Skid Row Kings Complete Series

by Winter Travers

  “Oh, crap. I left his car seat in your truck.” Dammit. I hadn’t even realized it since I didn’t need it this past week.

  “You did, but I remembered to bring it along.” Mitch grabbed the keys from my hand and popped the trunk. He pulled the seat out and quickly strapped it in. “You’re all good to go.”

  “OK. Come on, Levi. Mama needs to get to work.”

  “No, I want to stay with Mitch. I don’t want to go to work. It smells like dirty feet and Cheetos where I have to stay. Can’t Mitch watch me while you work?”

  “No, he has his own job, Levi.”

  “I can watch him,” Mitch said at the same time.

  “Yes!” Levi shouted as he jumped out of the car.

  “Hold on one second.” I clamped my hand down on his shoulder, holding him still. “Mitch has done enough for us. He doesn’t need to become your babysitter now.”

  “It’s really not a big deal. Levi can hang out with me at the shop. He can meet Luke, Kurt, and Leelee. Violet and Frankie will be there later too.”

  “Who’s Violet and Frankie?” Levi and I asked at the same time.

  “Well, that was a little strange,” Mitch laughed. “Violet is Luke’s girlfriend and Frankie is my sister.”

  “You named your sister Frank?” Levi asked.

  “Well, I didn’t, my parents did, and they called her Francesca but she doesn’t really act like a Francesca. She’s more of a Frankie.”

  “How old is she?” Levi put his hands on his hips ready to give Mitch the fifth degree about his sister.

  “Fifteen, I think.”

  “You don’t know how old your sister is? If I had a brother or sister, I would know how old they are, right Mama?” That was one thing Levi was right about. He was a wiz when it came to numbers and remembering random facts. If you tell him one time how old you were, he would remember forever. He amazed me by only being four.

  “You’re right, big man, but you’re coming to work with me. I only have to work for four hours, and then you and I are chilling for the next day.”

  “I really don’t mind watching him. Especially if you only have to work for four hours. He can have lunch and help me work on the ‘Vette.”

  “Mitch, you don’t have to do this,” I whispered.

  “You know what I’m going to say. If I didn’t want to watch him, I wouldn’t have offered.”

  “Mama, pleeeaaassseee!” Levi clasped his hands together and fell to his knees on the grass, begging.

  A huge smile spread across Mitch’s lips, and he knew that I was going to say yes. “Please, Mama?” he said winking at me.

  I couldn’t say no. Partly because I needed to get to work and the other was Mitch winking at me completely threw me for a loop. “Fine. But, as soon as I get off work, I’ll be over to pick him up.”

  “Whenever you get there we’ll be ready. Like I said, we’ll have some lunch, hang with the boys and Leelee and then work on the car.”

  “Fine. I’ll be there a little after three.” I crouched down in front of Levi and put my hands on his shoulders. “Listen to Mitch and try not to get in the way, OK?” Levi nodded his head and threw his arms around me.

  “I’ll be good, Mama. I promise,” he whispered in my ear.

  I stood up and brushed my hands off on my jeans. “I’ll run and get his bag. I’ll make sure everything he needs is in there. He’s not allergic to anything, and as long as it’s edible, he’ll eat it.”

  “Sounds easy enough. I was thinking of ordering pizza.”

  “He’ll love that. I can’t remember the last time we ordered pizza.” Six months ago? A year ago? Money had been tight for too long that I couldn’t remember anymore.

  I sprinted to the door but turned around. “You know you’re going to have to take the seat out of my car and put it in the car hauler, right?”

  Mitch waved his hand and opened the back door of the car. I dashed up the stairs, stabbing the key in the lock and quickly gathered all of Levi’s toys he had scattered around his room and shoved them into his bag. I grabbed the lunch I had packed for him and stuck it in the fridge figuring there was no point in wasting food. He could eat it tomorrow.

  By the time I made it back down to the truck Mitch had the car seat, and Levi strapped in, and the truck was idling. I climbed up and leaned into the backseat to see Levi with a big smile on his face and bouncing in his seat cheering for Mitch to drive.

  “I love you, big man,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He promised he loved me too, but in the next breath shooed me out of the truck. I slammed the passenger door shut after I managed to climb down and walked over to Mitch, who was standing by the driver’s door.

  “See ya around three, Sparky.”

  I rolled my eyes at his ridiculous nickname and stepped back as he opened the door. “Hey,” I said, grabbing his arm before he climbed up. “He’s all I have Mitch.” My words were heavy, but he knew what I meant.

  “Nothing will happen to him, Scarlett.”

  “Promise me. You’re taking my whole life with you for the next four hours.”

  “I promise that no hair on his head will be out of place, and I promise to return him to you with a belly full of pizza.”

  I couldn’t ask for more. I had only known Mitch for a little bit, but I strangely felt at ease leaving him with Mitch. “I’ll call in a little bit to see how he’s doing.”

  “Call all you want, Sparky. I’ll answer.” He winked at me and then climbed into the truck and shut the door. He rolled down the window and leaned out. “Don’t worry, Scarlett.” He shifted the massive truck into drive, pulled away from the curb and managed to turn the truck around all while Mitch had a huge grin on his face and I could hear Levi laughing and shouting. Mitch waved to me when they drove by, and I managed to give a lame wave, then they were gone.

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out the keys to my new car. I had a new car. Holy hell. This was not at all how I had pictured the day going. Levi spending the day with Mitch and I was driving my awesome new car to work.

  I opened the door to the car, tossed my purse into the passenger seat and slid behind the wheel. My hands caressed the steering wheel, and I couldn’t help but squeal as I realized this was my car. As I turned the key, the motor purred to life and didn’t rev out of control like my last car. I was in absolute heaven just sitting here.

  Things were changing. Slowly but surely I was starting to see the end of a long, shitty tunnel I had been traveling down the past five years. It was time to reach the end of that damn tunnel and claim the life that Levi and I both deserved.

  But first, I had to go to work.

  ____________

  Chapter 7

  Mitch

  “It’s about fucking time your ass got back here,” Kurt called as I walked into the front office with Levi following close behind. He had been talking nonstop the whole ride here, but now that we were out of the truck he had clammed up and was sticking to me like glue.

  “Knock the swearing off,” I growled. Levi held onto my leg and peeked to look at Kurt.

  “Holy shit, that’s a kid,” Kurt cursed and jumped up from his stool behind the counter.

  “His name is Levi and the next time you swear I knock your head off.”

  Kurt looked at Levi and me, confused as hell. “You left here to drop off a car and come back with a kid. I have to say you got the short end of the stick on that one.”

  “His mom is the one I dropped the car off to. She had to run to work, and I offered to watch Levi for her.” Levi gripped my leg even tighter, and I knew Kurt was making him feel uncomfortable. “Say hi to Levi and then order pizza for lunch.”

  Kurt nodded his head, finally realizing he was scaring the kid. “What’s up, little dude? I’m Kurt. The younger and more attractive brother.”

  Levi giggled but didn’t let go of my leg. “Order pizza, get your head out of your a- butt, and I’m going to show Levi the shop.”

  Kurt pulled out h
is cell phone as Levi and I walked into the shop and saw Leelee working on Luke’s smashed up car. “Whoa, what happened to that car?”

  Leelee looked up at Levi’s words and leaned back from the car. “Hey.”

  “Levi, this is Leelee. She helps fix all the cars.”

  Leelee walked over to us and kneeled in front of Levi. “Your mama is Scarlett, right, buddy?” Thank God someone listened around here. I had told both Kurt and Leelee about Scarlett and Levi, but it seemed that only Leelee remembered. Levi nodded his head. “You wanna see what I’m doing to the car? I need to get all of the smashed up parts off so Luke knows what new ones he needs to order.”

  “You know how to work on cars? You’re like, a girl.”

  A huge smile spread across Leelee’s lips, and she threw her head back, laughing. “I most definitely am a girl, but I know more about cars than any of these guys.”

  “Really, even Mitch?”

  “Well, maybe not Mitch and Luke, but definitely Kurt.”

  “My mama doesn’t know anything about cars.” I snorted at Levi’s randomness and his outing of his mom.

  “That’s OK. I bet she knows lots of stuff I don’t know. You wanna come see the car?” She stood up, holding her hand out to Levi.

  He looked up at me, unsure. “I’ll be right here, bud.”

  “How about Mitch comes over and looks with us. You and I can take the parts off, and Mitch can make the list for Luke. Deal?”

  “I get to work on a car?” He asked, awed.

  “Sure do. Besides, it’s Luke’s car. He won’t care if you break something,” Leelee winked. Levi grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the car.

  “Don’t forget a pen, Mitch,” Levi called over his shoulder.

  I walked back into the shop while Kurt was on the phone and grabbed a pad of paper and pen. My phone dinged with a text message, and I pulled it out of my pocket.

  Everything OK? I can come pick him up. I shook my head and had to give Scarlett props for waiting half an hour before she texted.

  See, you couldn’t offer to pick him up unless you had a car.

  That’s beside the point, Mitch. Is. He. OK?

  I smiled at Scarlett’s mama bear tendencies. He’s good. He’s tearing apart Luke’s car right now.

  What? Mitch, he’s four!

  And he’s fine. We’ll see you when you get off of work. We’re good.

  I shoved my phone back in my pocket and headed back to Levi and Leelee.

  I fully expected to talk to Scarlett at least five more times before she came to pick up Levi.

  ______________

  Scarlett

  I set my phone back under the counter and ran my fingers through my hair. I hoped I hadn’t made the wrong decision letting Mitch watch Levi.

  It was dead right now. The eleven to three shift normally was slow, so I had even more, time to worry about Levi and what he was up to.

  A glance at the clock told me I had only been at work for half an hour, and it felt like two.

  Lord help me.

  ______________

  Chapter 8

  Mitch

  “When can we go for a ride?” Levi was sitting in the driver’s seat of the ‘Vette and making race car noises.

  “That is something we are going to have to run by your Mom, bud.”

  “She’ll say no. She doesn’t want me to get hurt like she does.”

  I leaned into the window of the car and ruffled Levi’s hair. “She’s just looking out for you.”

  “But I won’t get hurt like she did if I’m in a car. My daddy hurt her, not a car.” Whoa. I was entering territory with Levi that I wasn’t sure I should be in. “She told me she fell down the stairs, but I know she didn’t.”

  “How old did you say you were?” It was hard to believe that Levi was only four by the way he was talking.

  “I’ll be five August 1st. Remember, I get a Transformer party.”

  “Ah, now I remember. I guess I just needed a reminder.”

  “When Mama gets here, I going to ask her if we can go for a ride. This thing is like a Transformer. I just wish it was yellow like Bumblebee.”

  “Then you’ll have to talk to Kurt. He’s got his car in the garage out back. Yellow just like Bumblebee.”

  “No way!” Levi jumped up on the seat, pushing me back from the window and leaned out. “Mama! Kurt has Bumblebee!” I turned around and saw Scarlett and Kurt standing in the doorway. “Kurt! Can I go see Bumblebee?”

  “Sure, come on,” Kurt said.

  “I don’t think-” Scarlett and I stated at the same time.

  “Please, mama. Just for an hour?” Levi pleaded.

  Scarlett shook her head, laughing while Kurt put his hand over his mouth smothering his smirk. “How about five minutes?” She said holding up five fingers.

  “Yes!” He dove into my arms and climbed down my body before I had a good hold of him. Levi took off like a shot out the door with Kurt following close behind.

  “He really likes cars, huh?”

  Scarlett stood in the doorway, her hands in her pockets looking like she was ready to run. “Yeah. I remember when he wasn’t even walking. He was crawling around making racecar noises as he drove his cars all over the house.”

  “You can come in if you want.”

  She looked around the garage acting like I had just asked her to step through the gates of hell. She took two steps forward and slowly made her way over. She stood in front of the car and crossed her arms over her chest. “Is this yours?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Fancy.”

  “Fast.”

  “That too,” she said as she brushed her hair out of her face. “Was Levi OK?”

  “Yeah. It was touch and go that thirty minutes when you didn’t call, but we managed to make it,” I smirked. I wasn’t wrong when I had thought that Scarlett would call five times. She had called five times and texted three.

  “I’m sorry. This was just the first time I’ve left Levi with anyone.”

  “Really?” Levi was four years old, and Scarlett had never left him with a babysitter?

  “Um, yeah. I guess I was what you call a stay at home mom before moving here. Wherever I went, he came.”

  “I guess I can understand the phone calls and texts. Next time you could maybe cut that in half, though.”

  “Next time?”

  “Yeah. I figure if you ever need someone to watch him I can or Frankie always can.”

  “I’ll have to think about it.”

  “What are you volunteering me for now?” Scarlett spun around, and I saw Frankie standing in the doorway with Violet and Luke behind her.

  “Just a little babysitting now and then.”

  “Come on now, Kurt maybe a bit immature, but he doesn’t need a babysitter anymore,” Luke laughed.

  “He at least needs to be potty trained yet,” Leelee joked. She was still working on Luke’s car, checking over all the electrical.

  Scarlett took a step back, bumping into the ‘Vette. She seemed a bit scared, but she had no reason to be. It was only Frankie, Luke, and Violet. “Hey guys, this is Scarlett. I met her a couple of weeks ago when her car broke down in front of the shop.”

  “Hey,” they all said at the same time. Scarlett gave a shy wave but didn’t say anything.

  “I watched Levi for her today, and I was saying if Scarlett ever needed a babysitter, you could.”

  “No, you don’t have to. I don’t need a babysitter,” Scarlett insisted. “You barely know me.” She clasped her hands in front of her, wringing them.

  “I wouldn’t mind. I’ve been thinking about getting a job anyway,” Frankie shrugged.

  Shit. I knew exactly why Scarlett didn’t want Frankie to watch Levi. She couldn’t afford it. Taking Levi to work with her cost nothing. “We’ll let you know, Frank.” Scarlett looked relieved but also a bit pissed as she looked at me.

  “Frank!” Levi came streaking through the front door, barreling straight
into the shop and didn’t stop until he leaped into the air, launching himself into my arms. I managed to catch him and then he twisted around to look at Frankie, Luke and Violet. “Mitch said you were a girl, but I didn’t believe him.”

  Violet and Frankie laughed while Luke busted out laughing, tossing his head back. “Well, I’m very much a girl,” Frankie giggled. She walked over to Levi and held her hand out to him. “I’m technically Francesca, but only my mama called me that.”

  “My mama,” Levi said, hitching a thumb over his shoulder at Scarlett, “calls me Levi.”

  “I like it. I think it would be kind of hard to shorten up Levi. Maybe Lee?” Levi scrunched up his nose and shook his head. Frankie couldn’t help but laugh again. Levi certainly was a card.

  “Just Levi,” he insisted.

  “How old are you, bud?” Luke asked as he put his arm around Violet’s shoulders. She cuddled into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. It was hard to believe that two months ago Luke and Violet hated each other.

  “I’ll be five in two months. Mama said if I’m good I’ll get a Transformers birthday party.” Levi twisted in my arms again to look at Scarlett. “I’ve been good, right, Mama?”

  Scarlett reached up and ruffled his hair. “So far so good.”

  “Yes,” Levi shouted, pumping his fist into the air. “Are you going to come to my party, Mitch?”

  “I’ll try to. As long as it’s not on a race night, I’ll be there.”

  “You race?” He said in awe.

  “Yup, this right here is my race car.” I nodded my head at the ‘Vette and Levi’s jaw dropped.

  “I was in a race car, mama! Mitch let me pretend that I was driving it.”

  “Kurt and Luke race, too. You helped tear apart Luke’s race car today.”

  “I was a mechanic today, mama. Leelee and I took apart the car and told Mitch what to write down. Luke crashed his race car,” Levi said, shaking his head.

  “More like someone smashed into my car,” Luke put in.

  “I see that. How about you run and get your bag so we can head home, big man.” Scarlett pulled her keys out of her pocket and nervously tossed them back and forth.