Page 16 of Finding You

Devin shook his head as if clearing it. “I…um…I guess we should have taken all of it out of the car last night. Sorry. I wasn’t even thinking of it.”

“No big deal,” she said, forcing a smile. The man had a way of looking at her that was starting to give her a complex. She knew she looked a whole lot better than she had a few minutes ago, and yet he was still looking at her like she had something on her face.

He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. “So…um…I really need to get back to the shop. I want to get all the parts ordered and things were already pretty busy when I left.”

Scurrying around the room, MacKenzie collected her purse and slipped on her sandals, and walked over to him. “Okay. I’m ready!”

Devin looked down at her feet and frowned. It hit her that sandals probably weren’t the smartest choice in footwear at a garage. “I have sneakers somewhere in my trunk. I’ll change into them when we get there.” She pasted another smile on her face and it instantly fell when Devin simply spun and walked away. She met him at the front door and then followed him out, and felt an odd sense of déjà vu.

Yup. Devin Maxwell had the ability to jumble her thoughts and make her want to throw caution to the wind and be reckless–something she was trying to do a lot less of. It was part of her plan for her new life on the West Coast.

But when he looked over his shoulder at her and grinned, she knew she’d wait on that change until after she left Sweetbriar Ridge.

ChapterFour

It was a good thing she had a sugar high going from her breakfast, because as soon as she walked into Devin’s shop, it felt like a hundred things were going on at once and most of them involved her.

She was introduced to his staff first. Fortunately she’d met Will yesterday, so at least there was one familiar face in the bunch. The other two mechanics–Joe and Eric–were both incredibly friendly, but as soon as the introductions were over, they both went back to work.

“The front office is kind of…well, it’s a little…” Devin began hesitantly.

“It’s a mess,” Will finished for him. “Let me be the first to say that you’re a lifesaver, MacKenzie, and we are all beyond relieved that you’re here.”

Devin shot him a glance. “Are you done?”

“What? Who me?” Will asked. “Why?”

“Because I believe there’s a Ford Explorer in your bay that needs to be done before school lets out this afternoon.”

Will grinned. “Right. Ms. Canning mentioned something about wanting to pick the kids up from school today with it.”

“Then you should probably get to it.”

“Right.” Then he grinned at MacKenzie again. “Welcome to Sweetbriar Auto Care! And thank you for doing the paperwork we all hate doing!” And before Devin could say another word, Will sprinted from the room.

“Wow, that was quite a welcome,” she said with a small chuckle. But as she glanced around the area, she realized calling it a mess was a serious understatement. “So, um…this is where…?”

“It’s a lot to look at, I know,” Devin quickly interrupted. “I swear I have a system, but so do the guys, and none of them are the same.” He scrubbed a hand along the back of his neck and gave her one of those lopsided grins she was beginning to look forward to so much. “Honestly, I don’t even know where to tell you to begin.”

“Do you possibly have a phone charger I could use?” Holding up her phone for emphasis, she smiled. “I was going to ask if we could stop someplace on our way here, but I felt bad about keeping you away from the shop any longer.”

Glancing around, Devin had to move a few stacks of paperwork before he said, “Aha! I knew there was a wireless one back here!” Pointing to it, he stood proudly. “Since it’s wireless, it’s universal, so it doesn’t matter what kind of phone you have.”

“Thanks! Maybe after work we can stop somewhere so I can get one for myself? After all, once the car is fixed, I’m going to need one.”

“No problem. I need to do a little shopping anyway.”

“Perfect!” Then she glanced toward the waiting area and did her best to keep her expression neutral.

“Is everything okay?”

There were two people sitting in the waiting area who were watching the two of them with fascination. “I’m only asking because the sliding glass window is preventing anyone out there from hearing us, but I kind of feel like an animal at the zoo. Or maybe a fish in an aquarium.” Looking up at him, she laughed softly. “Or am I just being paranoid?”

He shook his head. “Unfortunately, you’re not paranoid. Sweetbriar Ridge is a small town. Everyone knows everyone and their business. You’re a new face and people are going to be curious about where you came from and how you ended up working here.” Pausing, he looked out at his customers and gave a friendly wave. “That’s Jeanie Demarco and Phyllis Murphy. They’re both retired teachers, best friends, and they do everything together. If you give them a chance, they’ll talk your ear off.”

“Okay, so I should make sure I look super busy and not slide that window open until absolutely necessary. Got it.”

That made him laugh. “I’ll make sure I’m standing here with you when it’s time to check them out. After all, you don’t know this POS system yet either.” Then he frowned. “Which reminds me…”

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