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I can’t help but laugh, feeling like I passed a test. “How so?”
Hector leans back in his chair, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee before he responds. “Aside from the fact that we can walk over here from our house to spend all morning drinking coffee,” he pauses and takes a deep breath, “We love Allie.” Brian nods in agreement as Hector continues. “She’s a special girl. She’s got such a big heart. It’s crushing to see her lose this place.” He’s pulling no punches, and I appreciate him for it.
The ‘living room’ grows quiet with the facts laid out. This is Allie’s place, as much as I don’t want to think of it that way. It’s important to more than just her.Turbineis the home of a community, and Allie is its cornerstone. No matter how you lookat it, my being here is the catalyst for an unwelcome change.
“Listen, we’re not trying to make you feel bad,” Brian says.
“Well, maybe a little,” Hector adds. Brian sends him a scolding glare, but I smile at him. I get it.
“We’re worried about our girl,” Brian says. “She’s been—”
“So, what’s the deal with all the motorcycles?” Hector cuts Brian off at a volume much higher than we were using before, clearly changing the subject. I don’t have to turn to know Allie is walking up behind me.
“I fix bikes that don’t run, so that’s most of what’ll go on inside the shop,” I say, pointing toward it with my shoulder. “I also build bikes on spec and sell them, mostly café racers. Those are the ones out front.”
“The ones that made it so necessary for you to take over the patio?” Allie asks from behind me, voice thick with irritation. I have to suppress a grin before I turn around to face her, resting my arm across the back of my chair.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“You’re the worst. You know that?” she asks, hands propped on her hips.
“I know you think that, yes.”
“If it weren’t for Betty, I’d never let you over here.” Allie rolls her eyes, then looks around and realizes Betty isn’t with me today. “Where is she?”
I point through the windowed wall. “I put a bench on my side under the window for her, so she can watch.” Two high schoolers sit at a round white table on theTurbineside, right underneath the window, waving at Betty through the glass.
“That is one patient dog,” Brian’s voice surprises me. I almost forgot he and Hector were sitting with us.
“She really is,” Allie says, speaking over my shoulder to Brian. She’s standing close enough that the warmth radiatingfrom her heats my neck. “I adore her. I have no idea how this jackass has raised such a lovely creature.”
Brian gives her an indulgent smile. “Oh, he’s not so bad.”
She opens her mouth in protest, but Hector stands up and wraps her in a big hug before she can respond. He whispers something in her ear, and she tries and fails to stifle a laugh.
“Allie,” Brian says, “sit with us for a little bit.” She eyes the empty seat next to me and hesitates a moment before crossing in front of me to sit down, giving me a tempting view of her lush ass on the way.
“Luke was about the tell us what the fuck a café racer is. Weren’t you?” Hector asks, returning to his seat.
“Never tried to define it before.” I’ve got three lined up on the patio by the front door of my shop, but I know if I asked them to come and see for themselves, Allie would stay behind, and I’m enjoying her closeness too much to lose it.
“It’s a type of motorcycle, right?” Brian asks.
“Yeah.” I nod. “Most café racers start as vintage bikes, and then they’re modded to make them simpler, faster, lighter.” Hector and Brian both listen intently. Allie is the quietest she’s ever been, but I doubt it’s due to interest. “Once I’m done with them, they’re naked bikes, stripped of their bullshit. Mostly vintage leather and chrome. Nothing that comes out of my shop will have a windscreen, a radio, or a fucking heated cupholder.”
“So, you’re an artist who likes to get his hands dirty,” Brian says, thoughtfully tapping his coffee mug.
“Didn’t take you long to figure me out.”
“Brian is annoyingly good at reading people,” Hector says, smiling over his shoulder at his husband. “It’s impossible to hide anything from him.”
“That’s true,” Allie chimes in for the first time, agreeing with Hector.
“I pay attention. That’s all,” Brian says.
“You are hard to miss,” Hector adds, sharing a look with Allie that’s too brief for me to decipher.
Sometimes I forget that my view of Allie is a package deal with everyone atTurbinehaving a view of me. Turning my head, I point my chin toward Betty, who’s now snoozing on her bench next to the teenagers on the other side of the glass wall. “I guess I set us up as the unofficial entertainment for the day.”
