by London Casey
It left me breathless as he walked toward the table.
He put a foot up on the one bench and grinned at me.
A man I had no business being attracted to, let alone do what I was about to do.
“Gavin,” I said.
“You look fucking gorgeous, Olivia,” he said. “Or should I call you Princess?”
I froze. I swallowed hard. “What?”
“Nikki recognized you. Showed me a picture after you left. What’s the deal there?”
“You want some pizza?”
“No.”
“Right. I just wanted to be someone else for once, Gavin.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Exactly what I said. I sometimes get tired of it all, okay? Being something like that. And sometimes for every good thing there’s a bad thing.”
“Like that little girl that died?”
“Yeah.” And plenty other stuff, Gavin. “It’s not what it seems.”
“Seems like you’re stinking rich. Which makes me wonder why the hell you’re in my town, in my house, in my arms…”
“All of that was real,” I said and grabbed for him. I stood up and moved around the picnic table. “I swear.”
“Was real?”
“Is real. Whatever, Gavin. Listen to me, I have to tell you something. You cannot get mad.”
“Most conversations that start out like that are the ones that get me mad.”
“Ever hear of a company named Sterling? The Sterling Empire?”
“No, sorry, I don’t get fancy newspapers delivered to my door dipped in gold.”
I rolled my eyes. “Jesus, Gavin. I’m not being rude to you. I’m asking a question.”
“Fine. I don’t know who Sterling is.”
“The company,” I said. “But the man behind it all is my father. And I’m… I’m The Princess. My mother died when I was young and this is all I know.”
“So you’re not a business consultant?”
“Not exactly. I do work for my father’s company. I’m not just some rich snobby girl. I work, Gavin. Not like you do, but I do work.”
“Okay. So why the halfway meeting here? Huh? Am I on camera or something? You meeting with some scummy looking guy to build your image?”
“No,” I said. “I would never think of you as that. I’m just trying to tell you what I can.”
“What you can. What does that mean?”
“You’ve been hiding yourself from me too, Gavin. Whatever the situation is with Nikki and Ava.”
“Whoa, whoa, darling,” he said.
When he said darling my heart fluttered.
“You don’t get to bring my family into this,” he said. “You spent all of two days in my town and you think you belong in the shit? I appreciate what you did for Nikki. Helping out. But don’t get confused here…”
“You won’t even tell me anything about your brother?”
Gavin stepped back. He ran a hand through his hair. “What is this? Are you setting me the fuck up? Are you some reporter? Trying to get the story here?”
“What story? I’m not a reporter. I… I don’t know, Gavin, I like you. I like being near you. I know it’s crazy to say that.”
“You know what, fine,” he said. “Nikki got pregnant by my brother, okay? She gave birth to Ava. Ava never met her father though. Okay? Let those numbers roll through your head for a second there. My brother fell in love with Nikki when we were all seven years old. And he waited for her. And he got her. And just when everything looked damn near perfect… he died. Okay? There it is, Olivia. My fucking brother is dead. He never met his daughter. And Nikki still isn’t over it.”
I swallowed hard. “Oh, Gavin.”
“No. It’s not Oh, Gavin. No. It’s life. It’s the way shit goes. Sometimes you’re rich and sometimes you’re not.” He paused. He looked away. “Anything else here?”
“Yes,” I said. My mouth went dry. “My father… he has a plan for your town, Gavin. I swear on everything I didn’t know what was happening until after I was there and gone.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My father wants to buy your garage. The land. A lot more. He wants to rebuild the town his way. Which is usually to profit him and nobody else. But I don’t want that for you. For anyone…”
Gavin grinned and looked away again. He shook his head. “Fuck me. So that’s what this is. You show up at the bar with your friend. The two of you working any angle you can to get attention. And I gave you attention.”
“I just told you I didn’t know…”
“Whatever,” Gavin said. “I’ve got nothing else to say here, Olivia. You got what you wanted from me I guess.”
“No, I didn’t.” I ran after him and grabbed his hand. I put my hand into his. His rough hand. His strong hand. “Gavin, I promise…”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to hear another word. Have your helicopter fly you somewhere else, Olivia. Do not come near me again. My town. The bar. My garage. My house. And if your father wants to destroy everything, then bring it the fuck on.”
“I want to help you, Gavin. I can help you. We can help each other here…”
He pulled away from me. “Serves me fucking right. I let my guard down for one minute, Olivia. One fucking minute.” He slapped his hand to the hood of his truck. “And this is what happens.”
“I’m telling you the truth, Gavin,” I said. I felt my heart twisting. “I swear…”
Gavin got into the truck and backed up. He then flew forward and the back of his truck cut left to right, throwing rocks as he sped away.
I took two steps and breathed in the dust that lingered in the air.
I really hadn’t known what to expect by telling him the truth. A part of me wished he would have understood what I was trying to do. But I couldn’t blame him for being mad.
I sat on the bench of the picnic table and covered my mouth.
My heart ached.
I didn’t ask for this bullshit in life. Neither did Gavin. That’s why we clicked.
“Ma’am?” a voice asked.
I turned my head and the driver of the car stood a little way away.
He nodded to me.
I touched the corner of my eye and nodded back. “I’m okay.”
“Just making sure,” he said. “What’s next?”
“Right now I need you to go back into the car.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I sat there, alone, and thought for a little bit.
Gavin could be mad at me and he probably had the right to be that.
Maybe I had fucked up. Maybe I hadn’t fucked up.
I didn’t know.
In so many ways this was new for me.
Finally, I stood up.
Left to right, there were two choices. Go back or go forward.
Then an idea came to me. I smiled.
I ran toward the car and the driver hurried to get out.
I put my hand out.
“Ma’am?”
“Do you have a phone on you?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Good.” I walked around him and grabbed at the open driver’s door. “You’re going to need to call for a ride.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry,” I said.
Then I got into the car and shut the door. I hurried to put the private car into drive and sped away, kicking up rocks.
I looked in the mirror and saw the shock on the driver’s face.
I gave a wave that he wouldn’t be able to see through the dark tinted back window.
But face it, I wasn’t waving at the driver.
I was waving at the life I knew… risking everything for a man I barely knew.
Eleven
A Little Bit of Mud
(Gavin)
I stopped by the garage and knew it was a mistake to do so. Donny and Rich were each working on a car. There were a few vehicles waiting. Hank was on his knees with a pickup truck jacked up on o
ne side, the tire off, looking like he was checking the brakes. There was a second where I surveyed everything. The building was on its last leg. It needed a new roof a year ago. The white paint was chipped everywhere. Shit, anyone who drove by the place that wasn’t from town would think it was a shutdown building. More than a handful of vehicles lingered around, skeletons of the vehicles they used to be.
It was like we were a garage and junkyard all at the same time.
The pavement cracked and uneven, no lines for any organized parking.
Even the office door… it was faded, dirty around the edges, the doorknob wiggly and black from years of being stained by grease.
I couldn’t believe I stood there and picked apart everything wrong with the garage. And at the same time, I wondered just what in the hell anyone would want by offering me money for the place. It made me think of Harper and what he said to me. The son of a bitch wasn’t lying. But someone wanting to come through town and build? How would that play out? And what kind of money would I get for the garage?
I gritted my teeth when I saw Rich walk over to Donny and punch him in the arm. Donny nodded. Rich thumbed toward the outside of the garage. The two then took a smoke break, standing there, talking and laughing.
That was the essence of the town. Working hard, having a smoke break, getting back to work. Money wasn’t going to change it. Money would ruin it. Money would…
“Boy, I’d love to know what’s going through your mind right now.”
I turned my head and Hank stood there, holding a set of brake pads in his hand.
“I didn’t even hear you walking toward me,” I said.
“Shows how deep in thought you are.”
“Everything okay?”
“Brakes are shot,” Hank said. “Rotors too. He’s going to be pissed.”
“Want me to call?”
“No,” Hank said. “Me and Bart go way back. Shit, we dug by hand the ground to help get the foundation ready for some of the houses back behind Grove Street.”
“You actually worked at some point in your life?” I asked.
“Yeah. Funny, Gavin. Funny.”
“Hey, Hank. Gus.”
“Gus?”
“He just settled up in here, huh? And just waited to die. Is that what it’s all about?”
“Nah,” Hank said. “Gus found his spot and just kept it warm. The town needed him. The town needs this place. We all need each other, Gavin.”
“That we do,” I said. “That we do.” I looked over at the brake pads in Hank’s hand. “Whoever you’re calling… just make it right.”
“Always do.”
I walked forward and skipped Donny and Rich.
I went into the office.
There was a smell that itched my nose. The smell of the garage could never be covered up, no matter how many air fresheners we hung up in the one corner of the office.
Behind my desk I looked at the bills. I opened the drawer and checked the deposit bag. I slammed the drawer shut and punched the stack of mail on the desk.
I opened the door to the garage and whistled.
Donny and Rich appeared.
“Close it up,” I announced. “Finish those two cars and lock the doors. Take an early night.”
I shut the door and walked out of the office.
I got into my truck and drove away from the garage. My garage. My business. The thing that supported me and broke me down at the same time. I had to get away from it.
And I didn’t want to go home either.
Home made me think of her. Of Olivia. A stark reminder that I let my guard down just a little. When she showed up at the bar things should have been very clear. And when she threw up outside my truck, I should have grabbed her phone and called for her fucking friend. But I left a sliver of opportunity there and she took it. Of course she took it. She was trained to do that. The world of business in the big city taught her how to work her way into my life.
But what didn’t make sense… why my house? Why stand there and want to learn how to split firewood? Why curl up in my arms in front of the fire? And why the fuck did she want to know about Luke?
I was angry by the time I punched open the door to the bar. Finn was behind the counter, a wrench in his hand. He looked at me and looked at the clock on the wall.
“Little early?”
“Make it cold,” I said.
Dinky had the mug of beer on the bar before I took my seat.
Finn came walking down, dirty flannel sleeves rolled up his thick arms. His beard was unkempt while his hair was slicked back with grease. He looked like he was auditioning for a car movie in the sixties and never got the part and never changed his look.
“On me,” Finn said, nodding to the mug of beer.
“I already knew that,” I said.
Finn smiled. “Rough day?”
“No. Not at all.”
I grabbed the mug and took a drink.
“Had to check two of the lines,” Finn said. “Might have to call Charlie in to do some work.”
“That’ll be great,” I said.
“Enjoy your beer,” Finn said. “I’m about to head out.”
“Busy night ahead?”
“Always,” Finn said.
He laughed. I laughed.
Finn took care of the bar during the day until Dinky would wander down and take over. Then Finn would go home, heat up a TV dinner in the microwave, sip whiskey, and pass out. He lived in the house his father left him. In some fucked up way, I don’t think Finn ever got over the death of his parents or accepted his fate of owning the bar in town.
But that was his life.
I focused on my life as I downed the first beer.
The bar started to get a little noisier, which I welcomed.
Rich and Donny showed up. The rest of the regulars popped in after work. Everyone wanting to share their war stories for the day.
I checked in with Nikki to make sure she was sober and that Ava was taken care of. Thankfully on that front, it was good. I didn’t tell her about Olivia or that I told Olivia about Luke. Then again, I hadn’t really told Olivia the entire story of Luke.
Looking across the bar, I shook my head. We used to all sit on that side of the bar. That’s when we were young and free. When being wild was normal. With our hearts roaming, sometimes confused, forever falling in love again and again. But for Luke, he knew what he wanted. Even if Nikki always didn’t.
I rubbed my jaw, wanting to chase all that shit away.
Dinky poured me another beer and asked, “Where’s your friend tonight?”
“Not a friend. Just a thing. That’s done.”
“Done, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Gavin.”
“Why?”
“I was just out back for a little air and I saw her getting out of a car.”
I stood and turned. Dinky grabbed my arm.
“Hey, what’s wrong? What happened?”
“None of your damn business,” I said.
“Look, Gavin, a woman like that doesn’t come around here often.”
“Exactly the problem,” I said.
“She looks at you a certain way.”
“Fuck off, Dinky,” I said. “We were here for an hour and that was the first time we met.”
“Still. It’s always about the eyes, Gavin. Just like the way Stacey used to look at your brother.”
I made a fist and showed it to Dinky. “You want to go down that road right now?”
“I’m serious. She would look at him in a way that he looked at Nikki. And you, Gavin, you were always in the middle of that storm. And I’m not just talking about the way that woman from the city looks at you. You looking at her…”
I pulled away from the bar.
That’s when the door opened and in came Olivia.
Just like the first time, our eyes locked tight.
The rest of the bar seemed to just fade out to a murmur.
/> Olivia walked toward me so I did the logical thing.
I grabbed my beer mug off the bar and walked out of the back of the bar.
The parking lot was dimly lit as I walked toward my truck. I opened the back of my truck and turned, jumping up to the bed.
Olivia was right there though, dead set on following me.
“Gavin,” she said.
I slid off the truck and reached into my pocket. I took out all the money I had and threw it at her.
“That’s all I’ve got for now,” I said. “Wait, you’re supposed to pay me though, right?”
Olivia grabbed for her phone, hit a few buttons and then placed it to the bed of the truck. On the screen was a picture of a little girl. Bright eyes. Bright face. Smiling big. Holding an ice cream cone that was way too big for her to eat. Each scoop of ice cream a different flavor.
I looked at Olivia.
“Now swipe,” she said.
I did.
The next picture was the same girl but a different look.
I quickly put the phone down.
“Guilt?”
“Honesty,” Olivia said.
“That’s the girl.”
“Abigail,” she said.
“What does that have to do with any of this?”
“I didn’t lie to you, Gavin. The first night I came here was just to come here. The girl I was with, Whitney. She’s a total bitch. She wanted to come here and hook up with someone.”
“And you?”
“I just wanted to get away for a night. Because of what happened to Abigail. I had nowhere to turn for… whatever. It doesn’t matter about me. That first night I wasn’t here for anything but what happened.”
“The second time?” I asked.
Why was I giving her the time of day now?
The question lingered in my mind. I refused to believe that I was talking to Olivia just because she was beautiful. Or because as much as I wanted to call her a fucking liar she had a genuine sense about her.
