Sean didn’t give a damn what the rest of the guys thought; this exercise was intended for Nick and Nick alone. If the kid was ever going to make anything of himself, he had to learn how to handle shit without losing his temper or mouthing off. Nick had guts, smarts, and some mad skills with cars. Now he just needed the self-control and the maturity to take it to the next level.
Self-control was something Sean mastered in. For all intents and purposes, he was the twenty-seven year old owner and chief mechanic of Callaghan Auto in the small northeastern Pennsylvania town of Pine Ridge. Nestled among the mountains, it was a quiet, peaceful community that he and his family called home. He was also a former SEAL, just like his father and six brothers.
What most people didn’t know was that once their traditional six-year commitments to the SEALs had been completed, they didn’t stop serving. The family patriarch, Jack Callaghan, had formed an elite team of his own. Technically, their special little group did not exist. Realistically, they were called upon frequently to handle situations “accountable” agencies couldn’t touch. They were a team of ghosts, non-existent to all but a few very highly-placed “believers”. There was a lot of freedom, they found, in not having to answer to anyone except themselves.
And sometimes, the end really did justify the means.
His current problem, however, had nothing to do with terrorists, political madmen, or wealthy puppet-masters who had no regard for the sanctity of human life and liberty, and everything to do with the kid teetering on the edge of making something of himself and pissing away his last chance.
Shane, his twin, was so much better at this kind of shit. Especially when Sean couldn’t shake the nagging sense of unease making him restless. It started a couple of days earlier and had been building since. The last thing he wanted to deal with in his heightened sense of awareness was unhappy customers or ineffectual employees.
Attitude problems notwithstanding, Nick was arguably his best mechanic. He went through twice the workload of anyone else. Like Sean, the kid had a natural talent for engines. Perhaps that is why Sean took him under his wing when no one else would hire him – Nick reminded him a little of himself, or what he might have been had life dealt him a different hand.
But something was going on with Nick lately. He was off, distracted. Not thinking things through like he normally would. And the last couple of weeks he’d started disappearing for an hour here, an hour there, saying only that he “had things to take care of”.
So far Sean hadn’t pushed because the kid was staying later to make up for lost time. He sincerely hoped it wasn’t anything serious; he doubted he’d be able to pull enough strings to save the kid’s ass. Even if he could, it wasn’t likely that Nick would be particularly receptive to any kind of help. Nick had a hardness and pride about him that made Sean think he would see any offer of assistance as charity, and Nick Milligan did not strike him as the type to accept a handout.
Nick stared at him with those freaky light gray eyes – so devoid of color they resembled smoky diamonds. His long, straight black hair was currently tied back and kept out of his face with a Harley Davidson do-rag. Tall, lean, built for speed, the kid cut a real bad boy look that drove girls wild and worried their fathers, and, from what Sean had heard, with good reason.
Sean held his gaze. It was Nick who blinked first. The kid blew out a breath and leaned all of his weight on one leg. “I haven’t been able to fix it.”
Sean raised an eyebrow and moved to the front of his desk. He leaned back carefully, crossing substantially muscular arms over an equally substantial, muscular chest. “That’s a first. Want to tell me why?” Taryn would be so proud of him – he hadn’t even raised his voice.
The kid had the good sense to look embarrassed, which mollified Sean somewhat. The show of humility was a definite indication of progress.
“Not enough time. We’re swamped, boss. I’m fixing the quick ones first, trying to keep things moving, but ...”
It was true enough. They were down a mechanic and business was booming. With three of his brothers now married, Sean was volunteering for more of the solo-type missions, so he wasn’t doing as much himself around the garage, either. It was yet another reason why he was hoping to get the kid up to the next level – Sean wanted to feel confident that work would get done when he was away for a few days here and there. As it was, things were backing up; they couldn’t keep up with the demand. And the truth of it was that Nick was staying late nearly every night, trying to finish up what the others hadn’t been able to.
“Let Tommy, Dave, and Joey handle the quick ones. I need you on the Benz, got it? Mick Thompson’s a good customer; he gives us a lot of business.” He fixed Nick with a pointed stare.
Nick regarded him for a minute, then nodded without another word and returned to the bays. Sean inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Message received. No yelling. And no one got fired. He wasn’t quite ready to tell Taryn yet, though; he still had his doubts about the whole kinder, gentler management style thing.