AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His voice was strong and steady. I was glad he wasn’t feeling as anxious as I was.
“It’s nice to see that garage open again,” Dad said while Mom scanned the room as if she needed to be somewhere else.
“It’s a convenient location for sure,” Jake said, his voice strong and steady.
He’d taken over an existing garage, making the opening of the business that much smoother.
“I heard you specialize in restoring antique vehicles?” Dad asked.
I hadn’t realized Dad was interested in cars. But then, Mom’s interests tended to dominate our conversations.
“I’d like to do more of it, but we’re busy with our current clients now.”
I don’t know why I felt the need to jump into the conversation, but I did. “He’s restoring Berta, and he’s taking a look at Grandpa’s Pontiac GTO.”
Mom’s eyes widened with surprise. “You have plans to sell them?”
“I’d like to keep the van to use for deliveries, but I’m not sure about the Pontiac. Both have sentimental value. It would be nice to keep them for that reason alone, but the GTO is worth a decent amount of money.”
“Oh?” At Mom’s raised brows, I realized I shouldn’t have mentioned it. She didn’t care about the farm or what was there because she thought it wasn’t worth anything. Or at least it wasn’t valuable to her.
“Lily had quite the find in her barn. A limited-edition Tiger Gold Pontiac GTO,” Jake said, more to my dad than my mom.
Mom’s upper lip curled. “I always thought the gold color was distasteful.”
“GTOs were popular, but when Pontiac came out with this limited-edition color, it was truly a special edition. Only so many were made,” Jake continued.
Mom waved him off. “My dad won that old car in a shoe store contest.”
She’d dismissed the value of the vehicle based on how he’d acquired it. I didn’t want to argue with her because I wanted her to think it wasn’t valuable. I didn’t want her to stake a claim to anything on the property. Grandma left everything to me, and when Mom realized it was valueless, except for the property itself, she’d urged me to sell it. When I wasn’t interested, she’d washed her hands of it. Things were only worth something if she stood to gain something from it, whether it was money, recognition, or status.
“The Pontiac GTOs were the first muscle cars,” Dad said to Jake, ignoring my mother’s obvious desire to leave.
Jake nodded seriously. “They were designed to appeal to younger buyers and for performance.”
“They certainly weren’t concerned with safety features back then,” Mom said.
“It was all about a powerful engine and a sporty design. They weren’t bad-looking,” Jake teased, relaxing more as he talked to my father.
I was pleased Jake had bonded with my father over cars, but it was really my mother that anyone needed to impress.
“I’d love to hear what you think of the Pontiac GTO. She’s a beauty. It would be a shame to keep her covered in an old barn.”
Jake smiled. “She belongs on the road.”
I didn’t mention that the Pontiac wouldn’t be residing in the barn anymore.
“I wish you weren’t considering renting out the farm for parties. It’s so—” Mom didn’t finish her statement. Not that I wanted her to.
Her disgusted expression told me she intended to say something about how classless it was. Not that I was someone who worried about such things.
Mom turned away from us. “Why don’t you go congratulate Cora. She’s happy you were able to come.”
I bit my lip against telling her I wasn’t a child who needed to be prodded to congratulate my sister. Instead, I nodded and met Jake’s eyes. He tipped his head slightly, and I said we’d see my parents later before crossing the room to where Cora stood, surrounded by a small crowd.
Her straight, blonde hair was twisted into a low bun, and she wore a simple black dress and heels. It was simple and elegant. Everything I wasn’t.
I touched her arm when we approached.
