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“I’m fine,” I said. “It’s just… frustrating.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” she replied. “You don’t even wanna know the words Warren and Adrian are using.”
She smiled, hoping for a return smile on my end. As much as I wanted to oblige her, I just wasn’t in the mood.
“Do you have any idea what a move is going to cost us?” I asked. “And that’s assuming we find a suitable place with comparable rent.”
“That might not even be necessary,” she said, trying to sound confident. “Maybe we could talk to them. See if we could come to some sort of agreement.”
I frowned, remembering the last time we’d tried communicating. Adrian had gone over on our behalf, and his every assertion was met with smug grins and vague denials. He hadn’t made any headway at all with the Payne family, other than a promise that things would be ‘better for everyone’ if we were willing to go back to restorations only. This was all off the record, of course. If asked directly the Paynes would deny even that.
“There could be other places out there,” Kayla offered helpfully. “Better places.”
“Maybe.”
“Think about it,” she said, leaning on my shoulder. “You could get a fresh start. A new beginning.”
My body softened a little at her touch. It was in a much different place than my mind, though.
“Do you have any idea what we putintothis place?” I turned on her. “How excited I was to be getting along with Warren again, all the way to the point where we were practically brothers?”
She nodded somberly, looking somewhat guilty. I shook my head though.
“When we threw in together it was scary at first, but eventually we built it up over time. I remember our first break-even week. Our first full-time hire. We were just hitting our stride, Kayla. Taking in enough business to actually put some money away, rather than just pay the bills.”
“And then this,” she said softly.
“Yes. And then this.”
I stopped between the rusted-out hulks of two ancient cars; sturdy steel behemoths that must’ve been glorious six or seven decades ago. I’d seen Warren turn forgotten husks like this into gleaming, beautifully-restored relics. He saw beauty and value in things like this, where most people could only see the car-crusher.
“Warren and I spent a long time accumulating these,” I said gravely. “Some of them we inherited from Tommy, too. If we have to move, less than half of them will make the journey with us. The rest we’ll have to sell, just to cover the costs of starting all over again.”
Kayla stepped into me, sliding her arms past my waist. In the early evening darkness she melted into me.
“I’m starting all over again,” she said softly. “And I’m not afraid.”
I lowered my chin to gently kiss her on top of her head. Her hair smelled wonderful, like raspberries.
“It’s not that I’m afraid,” I protested. “It’s that I’m… well…”
“Angry?”
“Yes, that,” I said. “Pissed off, more like it.”
“Good,” she said. “Warren and Adrian were getting a little worried you were taking this much too easily.” She squeezed me, turning her chin upward against my chest. “While we’re being honest, me too.”
“When aren’t we honest?” I chuckled.
“Honestly?” Her seductive eyes flashed dangerously, flecked hazel mixed with blue. “Never.”
I bent to kiss her, and she was already on her toes. Kayla sighed softly as our lips crashed together, and her tongue explored mine. Almost immediately the clouds of worry and anger parted. The proximity of her body against mine made me forget everything else.
“What are you doing tomorrow morning?” she eventually asked.
“Same as always. Coming here.”
Her mouth twisted sideways for a moment. “Think you could give me a few hours first?”
