for years.
Not least of all, the sparks of attraction between him and the prickly consultant grew brighter by the hour.
“What’s this ruckus out here for?” Tom moseyed over from his house. “Can’t a guy take a nap in his hammock?”
Though he addressed the whole group, he peered between Kaige and Nola, who still held hands. Huh. Nova hadn’t realized he’d never let go. And neither had she.
“I was taking some pictures for our presentation and heard an animal. Kaige rescued him.” Nola beamed up at Kaige until he had to look away.
“My hero!” Holden teased as he kicked up one heel and folded his oil-stained hands like a damsel in distress.
Kaige didn’t waste any time in flipping him the bird.
