Pieces of Us (Missing Pieces #3) - N.R. Walker Page 0,55
laughed at me a few times when he saw me, and he nodded to the office. “Wondering why you didn’t hire someone years ago?”
“God, yes.”
Toni still had to come and ask me questions now and then, but she mostly had it all under control. Which meant I got my work done so much quicker, and without the interruptions, I could do a better job.
Juss came back down at 3:30 and he and Sparra finished up the job they’d been working on, and I stuck my head in the office to make sure Toni was going okay. “How’s your first day been?”
“Good!” she said. “Just getting things organised. I’ll attack the filing cabinets and stationery cupboard tomorrow.”
“Make a list of anything you need, and we’ll get it.”
“Oh, there’s an email that came through a little while ago,” she said. “About a replacement van. If you read it and tell me what you want me to say, I can draft up a reply for you.”
“Oh man.” My gaze automatically went to Justin, where he was talking with Sparra. “I guess that’s a conversation I need to have with Juss first.” I gave her a smile. “I’ll let you know tomorrow, thanks.”
That was a conversation I’d put off long enough.
When everyone left for the day, I locked the gate behind Toni and headed back into the workshop. Juss pulled the roller doors down and went to head into the office. “Babe, it’s home time,” I called out.
He stopped. “Don’t you have paperwork to do for a bit?”
“Nope. Toni’s got it all under control.”
His eyes lit up. “So we have an early mark?”
I smiled at that. “Yep.”
“I do believe there was talk of a massage.”
I led him to the back stairs. “I do believe so too.”
I followed him up, noting how his steps had improved. He used his leg with much more ease now, taking each tread with more confidence. I doubted he’d ever again be sprinting up them two at a time like he used to, but seeing his improvement made me smile.
We got through the door and he headed straight for the kitchen. “I was thinking we could have veggie stir fry for dinner,” he began.
“Sure. Sounds great. But, uh, Juss, can we talk for a second?”
He stopped to stare at me and his face fell. “Did I do something wrong?”
Oh, baby. “No. Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know. You just have a line between your eyebrows that you get when you’re worried or thinking about serious stuff. Or when you don’t want to tell me something. Like you don’t want to tell me something right now . . .”
“And you thought you didn’t know how to read me,” I said with a smile. I took his hand and we sat at the table. “There’s nothing wrong. I just wanted to talk about the van and whether or not we should get it replaced.”
He sagged a little and put his hand to his heart. “God, is that all? Shit, Dallas, you freaked me out.”
“I’m sorry. I should have told you it wasn’t anything about us.” We’d learned the hard way that freaking Justin out didn’t end well. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. I just panicked for a second.” He took a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief. “What about the van?”
“Oh, it’s just the insurance company has requested some information about whether or not we want the van replaced. And I wanted to ask you.”
“Me?”
“Well, yeah. I guess I need to know if you want—not now, but when you’re ready—to replace the mobile mechanic van, and if you wanted to do it again.”
“Me, drive?”
“When you’re given the all-clear.”
He frowned. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it.”
“Yeah, and you don’t need to answer right now. You certainly don’t have to do it if you don’t want.”
Juss thought for a long few seconds, then shook his head sadly. “I don’t think I could. Be a mobile mechanic again. I mean, not on my own, for a long time. I can’t lift a lot of things, and physically, I just don’t think I could.”
“It’s okay, baby. You don’t have to decide right now. You don’t need to worry about it or stress over it. You can say no now, and in a year’s time or five years’ time, if you want to think about it again, that’s okay too.”
His gaze locked to mine and he nodded. “Thanks. I just . . . I’m not ready. I can’t drive yet anyway, and