Page 71 of Call it Reckless

“Would it be okay if I looked around first? Then, maybe I could ask you some questions?”

I winked at Reid, amused at how grown-up she sounded. “That sounds like a good plan.”

He looked at his daughter with affection and pride. “I’m just along for the ride. As you can see, she’s in charge.”

I opened the door that led to the short hallway leading into the bay area. Already, a few oil drops stained the floor. I showed Lexi the huge drawers of tools and demonstrated how the lift worked, even letting her work them herself as well as a few of the other hydraulic tools. She grunted under the weight of a couple, but with her dad’s help, I let her try out everything.

“You really know how to use all of these things?” she asked. “It must have taken you forever to learn all of this.”

I chuckled. “Well, fortunately, I had a dad and a grandpa who already knew how to do it, and they showed me a lot. Then I went to a special school to learn even more. And then I went to college to learn even more about how to make engines run more efficiently.”

“What’s efficiently mean?”

“Good question. It means I learned how to make them run smoother, faster, or use fuel better so it isn’t wasted.”

“Neat, right, Dad?” She turned to him, and the way she batted her long lashes, I couldn’t imagine how anyone could disagree with her.

“Very neat, cupcake.”

I gestured for them to go ahead of me back to the lobby. I was about to take them over to Paige’s side when Reid’s phone went off. He excused himself while Lexi and I kept going.

“This is my friend, Paige. I run the car side, and she runs the salon side.”

Once again, Lexi’s eyes scanned the room. It wasn’t hard to see that she was equally taken with everything here. “It’s so pretty here!”

Paige beamed; a child’s compliment was just as serious to her as an adult’s. “Thanks, sweetie.”

Reid joined us. “I’m sorry, Lex. That was work. We’re going to have to cut this short.”

“Daddy, no!”

He frowned and tipped his head. “You know that’s not how this works, Lex. I’m sorry. Maybe Miss Bristol can reschedule with us, but I have to do this. It’s important to a case I’m working on. Miss Alice is expecting you.”

Lexi crossed her arms and pouted her lips but didn’t say anything else.

I tugged Reid’s arm, pulling him to the side. “I don’t want to interfere,” I said in a low voice, “and I don’t mind rescheduling, but what if she stayed with me? We can finish the interview and then you can pick her up?”

A look of uncertainty crossed his face. “I don’t know. I don’t want to impose. I don’t know how long I’ll be. Do you really want to get stuck with her for possibly hours?”

Now I crossed my arms. “Honestly, Reid. Stuck? No way. She’s fantastic. We’ll have fun. She can continue her assignment instead of putting it off.” He still seemed doubtful. I sighed, bothered by his reluctance. “I know you think I have an irresponsible side, but do you really think I can’t manage? I swear I won’t have her pulling out engines or anything remotely dangerous. She’ll be fine.”

“It’s not her I’m worried about.”

“Please, Daddy.”

We both glanced over to Lexi who had obviously overheard us.

Reid drew a deep breath. “Promise you won’t drive Bristol crazy with too many questions and listen to everything she says and sit quietly if she has some other work to do.”

She vigorously nodded her head to each of his demands.

He looked at me. “You’re sure?”

“As sure as ice melts in the desert. We’ll be fine, won’t we, Lexi?”

“Yes!” She grabbed ahold of my hand. I squeezed it, touched at how she wanted to spend time with me.

“Okay.” He shushed Lexi as she started cheering. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be. Call me if you need me.”

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