The Mechanic: Brotherhood Protectors World

by Reina Torres

  That she could do without.

  She looked up at a sign for the Blue Moose Tavern and grinned. That would be a must see if she wasn’t here trying to lay low, but maybe someday.

  Yeah. Keep it positive. Someday.

  Blake rolled on past and kept her eyes glued to the signs up ahead.

  If only she’d taken Sadie up on any of her prior invitations for a visit, this wouldn’t nearly be as scary as it was. And Blake had no problem admitting that she was scared.

  Scared was something she liked to overcome. It gave her a boost of pride, but this time it felt like something cold across the back of her neck.

  So much so that she lifted her eyes to look into the rearview mirror.

  Empty.

  Thank goodness... the road behind her was blissfully empty.

  When she lowered her gaze back to the street outside of her windshield she almost jammed on the brakes in relief.

  Masterson Mechanics

  “Thank God.”

  With a quick flick of her turn light she coasted into the flattop beside the building. When she set the car in park it made the most horrible gasping sound and something under the hood dropped.

  Like her heart into her stomach.

  When she sat back in the driver’s seat the car shuddered from tail to hood and Blake imagined it sagging into the pavement beneath her like a cartoon in the old Bugs Bunny show.

  “Overacting much?”

  With a sigh of her own, Blake yanked the keys from the ignition and dropped it into her purse. She opened her door and felt the cool Montana air brush against her cheeks. It was the first fresh breath she’d had in hours.

  Grabbing her purse, she stepped out and locked the door behind her before she walked toward the open bay doors.

  There was someone walking around inside. She heard soft steps and drawers opening and closing. She could almost see the sweet old man inside with just her imagination. He had worked here for years, raising a family with his work-roughened hands.

  Maybe he even enjoyed spending his off hours playing with his grandchildren in his front yard. Or maybe his dogs.

  By the time she stepped inside the bay she was ready to be regaled by hundreds of pictures of his extended family, but the man that stepped out from behind the raised hood of a truck looked nothing like the Wilford Brimley she had created in her head.

  Nope.

  Just her luck, the man dressed in clean and pressed overalls looked like he stepped out of one of the hot firefighter calendars.

  Blake lifted her free hand before she could stop herself and patted her hair. Yep, she lost a whole bunch of brain cells after just one look at the man.

  He stopped a few feet away and looked her over. Inwardly she cringed. She was way out of her element. Sandwiched in the tiny VW Bug for the better part of the day she knew she looked a mess. She probably had her clothes all wrinkled.

  But the sad part was, he was just out of her league.

  The man was hot.

  Her character in ‘Wedding Wars’ would have given him the eye and asked him if he’d want to, ‘look under my hood.’

  But Blake, the chubby best friend, was stunned into silence when he pulled a cloth out of his pocket and wiped his hands.

  Two words.

  Forearm Porn.

  Wait! Was that three words?

  Fore arm porn?

  No, two!

  OMG. She was losing her mind!

  Who could blame her? The way his forearms rippled with muscle was so...

  Hot.

  HAWT.

  “Miss?”

  Her cheeks flushed with heat and she swallowed to clear her throat. “Yeah, sorry. I was a little stupid there for a minute.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her and tilted his head.

  And while she stood there humiliated, he looked her over, again.

  Why did she have to look like she was running away from home when she meets the hottest guy she’s ever seen?

  Because, her mind explained, you’re you and this is just the universe’s long middle finger extended in your direction.

  “You don’t look little or stupid.”

  The words caught her attention and she snapped her eyes up toward his face. What she saw there wasn’t what she expected. There was no laughter at her expense in his eyes. He wasn’t mocking her.

  “Miss?”

  Blake shook herself. “Sorry, I- I'm just a little confused.”

  Instantly, his expression changed. He went from keen and curious to concerned. “Are you okay?” He shoved the cloth back into his pocket and reached out. When his hand touched her upper arm, she felt like she’d been shocked and she pulled away from him ever so slightly. “Here,” he took hold of her arm again and gestured to a bench inside the shop, “why don’t you have a seat. I’ll get you something to drink.”

  She could barely nod at him as he set her down on the bench, but she did manage to say, “Thank you.”

  He rewarded her with a smile over his shoulder. “You just relax okay?”

  He stepped out of the room and Blake prayed that she could melt into the ground and disappear. He’d touched her and she had actually shrugged him off.

  What a dork!

  At least he didn’t run screaming in the other direction.

  And when he’d said little, it wasn’t about her size... at least not in the way that other people said it. Like the people who sneer ‘tiny’ at the big guy, or ‘brave’ at the person cowering in the corner. He’d said the word but she hadn’t heard judgment in his tone.

  Huh.

  Maybe the air wasn’t the only thing refreshing in Eagle Rock, Montana.

  She let out an audible sigh and leaned her head back against the glass behind her.

  Maybe things were looking up for her.

  That would be new at least.

  She closed her eyes and did what he said to do.

  Relax.

  And it felt good. Too good.

  Chapter 2

  He was pretty sure he hadn’t been gone long, but the woman he’d sat down on the bench was asleep when he got back. He set the glass of water down on his tool chest and looked down at her.

  She looked like she’d been driving for a while, but the rumpled look wasn’t bad on her.

  Not at all.

  As Adam stood there beside the bench, he let himself look his fill. Her hair looked mussed like someone had just fisted his hands in it and let go.

  Well, if someone had let her go, they were a damn fool. The way she filled out her clothes left him struggling to hold himself together. The way her blouse had twisted slightly left little to the imagination about how lush and full she was underneath. If he had to guess, and really, he was just torturing himself now, he’d bet she wore plain cotton under her clothes. The kind of cotton that would stay wet to show where he’d dragged his tongue, or between her legs when she was good and ready for him.

  Adam dragged in a breath and turned away. He needed to steady himself before he woke her up. The last thing he needed to do was scare her away. While he liked his coveralls because they covered his clothes to keep them clean, they were also fit well so that she would be able to see what she’d done to him with a single look.

  That would be a great first impression.

  Second, really. She’d already seen him and he was pretty sure she liked what she saw. Women blushing around him wasn’t too far outside the norm, but his reaction to her was the part that shocked him.

  The women in Eagle Rock were all beautiful. They had spirit and personality, but no matter how much his sister had tried... and she had, over and over... no one had caught his interest.

  If his luck held, this woman would wake up, take the glass of water, and leave.

  She was probably heading to a big city like Chicago or maybe New York.

  It was only a matter of moments before she would get back in her car and leave.

  Her car.

  Taking a few steps to the side he s
aw the VW Bug parked up against the side of the building. Painted a white so flat it looked like house paint, he had to wonder if she was driving someone else’s car. It didn’t seem to fit her.

  Like you know. His mind argued with him. You said half a dozen words to her and now you’re deciding what kind of a car fits her personality. You’ve been alone too long.

  Adam heard a lilting yawn and looked down and met her beautiful brown eyes with his. “If you’re tired, I have a place where you can get some rest.”

  He saw her open her mouth to reply and then close it again as if she was rethinking her answer. The question was, what was she going to say? Yes? Or was she going to beg off at first and was considering staying around?

  Why was he worrying about it in the first place?

  Reaching over to the top of the tool chest, he picked up the glass and switched hands before he held it out to her. “Water?”

  She reached out to grab it before thinking and then slowed her hand to take hold of the glass but avoid touching his fingers.

  Curious.

  And confusing.

  “My hands are clean, I promise.”

  The shock on her face was telling.

  “I wasn’t… I mean… I didn’t…” she looked so stricken at the thought.

  He’d been wrong. And this particular stumbling block was a good indication that she wasn’t someone who could take the darker side of his sense of humor.

  “I didn’t mean anything,” her explanation rushed out. “I certainly didn’t think... or mean to imply that you... that your hands were dirty.”

  Lowering the glass into her lap, she looked down into the wavering surface of the water.

  “I’m really making a mess of this, aren’t I?”

  Damn it. He felt like an absolute jerk.

  Sitting down beside her on the bench he set his hands on the wood, all too aware that the fingers on his left hand were within inches of her leg. “I think it’s probably me making a mess of things,” he tried to catch a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye. “I’m not usually so tongue-tied.” It hurt to reveal that to her, but he’d already made a muck out of the situation that he figured she deserved to hear his ham-handed apology. “Still, I took one look at you and I can’t seem to put the right words together to make myself understood.

  “I know that it seems weird to offer you a place to lie down and I know I’d sound like a jerk if I said you look tired, but it’s true. You do.” He rushed on. “But not in a bad way.”

  Her shoulder’s shook with a laugh. “No woman wants to hear that she looks tired.”

  He thought through her words and nodded. “Yeah, I pretty much suck at this kind of conversation. I left the military to come home and take care of my sister while she was pregnant and you have no idea how many things she threw at my head because I just said... stuff.”

  Adam saw her eyebrows raise and her head tilted so she could literally give him a side-eye.

  “I know, I know. Honestly, I’m lucky to be alive.”

  She was laughing right along with him and damn if she didn’t have the most beautiful laugh. Her eyes crinkled up at the corners hiding the rich cinnamon brown he’d seen only a few moments before. And then she reached up and pushed him with the flat of her palm against his shoulder, barely moving him an inch.

  “And you haven’t learned by now? She must love you a lot.”

  He must be crazy, but he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone to show her the lock screen. “My sister, Annalise and my niece, Ada.”

  He saw the way her eyes flickered over to the embroidered patch his sister had insisted he put on his coveralls.

  “Adam.” She smiled even more. “Named after her uncle, huh? I bet she loves her uncle.”

  He turned the phone in his hand and looked at Ada’s two toothed grin. “I like to think so, but I do know she’s got me wrapped around her fingers and then some.”

  “That’s so sweet.”

  He felt her hand touch his and he held still because in he didn’t want her to move it away.

  Not yet.

  He let a moment lapse before he turned to look. Her hand was warmer than his, or maybe that was just how her touch made him feel. She had tanned skin that said she came from somewhere with a lot more sun, or maybe she went to the beach.

  And the thought of her body in a bathing suit made him glad he was sitting down.

  “Oh, she’s too cute!” Her hand moved and she touched the screen where Ada’s hair was piled on top of her head in some kind of ponytail thing that Annalise liked to do. Her palm felt like heaven moving over the side of his hand. Adam had to hold himself still so he wouldn’t turn his hand and brush his callused palms against her softer skin. “I’m jealous.”

  “Jealous?” He couldn’t really believe that, but when he looked up and saw the wistful downturn of her eyes, he wondered what he was missing. “Are you okay?”

  She drew in a light breath and let it out again, but kept her eyes focused inward instead of meeting his gaze. “Yeah, for the most part. I’m actually in a little bit of trouble.”

  Trouble.

  She could have waved a red flag in front of a bull and it wouldn’t have gotten a stronger reaction inside of him.

  Adam’s stomach clenched and he closed his hand over hers. “What can I do?”

  Whether it was the touch of his hand, or the sound of his voice, he didn’t know, but she started to pull away. He wasn’t strong enough to let her go.

  He smoothed his thumb over the back of her hand, keeping an eye on the differences between them. The warm tone of her skin against the lighter tone of his said he spent too much damn time indoors, but he liked the look of their differences and loved the feel of her skin against his.

  She made a little noise in the back of her throat and he tried to soothe her again.

  “Hey, hey... it’s okay. I want to help.”

  She looked up into his eyes. “Why?”

  It was a damn good question. Hadn’t he just shot Hank down again when he was offered a job to do just that? Was this fate giving him a big ol’ middle finger up?

  When he didn’t answer immediately, she started to pull away, and he should have let her. He didn’t need the kinds of problems that her body language was hinting at, but he also couldn’t seem to let go of the feeling that her hand belonged in his.

  So he gave her the answer he wasn’t ready to give. “You wanted to know why.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I walk in here and you’re getting me water and asking me how you can help. I don’t want to complicate your life. I don’t even know much about you beside your first name.”

  “Well,” he smiled at her, soothing her with his thumb across the back of her hand, still holding the phone in their combined grasp, “that’s a good place to start, right?”

  Her cheeks flushed a little and he liked the color on her. “Right. Adam.”

  The playful tone of her voice was much better than the hesitant warning of a few moments before.

  “And you are?”

  Tilting her head to the side, she shook her head as if she couldn’t believe he was asking. Again, he wondered what he was missing. He didn’t socialize much, but she didn’t look like she was from Eagle Rock or anywhere nearby. Then again, he reminded himself, ever since the Brotherhood had started, more and more people were moving to Eagle Rock.

  “I’m Blake. Blake Lennox.”

  Blake. He hadn’t meant to mouth the word, but he was just trying to reconcile the masculine name with the curvaceous woman sitting beside him.

  And he knew she saw him by the raised eyebrow she turned in his direction.

  “Oh,” he winced, “got myself in trouble again.”

  Her laughter was almost a sniff of sound. “Do you ever get yourself out of trouble?”

  “Ha!” He laughed. Really laughed. “The only one who doesn’t try to lecture me is Ada. And now you know why she’s my best girl.”

  Blake’s e
yes swung down to the phone they were both holding and she smiled. “I can see that. And that’s why the only thing you can help me with is my car.”

  Car. Okay.

  “I can handle that.”

  The look on her face made him puff up a little, putting him on the defensive.

  “I do work on cars for a living.”

  At least she looked a little contrite. “Well that’s a good thing, but you might need to have a bit of magic in you, because with the sounds that thing was making as we entered town, I’m not sure she’s got any life left in her.”

  He tried not to look too smug. Blake, he still couldn’t get over her name, didn’t know how good he was at his job, but he was going to prove it to her.

  Yep, one look at a gorgeous woman and he was determined to prove himself a hero. He really needed his head examined.

  “Why don’t we go look at it before you have me digging a hole in the backyard for your car.”

  She laughed again and got up from the bench. “All right. Let’s go.”

  Blake got up from the bench and heaven help him, he was treated to just a glimpse of her backside. Whatever those pants were, he wanted to buy her twenty because the way the fabric hugged the lower curves of her butt made him sit up and notice, in a few different ways.

  Blowing out a breath, Adam stood and slipped his phone back in his pocket and quickly used his hand to adjust himself before he stepped outside.

  Adam knew he was out of his league with Blake, but he was going to stay in the game long enough that he could make some sort of positive impression with her.

  It only took him a moment to get outside and he saw her reach into the car to release the hood. The view was another stellar example of why he was so interested in making a good impression. Some guys were breast men, some liked the ass, but he never knew what would attract him to a woman until he found it.

  And Blake hit his list in so many ways. Her eyes, her laughter, and yes, he loved what that untucked blouse could only give him a glimpse of.

  “Do you need me to lift up the hood for you?”

  Not the hood she was talking about. “No, I think I got it.”

  Walking over to the car he lifted the hood and stared. “How far did you drive this?”