I WIPED MY HANDS and headed for the water cooler. I punched the blue button over the plastic cup, grabbed it, and gulped at the icy water.
I’d been in a snarly mood all morning at work. I’d growled at everything from the coffeemaker to Dawes, who’d only been trying to help me with this old Dyna I’d been working on.
Since Lock opened Eagle Wings, he had me run bike service and repair and oversee special builds. I’d always been satisfied doing repair and leaving it at that, but the kid had insisted. I stepped up and made sure our shop ran like clockwork. I hated backlog, especially when Lock’s custom-detailing crew was waiting to get their hands on the bike.
Fuck it.
I was toast. Burnt toast, charred on both sides.
“You need something stronger maybe?” Butler poured himself a cup of water.
I tossed a hand in the air. “The rust on that bike is unbelievable. The idiot should’ve kept it under a tarp and in good storage, not under a heap of garbage.”
“Well, that’s what they pay us for.”
“Yeah, that they do.”
“Speaking of which, is that Dig’s Camaro in the new storage shed?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“You still got it.”
I pushed at the cold water button again. “’Course I do.”
“Can I take a look under the hood? From what I saw, you’ve kept it in prime shape all these years. There’s no reason why—”
“No.”
Butler’s neck stiffened. “Bro, I’m the one who used to work on it for him when he couldn’t. Let’s me see if—”
“I said no,” my voice snapped.
“Hey, sorry to interrupt,” Tania said from the doorway leading to the storage units.
Butler’s eyes landed on her. “You’re not interrupting.”
She glanced at him and took a step back. “I’m in a bit of a bind, and I was hoping someone could help me.”
“What do you need?” Butler tossed his cup into the garbage can.
“I have an appointment with someone on Skype in ten minutes, and I can’t miss it,” she said. “But I forgot to pick up these two prescriptions for my mom at the pharmacy, and she’s going to need them in a few hours. My sister’s out of town today, and Jill’s in Rapid with Becca, and her phone must have died because I can’t seem to reach her. Do you think you could send someone to pick up the prescriptions and bring them to the house? I’ll call my mom and the pharmacy and let them know. I’ll make it up to whoever the lucky dog is with plenty of pizza and beer, I swear.”
“Sure thing,” said Butler.
I pitched my empty cup in the trash. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Are you sure?” Tania said. “You’re working. I don’t want to interrupt—”
“I need a break.”
“You’re a lifesaver,” she said.
“Yeah, that’s me.” I undid my jumpsuit.
More like addicted, obsessed, crazy, a masochist.
Twenty-five minutes later, I knocked on Rae’s door. Jill swung it open, the house phone at the side of her face, her mouth set in a hard line, reddish-blonde curls in her eyes. She waved me inside the house, putting a finger to her lips, and then she pointed to the playpen in the living room. I gently closed the door behind me.
“Yes. Okay.” A hostile, seething tone in her low voice caught my attention.
“Okay, I said!” She charged into the kitchen, and she spewed out more tight words. She was pissed.
I snuck a peek into the playpen. Becca was sleeping on her stomach, her mouth open, one hand clutching the baby doll I’d bought for her. A pinch twisted in my chest.
I headed for the kitchen. Jill slammed the phone on the counter, her face screwed up into a knot.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Oh, the usual.”
“What’s that exactly?”
“That was Catch on the phone. He hasn’t been up here to see Becca or his mom for a long time now, over two months. Personally, I don’t mind, but Rae does. He’s her son. This is so typical of him, but it really makes me mad after all the crap he laid on me about me leaving him and moving up here and…” She averted her gaze, shaking her head.
“And, what?”
“Me hanging out with the One-Eyed Jacks.”
“It’s not like you’re some groupie, for fuck’s sake. You don’t even hang out. You drop by or—”
“I know, but he’s still all possessive.” She crossed her eyes.
“Yeah, okay. I get that.”
“Well, I don’t get it!” She planted her hands on the counter. “And I’m sick of it. It’s okay for him to blow his daughter off, saying she’s too young to realize anyhow. He’s blowing his mom off, too, when he does that. Boner, the disappointment on her face this morning! Even Tania, Ms. Tough, was disappointed. She plays it like she’s accepted his douche bag ways, no big deal, but I know she keeps hoping for the best each time. He’s being so unfair. I’m sure he’s doing it on purpose to get back at me, but the thing is, I don’t give a shit, not for me. They care though, his family, and they certainly don’t deserve it.”