by Taryn Quinn
She looked up and her pupils dilated. “Obviously not Thor big.”
I laughed and fixed my crooked bun. Her gaze slid away again, but not before she checked out my buckle and the little strip of skin that showed. Interesting.
She pulled the sketchbook closer. “Right, well, I had a few ideas. But I know time is now a factor.”
I pulled the mug she’d poured for me closer. Something spicy hit my nose before the tang of truly good coffee landed on my tongue. “So, this is what it’s like to have Macy like you enough for your own brew?”
“I take it you don’t have one?”
I took another gulp. “Nope.”
“Maybe someday.”
“I helped build her damn Haunt and still didn’t get one.”
She grinned behind the lip of her mug. “Too bad.”
I propped my elbows on the island. “Okay, so what are we doing? And are you ordering furniture for your guests? House seems a bit empty.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll put my dad in the upstairs bedroom. I’ll need to order a bedroom set.”
“We can check out one of the big furniture stores if you want. Unless you want something custom. That could take some time.”
“Yeah, I’ll look into it.” She made a note. “I’m hoping to keep the animals mostly in the barn-slash-rec room.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Do they know you call them animals?”
“Definitely.”
“Fair enough.” I nodded to her. “Tell me your thoughts and then I’ll tell you if it’s doable.”
“I need at least one bedroom on the main floor of the barn. My brother, Cohen, is staying with me for a while. He has a busted leg, so he can’t do stairs.”
I pulled out my phone again and started making notes. “Okay.” My brain quickly started whirling with ideas for the space.
“I mentioned toys. As you can see, I like electronics. My brothers need entertaining, and I figure once they’re gone, I can use it as a space for me that isn’t a garage.”
“Good plan.”
We haggled our way around a game plan. I made rough sketches and she redid each and every one. She had a good eye and knew what she wanted, even if she didn’t know how to put it all together.
But that was my job.
The pizza came and we demolished it as the sun streamed through the windows. She could eat me slice for slice. She picked all the toppings off with her short dark nails as she talked.
I never wanted to be a piece of pepperoni more in my life.
When the slice was a pockmarked shell of its former glory, she folded it and quickly chomped her way through the remaining dough and cheese.
I fed Butch a few pieces of bacon and sausage in between slices. I flipped the last quarter inch of my crust at my dog and she neatly nipped it out of the air.
“Tell me about Cohen.”
Her eyes shuttered and she crossed her arms. “Not much to tell.”
Hmm. That was interesting. I didn’t have the sibling dynamic to draw from, but she looked defensive. “There has to be something.”
She chewed on the corner of her lip. “He’s a fireman—smoke jumper, to be exact.” Her gaze drifted to the floor where Butch was looking for more scraps. “You know, you shouldn’t feed a dog scraps.”
“I don’t have dog food yet.” I tossed Butch another bit of sausage.
“Fair point.”
“You don’t have to talk about your brother if you don’t want to.”
“No. I mean, it’s fine. I just…” She huffed out a breath. “I haven’t seen much of him for a few years.”
“And now you have to take care of him?”
She played with the ends of her ponytail. “Yeah. I don’t usually have to worry about him. Even with his job being so extreme, Cohen has always been bulletproof. Ezra, my oldest brother, said Cohen wasn’t doing great.”
I had a feeling there was more to it. Broken bones didn’t put that kind of worry in a woman’s eyes.
“Okay, so we need to make sure you can distract him, right?”
She straightened and her demeanor changed. “Exactly. He’s super active.”
“Okay. Is he a music guy or more of an action movies guy?”
“He’s a sports guy. But more playing them than watching.”
“Hmm.” I tapped my pencil on the notepad she’d given me. “Why don’t we go look at the barn again before it gets dark?”
She nodded.
I gathered the pile of sketches and followed her into the hall. She grabbed a sweatshirt out of the closet and stuffed her feet into a pair of those ugly shapeless boots women seemed to wear throughout the fall.
She shut the door then looked up at me. “Do you need a jacket?”
I shook my head. “Not until it’s twenty degrees out.”
“Okay then.”
“How long have you lived here?”
“Three months.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Decorating not your thing?”
“I keep meaning to, then I get busy at the shop.”
“Yeah, I get that. My place is a wreck.” More than a wreck. I had a ton of half finished projects going on at my apartment. It was a two-story house with an older couple on the bottom floor. I took care of the maintenance on the property for a bit off the rent.
In my boredom since my best friend had thrown me over for a chick, I’d started a TikTok profile. One of my how-to videos had gone viral, and I was forever chasing the next post that would get hot. I never seemed to get around to finishing the projects. I’d started a pantry, custom cabinets, a microwave stand, and a converted bench in the last three weekends.
I held the door open for the dog. Butch followed us then got distracted by a pile of leaves. Since she didn’t seem to wander off so far, I let her have her fun and do her business.
Hashing out a list was my next task. Luckily, I had Gideon’s contacts to get supplies, but I needed a better look at what I had to work with.
I grabbed the ladder against one wall.
“What are you going to use that for? It’s an empty space.”
“Yeah, just want to check a few things.”
“Don’t hurt yourself. I need to up my insurance before you start working in here.”
“You’re all heart, Ruby.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve already dealt with one ER today, let’s not go for a round two.”
I set the ladder against the post at the back of the barn. It was holding up a loft with a lot more junk. “You said you have some guys coming in to do demo tomorrow?”
“Yes. I threw some money at some high school kids. They seemed excited about destruction. I have a dumpster coming tomorrow too.”
“Good.” I gripped the framing of the loft and gave it a good shake. The only thing that moved was dust. I’d have to do a test in better daylight and make sure it was bug free, but the strong scent of cedar gave me hope.
It wasn’t cheap pine and would give me a decent base to build out a few bedrooms for the second floor. It wouldn’t be a complete gut job from what I could see.
I hopped down to find the sketches scattered around the floor. She seemed to be lining them up in a certain order. I crouched next to her. “Inspiration?”
“Sort of. I really want to keep it open.”
“Looks like we’ve got a semi-plan. I’ll come back and do measurements tomorrow and supervise the guys. It’s easier for me to tell them what I need torn out and what can stay.”
She nodded. “Sounds good.” Her gaze fell to my mouth before bouncing back up to meet my eyes. “Think you could give me a ride to Kimmie’s? I need to get my bike.”
“Handily, I need to clean up over there, then go dog shopping.”
“Gotta get new stuff for the kid—er, dog.”
I grinned at her. “Something like that.”
She licked her lips, then stood up quickly. “Yeah. I’ll just go get my stuff and we can go.” And then she was on the run again.
It
was going to be an interesting few months.
Six
I’d played the coward card without remorse after Lucky brought me back to his worksite. It had been a damn long day, and I just needed a little time to myself. I’d hopped on my bike and headed to the shop.
The Phantom Rolls Royce at the top of my list was waiting for me in the back bay. I’d been working up the parts I needed to fabricate for weeks now. My client was a tech giant with more money than sense, but I didn’t mind taking some of that green off his hands.
Gage was helping me with the remodel. He had a light hand with welding that I’d never quite managed to match. We often worked as a team on the bigger projects. This one was slated for a November finish, and I needed to score some hours on Hilda, my fabricator, to get some pieces done for him.
It was end of the workday for most of our crew. A few new mechanics were doing end of shift paperwork. Gage and Dare were holed up in the office. Dare had his feet kicked up on the desk as he laughed at something his brother said.
I wasn’t ready to talk to humans, so I bypassed that side of the garage and sneaked into the locker room to change into my coveralls. Hilda used a large water bath for the cuts I was doing, and no matter how hard I tried, shit got messy.
I snagged my headphones off the charger and headed into my section. It took a few minutes to boot up Hilda and go through my digital drawings. The Phantom was built like a tank, but the base model my client wanted updated was an older model with pristine guts. Too bad the shell was beat to hell from a hailstorm in Texas.
That was where I came in.
I smoothed my hand over the dented hood. Gage had been busy stripping the car back, which left me wide open to start building her back up.
The precise work of measurements and picking out the right sheets of metal took all my focus and evened out my rough edges. The new Billie Eilish album thundered in my ears as I tore apart metal sheets. My muscles sang with the labor as I created the puzzle pieces that would make up a new and improved vision of the Phantom.
The world and all my problems faded as I fell into the work.
My partners knew not to bother me when I was in this space. The guys had families to go home to anyway. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d been left to my own devices at the garage.
And I liked it that way. Most of the time.
I shook off the twinge. My job kept me busy and fulfilled. Families and sticky fingers and having to cater to a male weren’t what I was about.
Arching my back to work out the kinks, I turned my head and a photo of Gage with Rylee and their little girl caught my attention.
The girl’s dark hair was in pigtails and her face was covered in white and pink frosting. Gage had one half of his face covered and Rylee the other as their daughter smushed between their cheeks.
They were a pretty cute family.
I shifted away from the wall of photos. Still wasn’t in my plans. Someday I wanted a family—maybe. I still wasn’t too keen on the idea of it. It seemed like a damn lot of juggling based on the conversations I heard in the garage.
A glance at the time on my phone made me wince. If I wanted to get some work done the next day before the wrecking crew of guys showed up at my place, I needed to get home and faceplant for a bit.
I locked up and sighed when I saw it was raining. I really didn’t want to put my bike away for the season yet, but it was getting dicey weather-wise. I supposed I’d need to put the beater on the road sooner rather than later.
Swapping a ponytail for a quick French braid gave me a few minutes to look around the dark town. The streetlights had that vintage feel with LED lights for extra energy savings. In our last election, that had been one of the items we’d voted on. We’d even ended up with cool flickering lights for the holidays.
Crescent Cove took their seasonal decorating seriously. From Halloween—thanks to Macy’s influence—to Christmas and the Fourth of July, the Cove did it up big. There was no shortage of community when it came to this lakeside town.
The diner was the only place open at this hour. The Rusty Spoon didn’t bend to the nine o’clock town shutdown, and I was forever grateful. I walked across the street and found the booths mostly empty, save for Luna and Caleb bent over a stack of notebooks and binders at the back of the room.
Before I could turn around and escape, Luna waved. “Well, hey there, stranger. Haven’t seen you at Brewed Awakening in a few days.”
I smiled and nodded to Polly on my way by. The waitress was a staple here in the evenings since Gina Ramos had shacked up with the sheriff. Call me contrary, but I enjoyed the crabby Polly. We understood each other.
“Yeah, it’s been a crazy week.”
“I heard.” Caleb scooted over. “Want to sit with us?”
I glanced down at the paper explosion on the table. “Think it’s a bit crowded.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “We’re still fighting over the seating charts. You’d be surprised how many teachers have hooked up at the Academy. And swapped partners. Downright scandalous over there for a Catholic school.”
“You know the Catholic girls are truly the bad girls, Lu.”
“What about me?”
“You’re a Luna—individual in every way.”
“You think you’re clever.”
Caleb laughed. “Just lucky.”
I tried to ignore the itch along my spine. Eating with them was looking more and more like a bad idea with every second that ticked by. How was I supposed to deal with all this drippy love stuff?
He stacked up the binders in a ridiculously quick fashion. Must have been the teacher gene. “Come on, sit with us.”
I swallowed a sigh and sat down. “Sure. That’d be nice.”
Being polite was balls.
Luna smiled and perked up in her seat. “Yay.”
Her wild lemon blond curls rioted around her stunning face. A ripped white sweatshirt had slid off one shoulder, revealing a lacy tank in eye-searing pink. She had something shimmery on her eyes and her lashes were tipped in pink even at this late hour.
I felt like a wet dog next to all her cuteness.
Polly saved me from making conversation. “Hey, T. What can I get you?”
I should’ve said the salad after all the pizza I’d ingested with Thor, but I really wanted gravy fries. “Silver dollars and gravy fries.”
Polly shook her head. “You always have the craziest combos. Butter and syrup?”
“Just butter and lots of it.”
“Gotcha.” She glanced at Luna and Caleb. “Refills? Anything to eat?”
Luna rubbed her still flat belly. She was another one who’d fallen victim to the Cove baby water. “I think the baby might like those gravy fries.”
Caleb grinned. “The baby, huh?”
Luna shrugged. “If you’re good, you can have one.”
“Gee thanks. I’ll have another Coke and a spinach and egg white omelet.”
Polly hiked up an eyebrow, then shrugged. “You got it.” She shoved her order pad in her apron and headed for the counter.
I was pretty sure my face matched Polly’s. “You’re friends with Lucky, right?”
The edges of Caleb’s ears went pink. “Trying to get in shape for the wedding. I’ve been enjoying too many of Lu’s cravings.”
Luna stretched her arms across the table to snag his hand. “Aww, I love your little belly.”
He lifted her hand to his mouth for a quick kiss. “See? No belly for this guy, thanks.”
“Dad bod a little early?” I quipped.
Luna giggled and sat back. “Not too many dad bods in this town.”
“You women keep us running ragged with kids.” Caleb reclined in the booth and stretched his arm along the back. “Viv is running around like a lunatic at August’s house. We babysat the other night, and I’m still tired.”
“She’s just the cutest. We had a tea party and tried on about eleven outfits from her closet. You should see the little ward
robe August built for her. I put in an order for our baby’s room.” Luna gripped Caleb’s fingers. “I can’t believe we’re having a kid.”
His smile was quick and almost misty. “Now we just gotta get hitched.”
“You know I don’t need us to get married.”
“Says the girl who proposed from my car,” I muttered.
Luna laughed, then transferred her grip from Caleb to me. Her eyes went wide before her grip tightened.
I frowned at her. “What?”
Luna tilted her head. “Been a rough few days indeed.”
I slid my hand out from under hers. The warmth from her touch was seriously intense. “Yeah.”
“Sorry, the baby makes me even more rude these days. Empath, auras, the whole shebang is whoa—hello, merry go round. I’ve been working at my shields, but the baby is like nope!”
“Shields?”
Luna pressed her lips together and her gaze shifted to Caleb.
Had I asked something I shouldn’t? Since I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, it was hard to tell when I’d gone too far.
This peopling thing was too complicated for me when all I wanted was something to eat.
Polly came back just in time to dispel the awkwardness that had suddenly descended on the table. Maybe I needed to take my food to go.
She set down a round of waters and a soda for Caleb. I grabbed mine and drank deeply. Right now, I wouldn’t have turned down something stronger.
Luna waited for Polly to leave before leaning forward. “It’s okay. You don’t need to talk about it. I’m around if you need to though.”
I looked down at my hands. They were still red and rough from working. Even with gloves, hauling around all that heavy metal did a number on them.
The polar opposite of the woman across from me. Her skin was softly fragranced with something probably natural and herbal.
What the hell was my problem? I didn’t visit Comparisonitisville often. Then again, I also wasn’t used to people trying to get into my sphere.
The bell jangled over the door.
We all looked over, and Luna popped to her feet. “Lucky!” She practically ran over to him. “You made it!” She leaped at him, and he caught her around the waist.
“What’s popping, Blondie?” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Her Converse-clad feet dangled as he carried her back to the table.
