AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I can do that.”
“Oh, and Nova, you need to start bringing me receipts for gas. If you drive Knoxville around, that cost isn’t coming out of your own pocket.”
He tapped the edge of my door and walked away, as if to stave off an argument. He wouldn’t have heard one from me anyway. Money was tight. There was no way I’d argue about not having to spend the little that was left over once I saved up for my tuition and books.
I wished that Knoxville was old enough to eat cake because part of me wanted to splurge on one of those little personal birthday cakes I always saw in the bakery section of the grocery store. Eating one by myself seemed a little too sad, though. It was probably silly of me to want to blow out a candle and wish for the man who hadn’t spoken to me in weeks to finally come to his senses. I was twenty years old now, wishes were for the era of my childhood.
~*~
My car’s irritability was getting on my nerves. It shimmied when the prospect on gate duty let me in, as if the darn thing suddenly didn’t like the gas that I was giving it.
“I can probably fix that hesitation issue for you,” a man called out to me when I stepped out of the car. I turned to see someone closer to my age. He had what looked like black hair, though I could only see a shadow of its existence, thanks to the ballcap and close shave the man kept. His kind, dark eyes took me in with a gaze so penetrating it almost made me feel naked and caused me to squirm a bit.
“Either it will die, or it will wait, I can’t afford to get it fixed right now.” It still sucked every time I had to admit to someone that money was an obstacle, but it was also the truth and there was no getting around that.
“You work for Kip, right?” He asked.
“Yes.”
“You haul his kid around in that thing?”
I nodded my head, not liking where he was going with the questioning. “Toss me your keys. I’ll look at it while you’re here with the kid.”
“I was planning on just picking him up and heading back to the house.” My explanation didn’t seem to mean a thing to the man as he closed in on me.
“Darlin’, if I allowed you to take Knoxville out of here in that car after seeing it sputter the way it just did, Kip would have my hide. Go inside, hang out with the kid, grab some food, and do some studying or whatever you do. I’ll look at your car. It’s probably something I can fix easily enough with what we have lying around.”
I noted that his vest, what Kip informed me was called a cut, didn’t have a name on the front like most of the other men. “What is your name?”
“I’m Mikey. Chalmers,” he added his last name after a hesitation. “You might hear the guys call me ‘Charmer’ or ‘Prospect’ though.”
“Ah, okay. So, you’re not really in the club then?”
“You wound me, darlin’.” He stated as he threw his hands up over his heart, as if that was where I’d done the damage. It made me giggle, so I guess his intention didn’t miss.
“If you’re done flirting with my nanny, she has things to do, Prospect.”
I turned to see Kip standing there grinning at us. After handing Mikey Chalmers my key, I headed in Kip’s direction.
“You know Breakneck wouldn’t like to see that,” he suggested as soon as I was in range to hear without him having to raise his voice.
“Breakneck isn’t anything to me.”
“Don’t be so sure.” He hesitated a moment and then glanced back to where I’d left the man with the key to my only form of transportation. “What’s wrong with your car?”
“I don’t know. When I sit idle, like at a stop light or your gate here, it feels as though it hates gas. When I try to push on the accelerator and it shimmies, I pray hard, and we finally move forward.”
Kip laughed at my assessment.
“That man knows how to fix cars, right? He’s not going to make it worse and leave me without transportation, is he?”
“I promise, you will have a working vehicle, no matter what. Charmer knows what he’s doing.”
“Where is Knoxville?” I asked.
“Around back with my dad for now. He’ll be bringing him in shortly. Let’s get you something to eat and then I’ll get both of you settled in my room until your car is ready. It will probably be more comfortable for you.”
“Is there something wrong with the couch I used before?” I asked as he opened the door and what sounded like a nightclub hit my senses. “Oh!” I said before my eyes could adjust enough for me to take in the sights that would explain some of the sounds.
