Unforgettable Christmas - Gifts of Love (The Unforgettables Book 3)

by Mimi Barbour

  “Well, good morning. Um, yes,” he said, rubbing a hand across his stubble-whiskered chin. What could he say or possibly order from her so she’d have to come back? “I’d like about twenty to thirty 3/8-inch fine thread hard bolts, nuts, lock washers, and flats, please.”

  “So, do you want twenty or thirty? And don’t you have those in your bolt bins? I mean, I’m sure your boss would rather you use those than spend money with me.”

  Jay chuckled and shook his head. “I really don’t care what he wants. He’s going to charge his customer double what you charge us for parts anyhow. He can use his reclaimed hardware on something he rebuilds. I want to use all new parts if that’s what he’s charging the customer for. He may be the one doing the billing, but I’m the mechanic who signs off on it. I haven’t done much in this town, so don’t have a reputation. Yet. When word gets around that I get it done right the first time, I won’t have to be begging for jobs or working for a guy like Lumpy. Oh, and go ahead and get me thirty sets. I don’t want you running back and forth to get a few at a time from the hardware store. I’m sure I’ll be needing more of them somewhere else later.”

  “Okay. Are you up to snuff with anti-seize, shop rags, floor dry, hand cleaner?” Kay asked and bent over her notepad, ready to add to her meager list.

  “Now that you mention it, all of the above. Lumpy just got paid for cleaning up some old guy’s yard. I guess there was enough scrap copper there for salvage that he’ll be able to make this month’s rent, fill his truck with fuel, and still have some set aside for parts.” Jay shook his head. “And, most likely, another bender. When will he ever learn?”

  Kay shrugged her shoulder as she finished penciling in the remainder of her shopping list. She should be able to get the goods in two stops, not three. Cool! The stores were next door to each other, too, so not much gas needed. “As my daddy used to say to the guys who worked for him, ‘Integrity is like virginity; once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.”

  Jay laughed so hard, he nearly spat out his coffee. “Sorry about that,” he said and wiped the dribble from his chin. “We have another Cat coming in tomorrow as soon as the sun comes up, probably about 10 or so. I’ll have a big parts order for you shortly thereafter. I have a preliminary list going, but won’t know the extent of the damages to the final drive until after I pull the covers. Until then,” he lifted his thermal coffee mug in salute and said dryly, “Have a nice day…” He grabbed the door handle to let her out, then added a charismatic grin that made Kay suppress an automatic giggle in reply. “I mean it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Um, uh,” Kay stuttered, undone by his sly smile… “Didn’t you want the hardware and other goodies before that?”

  “Oh, yeah. Go ahead and bring them over when you get a chance. I’ll be here.”

  Still undone by his flirtatious and suggestive manner, Kay didn’t even try to speak. Instead she kept her head down as she headed to her car and issued a generic ‘farewell, I’ll get the heck out of here, I’m sure you’re busy’ wave.

  As soon as she got in her car, Kay let out a huge sigh of released tension. Yes, Jay was cute. Yes, he didn’t speak much, and she didn’t know much about him other than he had been in trouble with the law at some point, that he had met Lumpy while they were both in jail, and that he was much younger than she was…and that he was apparently flirting with her now.

  Or was she flirting with him?

  Nah, she couldn’t afford the emotional energy to flirt, and even if she could, she wouldn’t allow herself the luxury. She had a business to get established and romantic entanglements, even brief ones, were not on the agenda. Not many women had the gumption to start a business at 40 years old, much less take on the construction industry in the logistical nightmare of Alaska. What had she been thinking? And why here?

  Well, that was the easiest question she’d asked herself all day. She started it in Alaska because that’s where she was when the romance that brought her north fizzled out and she had to either compromise her virtue, starve, or go home to Missouri and live with Mama.

  The application for the business license was simple enough and there weren’t any sales taxes to bother with. Buy parts on credit cards, sell them at a mark up, get paid by the customer right away, take enough money for food, rent, and gas, then pay what was left over to the credit card companies. Simple enough, right?

  However, she hadn’t counted on the bias. ‘Alaska: Where men were men and women won the Iditarod,’ didn’t apply to the prejudice she had encountered in the last year as she tried to get established as a reliable vendor. Too many of the wholesalers she encountered had wanted more than her business. “Let’s talk about it over dinner or drinks,” usually meant “let’s go out drinking and if you’ll put out, I’ll give you Net 30 credit.” She was glad she hadn’t fallen for that one even once, although she did have to slap a few hands first. You’d think that these men, some of them married, had never seen a woman before and thought they should be allowed to touch her just because she was female!

  Shoot, she knew more about tractors and heavy equipment than most men her age. Her father had taught her well. Growing up on construction sites was the best education she could have earned. If she had been a male instead of a female, no one would have thought twice about trusting her as a parts supplier. “Yes,” she said softly to herself as she started her little Chevy Sonic, “Alaska: the odds are good, but the goods are odd. I sure hope it was a woman who put that on tee shirts and she made enough money from it that she didn’t need to depend on a man.”

  Kay pulled out of the parking lot. “Quit thinking about men, Kay. Get downtown, pick up those supplies for Jay, make sure you get paid by Lumpy before he drinks up what money he has left, then get back to calling on more contractors. There has to be a way to make money in this state without a college degree or driving a truck.” She sped up to get on the highway. “Or without being on your back or knees.”

  Chapter 2

  The cat crouched in the ruts created by big trucks driving through the deep snow, waiting for its chance to pounce on the magpie. A car turned into the parking lot and scared the bird away. The cat followed the tuxedoed bird, leaping over snow berms and broken branches in a desperate attempt to catch dinner.

  Kay tried opening the door to the shop, but the knob didn’t turn. It was locked. She knocked on the metal door, then realized that her gloves muffled the noise. “Dang, it’s cold today.” She pulled one glove off to rap on the cold steel door with her bare knuckles.

  Still no reply. The whir of the impact gun starting and stopping meant that someone was in there. She put her glove back on and pounded on the door with the side of her fist.

  Still no answer, but now the noises also included the loud clanging of metal on concrete.

  Kay dropped her bundles to the side of the door, went back to her little red car, and grabbed her snow removal tool. No use bruising her hands. Smack, smack, smack!

  Clink, clank, clunk. The unmistakable sound of a wrench hitting the floor, then other bits and pieces of metal dropping preceded the shuffle of boots and a quick tug on the door. “What are you doing out here. It’s freezing and…” Jay reached around and twisted the door knob from the outside. “Oops. I forgot to unlock it. Here, let me carry this stuff in. Did you get everything?”

  Kay hurried past Jay as he bent over to load up the shop supplies she had dropped. “I have the hardware, you got the rest there. Now, all I have to do is find Lumpy to give him his invoice. You know, he makes such a big deal about getting paid right away, but when it comes time to pay his own bills, he has more excuses than a polar bear has hair follicles.”

  “That’s Lumpy, all right.”

  Kay handed him the hardware. “Why do they call him Lumpy, anyway? He’s not fat.”

  Jay took the box and picked through the pieces, putting a lock and flat washer on a bolt, then adding the nut, busying himself to keep her around longer. “His real name is Larry, but he�
��s always telling anyone who’ll listen that he’s had more than his fair share of lumps in life, so folks started calling him Lumpy.”

  Kay wasn’t in any hurry to go back into the cold, so she stood under the unit heater and made small talk. “By the way, I saw that cat or lynx or whatever it is run across the parking lot towards the back yard again. I think I’ll put some food out for it and see what happens.”

  “I already did last week,” Jay said, continuing to assemble all the bolts, washers, and nuts in the box.

  “Did it eat the food?”

  “Either it did or the ravens did. I didn’t see any droppings, though. Naw, I think the cat got to it first.”

  “So, it’s a cat, not a lynx?” Kay asked, pulling off her gloves so her fingers could thaw out in the blast of heated forced air.

  “I don’t know. Can’t get close enough to tell, but even if it is a lynx, it’s still a cat.”

  “I think I’ll call it Yardley.”

  “Why?”

  “Because either she or he lives in the yard. But I think it’s a she because she’s been flirting with you for the last week.”

  “She’s not flirting with me; she’s cozying up to the food. I could be an automatic-feeder and she’d love me just as much, but you’re right. A tom cat would chase his food down rather than accept a handout. Females want to have their dinner brought right to them.”

  “Bullshit!”

  “What? I didn’t think you cussed.”

  “Only when riled. You think that I don’t chase down every dollar I make? Do you see any man around me paying my bills? Do you? Do you? Ergh! I work hard for what I earn. It doesn’t make a difference whether I’m a man or a woman, either. And just for the record, I didn’t ask to be born female. I am what I am and gender has nothing to do with the fact that I’d rather be self-employed than laze around all winter, collecting unemployment or welfare, or living off of someone else, or starving!”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you mad…”

  “Well, you did! And I know plenty of lazy men who even though they ‘have a job,’ are worthless and don’t work a lick. They may have a time card to fill out, but that doesn’t mean they earn that paycheck. I can name three men right off the top of my head who are letting their girlfriends or wives support them over the winter while they wait for hunting or fishing season to open.”

  “Okay, okay. I get it,” Jay said, his hands up in surrender. It’s the person, not the gender. I guess I’ve just been around the wrong type of woman most of my life.”

  “Well, look around. I’m not that type.”

  Jay inhaled deeply, ready to tell her he had already noticed, then bit the side of his cheek to keep from commenting.

  “Give this to Lumpy for me if and when you see him,” she said with a huff, handing him an invoice. “I gotta go.”

  Jay held the door open for her, “See ya,” he said. Hopefully, soon. And for more than just two minutes.

  Chapter 3

  The next evening

  Kay approached the shop door and turned the knob before pushing this time. It was unlocked. It was past six, but there were still mechanical noises in the shop. Either Jay had decided to dig deeper into that dozer final drive or Lumpy had decided to help his one and only employee. The tall gray-haired man repeatedly told her what a great mechanic he was, but she had never seen him touch a wrench, much less use one.

  “Anyone here?” she asked to let her presence be known.

  “Hey, there! How’s the prettiest little parts gal in the whole state of Alaska doing tonight?” Lumpy asked, wiping the fried chicken bits from his mouth. “No, wait. I’m doing you an injustice. The prettiest little parts gal in the whole USA!”

  Kay looked over at Jay who was walking out from behind the disabled bulldozer, wiping down the combination wrench with one of the new shop cloths she had sold him. He rolled his eyes at her and shook his head in disgust. ‘Such a womanizer,’ he said without uttering a word.

  “Me? I’m doing fine. I baked some banana nut bread and thought I’d share it with you two, being bachelors and all. Besides, I had some bananas that were past prime for my corn flakes and I wanted to heat up the apartment a little more. Oh, and Jay, did you ever finish that parts list? I can get working on it right away. If I place the order online tonight, they can ship out tomorrow. Even if I got the list from you at 8:00 a.m. sharp, I’d miss the shipping cut off for the day. Those four hours of time difference between here and the east coast sure play havoc at times.”

  “I got it over here. Just get me prices on these starred items. If they cost too much, I’ll weld them up and reuse them. If they’re cheap enough, it would cost the owner more in my time than the part.” Jay finished his comment, then looked across the room at Lumpy.

  Kay followed his eyes and saw that Lumpy had taken one of the three mini loaves and was eating it like a donut, wolfing it down, his cheeks crammed full. Lumpy looked back at Jay. “I figured I’d leave one of these for you. Or maybe not. These are great, thanks Kay!”

  “Um, you’re welcome. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to get paid for the invoice I left for you yesterday. I have some bills to pay and some of the stuff I picked up I had to pay for out of pocket. Not everyone gives me Net 30 terms.”

  “You gave me a bill? I never got one. Jay, did this sweet young lady hand you an invoice and you didn’t give it to me?”

  Jay clenched his jaws in frustration. Lumpy was a liar—he and everyone who knew the man was aware of that—but to blame him for something he didn’t do was despicable. He walked over to the work bench and the paper plate loaded with chicken bones and lifted up the can of cola. “It’s right here, under your pop. You said you’d get to it later. Well, it’s later.”

  Kay wasn’t sure what to do, but she knew she needed that money. Ugh, time to grovel for what was hers. “Lumpy, I’d really appreciate it if you could take care of this tonight.”

  Hmph! The disgruntled boss had been caught in a lie, but he was Teflon and wasn’t about to let it stick. “Sorry about that, gal. I just needed to get some change first.” He pulled out a roll of cash and peeled off two one-hundred dollar bills. “I need to pay some bills, too, and I don’t have the change.”

  Jay reached in his pocket, pulled out a thin packet of folded over cash, and took out two five-dollar bills. “There’s your change. I’m sure Kay will pay me back when she gets the chance. She’s one of those folks whose word means something.” Grabbing his Carhartt coat off the peg, Jay looked over at the plate with the two remaining banana nut loaves on it, took one, and said, “Thanks for supper, Kay. Next time, it’s my treat,” then walked out the door.

  “You know he likes you, don’t you? He likes you a lot,” Lumpy said, as he picked bread crumbs off the front of his shirt, sticking them in his mouth.

  “I know he likes me. I mean, he’s not ornery and doesn’t blow smoke in my face like some of the guys I call on, but no. He doesn’t like me a lot. You said he has a girlfriend and besides the fact that I don’t want any romantic entanglements, he’s a lot younger than I am. Shoot, he’s a baby!”

  Lumpy snorted at the remark. “Oh, he’s no baby, but I guess someone my age is better suited for you. I mean, I’m just a few years older, and wiser, and have a few more years of sexual experience…”

  Kay’s stomach turned at his suggestion. “Oh, my,” she said as she looked down at her watch, not even noticing the time. “I better get back to my place and fire up the computer. I have some research to do to find you the best prices. Jay said that the customer wants to get these parts right away, not to worry about the cost, that they need the dozer back at the snow dump right away.”

  “That’s my gal. Don’t worry about the cost. Stick with me, and I’ll have you living the high life in no time!”

  “G’night. I’ll be in touch,” Kay said, and hurried out the door, making sure she averted any more flirtatious quips from the cad.

  It had started snowing while she
was inside. “Welcome to Alaska,” Kay said softly as she brushed the snow off her windshield. “I should have known it was going to snow when I saw the temperature rising.”

  It wasn’t the first time Lumpy had made a half-hearted pass at her, but she hoped it would be the last. She hated that she needed him as a customer, but the bigger companies just weren’t ready to invest in a small—rather, a micro—company, no matter how able and well-performing it was. Word of mouth was just starting, but it was winter. The only companies that used heavy equipment at this time or year were dealing with snow removal. Tractors were her business, and no matter how tough things got, she did not want to sell truck parts! That was a whole different arena, and one she wasn’t comfortable in.

  “Stick with me, and I’ll have you living the high life in no time,” she mimicked in Lumpy’s Southern accent. “Yeah, if ‘the high life’ means living in a mezzanine above your heavy equipment shop, taking baths in the shop sink, eating whatever you can nuke in a microwave or scarfing down fast food.” Kay shuddered in disgust, then cranked the defroster fan up to full power. “Take me home, little red Sonic.”

  It was ten o’clock by the time Kay had finished sourcing the parts for tractor Jay was working on. She caught herself sighing at the thought. It wasn’t Jay’s tractor, but he was responsible for it. They hadn’t talked much, but she got the idea that Lumpy was just a beginning step for Jay making his way in the world. The rugged young mechanic had given Lumpy ten dollars so the old fart didn’t have an excuse for not paying her. True, it could have been that Lumpy’s two one-hundred dollar bills were wrapped around a wad of singles, but she was pretty sure Jay didn’t have much more than the ten bucks he had shelled out. She’d be at the bank at 10:00 AM sharp, deposit most of the money, and make sure she repaid him right away.