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He was closed on Saturday and Monday though. He’d decided months ago when he started to date Avery that he was going to make sure he was around to spend time with her for Christmas.
Not to mention he wanted to give his guys the time off too.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t still on call with his tow truck, but Simon was taking it on Saturday. Jason on Monday. It was his business, so he’d cover it on Christmas day.
“No problem,” Alex said. “I don’t have anything going on. When Jennie is working I’m not doing much anyway.”
“Did you get your house rented out?” he asked.
“I’ve got someone moving in the first of the year,” Alex said. “I knew it’d be easy to find someone, but it took time to move everything into Jennie’s. Her place didn’t need anything, you know that.”
Jennie’s brother, Griffin, had bought the house for Jennie without her knowledge and then gave her the deed months ago when Alex proposed. The house had been recently remodeled. Carter hadn’t been in it, but it sounded pretty nice from what Alex had said.
“So why did it take so long for you to move in?” he asked. He and Alex never talked much about things like this. Or he didn’t talk much at all when he was working. Right now it was the two of them.
Stew was working in the other garage. Jason had the day off and Simon would be in late because he had an appointment.
“Jennie and I decided to make the sunroom connect to her kitchen. To do that we had to cut into the wall and then fix it after. We had to insulate the sunroom more too. I’ve been working on that when I’ve had time and we’ve been staying at my house while I did to get out of the mess.”
“And she’s been cleaning your house, huh?” Carter asked. He knew his cousin wasn’t the neatest person out there, but he wasn’t horrible either.
Alex laughed. “That too. Anyway, we finally got it all squared away and then I wanted to be particular with who I rented it to. I almost put the extra bedroom and bath upstairs first thinking I could get more rent, but the truth is, it’s a cost and time too. I’ve already got to figure out the snow removal part and grass during the summer soon.”
“Avery knows someone,” he said. “If you want to pay for it.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. If I’m at a fire and held up, I can’t get there to get the person out.”
“Easy enough,” he said.
“Yep,” Alex said. “Let’s hope being a landlord is easy too.”
The two of them got to work, side by side in the bays. They were both under cars on the lift.
“Shit,” Carter swore when he cracked his knuckle trying to loosen a bolt. He walked out and saw blood on his hand under the grease and went to wash it off.
“How bad is it?” Alex asked. Alex was also an EMT.
“Not bad. Just scraped the skin.”
Alex looked down at it after the water rinsed the soap off. “Yeah. Clean it up and put a bandage on it. Got gloves to wear so it doesn’t get infected?”
“Yes,” he said, sighing. He knew the routine. It was one his mother had drilled into his father’s head and his for years. Alex was even worse about it.
He dumped alcohol on it, swore again under his breath, then wrapped it with a flexible Band-Aid over pretty much his whole finger to protect it. It was a bitch to work with gloves on, but he grabbed black latex ones that fit his hand well and would do that for a few days until he knew it was healed.
“You’re testy today,” Alex said. “More than normal. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” he said, going back under the car.
Alex moved over next to him. “Your dogs aren’t even coming near you,” Alex said. “That alone says it all.”
He glanced over and saw both of his dogs on their beds. Doc was to the point she’d sleep with Dopey. The dogs didn’t even move when he swore. Normally Dopey at least came over to check things out.
Alex was right. He’d been testy for days.
Ever since he’d witnessed the conversation that Avery had with Mike.
He felt like Josie was part of his family now and he hated that there wasn’t much he could do about this situation.
