Page 37 of Throttle Therapy

“Please tell me it’s at least an android.”

Jenna scoffed.“Do I look like I have the kind of money to drop that on a phone?”She shook her head.“It’s not even new.”She used the same phone she’d had since before Mama had died.Well, not really.She’d put her sim card into Mama’s phone and had to go get a new one for Lacey.She hadn’t wanted to give an eleven-year-old a phone, but since it was just the two of them, it seemed like the best way to be able to stay in touch if there was an emergency.

“What kind of computer did you have in school?”Cypher asked as he moved around to her side of the counter.“I need to get back here for a minute.This won’t take long.”

“Same kind they’re issuing now, I assume.”She stood and went into the breakroom where she leaned against the door jam and watched where Joker sat next to her sister at the small square table and asked Lacey if she knew the next step.She replied and watched him.He nodded and she ducked her head and went back to work.He glanced up and spotted her.He nodded once then dropped his gaze to the paper between himself and her sister.

Lacey must have finished the problem because she exhaled loudly and sat up straight, rolling her shoulders and looking up.

“What’s up, Jen?”

“Just giving Cypher some room to get things set up.Is he helpful?”Jen tilted her head toward Joker.

Lacey looked from Jenna to Joker and back again.

“So far.”

“Good.”She pushed off from the door jam and turned to go back to the front room, hopefully Cypher was done.

Chapter Nineteen

Roadkillturnedthelockon the back door of Savage Iron then got in the truck.He hadn’t bothered to go back to the clubhouse to trade out vehicles after dropping off Jenna this morning.

Not that there would have been much point since he knew he’d have to pick her up this afternoon.He didn’t know if Papa Smurf had told her yet, but her car was going to take a few days.He needed to order a couple of parts, and delivery would take almost a week.

Roadkill didn’t mind.He would pick her and her sister up and drive them around every day for as long as it took, especially if he got to kiss her every morning.He was hoping for more than the quick brush he got this morning, soon, at least.

It only took him a few minutes to reach Savage Repair.He parked in front then went inside, not at all surprised to find the door still unlocked, despite all the bay doors being closed.

“Hey,” he said with a smile to Jenna.“How was your first day?”

“Not bad,” she said with a sigh as she reached under the counter and pulled out the cashbox, a legal pad, and a clipboard with a stack of invoices attached.

“Better than a shift at the Driftwood?”

“About a billion times better.I’m sorry, I still have a couple of things to wrap up.I’ll work on being done on time while you’re stuck driving us.”

He waved away her concern.“It’s no big deal.Where’s squirt?”

“In the shop.One of the guys helped her with her homework then they took her into the shop and gave her something to do.”She bent over the invoices and legal pad, and from what he could tell, she was putting the total of each one on the legal pad.She was totaling up for the day.

“I’ll duck in here until you’re done.I don’t want to accidentally mess you up.”Roadkill went to the door the shop.

Jenna nodded, not looking up as she continued to flip through invoices and transfer numbers.

In the shop, he found Papa Smurf, Joker and Lacey all looking under the hood of Jenna’s Focus.Lacey wore a too-big pair of overalls like all the mechanics wore.Roadkill couldn’t help but smile.He liked that they’d given her a set, though he wasn’t sure if it was to protect her clothes or what.

“Figured out what’s wrong yet?”Roadkill asked as he got closer.

“A couple of things,” Papa Smurf said not looking up, “but they’re secondary.Things that need to get taken care of but not the main problem.”

“What do you think it is?”

Joker glanced up.

“It needs a lot of work.We can do it, but it will take some time.It needs a bunch of new hoses.They should have been replaced years ago.”Joker shook his head.“I don’t like the idea of her driving it like this, even if we could get it running today.”He stuck one hand down into the engine, twisted around and made a face then pulled his arm back.“Hey, squirt, your arms are thin, can you reach down there?I think there’s some kind of burr on the pully.Just slide your finger along that wheel there and tell me what you feel.”

“Which one?”