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“I just needed to talk to someone about something and since I don’t know anyone in town, you seemed like a good starting point.”
Tex almost laughed at the lack of effort she put into her cover story. “Okay, sweetheart. Let me just finish up here at the garage and we can-”
Abby cut him off. “You work at a garage?”
He paused. “Yeah. We do car repair and custom bike builds.”
“You’re kidding,” she said, sounding shocked.
“Nope,” Tex said, wondering why she was so interested. “The place is called Burnout on the South Side, just a few blocks from Maria’s.”
“How long are you going to be there?” she asked. “I could come by…”
“Well, now the garage is closing in about 15 minutes,” he told her.
“Oh. I can’t get off work that fast. Maybe…” She thought for a minute. “Maybe you could come by my place? In about an hour?”
Tex was both shocked and pleased she’d jumped the gun on him so fast. He grinned widely. “Absolutely. Just give me your address.” She did and he committed it to memory immediately, whistling as he put his phone away and then his tools.
“Why so happy, cowboy?” Hawk asked, coming into the bay area from the office.
“Vegas wants me at her place in an hour. To talk.”
Hawk laughed. “Oh, the poor, poor girl. Has no idea what she’s getting into.”
Tex scoffed. “Hey I can do nice! I can do nice very, very well thank you.”
Hawk shook his head and walked away.
Tex closed and locked the bay doors and headed to his Harley. He threaded his way through the streets of Rapid City until he turned into her neighborhood. It was all condos, all exactly alike. They didn’t have any personality at all. He cruised past the postage stamp lawns and stark white mailbox posts until he found the one he was looking for. Vegas’ Toyota was in the driveway already.
He got off his bike and headed to the front door, intending to knock, but she swung it open and came out to meet him. She was wearing a business suit, and it showed off her T and A a little better than the jeans and tee, but almost by default. It wasn’t tailored and it didn’t look sexy at all. If you looked up androgyny in the dictionary, that suit would be pictured. He glanced down. The shoes were nice, though. High heels. He approved.
“Thanks for coming,” she said. “I just got home.”
“Pretty late for a Friday,” he replied.
She nodded. “Pretty late every night, just trying to figure out the ins and outs of the hotel.” She walked past him and flipped up the cover on the keypad for the single car garage. He watched as she dialed in a code and the door started to rise.
“So, I saw you had a Harley,” she declared, gesturing to his bike. “And I thought maybe you could help me out. But then you said you work at a garage, which is really even better.”
The door reached its full height and Tex saw why the Toyota was in the driveway and not in the garage. Sitting in the center was a gleaming black 1963 Harley panhead. He laughed in surprise. He gave a low whistle stepped inside, circling it.
“It was my dad’s,” she told him. “He passed away last year. I’ve held on to it. I just wasn’t ready to sell. I take it out, though, and keep up with the maintenance.”
Tex looked up at her in surprise. “You take it out?”
“Yeah. But…it’s not mine. It’s his, you know? And no matter how long I own it, it’ll always be his. I don’t even know why I brought it up here, except that I just wasn’t ready. But then you showed up and you had a Harley and you work at a garage. Maybe that’s a sign that’s it time to let go of it. So, if you know anyone, or hear of anyone who might be interested in it, could you give them my card? I’d put an ad in the paper or online, but I’m too busy at work and moving in to deal with anyone who isn’t serious about making an offer. I’ll cut you in, as the facilitator. Say 15%?”
Tex tore his gaze away from the bike. “That’s too much.”
She shook her head. “Not to me. I just don’t want to waste my time. It’s worth it to me. And it’s not costing me anything sitting here. So, I can wait until the right buyer comes along.”
Tex tried to hide his disappointment that she hadn’t asked him over for a booty call. On the other hand, it was a god damn gorgeous bike and if she needed help unloading it, he was her man. Plus, he’d at least have an excuse, a real excuse it seemed, to talk to her. He took out his phone. “You mind if I take some photos?”
