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I can guarantee this won’t just be a fling. Not on my Rolex. She’ll be the next Valenti woman.
“Hey, E. You know, I just want to see you happy,” Appa says after she buckles Ember into her car seat. She holds out her arms toward me for Luca. “Robby won’t be happy if I come home without his boy.” Her words sting, though she means them lightheartedly.
“He’s a good dad.” I carefully shift Luca into her waiting arms. “I’ve got errands to run.”
She starts buckling him into his contraption of a car seat. “Like tracking down a twenty-one-year-old?”
I huff. “No, I need to check on my baby. I hope the engine’s not blown.”
Appa shuts the car door and leans against the red SUV. “Oof, good luck with that. I know you love that thing. Anyway, I have kids who need their nap times, and my boobs are killing me,” she says, laughing.
I smirk. “I’m sure your husband would help you with that problem when you get home.”
“Ugh, you’re horrible!” She laughs again and opens the driver’s door. “See you later, E.”
I wave her off, watching the SUV disappear past a cloud of dust. I turn to my truck and start the diesel engine. This truck doesn’t shake when it starts up like my old one, and I miss that. But after a couple hundred thousand miles on the old one, I was due for a new truck. I pull my phone out of my jean pocket and type a message to Ally. I don’t need to keep her updated, but I’m sure she’d notice my truck missing.
Be back soon.
Tossing my phone into the cup holder, my jaw shifts as I notice the charging cable Tilly used.
Yesterday couldn’t have been it.
I throw the shifter into drive, and the engine rumbles. I head for the gates, turning right onto the two-lane road to drive south into Napa. I wasn’t kidding when I told Appa I was going to check on my car, but I can see how Tilly’s car is, too. And what if she’s there checking on it? Her dad could have driven her to Mick’s shop.
When I pull up to the shop, I park in front of one of the bays and hop out of my truck. His shop is always decently clean, but it holds that distinct gas and oil scent. Not that it bothered me. Dad was always working on cars in his spare time and made the four of us boys help.
“Hey, Mick,” I call out.
“Sup, E?” he asks, tossing a grease-stained red rag onto his workbench.
“How’s the Saab?” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tilly’s faded gold Camry on the car lift.
“I’m still waiting to hear on parts,” he answers. “But it doesn’t look too good. My options are pretty limited with the age and everything.”
Fuck.
I’ve dumped so much cash into this car, but I enjoy having an older, project vehicle like Dad always did. His various project cars spent more time on a lift in the garage than on asphalt, though.
“Keep me updated, I guess.” I step toward Tilly’s car. “How’s her car?”
“Fine, just ordered a starter. It should be here tomorrow.” Mick laughs to himself. “You know, that car has to be older than her.”
Just about.
He knows my age. I’m not sure what he’s trying to imply, and I choose not to respond.
I open the front passenger door. The interior is faded from its original colors, but it’s free of junk like receipts or empty water bottles. “She keeps it clean,” I think aloud.
“Yeah.”
I look over my shoulder, and Mick’s busy looking at his phone. I pull a small tracker out of my pocket and toss it under the passenger seat. It’s the kind that can be put in a wallet or on a keychain for location monitoring, pinging off nearby Bluetooth devices. I tested it in my truck last night at home, and I know it’ll work.
I know I have no right to do this without her knowledge, and while she’s a strong girl, she’s young and needs someone to look out for her. Napa is fairly safe, but what if she gets lost or stranded somewhere like yesterday? Or takes a turn too hard on the windy roads by her dad’s place? She was lucky to find me, but it sours my stomach to think she could come across someone with bad intentions.
She needs me. Plain and simple. And I’ll be there purely by chance.
“When she picks up her car, I was thinking about asking her out,” Mick adds.
