AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Elliot grinned.
The man glanced at the teenager beneath the truck. “Jonah here values his job too much to dare touch my stereo.”
From the first bay, the teen snorted out a chuckle, but didn’t turn his attention from his task.
“How’s it going?” Elliot asked.
The man shrugged. “Same old.”
Elliot nodded toward the Buick. “Ms. Cloverly’s car is back, I see.”
The mechanic rolled his eyes and took another drink. “I wish she’d let me junk it. I’m sick of trying to fix it. Soon it’ll be more duct tape and zip ties than metal. Not to mention her payment plan.”
Smirking, Elliot told Callum, “Ms. Cloverly is nearly eighty-five, and probably shouldn’t be driving. But she bakes a damn good pie.”
“Okay.” Callum chuckled, not fully following.
“This is Duncan,” Elliot introduced them.
Duncan pulled a cloth from his back pocket and wiped his hand before offering it to Callum. “You the cousin, right?”
“Callum.” He nodded, accepting the handshake.
“Well, come on in then.” Duncan turned and headed back the way he came. As he passed the teenager, he called out, “When you’re done there, put it out back, get your hours in the book. We’re done for the night. We’ll pick up on Ms. Cloverly’s tomorrow.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Callum was the last through the door. The main building consisted of a waiting room painted gray. Opposite the front window was a wall mounted television, and five shiny hubcaps. In a display case by the front desk was a variety of model cars.
Duncan led them straight past the desk and into a narrow hallway. He knocked on an open door and poked his head in. “Elliot’s here.”
They continued down the hall. Callum peeked into the room Duncan had knocked at. Inside, at a wooden desk, a man sat speaking into a corded phone, staring at a computer screen. One desk drawer was open, and the walls had a few photos, diplomas, and certificates on display.
At the end of the hall, Duncan pushed open a door. Inside was a brightly lit room with a long wooden table surrounded by folding chairs. Six lockers were behind the door, and beyond that a row of hooks, all empty but for a tattered-looking sweater. Between the lockers and the table, two sofas sat facing one another.
Duncan unbuttoned the rest of his coveralls before unlacing his boots and removing both his footwear and the coveralls. He placed them in a locker, shook out a pair of sweatpants, and pulled them on. Next, he swapped his dirt-stained shirt for a clean one. The garage logo was on the top left corner of the fabric.
The mechanic plopped down on the sofa with the satisfied groan of a man whose work day was finally done. “Have a seat, guys.”
Callum claimed a spot on the vacant couch while Elliot headed to the fridge. His cousin came back with three beers. They’d barely gotten the tops popped before the man from the office joined them.
Twisting, Callum nodded to him.
“Hey,” he tipped his chin, “I’m Mercer. Callum, right?”
“Yeah.” He reached over the back of the sofa and shook Mercer’s hand.
“Duncan and Mercer are brothers,” Elliot explained as Mercer went to the fridge for his own beer. “Duncan’s a mechanic, and Mercer runs the tow truck side of the business.”
Mercer popped the top on his bottle and tossed the cap across the table. It skidded to a stop before a cherry pie that was missing a few slices. “Anyone want pie?”
“Uh,” Duncan groaned. “I wish she’d junk it already. Find something new. I offered to help her find a new car, but she won’t budge.”
Mercer turned a chair at the table and, grinning, straddled it. “I’ve towed her twice this month. But I get a pie each time she breaks down.”
“We’re going to get fat and broke, relying on Ms. Cloverly’s pie payment plan.”
“I don’t mind.” Mercer shrugged, his foot tapping against the floor. “So Callum, you here to find your lady love?”
