Page 41 of Ice Princess

April chews on the inside of her cheek, studying me intently.

I pretend not to notice and return to rummaging around the wires. Finally, I spot the clamp, attach it to the battery pole and wedge the plastic bottle in place to keep the battery steady.

Stomping around to the driver’s door, I bend my head in, flick the key in the ignition and hear the blessed sound of the engine turning over. Next, I smack the lever beneath the steering wheel once, then twice, testing each of the lights.

The bulb I replaced works perfectly.

“It’s good,” April says, confirming that the job is complete.

“At least one thing is working out today,” I mumble, shutting down the engine and backing away from the car.

April follows me as I storm to the sink and tear off my gloves. Lathering my hands with soap, I wash off the grime from my skin.

“Are you upset because of the interviews this morning?”

“No,” I grumble. And then I add, “Well, I’m not happy that we wasted our time. We took the entire morning off, and we still couldn’t findonedecent technician.”

April wilts against the sink. “I admit, it’s discouraging. Not every mechanic has to love diagnosis like we do, but I wish we could find ones who were willing to learn.”

“They don’t understand how we make money doing things our way. Diagnosis is hard,” I remind her. “Mechanics get paid for the job done, so if it takes a technician months to figure out what the problem is foronecar, they think they’ll go hungry.”

“But people are willing to pay more for that kind of solution.” April scrunches her nose. “I really thought that young guy from the next town over was promising.”

I shake my hands out at the sink, careful not to get any splatter on April. Reaching for the pink towels folded nearby, I add, “It’s better that he ghosted us. I could tell that he wouldn’t respect us if he worked here.”

April groans. “Why is it so hard to find a mechanic willing to work in our shop?”

“Probably because it’sourshop.”

“I refuse to believe that men won’t join our garage simply because we’re women. What about Dalton? He and his welding crew have no problem when we call them for work.”

I open the mini-fridge and take out two cans of pink lemonade. Handing one over to her, I respond, “Dalton owns his own business so, technically, he’s not working as our employee.”

“You have a point.”

I crack open the tab. The refreshing pink lemonade feels cool against my hand. Just inhaling the scent of the drink makes me feel a bit cooler.

“Running a business is hard,” April whines. “I just want to fix cars.”

“Cheers to that.” I clink my can of pink lemonade against hers.

April takes a sip and sinks into the chair next to me. “It’s like we can’t catch a break. First, we didn’t have customers because everyone was loyal to Stewart Kinsey. Now, we havetoomany customers, but no decent technician wants to work with us because of Stewart Kinsey.”

“Anyone who decides to join us would be joining our war against the Kinseys. They’re just protecting their own.”

“I thought the public wouldn’t have to choose sides since you and Gunner got together. Isn’t your relationship a sign of a truce?”

I stiffen at the mention of the six-foot-five hockey menace who backed me up against my car this afternoon.

April taps her oil-stained, blistered fingers against the can. “You two might not be dating for real, but the town has no idea. You seem really natural together. Plus everyone knows you ate lunch with Gunner at The Tuna today.”

“What?” I screech.

April seems surprised by my response. “Photos of you were all over the neighborhood group chat. I was waiting for you to tell me.”

“Tell you what? There were no free tables, so I sat with him. It wasn’t a big deal.” I huff out a breath. “This town issonosy. I can’t believe lunch with Gunner made it to the neighborhood group chat.” I plunk my pink lemonade on the ground. “I get why everyone was posting about you and Chance, but Gunner and I are normal people. What’s with the town scrutiny?”

“You and Gunner arenotnormal people. He’s a Kinsey. If Lucky Falls were a fairytale kingdom, he’d be the prince. And you are the most beautiful belle in the land.”

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