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“You agree to help her before or after Berta broke down?”
I rocked back on the chair, interlacing my fingers behind my head. “I was leaning in that direction before it happened. It just solidified my decision.”
“You can’t resist restoring that tin can,” Ryan said with a smirk.
I let the chair rock until it rested on all four legs. “It will be satisfying to bring her back to life.”
Ryan nodded. “She’ll be a beauty. We shouldering the repair cost?”
I scrubbed hand over my chin. “I have a feeling Lily will want to help out or try to pay us back.”
“She seems like a good woman. Honest and hardworking. She won’t want to take advantage of us.”
“Hmm.” I didn’t want her to pay for anything when this was our idea. But I wasn’t sure how to get around it.
“The problem is, when are you going to have time to work on her? Business has picked up lately.”
“I’d like to make it a priority. I know we’re doing this for free, but—”
“The idea is to bring in business with it. I agree. I’ll pull some clients from you.”
“How are you going to handle more work?” I asked him.
Ryan raised a brow. “Want to talk about hiring another mechanic?”
He knew how much I hated talking about spending money or expanding the business. Despite opening the garage, I was fairly risk averse. “Not really. We could give Corey more responsibility.”
“He’s an apprentice at best. He can’t handle cars on his own.”
My jaw tightened. “Do you think we need to hire someone? Couldn’t we just extend our hours?”
Ryan shook his head. “Jake. I want to spend my evenings with my family—Hailey and Corey. I finally found the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, and I’m able to be a father to my son.”
“You know I don’t need to hear about how much you love my sister.” Just saying it out loud had me cringing.
“As much as I love the business, I need balance.”
“I don’t have the same issues, so keep the cases, and I’ll work more hours,” I said, not wanting to think about how lonely my life had become since Ryan hooked up with Hailey. He was rarely available to get a beer at the bar, and I hadn’t bonded with anyone else.
Ryan considered me before he said, “We’re your family.”
“It’s not the same, and you know it. You don’t want me hanging around every night.”
“It’s different, for sure, but we’re still your family. You’re not alone.”
I decided to lighten the mood. “I don’t need to see your ugly mug every night across the dinner table.”
Ryan smiled. “Couldn’t agree more.”
“Let me give it a try for a few weeks. If it’s too much, I’ll let you know.”
Ryan tipped his head to the side, giving me an assessing look. “I’ll let you do it your way for now.”
“Sometimes, I question the intelligence of going into business with a friend.”
Ryan shook his head slowly. “You wouldn’t have done this on your own. You would have backed out before you started.”
“You might be right about that.” The idea of putting down roots and buying this property was overwhelming. If Ryan hadn’t been there every step of the way, I probably would have backed out. I would have continued to work for someone else, even though I hated it. Job security was important to me.
