rust and badly done repairs made an already ugly car look even worse.
The shapeless form of a person buried in a too-large winter coat got out of the car. Her eyes were partially hidden behind dark bangs and beneath that, she wore a lot of makeup. Her nose was pierced, right in the center, and it was actually…
Well, it was hot, but what the fuck did that matter?
She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place her.
I glanced at Sasquatch. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and he sat next to me.
Wait, why was he sitting?
“Do we know her?” I muttered to him.
The girl flashed a wide smile and waved. “Hi, I’m Fiona. I called a little while ago.”
This was the girl on the phone? “You need a new clutch?”
“Yes, but—”
“That’s not what I do.”
“I know and I’m not here to get you to fix my car.” She cupped her hands together and blew into them. “Wow, it’s so cold out here. Aren’t you cold?”
I glanced down at my open flannel shirt, t-shirt, and jeans. “No.”
“Really? I’m freezing. Isn’t it spring? Must be the elevation.” She blew into her hands again. “Anyway, I have a proposition for you.”
“Who are you?”
“Fiona.” She sighed. “Fiona Gallagher.”
That was why I recognized her. She’d been here with Shane Gallagher.
I crossed my arms. “Gallagher? You his daughter or his wife?”
She winced. “Daughter. I’d point out the obvious age difference, but after this morning, that’s not as relevant as I would have thought.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Like I said, I have a proposition for you. This is going to sound weird but hear me out.”
She rubbed her hands together and I could practically hear Gram’s voice in my ear. My eye twitched. I didn’t want to invite her in. If I invited her inside, it would be harder to get rid of her.
“I’m not selling the Super Bee to your dad.”
“Oh, I know. You shouldn’t sell it to him. In fact, if you were thinking about changing your mind, I’d tell you not to. He was probably going to low-ball you anyway.”
That was… not what I expected her to say. “So you’re not here about the car.”
“Not that one. And I’m not here for my father, either. In fact, I’m here because I’m trying to get away from my father.”
Sasquatch looked up at me. I groaned. Girl in trouble, standing in the cold. Not that it was very cold out. But god, now she was fucking shivering.
Don’t do it, Evan. Don’t get involved.
But Gram’s conditioning was too deeply ingrained. I was basically an asshole, but I had limits.
“Come inside.” I glanced at Sasquatch, about to tell him to go lie down so he didn’t try to defend his territory and keep her out, but he didn’t get in her way.
“Thank you so much.” She followed me inside. “Your dog is gorgeous. Sasquatch, right?”
“Yeah.”
She crouched down and held out her hand. “Hi, Sasquatch. Who’s a good boy? Yes, you are.”
He trotted to her, his tail whipping back and forth. She rubbed the top of his head, still talking in that ridiculous high-pitched voice, telling him how good he was.
Yeah, real good dog, letting some weird ass girl sweet-talk him like that.
“Some guard dog,” I muttered.
“What?” Fiona asked.
“Nothing. Why are you here?”
She gave Sasquatch one last scratch behind the ears, then stood. “Okay, here’s the thing. This morning I found out… no, you don’t need to know about all that. Although it does provide context. Maybe I should start at the beginning.”
I rested my hands on my hips and raised my eyebrows. “Seriously?”
“I swear, this made so much sense when I was driving here. I had everything I was going to say all worked out, but you’re very big and intimidating up close.”
I had no idea what to say to that, so I just waited.
She took a deep breath. “Let me try this again. For various reasons, I walked out on my life today. I’m heading for my mom’s in Iowa, but I think my clutch is going out. I know how to fix it, I just need a place to do it.”
“What does any of that have to do with me?”
“Well…” She took another breath. “I’m hoping we can come to an arrangement. You let me use your shop and your tools so I can replace my clutch, and I help you get something you want.”
“What do you think I want?”
“I was here when you told my dad about the Mustang. It was an Eleanor, wasn’t it?”