AllFreeNovel
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She watches me intently as I take the first sip, concerned with whether I’ll like the drink or not. It’s a nice change from middle fingers and ineffective scowls. I revel in this moment of her undivided attention, her teal-green eyes dancing with anticipation as she bites her lower lip.Damn. She was right. This is better than my regular coffee. I bet she’s insufferable when she’s right. I nod slowly and drag the moment out for a few more seconds before I give her an answer. “My new favorite thing.”
She throws her hands up, exasperated. “Told you.”
~
“Let me see your office!” My little sister, Skye’s, voice comes through the video call on my phone. She’s been bugging me for a tour of Station 19 since day one, and now that thedemo’s finished, there’s something to show her.
“It’s more Betty’s office than mine,” I say, making a slow pan of the small space. My steel desk is pushed against one exposed brick wall, followed by open shelving for parts storage. On the opposite side, a grey drum fan points toward Betty, who’s lying flat on her stomach on the cool concrete, next to a cushioned dog bed she never uses, an oversized water bowl, and a rope toy.
Skye leans closer to the camera, grinning ear to ear. “Hi, Betty girl!” Betty wags her tail at the sound of her name. “I love it,” Skye continues, “all of it. I’m so proud of you. Now take me over to the other side. I want to see this coffee shop.”
“No.” The last thing I want to do is walk aroundTurbinewhile I’m on a video call with my sister, showing off the business I’m displacing.
She waves her hand at the screen. “You’re no fun.”
“It’s okay, Skye, I’ll show you later!” The familiar but unexpected voice of my best friend interjects from over my shoulder. He did say it would be a surprise when he showed up.
Skye waves from my phone screen. “Hi, Cam!”
“He will not show you later, but I’ll call you soon,” I say, and we hang up our call. She’s in her last year of college, and we talk whenever she needs a break from studying. I’m sure we’ll be on the phone again soon.
Cam tackles me into a hug, nearly knocking my phone from my hand. Releasing me, he pats the top of my head and messes up my hair. “You getting shorter?” I’m over six-foot, but Cam’s got to be four or five inches taller than me.
Stepping back, I poke his biceps. “You getting scrawnier?” He may be taller, but I probably outweigh him by twenty pounds.
“I amleanfor racing,” Cam insists. He walks out of myoffice into the open space of my shop and gestures over his shoulder toTurbine. “If you’re so worried about it, come buy me lunch.”
I check my watch. “It’s not even eleven.”And I was already over there once today.
“Alright, I’ll go over there and meet the coffee-girl all by myself.” He walks up to the windowed wall, looking for Allie. “Which one is she? Baggy pants? No. Flannel shirt? Doesn’t seem like your type.”
I step in front of him to block his view. “Did you come here to hassle me, or are you going to help?”
“Can’t it be both?” His eyes light up and he grabs my shoulder with one hand, pointing through the window with the other. “High pony and Bambi eyes! That’s your girl for sure. You always were a sucker for the sweet-looking ones.”
Pushing his pointing hand down and moving him away from the window, I say, “She is not my girl, and this glass isn’t soundproof. Jesus Christ, Cam.”
“Sure, sure, but I still want a sandwich,” he brushes past me, heading for the front door of my shop. I follow behind him, not about to set him loose on Allie alone. As soon as we’re insideTurbine, he’s analyzing the empty motorcycle shop from this side. “Damn, you really can see everything from over here, can’t you?” He waves his hand back and forth. “No secrets between you two, huh?”
“Yeah, boss. That’s how windows work. You didn’t notice from over there?”
“I did, but it’s weird to see it from this side. What’re they for, anyway?”
“They’re left over from when it was an old gas station. Like the windows they have when you’re getting your oil changed or your car washed so you can see what’s goingon.”
“Actually, that’s not why the windows are here. Your friend is lying to you.” Allie’s voice comes from behind us. When I turn, she’s standing there with that ineffective glare on her angelic face and her hands on her hips, emphasizing her curvy figure.
Cam leans against the ledge below the windows on the glass wall, trying not to tower over Allie. After I introduce them, she brings up the windows again, teal-green eyes glittering with anticipation. “So, you want to know where the windows really came from?”
At Cam’s urging, she repeats what she told me on the first day we met about the couple that used to own Station 19, getting more animated with each new detail. She seems to believe this story, but I can’t see how. Windowed walls like this are standard in a lot of auto shops.
While I was cleaning out my office, I found a black and white photo that had fallen behind a file cabinet that proved that at least the couple she’s talking about is real. It pictured a voluptuous woman in front of a lit-up Christmas tree with a note on the back.
Lou, now you can see me whenever you want. Quit staring through the window.
“Nora and Lou didn’t like each other much at first. He thought she was a spoiled princess, and she thought he was a selfish prick.” At that, Allie giggled. “Hearing an octogenarian call her husband a selfish prick will always be awesome,” she explains, sharing details I didn’t get on the first telling.
“A direct quote, then?” Cam asks, leaning forward and crossing his tattooed arms across his chest.
