contrast. Evan wasn’t much of a smiler.
“Hey, Fiona. It’s good to see you. This is my sister, Annika.” He gestured to the woman.
“I wondered if you two might be related.” I glanced around. “You have a nice shop. I like all the photos.”
“Thanks.” He gestured to the wall of cars. “Those are some of my favorites that we’ve done.”
“I think I remember that Corvette. Didn’t you bring it to a show last year?”
“Yeah, we did. Good memory.”
“What about those?” I asked, gesturing to the vintage photos behind him.
He turned to look. “I inherited those when I took over the shop from my great-uncle. I think they’re from the early 1900s. Those crazy bastards built their own race cars back then. Raced them on dirt tracks out in the hills.”
“Early car racing was so dangerous. Look at the helmet on the guy in that one.” I pointed to a photo. “Would that even do anything if he crashed?”
“Probably not. I don’t think they went very fast, but still. Plus, half the time the cars fell apart.”
I laughed. “Can you imagine? Hugging the turn on a dirt track and a wheel goes flying.”
“Yep. Like I said, they were crazy bastards. I think my great-aunt Alice told me who they were once, but I don’t remember. Annika, do you know?”
“The only one I know for sure is him.” Annika pointed to the man in the leather helmet and goggles. “His name was John Haven. He won a bunch of races in that car without it falling apart, which was a big deal at the time. He was kind of a local celebrity.”
“That kind of family history is so interesting to me,” I said. “I have no idea where my ancestors were in the early 1900s. I could probably figure it out on my dad’s side, but not my mom’s.”
“Yeah, there’ve been Havens in Tilikum since it became a town,” Luke said. “Anyway, should we head back to my office?”
“Sure, thanks. Nice to meet you, Annika.”
She smiled. “You too.”
He led me through his garage, full of the sound of power tools. I noticed he had a ’69 Mustang Boss. That was a badass car. Apparently he’d recovered from losing out on the Pontiac.
His office was at the back, and he shut the door behind us, drowning out most of the noise.
“Have a seat.” He gestured to a leather couch.
I sat in one corner and he took the other. He had a large desk with an open laptop sitting out, a file cabinet, and a two-year old car calendar hanging on the wall. He had more framed photos of cars on display, including several with him in the driver’s seat.
“How have you been?” he asked. “Figuring things out?”
“Yes. To a point. I’ll be staying in Tilikum for a while, although my long-term plan is to move to Iowa where my mom lives. But for now, here I am.”
The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“It seems like a nice place. Can’t be too bad, since your family’s been here so long and never left.”
“Most of us are still here, yeah.” He crossed one leg over his knee. “Since you’re staying, have you thought about my offer?”
“Yes. And I really appreciate it.”
“But?”
“But I’m taking a job somewhere else.”
“Damn,” he said. “Mind if I ask where?”
I hesitated before answering. “Evan hired me.”
Irritation clouded his features and he glanced away. “Of course he did. Any excuse.”
“It didn’t have anything to do with you offering me a job.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it did.”
It was frustrating the way both men seemed to assume the other only saw value in me as a pawn in their rivalry. “He didn’t know you’d offered me a job. Believe it or not, Evan doesn’t spend all his time trying to find ways to screw you over.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“Doesn’t it go both ways? He thinks you take every opportunity to get at him. Are you sitting here plotting his demise, or do you actually have a business to run?”
He let out a breath. “Are you sure? What’s he paying you? I guarantee I can beat it.”
“Thanks, but I’ve really made up my mind. It’s not personal, it’s just what’s best for me right now.”
“Damn,” he said again. “Not going to lie, I’m disappointed. I thought we’d work well together.”
There was something in his voice, a hint of suggestion.
“Well, thanks again. I do appreciate the offer.” I stood.
“Let me know if anything changes.”
He got up and made for