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“Hello, Gabriel.”
“Hey. Did you get any of my messages?”
“Yeah. But not until this morning. My phone was out of juice. And I haven’t listened to any of them yet either.”
“Hunter okay after his place got scorched?”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” If he was upstairs fucking Lilianna to orgasmic screaming, he was obviously better than fine. He wanted to end this call and go create his own orgasmic noises.
“Good.”
“What’s up? I’m sort of surprised to hear from you.” Gabriel Wallace owned the auto shop where Dylan worked. But he’d called someone else to pick up Lilianna’s car.
“Two things. First, I don’t suppose you’re willing to come in today, are you? I know you were taking some time off, but John already called in sick, and with you gone, while I’m not critical, yet, I’m still shorthanded.”
“Maybe. I could come in for a few hours at least. What’s the second thing?”
“I wanted to talk to you about the tow you called in last night.”
“Okay. Good. I meant to call and ask where the car is? Billy didn’t call me. Or at least I didn’t notice a call from him in the mix.”
“Didn’t Hunter tell you? I called him last night, but it probably slipped his mind when his woodworking shop almost burned down.”
“Yeah. Probably. Tell me what? Is it about my friend’s car?”
“Billy couldn’t find any vehicle on the side of the road down from Trail’s End.”
Dylan was puzzled, but he listened as Gabriel told him about where and how long Billy had looked for the absent vehicle.
“I hate to tell you this, but it was probably stolen. Anyone with a tow hook and big balls of steel could’ve hooked it up and taken off with it pretty quickly.”
Dylan shook his head, ran a hand over the top of his hair, and said, “Not with a rear sidewall punctured flat tire. They’d have to have some sort of tow dolly or a trailer to transport it.”
“True. But it could still be done if they were desperate or motivated.” Gabriel cleared his throat and a particular name flashed in Dylan’s head as to who was maybe not desperate, but definitely motivated, to retrieve Lilianna’s car. Without proof, he shouldn’t tell her tales though.
Dylan tried to figure out what else might have happened and how he’d tell Lilianna the bad news about her now missing car. He couldn’t help but wonder if the loan shark chasing her had stolen her car and then also set fire to Hunter’s shop.
Realizing he hadn’t spoke for a few moments, he said quickly, “Well, thanks for the information.”
“Yep. If I learn anything about the vehicle, I’ll let you know, okay?”
“Thanks, Gabriel.”
“Sure, and I’ll just deduct last night’s service call from your wages.”
Dylan laughed. “Oh? You’re charging me for this run?”
“You bet your ass. Billy was gone for over an hour looking around after regular hours, which as you know is double the usual rate.”
“Was he cursing my name the whole way back and forth down the highway?”
“No idea. Truthfully, he might have enjoyed getting out for a change, but I know he loved earning double pay. And that’s another thing, no employee discount either. You’re lucky it wasn’t the holiday triple rate.”
“Fine. Take it out of my paycheck. I don’t care.” It was worth it.
“Oh, I will. But I hope your friend finds his car.”
“Me too.” Dylan shook his head. Gabriel was so obvious. “And by the way, it’s her car, not his.”
“Interesting. Tell me more.” The tone of his voice changed to a softer pitch. Gabriel and his best friend Nathan Talbot, the town’s blacksmith, had fallen very hard for a woman named Suzanna several months ago. He’d been fairly sappy about being in love since then even though at one time he’d sworn never to get married.
Dylan hadn’t quite understood clearly the change in his attitude until last night. Lilianna made him hopeful for the first time in a long time about permanence with a female. He’d figured his ex-wife had soured him forever in that arena. Every time he thought of Lilianna and her smiling face, it made him happy, a little horny, and very hopeful.
