Fiona laughed. “That was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. Are all the pranks like that?”
I shrugged. “It varies. Both sides like to put up fake signs around town and my brothers put a beard on Lola all the time.”
“Lola?”
“The statue of the pinup girl outside the Dame and Dapper Barber Shop.”
“Oh, I’ve seen her. Are you guys going to do something to get back at them for this?”
“My brothers will, yeah.”
“Not you?”
I shrugged again. The pranks weren’t really my thing. Although after this, I kind of wanted to get them back. I’d lost a lot of time because of their bullshit, and I had work to do.
We got back to my place and Fiona offered to take Sasquatch out for a trail walk so I could get to work. I thanked her and went straight out to the shop.
She’d only been gone about twenty minutes when Chief Stanley pulled up outside.
I went out to meet him, wondering what he was up to. He was dressed in street clothes—a flannel shirt and jeans. His dark hair had a sprinkling of gray and his eyes crinkled at the corners with his smile.
“Hey, Chief.”
“Evan,” he said with a slight nod. “Hope you don’t mind me dropping in on you.”
“No, come on in.”
Chief Stanley had hovered around the periphery of my life since I was a kid. He’d been my dad’s best friend, and after my parents died, he’d quietly stuck around. I was the only one of my brothers who hadn’t wanted to follow in our dad’s footsteps and become a firefighter, but Chief had been there for me just the same.
We went into the garage and he whistled at the Pontiac.
“That’s going to be a great looking car when you’re finished.”
“I hope so. I already have a lot invested in her.”
“She’ll turn out. You do good work.”
“Thanks.”
“That’s actually why I’m here. I wanted to talk to you about restoring a car for me. If you have time, of course.”
“I’ll make time. Do you have the car already?”
“Not yet. I have my eye on a few, but I wouldn’t mind your help with that too.”
“Of course. What are you looking for?”
“A ’59 Cadillac series 62 convertible. Or a ’60, they’re similar.”
I nodded my approval. “Good choice.”
“I had one once, back when Skylar was little. I used to take her and her mom for long drives on sunny days. We’d stop for ice cream, enjoy the scenery, that kind of thing.”
“Good memories.”
“Exactly. I thought it might be fun to share with Skylar. Maybe a way to reconnect with her a little bit.”
“I bet she’ll love it. I’m honored you’d let me work on this for you.”
“No one else I’d trust with this.” He wandered around the Pontiac. “So tell me, what’s new around here?”
I leaned against one of the work benches and crossed my arms. “What have you heard?”
“I think my favorite story is that you rescued her from a cult, but a close second is the theory that her parents thought the world had ended and she spent her whole life in an underground bunker that you didn’t realize was on your property until she emerged and wandered over here.”
I laughed. “Jesus. I thought the mail-order bride story was bad.”
“I did wonder about that one for a minute or two.”
I scowled at him.
“I’m kidding.”
“She’s not a mail-order bride. Fiona’s a friend, I guess. Just someone who needed a hand.”
“It’s good of you to be the one to reach yours out to her.”
“She made it hard not to. She’s the reason I have that Pontiac.”
“Like I said, beautiful car. And it’s probably good for you to have some company.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but realized I kind of agreed with him. For years I’d been persistently telling myself I was better off alone. But Fiona was making me question that.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Chief’s mouth twitched in a knowing smile. “Well, I won’t keep you. I’m sure you’re busy.”
“I’ll get to work looking for your car. Or, Fiona will. She’s pretty good at that.”
“Thanks, Evan. I’ll be in touch.”
Chief Stanley left and I went into the office to put a note on the bulletin board. Fifty-nine Cadillac series 62 convertible. Those looked amazing in glossy red with a red and white interior. I could add some custom touches, like the TFD emblem, to really personalize it for him. It was going to be a great car.
Half an hour later, while I was back at work on the Pontiac, Fiona came in