and comes in yelling at him about what an awful mechanic he was because he’d supposedly fixed her car and it left her stranded on the side of the road. He gets under the hood and discovers the distributor cap had popped off.”
I blinked up at Smoke, not getting why he shook his head. “That was a problem?”
“Yeah, bella. Distributor caps don’t just pop off by themselves. They’re clipped on. Pretty much impossible to pop off on their own.”
“She did it?” Smoke nodded, a slow, sweet smile stretching his lips as I tapped the empty oil can against the funnel. “And he finally got it?”
He shook his head, arms crossed. “Not at first. Not until he was done fussing at her, asking her if she was trying to ruin his good name by sabotaging his work. Thought maybe she had a brother or uncle working for another garage and was trying to help them out and by the time he got done accusing her of all the bullshit that should have sent her packing, that pretty twenty-year-old woman puts her hand on her hips, calls him a dumb mook and asks him how stupid he has to be to not know she wants him to take her out.”
“And then…”
“And then,” Smoke said, laughing with me. “They dated four months. Got married on a Sunday, and she never had to worry about flat tires or funky car problems again.”
After waiting a good ten minutes, as Smoke had instructed, I pulled the oil gauge out of the bin and checked the level, nodding when I spotted the correct amount.
“And you thought I was trying to pull the same shit your mom did? Because…”
“Not really. I mean…maybe…”
I shut the hood, stepping around the car, while Smoke squeezed degreaser in my hand and we washed up at the small sink next to the door. “The difference between your parents and us…is…”
“Well,” he said, drying his hands, then he brought the towel over and patted dry my fingers and knuckles. “Not sure I wanna know if they were doing what we do, but I’m guessing they weren’t.”
“Because…”
Smoke grabbed my waist, pushing me onto the hood of my car. “Maybe they were better Catholics than we are, bella.”
“Uh huh…maybe,” I said, leaning back on one hand, my foot rubbing against the back of his thigh. “Or maybe, I’m just using you for your body…”
His laughter echoed through the garage, then lowered into a soft growl when I pulled him close, scooting closer to get my legs around his waist. Smoke’s grin twisted up the right side of his mouth as he took hold of my leg, pushing me close. “Gotta admit…I’m good with that.”
5
Smoke
On Friday morning, Maggie’s roommate, Vi, stood with Mateo on one hip and two O’Bryant’s bags dangling from her elbow, barely making it down the sidewalk. I wasn’t one to judge shit. It wasn’t my place. But the woman was struggling and, in the heat, with the kid in the mood he seemed in, that struggle looked to be wearing her thin.
“Hey,” I said, stopping Vi as she tried pushing the crosswalk button with her elbow. “I got it…hold on.”
“Smoke…” I knew relief when I spotted it and it was clear on the woman’s face. From the way she lowered her shoulders and how she didn’t resist Mateo crawling into my arms when I reached for him, I got that she might need a break. “My hands are full at the moment.”
“Maggie’s working?” I’d gotten busy with business, dealing with new clients two towns over and hadn’t caught up with her since I helped with the Outback at the beginning of the week. Other than Ma mentioning Maggie being late three days ago for her lunch shift, no one had mentioned her to me.
“Sick,” Vi said, pulling back her long hair into some knot she managed without an elastic band. “She’s been running a fever all day and chasing that one around. I took him out with me to give her a break.”
The kid reached for my chain, laughing when I bounced him in my hands, but I kept my attention on Vi, wondering why my chest had gone all tight. “She been to a doctor?”
The woman tilted her head, giving it a shake. “You serious? Your folks pay well, but she can’t afford the co-pays or the medicines. I got Mr. Aldridge to give me samples of his overstock vitamins because Maggie won’t let me call my doctor, but she’s got this