Page 22 of All I Feel

To say I felt a modicum of relief over what my sister haddone for Tessa would’ve been an understatement. “You can’t help but love her, right?”

Another laugh escaped from Tessa. “Absolutely. Lark told Ryan that I’d reach out to him when I was ready to talk to him. I’m so relieved she handled the situation for me because I’m not sure I would’ve been able to do the same. My whole day would’ve been ruined if not for her.”

Hearing the relief in Tessa’s tone, I decided I was going to have to get my sister an extra special Christmas gift this year.

“Do you think he’s going to stay away until you reach out?” I asked.

She let out a deep sigh. “I honestly don’t know.”

Not the answer I’d been hoping for…

Considering how to approach this, an idea popped into my head. “How’d you sleep last night?”

“Surprisingly, it was the best night of sleep I’ve had since before Saturday. Despite all that’s been swirling in my head for the last couple of days, I think my body finally took over and forced me to rest. I felt so much better when I woke up this morning.”

“That’s good. Do you work late tonight?”

“No.”

“Any plans?”

“None at all.”

I grinned. “What would you say to having a visit from me? I could bring some dinner over, and we could have a Game of Life rematch.”

Tessa’s voice was a hair over a whisper when she replied, “Really?”

“Yes.” Why she thought I’d joke about something like this, with all she was going through, was beyond me. “Plus,until we can be certain you won’t have any unexpected or unwanted visitors, it might be wise to make sure you aren’t home alone for hours like that. Especially when he had the audacity to show up at the salon. I don’t think it’s wise to assume he wouldn’t try showing up at your place right after work.”

“You might be right, Ace. If you really are up for it, I’d love to have some company tonight. And I do have to redeem myself after my awful performance at the Game of Life over the weekend.”

Chuckling, I said, “You were a bit out of sorts. It’s understandable.”

“Or it was too accurate a portrayal of where my life is headed,” she countered.

“It was just a game, Tessa. Your life is going to be beautiful.”

She didn’t immediately respond, but when she did, my gut clenched. “I hope you’re right, Ace.”

“I am.” I swallowed roughly, doing my best to ignore how badly I wanted to be the one to give her that life. “So, are we on for tonight?”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

“Alright. I’ve got to get back to work, or Phoenix’s going to start giving me shit. I should be there right around six.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”

“Later, Tessa.”

“Bye, Ace.”

We disconnected, and I took a few minutes to replay the conversation in my head. I’d spoken to Tessa hundreds of times over all the years I’d known her, and I’d never once experienced what I had over these last couple of days. It was a strange but welcome feeling.

Recognizing how easy it’d be to sit here, thinking about her while avoiding work, I forced myself to stand and clean up my mess from lunch. Then I walked out of the break room and down the hall to the door that would lead into the shop, so I could get back to work doing something that hadn’t ever really felt like a job.

For as long as I could remember, I’d loved cars. That hadn’t ever come as a surprise, considering it ran in the family. My dad might have been a professional snowboarder, but my Uncle Logan was the owner of a performance automotive shop here in Rising Sun. I’d often visited the shop when I was a kid, but when I turned thirteen, I’d spent countless hours doing anything and everything I could there. At first, I’d done simple things like cleaning up or organizing the shop. Sometimes, I’d fetch tools for the guys working there, and I never stopped asking questions.

My future was in cars. Even my mom said as much, consistently reminding me of the time I was six years old and had delayed the start of some Christmas festivities because I’d loosened the exhaust bolts on the family vehicle while my dad had been changing the oil.