Page 54 of Mechanic’s Christmas Match

“Just take off your jacket,” she told him. “Otherwise, you’re fine.”

“Okay,” he said, doing as he was told and setting the black leather jacket gently on the floor beside him.

Theo wandered over and sat down on Rory’s jacket to play with his toy truck.

“That doesn’t seem warm enough for the snow,” Ana’s mom said in a tone of gentle scolding.

“It’s fine,” he said, shrugging. “I run hot.”

“Still,” she said. “I’ll get your measurements, and then we’ll just look at something.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, standing still as she stretched her tape across his back and then scrawled in her notebook. “How’s business?”

“Oh, it’s wonderful,” she said happily. “This town has been so good to us.”

“Do you ever think about selling your dresses online?” he asked her.

“No, no,” she said dismissively. “We’ve got plenty of folks keeping us busy right here. And handmade clothing should always be tried on in person, since we can make adjustments.”

“Wow,” he said. “I never thought about how nice it is to shop someplace where stuff can be custom-fit to you.”

“There are plenty,” she said with a smile, measuring his back to his waist. “But most of them are for formal clothing. We think everything you wear should fit well.”

“A guy like me can appreciate that,” Rory chuckled.

Ever since adolescence, he’d had to choose between clothing that hugged his arms and chest, or clothing that comfortably fit his wide shoulders but was so loose everywhere else that he felt kind of silly.

“You’ll be the handsomest Santa Claus Trinity Falls has ever seen,” she promised him with a smile as she wrapped the tape around his waist.

Theo began banging on the little red truck with a blue wooden block.

“Goodness, Theo,” his grandmother said. “What are you doing?”

“Fixing,” he said, banging away industriously.

“As long as you don’t break it,” she said. “That’s your favorite.”

“Big, big, big,” Theo chuckled to himself.

“Hey, that looks kind of like my truck,” Rory noticed out loud.

Theo looked up at him and nodded.

“It is my truck?” Rory asked. “And you’re fixing it for me?”

Theo nodded again, looking a little worried.

“That’s really nice of you,” Rory said. “I’m always fixing everyone else’s cars, but nobody ever fixes my car.”

That earned him a burst of delighted giggles. Even Ana’s mom was smiling as she knelt to measure his inseam.

“If you ever want to come see the shop again, I’ll give you a special tour,” he promised the boy.

“Maybe you can be a mechanic one day,” Ana’s mom said encouragingly to Theo, who gave her a big smile before banging away on his truck again.

“You’re awfully popular around here,” Ana’s mom said, standing. “You should come by more often.”

“Oh,” Rory said, wondering if she was saying what he thought she was saying.