Confessions from the Quilting Circle - Maisey Yates Page 0,64

everything.

“I can show you around,” he said.

And then she couldn’t regret that step toward real conversation, because this really did feel...like a step. They’d eaten together before, but they hadn’t delved into each others lives.

This felt like him sharing his life.

“Sure,” she said. “I can honestly say I have never been shown around the garage before.”

“Well, you’re in for a treat.”

He said the words somewhat dryly, but she could see that he was proud of the place. She got the sense that he did a good portion of the running of the business, and that the transition between himself and Dusty had been happening slowly over the last few years.

“How did you meet Dusty?” she asked, looking intently at all the tool racks and shelves full of auto parts. She might not be able to identify anything, but it took on some meaning, knowing how much it meant to him.

That he was working here because this business would belong to him someday. And that mattered to him. Was worth working through meals, and all the sweat and grease and even blood—he had some stories—that went into the job.

“I was looking for work. I had a pretty good sense of how to work on old cars, because I’d been helping my mom get hers running one way or another constantly over the last few years. So he agreed to take me on and train me. I was sixteen. Not going to school.”

“You quit school?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Not the best move in hindsight, but at the time... I didn’t have any use for school. Not when I could be out making money. And... I knew where I was going to end up. Somewhere working with my hands, but definitely not somewhere that required college. So there just didn’t seem to be a point.”

“Oh,” she said. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Except you don’t agree.” He looked combative, and she realized...

He expected her to judge him. To judge this. She was going to college and she talked about it like such a sure thing, while it was clear that to him the only sure future had been one he’d build with his hands. Learning a trade, like he’d done, had been the smartest thing he could do.

And he was used to being judged for it.

She shook her head. “No, I’m realizing that I’m lucky. Because it was definitely something my mom and dad wanted for me, and they made sure that I knew I had that privilege available. I just always assumed that I could go. And you—”

“No one in my family has ever gone to college,” he said. “We’re just not those people.”

“But you’re smart,” she said. “You have to be to fix engines. To teach yourself?”

“I’m lucky, too,” he said. “Because Dusty has taught me a lot about business. I would never have been in this position without him. But you can see why I’m here. There’s not a ton of open opportunity in Sunset Bay, but there’s this opportunity for me.”

“Yeah.”

“You know what—I think I have some sheet cake left over in the fridge for my birthday.”

“It’s probably really old.”

“Yeah, it’s a little old, but Dusty also brought it in late.”

“Okay. You have to take the first bite, though.”

They ended up sitting in his truck with the heater on, a plaid blanket over her knees while they ate cake and listened to the radio, since it was the only thing he had in his pickup, not a hook up for a cell phone or anything.

“Do you know what’s weird about your dad dying?” she asked.

“What?”

“Everybody treats you like you’re an alien. So as bad as you feel about the whole thing, you just end up feeling worse, because you can’t even talk to your friends anymore.”

“Yeah,” he said. “When my dad died, it was kind of a relief that he wasn’t around anymore. But I was sad, too. And...”

“No one understood that, did they?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“How old were you when he died?”

“Eight. I took all of his baseball cards out to the backyard and set them on fire. And then I cried because I wished I had them.” He didn’t say anything for a while. “I’ve never told anyone that.”

She blinked. Hard. “My dad was a great guy. He was an amazing dad. I’m not sure he felt like it. He was sad sometimes that he couldn’t go to everything always. That he couldn’t just...get up and have energy when I wanted him to. It didn’t matter to me,