“Yeah, almost dying can put some shit in perspective.” AZ looked around and nodded. “Looks like you got yourself set up pretty good here.”
“Yeah, Lee and I are hoping to kill it with this place.”
“I figured that’s who the Lee was on the sign. You’re a crazy bastard for starting this with your girlfriend.”
“Naw, I didn’t start this with my girlfriend.”
AZ laughed and shook his head. “So, you named your new shop after your girlfriend. Even riskier.”
“You’re wrong again. This isn’t just my shop, and she’s my wife.”
“No shit.” AZ raised his eyebrows. “That new? All I heard on the streets was you two were together.”
I shrugged. “Not new, and I could care less what is being said.”
AZ stood and held up his hands. “I didn’t come here to cause any more problems, brah. I just wanted to thank you and let you know I’m done trying to beat you and your brothers. Y’all were some of the stiffest competition I’ve ever gone up against. Hell, I couldn’t beat any of you.”
I chuckled under my breath and couldn’t help how good it felt to hear those words. “You’re good, brah, but not good enough.”
AZ shook his head and moved to the door. “As much as I’d love to tell you you’re wrong, I can’t argue with facts.” AZ pushed open the door and looked back over his shoulder. “I did give you a run for the money, though.”
“Sure, did that.” I laughed.
AZ walked out the door and swore under his breath. “Son of a bitch. She fucking left me here.” The door closed behind him as he grabbed his phone out of his pocket.
“Shit.” The guy was banged and barely able to walk, and that raging bitch had just left him here. I grabbed my keys off the counter and turned off the lights of the shop.
AZ had been a complete dick, but I couldn’t let him walk. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent a text to Lee letting her know I closed the shop and would be home in a little bit.
I had one more thing to take care of.
********
Leelee
I shoved my phone in my pocket and dropped my steel toes on the floor. “Well hell,” I mumbled. I had just gotten off work from Skid Row and had planned on heading over to the Speed Shop when I had gotten Kurt’s text that he had closed for the day.
Jay had been running out the door when I had gotten home, saying he was staying the night at one of his friends and then he was gone. With Kurt coming home early now, I had to figure out what the hell to make for dinner.
For the past two weeks, we had been eating takeout and Hot Pockets. The idea of an actual home cooked meal made my stomach growl, and I hoped we had something in the freezer I could make.
After I rummaged through the freezer and found a pound of hamburger meat, I decided to make a big pot of spaghetti and garlic bread.
I popped the frozen meat into the microwave to thaw it out and heard a knock on the front door.
“Jay, what in the hell did you forget now?” I asked, as I opened the door.
“Is that your cute brother?” My jaw dropped when I saw Ginny standing on my front step. What in the hell was this bitch doing here? She had a bottle of wine in one hand and had her other hand raised to knock on the door again.
“My brother is none of your business.”
“I’m okay with that; I was here for Kurt anyway.” She tried to push her way into the door, but I put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back.
“You might want to take his name out of your mouth, puta. I know for a fact that Kurt does not want you here.”
“That’s not what he said before.”
Before? What in the hell was she talking about? “Ginny, get the hell out of here.”
Ginny rolled her eyes and shifted her weight. “I don’t have to do nothing, bitch, and Kurt sure hasn’t minded his name or anything in my mouth before.”
I clenched my fists at her words and was ready to rip her hair out. “Well, if you were actually talking to him, you would know he’s not here, Ginny.” I crossed my arms over my chest. I knew this bitch was lying, but I didn’t know why she had sunk to this new low.
“I had stopped by the shop earlier and saw he was busy so I figured I could talk to him here.”
“Well, you were wrong. I think it’s best you just turn around and forget about Kurt.”
Ginny tried stepping into the house again and got in my face. “I don’t know where you bitches get off thinking that these Jensen boys are actually going to stay with your asses. They need women, not little girls, and especially not a bitch that thinks she can play with the boys.”
I put my hand in her face and smirked. “I’m pretty sure this ring on my finger means this bitch who plays with the boys has a Jensen boy that isn’t going anywhere.”
“That’s fucking bullshit,” she spit out.
“Give it the fuck up, Ginny. Move on and try to find a different guy who’ll be blind to your gold digger ways. Violet, Scarlett, and I aren’t going to put up with your skank ass thinking you can take any of our guys. Move. The. Fuck. On.” I pushed back on her shoulder, grabbed the bottle of wine out of her hand, and slammed the door shut in her face.
I heard her scream and looked out the peephole to see her stomping down the sidewalk. “Dumb bitch,” I mumbled. I looked at the bottle of wine she brought over and was pleased to see it was actually a decent one. “Thank you, Ginny,” I gloated as I set the bottle on the table.
I had dinner to cook and a night all alone with Kurt to look forward to.
Ginny was done fucking with me. She wasn’t worth my time, and I was moving onto the life I had been wanting.
Nothing was going to take it away from me.
********
Chapter 28
Kurt
“Lee, I’m home.” I walked into the house, smelled dinner cooking and slipped off my boots. “Where are you?” I asked, as I headed into the kitchen and saw the table was set, pots were simmering on the stove, but Leelee was nowhere to be seen.
“Lee?” I called as I strode down the hallway.
“I’m in the bedroom. Can you stir the sauce on the stove and pull the bread out of the oven?”
“Is it burned?” I asked, as I headed back down the hall.
The bedroom door opened, and I heard Leelee pad down the hallway behind me. “I put it in three minutes ago. It better not be burned.”
I pulled open the oven door and saw the butter wasn’t even melted on the bread. “Well, it’s definitely not burned.” I laughed as I shut the door and turned on the oven.
“Aw hell. I really can’t get garlic bread right, can I?”
I shrugged and leaned against the counter. “You’ve got the rest of our lives to figure it out.”
Leelee dumped the bubbling pot of noodles in the colander she had in the sink and pulled the sauce off the stove. “Let’s hope it doesn’t take me that long.” She grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet and set them on the counter. “Would you like some wine? It was dropped off by someone who was looking for you.” Leelee popped open the bottle of wine she had sitting on the kitchen table and filled each glass.
“Really? Who?”
Leelee handed me a glass and cocked her head to the side. “Ginny.”
I took a sip and almost spit it all over Leelee. “Ginny was here? That’s where she fucking went.”
“What? She actually came to the shop?”
“Yeah. She drove AZ to the shop and then left him there when he told her to go wait in the car.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Leelee set her glass down and propped her hands on her hips. “Not only was Ginny at the shop but so was AZ? What in the hell were they doing there?”
“Well, AZ came to apologize for all of the shit he had done and thanked me for getting him out of the car when he wrecked.”
“Well, that is damn surprising. Does that mean he’s going to be less of a douche on race nights?”
“Yea
h, since he won’t be there. He’s going back to Arizona.”
Leelee shook her head and peeked into the oven. “Was I the only one who thought it was ridiculous that his nickname was a fucking state?”
I laughed and drained my glass. “I'm sure you weren’t the only one, Lee.” I sat down at the table and crossed my legs. “So, what in the hell did Ginny want?”
“I think she was trying to make me think that you and her had a thing going on, except her story was so weak, there was no way I was going to believe it. Plus, she got pissed when I shoved my ring in her face.”
I threw my head back, laughing. “God damn, I love you, Lee.” The instant the words came out of my mouth, Leelee’s jaw dropped.
“You wanna take that back?” she whispered.
I shook my head no and crossed my arms over my chest. “Hell no. This isn’t the way I imagined telling you but the hell with it. I love you, Lee. I can’t fucking help it.”
“As crazy as it sounds, I think this fits in perfectly with the way we do things. I love you, too.” She dropped her hands to her sides and shrugged. “I fell in love with you when you asked me to marry you.”
A smile spread across my lips as she walked across the kitchen and stood in front of me. I uncrossed my leg, and she eased into my lap, straddling my waist. I brushed her hair out of her face and brushed it over her shoulder. “You were made for me, Lee,” I whispered in her ear.
“We do seem to fit well together.” She grounded her hips into me and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Did I mention that Jay is spending the night at a friend’s house tonight?”
I wrapped my arms tight around her and shot up from the chair. “We can eat later.”
“No, wait,” she screeched, laughing, as I stalked down the hallway. “The bread is in the oven.”
“Son of a bitch,” I cussed as I headed back into the kitchen, turned off the oven, and opened the oven door. “I like burned bread anyway,” I said, smirking as the smell of burning bread wafted out.
“I think I’m hopeless,” she sighed.
I headed back down the hallway to our bedroom and kicked open the door. “When it comes to bread, yeah, you are, Lee. But I’m willing to overlook it if you promise to be in my bed every night.”
“I’m pretty sure the two have nothing to do with each other, but I think I can agree. I solemnly swear from this day forward to only make you burned bread and snore on your chest every night.”
I fell back on the bed with Leelee still wrapped around me. “I don’t think I asked for the always burned bread or the snoring, but I’ll take it.” I grabbed the hem of Lee’s shirt and pulled it over her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this, Lee. I feel like the luckiest bastard in the world whenever you’re in my arms.”
Leelee braced her arms on the bed next to my head and brushed her lips against mine. “I never thought I would get you in my bed, Mr. Jensen, but I’ve come to realize that dreams do come true. Especially those of the naked variety that involve you.”
I skimmed my hands down her sides and grabbed her ass. “You’re gonna be the death of me, Lee.”
“Oh, but Mr. Jensen, it’s going to be the sweetest death,” she purred.
I had it all now. A shop that was mine, a life that I made the decisions in, Leelee Jensen was in my bed, and she was damn sure in my heart.
Life was fucking good, and it was only going to get better.
********
Epilogue
Leelee
“Kurt, get in the damn car.”
He slid in the passenger seat and shook his head. “I don’t know why you think you need to torture me by driving all of the time.”
“Because I love driving your car, and since Jay drives my car all the time, I need to drive something.”
“I’ll be glad as hell when we’re done building your own damn car.”
I backed out of the driveway and headed to Skid Row. “If the damn parts weren’t on back-order, it would be done by now.”
“Nos has been on their ass all week wanting to know where they are.”
“I have to admit, he’s damn good at his job. Who would have thought the street-smart thug would be the perfect fit for the Speed Shop?”
Kurt shook his head and laughed. “I had it all planned out, Lee.”
“Well, you have any plans for this?” I asked, as I pulled up to Skid Row and saw all the cars in the parking lot.
Violet and Scarlett had gotten their way, and Kurt and I were going to renew our vows. It had been a crazy and hectic six months since we had opened the Speed Shop and all the while, I had been dealing with Vi and Scar who became my wedding planners.
Kurt looked up at the shop that was once his home and shook his head. “Marrying you again? Hell yeah, I’m ready. Dealing with all of my family while all I want to do is find my old bedroom and have my way with you? No.”
“Well, Mr. Jensen, try to keep it in your pants for the next three hours during the rehearsal dinner, and I promise your own personal dessert after.”
Kurt leaned over the center console, grabbed me behind the neck and pulled me close. “And that right there is exactly why I’ll remarry you every day, Mrs. Jensen. Hot as sin, knows the difference between a V8 and V6, and puts up with my ass.”
“Those are some superb qualities, aren’t they?” I laughed.
“Plus, we’re both mechanics, and we both know that mechanics are really good with their hands.”
“Oh, are they?”
Kurt nodded, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I guess we’ll just have to test that later.”
“We definitely will, Mr. Jensen.”
My fingers delved into Kurt’s hair, and he kissed the living hell out of me. With every kiss, touch, and caress, Kurt was taking more and more of my heart. Each day, he gave me more than I ever thought I would have and I couldn’t wait to wake up each morning to see how life could get any better.
“I love you, Kurt Jensen,” I whispered against his lips.
“I love you, too, Leelee Jensen.”
Life was fucking good.
********
Violet
“Get away from the window, Luke, and help me zip up the back of my dress.”
Luke was standing in the window, watching Frankie and Jay down in the parking lot. I swear, if you listened closely, you could hear the large vein in his neck throbbing. “I swear those two are dating,” he growled.
I held together the back of my dress and walked over to Luke. I grabbed his hand and turned my back to him. “Zip it.” Luke’s rough hands tugged on the zipper, pulling it up, and then he turned right back to staring out the window. “Frankie swore up and down she’s not dating Jay. After she had broken it off with Curtis, she said she’s not interested in dating.”
“Yeah, now she’s into working on cars, just like Jay is. That shit is not a coincidence, Vi.”
I nudged my way in front of Luke and wrapped my arms around his neck. “You should be jumping for joy that Frankie is taking an interest in the shop.”
“I am, but I want to know what this sudden interest is. But if she keeps going the way she is, she’ll be as good as Leelee one day.” Luke scowled and shook his head.
“Still pissed that she left Skid Row?” I laughed. At least once a week, Luke ranted how he just didn’t understand why Leelee and Kurt had to open their own shop when he had a perfectly good one of his own that they could have worked at.
“Nah, just wish things would have worked out differently back then.”
“It’s not like you don’t see them anymore, Luke. Every Friday we see them at the race, and I know you go over to his shop when you tell me you’re going on a parts run.”
Luke shrugged and glanced out the window one last time. “They’re dating, Vi.”
I shrugged. “And what if they are? Just let her be, Luke. Frankie is a smart girl who isn’t going to let some guy take advantage of her.”
“Kind of like how I took
advantage of you?” Luke reached down and cradled my growing belly.
“Exactly like that.” I smiled as I watched his eyes soften. “Four more months to go,” I sighed when the little guy kicked. “Did you feel that?”
“Yeah.” Luke laughed. “He’s playing soccer with your bladder probably.” The baby kicked again, and Luke’s hand rubbed my belly.
“Bladder soccer is a pretty good name for what he’s doing in there.”
“Uncle Luke! Stop touching Auntie Vi’s tummy!” Levi ran to Luke, and I jumped out of the way just as Levi went airborne and Luke caught him.
“Levi, I told you to wait in your room,” Scarlett scolded from the hallway.
“I wanted to see Uncle Luke. He was touching Auntie Vi again. Eww.” Levi pursed his lips and looked like he was going to be sick. “Mitch touches mama all the time, but that’s cool because he buys me stuff.”
Luke laughed and hung Levi upside down by his feet. “I’m pretty sure I took you mini golfing and brought you pizza last week.”
“Oh, yeah. I guess you did.” Levi giggled as Luke tickled his tummy. “I remember Pokémon better,” Levi declared.
“Thanks for clearing that up, big man. We’ll have to convince Auntie Vi to take us to the store later and maybe we can stock up.” Luke set Levi down on his feet, and he took off out of the room and down the hallway.
“I thought he was into Transformers?” Luke asked Scarlett.
“He’s into anything he can collect. He’s got all the Transformer toys and movies, so he had to move onto something else. Pokémon is going to be the death of me, though,” Scarlett sighed. “Are you guys ready for dinner? The table in the shop looked really nice when I saw it earlier.”
“Yeah, I just had to squeeze into my dress and find some shoes that still fit my feet. We’re be good to go.”
Scarlett laughed. “Just put on tennis shoes, no one will notice.”
“Scarlett, get your sexy ass in the kitchen,” Mitch called.
Skid Row Kings Complete Series Page 59
