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“I’m gonna take a look. See what the problem is.”
Andrew started to follow, but I grabbed his arm. “I thought he was a park ranger,” I whispered.
“He is.” He took a step, and I squeezed a little. Andrew smirked. “He worked as a mechanic before that. Now he does it on the side.”
“Oh.”
“I found your problem,” Holt said from underneath the hood.
“Already?” I asked.
He gave me a cocky grin. “Radiator hose is busted. We could try to limp to a garage, but you really need a tow.”
My pulse thrummed. “How much is that going to cost?”
“I can fix the hose for you, but we’ve got to get it to somewhere I can work on it,” he said. “The tow alone will be a couple of hundred bucks. The hose is less than fifty. But if there’s damage to the radiator, it’ll be several hundred.”
I swayed on my feet. The truck was making money, but there wasn’t room in the budget for this kind of expense yet.
“I’ll call the guy Dad uses. Maybe he’ll give us a family discount on the tow,” Andrew said and stepped away from us to make the phone call.
“Is there somewhere I can work on it?” Holt asked.
“I park it in a lot about five minutes from here. It’s tight though. I’m not sure if a tow truck could get it in my assigned spot.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t sweat it. We’ll figure it out.”
“Dad’s calling his mechanic. And he’s on his way,” Andrew said, tucking his phone back in his jeans.
“He doesn’t have to come.”
“Too late. He said he was nearby.” He gestured toward the steps. “Might as well park it.”
We resumed our positions, and I angled my feet toward Andrew so that Holt could sit on the step beneath us. A horn blasted not too far down the street, which started a symphony of return honks.
“I should be able to have you up and running by tomorrow afternoon,” Holt said.
“I hadn’t even thought about that. My customers expect me to be there,” I said, a fresh wave of panic washing over me. “I’ve never missed a day.”
“What time do you open?”
“Eleven.”
Holt turned his baseball cap backward as he contemplated. “I’ll do my best to get you ready by then. All depends on what Dad’s guy is like.”
“Thanks. Really, you don’t have to do this,” I said, though I was grateful. What if Andrew wouldn’t have been with me? I took in a steadying breath. I would have figured it out. But I was glad he’d been here.
“You’re my brother’s girl. Of course, I have to do it,” he replied with a cheeky grin and a wink at Andrew.
The nervous pit returned to my stomach. Andrew didn’t deny his brother’s claim, and I couldn’t form the words to rebuff it.
“This is precious,” Holt continued. “Both of you clam up when the status of your relationship comes up.” He looked at me. “Did you know he grilled me about your friend Baker? Wouldn’t let up.” Then his attention turned to Andrew. “Payback is hell. And it’s so much fun doing itin frontof your girl.”
There was no malice in Holt’s tone. They were just being brothers.
“So you liked Baker?” I asked innocently.
“Not you too. Two against one isn’t fair,” he complained.
