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We spend time talking about nothing at all as I hold my niece while eating lunch. Brindley becomes more alert every single day. She laughs and does that baby babble constantly. Currently, she’s telling me a story as I encourage her to keep talking. The one thing I don’t like is her pulling everything. I’ve learned to keep my necklace under my shirt so she doesn’t pull it and choke me out. Yes, it’s almost happened before. Who knew baby’s had such strength. I sure as fuck didn’t.
Before I can finish my meal, the tones drop for my towing walkie.
“Brick, we got a call about a broken down car at the grocery store. Gonna need you to go pick it up and bring it into the shop,” Venom tells me over the walkie.
“I’m on it. Let me pay for my lunch and I’ll head out. Do you have any information about the vehicle?”
“It’s a newer model and is parked in the back corner of the lot. There’s nothin’ else parked around it so it should be an easy pick up for ya. We’ll be waitin’ for it. Though, the girl is worried about how she’ll pay for the tow. We’ll have to see what happens when you get back here with her,” Venom informs me as I hand my niece over to my sister and stand from the booth.
“Finish your lunch. I’ll head to the lake after I pick up the car. Don’t go there alone, Quinn. I’m bein’ serious. I’ll give this girl your number and have her get a hold of you. I’m sure if you helped her out, she’d not have a problem doin’ that,” I tell my sister as I pull out money and set it on the table for the bill and a nice tip.
We all eat at the diner enough to know what our bill will be before ever seeing one. Haley doesn’t want to charge us at all, but we always pay for our meals. She learned to stop fighting us on this shit and just accepts it now. Leaning down, I press a kiss against Quinn’s head and give Brindley a tickle before leaving the diner.
Getting in the truck, I make my way to the grocery store in town. Sure enough, there’s a lone car parked in the back of the lot and nothing else around it. I back the tow truck up to the front of the car before getting out. Thankfully, I’m not blocking any other cars or the aisle leading up to the closer parking spots.
After getting out of the truck, I’m met by the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen in my life. She’s slightly over five foot tall with golden blonde hair. In the sun, it appears as if the strands shimmer in the light. She looks up at me with the clearest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Even if they are rimmed in red from her being upset about her car. This woman isn’t skin and bones like most of the women I see. She’s got curves in all the right places and the clothes covering her body seem to mold to each curve. My mouth waters with the thought of tasting every inch of skin. She’d look really fucking good in between Ghost and me.
“I’m Brick. What can you tell me about your car?” I ask her, finally finding my voice.
“Um, well, I went to leave and it won’t start. It makes some sort of clicking noise but nothing else,” she tells me, tears filling her large eyes.
I don’t do crying women. I have no clue how to comfort them or talk softly as they need. Right now, all I want to do is pull this woman into my arms and hold her tight.
“Okay. Well, that could be your starter or alternator. The guys will know once I have it back to the shop. Can I get your name for the report I have to keep?” I ask the girl who I can’t seem to take my eyes off of.
“It’s, um, Autumn. Will either repair cost a lot of money? I’m not even sure I have enough to have my car towed right now,” she says, her voice breaking as her emotions threaten to overwhelm her.
“I’m not sure how much the repairs will cost, Autumn. I don’t want to give an estimate without knowin’ exactly what’s wrong with the car. We can work somethin’ out for the tow fee. We’re not monsters here and are more than willin’ to work with you,” I tell her, needing her to know we aren’t going to let her car just sit here because she’s fallen on hard financial times.
“Thank you,” she returns, a blush covering her cheeks and neck as she turns her head away from me.
Her long hair acts as a shield to prevent me from seeing her face and I have a feeling that’s how she likes things to be. This woman appears to have hit more than hard financial times. If I had to take a guess, I’d say she is on the run from someone and hides herself a lot from those around her. She keeps everyone at a distance because she doesn’t trust anyone to get close to her. I might not know much but I do know how to read people and this girl is screaming that she needs help.
“You don’t gotta thank me, sweetheart. I’m gonna get your car loaded up and you can ride with me to the garage,” I tell her, holding out my arm to let her go in front of me to the front of the truck.
This girl is wearing thin as hell clothing and while it’s starting to warm up, there’s a definite chill in the air. I want to get her in the truck where I can blast the heat while I load up the car and get it ready to take back to the garage.
“Where are you taking me?” she questions, her eyes widening to the point it would be hysterical if this wasn’t such a serious moment.
“I’m just tryin’ to get you in the truck, Autumn. I can turn the heat on so you’re not cold. Do you have a coat or anythin’ to wear?” I ask her, not sure if she actually has one with her or not.
“No. I’ll be okay. Thank you for letting me sit in your truck,” she says.
Getting Autumn into the tow truck, I turn on the heat as high as it can go and make sure the vents are pointed toward her. Autumn is trembling in the seat as I close the door to keep the heat inside. I don’t hesitate to make my way back to hook Autumn’s car up and get it loaded on the flatbed. Once I’ve got it secured, I make sure everything is locked in place and head toward the driver’s door. Opening it up, I find Autumn sitting with her arms outstretched as she warms her hands up with the heat. She’s still trembling as I put the truck in gear and pull away from the grocery store.
“Are you new in town?” I ask her, wanting to make small talk for the first time in my life.
“I’ve been here a few months. I’m trying to find a job right now, but it hasn’t been easy for some reason. I guess it has something to do with never having had one before,” she says as the cute as fuck blush covers her skin once again. I really want to find out how far down her blush goes.
“Well, I know the guys at the shop have been lookin’ for someone to work the front desk so they don’t have to deal with all the paperwork and shit. It would actually free up Venom to get his hands dirty with mechanical work more than what he’s been able to do recently. We can talk to them when we get there,” I tell her, knowing the guys have been trying to get me to take over the position since I don’t really work at any business on a regular basis. I fill in for any of our places of business that need an extra hand.
“I don’t want to overstep,” she says hesitantly.
“You won’t be. Let me talk to Venom when we get back and I’ll see what he says. Worst case, he’ll give you a job on a trial basis. You can prove your work ethic to the guys and then get offered a permanent position,” I tell her, needing her to accept this for some reason.
The rest of the short ride is made in silence. Autumn looks out the window and avoids looking in my direction for any reason. I feel the need for her to have this time to accept the possibility of taking a job from a bunch of men she doesn’t know. If she didn’t have reservations about it, I honestly don’t believe she’d be as smart as I sense she is. Autumn is nervous and scared and I’ll let her have what she needs until Venom makes a decision about whether or not to give her a job at the garage.
Chapter Two
