The Mechanics of Mistletoe - Liz Isaacson Page 0,22

at it.

Vibrations had been rumbling his backside for the past five minutes, and he didn’t care. Sammy, Logan, and Jason assessed the cars, and he retreated to the shade inside the shop and pulled out his phone.

He’d gotten a lot of apologies and reassurances, and he was reminded of how much he liked his ranch owner friends. Tammy especially, as she’d rebuked the others, who were all men. Leave him be. He’s a sweet man with a good heart. She’s lucky to have his attention. Now, who can come help the Bentons?

After that, everyone had chimed in to say they could, depending on the day and what else they had going on.

Thank you, Bear texted. I’m headed there now, so I’ll update y’all. He looked up as Sammy entered the garage. “Ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Thanks for waiting.”

He nodded, glad when she approached and secured her hand in his again. “The ranchers say they can come help,” he said. “We just need to see what the damage is.”

Sammy led him back out front to her truck, but Bear paused near the front of it. “What?” she asked.

He pointed to the front right tire, which was all the way flat. “You maybe drove over something on the way here.” He looked at her and watched her shoulders deflate the same way the tire had.

“Oh, no.”

“Sammy,” he said. “You own a mechanic shop. You can probably change a tire in less than five minutes.”

She lifted her eyes to his, widening them as she did. She burst out laughing, and Bear sure did like the light, feminine sound of it. He liked it when she put her hand against his chest and leaned into him.

He chuckled with her, but every cell in his body had lit up with her touch, and his voice sounded breathless and weak.

Sammy quieted and asked, “Can you drive?”

“Sure,” he said, but he’d probably end up with a similarly flat tire, and he could not change one in less than five minutes. He found himself willing to do almost anything to be with Sammy though, and if that meant changing a flat tire, so be it.

“Wow, this thing is so nice,” Sammy said as she climbed into the passenger seat.

“Why don’t you get a new truck?” Bear asked. “Wasn’t there one in the back there? Was that a loaner?”

“Yes,” she said, buckling her seat belt. She’d cooled quickly, and Bear caught a glimpse of the woman he’d eaten dinner with last week. The same awkwardness descended on them, and Bear pushed it away.

He didn’t want it there. “What did I say?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you just shut down on me,” he said, glancing at her. “Don’t tell me you can’t feel it.” He could barely breathe through the tension.

She sighed, and it broke. He found that fascinating, but he didn’t say so.

“That truck was Patrick’s,” she said. “I keep it, and I fix it up when it breaks down, for Lincoln.”

“Ah,” Bear said, backing into the street. “For Lincoln? Or for you?”

“Maybe for both of us,” she said quietly.

“Fair enough,” Bear said. He inched down the street and came to a stop at an intersection. He knew where she lived, and he headed in that direction. The streets had been swept and watered in this part of town, and Bear didn’t encounter anything that would pierce his tires.

In front of her parents’ place, he eased to a stop on the road as far over as he dared and got out of the truck. Sammy stood on the sidewalk in a clear spot and looked at it.

“I see what you mean,” he said. The house was still standing, but there was a condemned feeling about it. “Whole new roof. Windows—those will be easy.”

“Provided we can get them,” she said.

“I can call Micah,” Bear said easily. “He put these amazing windows in my new place, and it wasn’t a local company. I think he got them out of the Hill Country.”

Sammy looked at him with a slightly disgruntled expression. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

Bear started to laugh before he realized she wasn’t joking. “I mean, I guess?” He initiated the touch between them this time, taking her hand in his. “Is that a bad thing?”

“I just feel stupid,” she said. “I don’t know anyone to call about anything. You have like, this whole network of people.”

“And you have me,” he said without missing a beat. “I’m who you call about everything, Sammy.” He grinned