AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Needing to get out of here—away from Everett and Judd and all the memories Wilson Automotive held—I pulled out my phone and made quick work of calling Dakota for a ride. Thankfully, I managed to avoid staring at Everett and that light dusting of hair on his strong jaw or the way he’d filled out that dang jumpsuit with muscles I’d never seen him with. Or felt until that clumsy moment when I was stumbling out of the truck. Shoot, he’d aged well.
He got our bags out of the trunk of the convertible and set them next to us without a word, and five minutes later, Dakota pulled up in her sporty old Jeep.
I opened the passenger door, beaming at my youngest sister. “Hi, Kota.”
“I figured you’d see him while you were in town, but didn’t think it’d be this fast,” she said by way of greeting, a wry smile on her full lips.
I fought the urge to look over my shoulder, sighing heavily. “Me neither.”
“You okay?”
Shrugging, I gave her a false smile. “Peachy. Why wouldn’t I be?”
7
EVERETT
Later that night, I let myself into my studio apartment above the shop, barely resisting the urge to flop onto my bed before showering off the day. I was beat. Not only had I gone back to Shifty’s—without having lunch, I might I add—and picked up his truck, but then I’d finished Mrs. McClusky’s car since Dad had gotten tired halfway through. I’d spent the rest of the night cleaning squirrel guts out of Shifty’s engine before assessing the damage on a certain pink Mercedes.
It was quite a car—I’d give her that. I might not see many cars like hers as a mechanic in a small town, but I’d been obsessed with cars my whole life, and I knew a heck of a lot about them. It was fun working on such a machine. Not that I’d ever want to own one for a laundry list of reasons.
Moving toward the small bathroom in the corner of my apartment, I reached into the shower and turned it on. While the water made its way through the ancient water heater, I unzipped my jumpsuit and let it fall, stretching my arms over my head before peeling off my plain white tee.
Just as I was about to ditch the athletic shorts I always wore under my jumpsuit, my phone rang. I headed over to the table in my kitchenette and picked it up, groaning out loud when I saw it was my mom. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk to her or anything, it was just that I had a feeling I knew exactly what she was calling about, and I didn’t want to talk about … her.
“Hey, Momma,” I said into the phone. “What’s up?”
“You haven’t responded to my text about Friday night.”
I chuckled at her tone—she sounded madder than a wet hen—then cleared my throat to hide it. I might be a grown man, but I still wouldn’t dare disrespect my momma. “I forgot. I’m sorry.”
“Well, you’re comin’ right?”
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”
She sighed. “Oh, Everett, I didn’t raise any of my boys to be this rude. We’re havin’ a family get-together and your butt better be sittin’ in one of my dinin’ room chairs come Friday.”
“Can’t you have a family get-together next weekend if you want to invite the Coles over?” I asked, treading lightly.
“The whole point is doing it while Laney’s in town, son. That girl is family regardless of whatever happened between you.”
I cringed. I hadn’t told anyone about my failed attempt at getting Laney to marry me, and as far as I knew, she hadn’t told anyone either. We agreed on it that night. We said we’d keep it between us, just so neither of us would have to hear about it for the rest of time from our families. As far as they knew, we drifted apart. Our lives were too different. Our roads headed in opposite directions. Hers to fame and fortune, and mine directly to … well, right where I was.
“Anyway,” she went on, not even noticing my lack of reply. “I miss her and want us all under one roof. Minus Travis, of course, but it is what it is.”
I ran a hand over the back of my neck, more tired now than I had been five minutes ago. “There’s no way I’m gettin’ out of this, is there?”
“No, sir.”
“And uh … is her boyfriend comin’?” The words tasted like antifreeze on my tongue, and I scraped my top teeth over it as if I could peel it off.
Mom let out a choked laugh. “You don’t know me at all, do you?”
Pursing my lips, I looked from side to side, waiting for her to go on. When she didn’t, I sighed. “I guess I don’t. Is he comin’ or not?”
“Everett Eugene, the invitation to the Cole family didn’t say anythin’ about a plus one, but there’s no way I’d turn him away if he showed up.”
“So … you don’t know if he’s comin’?” I tried, rubbing my temple. I loved my momma, but she was a little tough to figure out most days.
