“I don’t know his name! You mean there are more?”
“You probably got Drake. I played football against him with his cousin Gable Powers in high school, so I know who Drake is. And, yeah, he’s got brothers.”
“His last name is Powers? As in they actually own the garage?” I’d been thinking the name Powers just meant the mechanics were powerful or something. Boy, I was a sharp one.
“Mm hm.”
“And are these brothers all insensitive assholes like him?”
“Probably.” I heard Vic snort.
Wonderful. There were more Powers brothers. And they were like him. Yippee.
“He said I had a great rack!” I whisper-hissed into the phone which made my brother crack up laughing. “It’s not funny, Vic! It’s called sexual harassment!”
Through his following chuckles, he said, “Hey, not saying it’s right but he could’ve said something rude.”
“That was rude! God!”
“Lighten up, On. He’s not a bad guy.”
“Seemed that way to me,” I grumbled.
About that time, Betsy rattled making a ca-chunk! noise, dying just as I was in the middle of making a right turn.
“Shit!” I yelled.
“What?”
“Betsy died!” I coasted on around the corner into a parking lot then tried starting my truck but to no avail. “No! Come on!” I cried, turning the ignition again a few more times.
“Is it making a clicking noise? Might be the battery,” Vic offered.
“No. Listen.” I set my phone on the dash so he could hear the wurrrhh wurrrhh wurrrhh sound it was making. “Hear it?”
“Could be the distributor cap. Where are you? I’ll call the garage again. They can tow it back.”
Great. I could only hope, what was his name again, oh, yeah, Drake, would be the one to show.
I told Vic my location then waited to see Mr. Charm again.
~*~*~*~*~
“So, you have brothers? At least that’s what my brother told me,” I asked the guy I now knew was Drake Powers while he looked around under the hood of my truck with a flashlight. I also might’ve admired how his broad shoulders V’d down into narrow hips for a moment but we won’t discuss that.
It had only taken him about ten minutes to get to where I was stranded which was good. I wasn’t too familiar with the area but it was dark and a few questionable characters had walked by while I’d waited inside my truck, a few of them giving me leers which had made me uncomfortable. I’d let out a breath of relief when Drake had pulled up behind me in a white tow truck that had Powers Automotive painted in red on the sides.
He’d gotten out, walked to my window, stood there looking at me, eyebrows raised, until I’d rolled down the window.
“Pop the hood and stay inside,” he’d instructed, then moved to the front of my truck to unlatch the hood.
I’d frowned, mumbling, “Jerk,” as I pulled on the lever. But after a couple minutes of sitting in the cab, I’d gotten bored, so at the risk of being yelled at, I joined him. And now I was trying to get him to talk, maybe fix our getting off to a bad start. I mean, although he’d been rude, he had repaired my truck for free and was now working on it again. The least I could do was be nice and let him know I appreciated it.
“I’ve got four brothers,” he answered my question distractedly, as I watched his hands jiggling something on the engine in the light from the flashlight that was sitting off to the side.
Huh. No smartass comment from him. Well, look at us conversing!
That is until he went on. “And you have a brother,” he kept messing with something under the hood. “Got a lot in common. We should get married.”
What an ass.
He now stood and gazed down at me pulling a rag from his back pocket wiping his hands with it. “You ever listen?”
My eyes narrowed. What the heck did that mean?
He nodded slowly as if he had me all figured out. “Told you no charge and you argued. Said to stay in the truck. Look where you are.” He took a second to scrutinize me again before asking, “So do you?”
God. This guy was just…rude! I scowled as I snipped, “I’m twenty-two, not five! You can’t tell me what to do!”
And now I sounded like I was five. Shit.
He snorted. “Uh huh.”
I was sick of this, tired of feeling bad about myself around him. “I’m a nice person!” I suddenly blurted, arms stretched pathetically out in front of me, palms up as if pleading with him to believe me.
“I’m sure you are,” he muttered apathetically, moving past me and walking back to the tow truck.
And look at me, following him. And continuing to talk. Ugh. “I am! We just got off on the wrong foot! If you got to know me, you’d like me!”
“That so?” he asked flippantly, opening the door to the tow truck and getting in. He next started it, put it into gear and pulled out into the traffic lane making me jump out of the way as he drove to the front of my truck and backed up to it.
Huh. It was then that I gave up trying to be friendly with him because, you know, when someone tries to run you over, you’re probably not going to be friends.
I huffed out a breath then stomped to meet him at the front of my truck. “You almost hit me!”
“Told you to stay in your truck for a reason.”
Damn it. He was right.
Resignedly I asked, “So what’s wrong with it?”
As he lowered the wheel lift at the back of the tow truck, he explained in his aloof way, “Distributor cap.”
“That’s what my brother thought,” I remarked softly.
He remained quiet as did I while he hooked up my truck. When he finished, I was already moving to the passenger side of the tow when he ordered, “Get in,” which just made me roll my eyes but whatever.
Needless to say, we didn’t speak on the drive back to the garage. When we arrived, I got out watching as he opened one of the garage doors, backed Betsy in, detached her from the tow then parked the big truck at the side of the building. While he did this, I called Krystal who said she’d come get me.
Drake walked over and unlocked the service area door. “Should be ready tomorrow evening. Got a ride coming?” At my nod, he continued. “You can wait in here.”
I walked in ahead of him then turned to see him push a few buttons on the alarm panel disarming it I assumed. Then he went out into the garage leaving me to wait alone.
~*~*~*~*~
The next morning, Krystal picked me up for class.
“I owe you so big. Fucking hell,” I muttered before taking a drink of the coffee she’d brought for me.
“Someone’s in a good mood,” she said as we drove across town to campus.
“Yeah, well, if Betsy would stop breaking down, I might be in a better mood.”
“What was wrong with her?”
“Some kinda cap.”
She snorted. “Look at me, acting like I care about engines.”
This made me chuckle. “I wondered about that when you asked.”
“But I do hope this fixes it,” she offered. “Not that I mind picking you up,” she added. “I just know you hate having to depend on someone.”
“I hope it does too. Then I can stop bugging you all the time.”
“You’re not bugging me, On. We’ve been besties for a decade. I couldn’t make it without you.”
“Same,” I answered, taking a drink. “But you should see the mechanic, Krys. He’s freaking hot,” I shared. “But he’s—”
“You should ask him out!” she interrupted.
“—a huge jerk,” I finished.
She sighed. “Why’re all the hot ones jerks?”
“Because they can be. I mean, look at Vic.” I stopped myself and mumbled, “Damn it. I did it again. Sorry.”
“You know what? Don’t be,” she said. “I thought about it last night. We’ve avoided this for two years now. He’s your brother. You’re bound to talk abou
t him. And I need to suck it up.”
“You sure? It is kinda hard not mentioning him every now and then.”
“Yep. I’m sure. Don’t worry about it, honey.”
When we got to the campus, I told her I’d call Vic to come get me, but she said she had to talk to a couple professors and would be around, so she’d take me to work. I tried giving her gas money but she’d given me a look, so I’d put my wallet away.
“I’ll pay you back someday,” I said getting out of her car.
“You will when we’re old ladies living together and you have to wipe my butt,” she claimed with a giggle, getting out of the car and closing her door.
“Gross. Thanks for the nice sendoff.”
“Anytime!”
~*~*~*~*~
“So, kinesiology was fun today,” I told Krystal as she drove me to Colonial Manor after class.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Professor Banks took us to the gymnastics training center where he proceeded to hang from the horizontal bar. You ready for this?”
“What’d he do?”
I shuddered remembering it. “He dislocated both of his friggin’ shoulders!”
“What? Ew!”
“I know! Pop! Pop! and then he just hung there!” I shivered again. Ick!
“And his point?”
“We’re talking about ball and socket joints right now. Apparently, he’s dislocated both of his shoulders in accidents before, so now he can just slip those suckers out.”
“That’s disgusting,” she commented.
“Tell me. You didn’t have to watch it. Or not be able to look away when he had his teaching assistant put them back in.”
“How in the world did he do that?”
“He helped Banks lie on the floor on his stomach then the guy stood over him and pulled each shoulder back until they went back in. Ugh. Worst demo ever.”
“That’s pretty bad.”
“Felt like I was watching some bad medieval torture film,” I commented.
“Or Game of Thrones in 3D, all up-close and personal.”
We looked at each other and at the same time cried, “Theon!” as we pulled up to the nursing home.
“Now I’m all sad about Theon. Thanks for that nice sendoff,” she mumbled, repeating my earlier quip.
As I got out, I turned and retorted, “Paybacks!” and laughed when she made a face as I closed the car door.
~*~*~*~*~
Mrs. Johnson had been in a mood and wouldn’t talk to me, only muttering something about Robert not being worthy and that lipstick would help. Pretty sure she meant me, er, Holly. Whatever.
I’d left her room and gone into Mr. Avery’s where he was busy playing a game of chess with himself.
“Now that looks like a win-win,” I said with a chuckle.
He looked up and smiled. “No, you see, that side is Hector, my son-in-law. He beats me every time I go visit. I’m trying to figure out how to counter his moves.” He held his phone up to me which had a website displayed. “Found out he’s using the Ruy Lopez opening.” He looked down at the board. “Now all I’ve got to do is find what works. The Berlin Defense is what I usually do, but I blow it.” He scratched his head. “Maybe if I tried the Schliemann or Classical…”
I studied the board for a moment. “Maybe BxC6?”
He stared at the pieces. “You know, that just might work.” He moved the pawn to take the knight and smiled. “Ol’ Hector’s in for a surprise next time I play him. Thanks, smart girl.”
I chuckled. “Any time, Oswald. Here’re your vitamins.”
We both knew they weren’t vitamins, but he’d confided once that he hated taking pills. So to make him feel better, I’d just started calling them that and the problem had gone away.
“Ahh, brain power,” he said after swallowing them down. Then looking up at me he asked, “You found him yet?”
I chuckled. “Not yet.”
“He’s out there.” He looked back at the board, making the move I suggested. “And he’ll sweep you off your feet soon.” He looked up and winked.
“I’ll keep waiting then,” I replied with a smile. “See you later! Good luck figuring the rest out!” I called as I left his room, seeing that he was already back to analyzing the board.
When I finished my rounds, I checked my phone seeing that Vic had texted saying he’d pick me up then drop me off at Powers. I was grabbing my coat from the back room when Alex, another CNA, came up to the desk.
“If I have to change one more diaper…” he mumbled. Alex was short and muscular, his flawless skin the color of coffee. He wore his hair in a faux-hawk with a fade and had a trim beard, both always groomed impeccably. I snorted and he gave me a look. “Don’t even start in on telling me to get my meds certification. I’m hoping I’ll get accepted this time and can say adios to this place.”
He and I had started working at Colonial Manor at the same time and he’d been rejected twice now for nursing school; however, he’d reapplied a couple weeks ago.
“You’ll do it!” I assured. “You’re too good not to go. I’m sending you good vibes you’ll get in this time.” I fluttered my fingers at him as I backed down the hallway for the door where I’d heard Vic’s motorcycle roaring up.
“That better work, or I’m holding you personally responsible!” he hollered after me making me laugh.
“Hey!” I said to my brother, grabbing the helmet he held out to me and putting it on.
“Hey yourself,” he replied.
“Hopefully, this is the last time you have to take me to Powers,” I muttered as I climbed on the back of his bike. “But I’m making chicken tetrazzini, your favorite, tonight so you’ll have something to eat when you get home.”
“Sounds good. But not at four in the morning. I’ll eat it tomorrow before I go in,” he replied.
“I’ll save you a plate!” I answered above the rumbling as we took off.
Chapter 4
An older version of Drake was behind the desk in the service area at Powers Automotive when I went inside after Vic dropped me off, and I figured he had to be Drake’s dad. Dang. These Powers men were handsome!
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“Yes, my truck’s outside, so I think it’s ready?”
He glanced down to the desktop then picked up a piece of paper reading the top of it. “Justice?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He went back to reading then glanced up at me. “No charge for the distributor cap today, but I went ahead and ordered a new idler pulley and serpentine belt. You wanna get those fixed. We’re also gonna check out your fuel pump just to make sure it’s working right.”
I nodded. Yay. More repairs.
“Parts should be in next week, probably by Wednesday, so if you wanna bring her back in that morning that’d be good. It’ll take a couple days so you can pick ‘er up on Friday evening. We’ll give you a call to let you know if the parts get here sooner.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you. Do you have any idea how much it’ll cost?”
He clicked some keys on the computer. “Looking at around three hundred.”
I had a little over three thousand in my savings account that I added to monthly, so it wasn’t that I didn’t have enough money. I just hated dipping into it since I was saving to get a new car! Oh, the irony. Also, having to come back and possibly seeing Drake again was less than appealing, but since Betsy needed to be fixed, I would.
“All right. And that should be all the work she needs for now?” I asked.
“Brake pads are looking worn and we need to check the rotors,” he replied with a raised eyebrow.
“Are those important?” I questioned dumbly.
“Yes, I’d say they’re pretty important, hon. If you bring it in tomorrow morning, you can pick it up Friday night.”
“Um, how much will that cost?”
“If it’s just the pads and on both axles, we’re looking at around a hundred bucks. If it’s just the f
ront axle, it’s half that.”
“Okay.” I could handle that and if it kept me from having to come back here again, it’d be well worth it. Well, after that other stuff was done next week. Jeez. “And you’re sure there’s no charge for today?” I inquired.
Just then the garage door opened and I heard a woman giggling. Turning, I saw a smiling Drake—smiling!—come walking in behind a cute little brunette…as he checked out her ass in her tight jeans.
“Dad, Dina’s out of blinker fluid again,” Drake said with a snort.
“Matt, if you’d just sell me a bottle and show me how to put it in, I wouldn’t have to keep coming by to see you hot Powers men all the time! This is the third time this month,” the Dina chick said with another giggle to the man behind the counter who I’d now learned was Matt, and had guessed right that he was Drake’s dad. Dina appeared to be in her late thirties and she was very cute. And apparently, a mechanic groupie.
I saw Matt’s eyebrows come up as he looked at his son. “Blinker fluid?” he questioned.
Drake laughed which made me smile to see he had a playful side to him other than the assholish one he’d displayed toward me. But my smile disappeared quickly when his eyes suddenly landed on mine and I watched as his face went hard.
What was his problem with me? God.
I turned back to Matt. “So no charge for today?” I repeated.
His eyes dropped to the paper on the desk. “That’s right. Bring it in in the morning and we’ll get you fixed up.” He pulled my keys from a hook on the wall behind him and handed them to me.
“Thanks.” I turned to leave but Drake blocked my way. “Excuse me,” I said, trying to maneuver around him.
“You’re coming in tomorrow morning?” he asked making me look up at him.
“Yes,” I answered flatly making another move to leave.
“Why don’t you just leave it. Get a ride home. It’d be the smart thing to do,” he pointed out in a surly tone.
I wanted to say, “Ya think?” then explain that I was tired of having other people give me rides. But I held it in and only muttered, “Yep,” making sure to pop that fucking P, just before I walked out.
~*~*~*~*~
At home while I made the chicken tetrazzini, my phone rang.
Drake (The Powers That Be, Book 5) Page 3
