Page 19 of Fractured Hope
He was cradling the coffee like a lifeline when I hopped inside.
“Thanks for this.” He took a sip.
“No worries.” I started the truck and got the heat going as I reversed out of my driveway and headed toward the garage.
The drive wasn’t long, and I was as quick as could be, getting Bohdi and his belongings out of the truck so I could hustle him out of the cold. Grabbing his backpack, he gave me a soft smile as I led him through the employee’s entrance at the back of the workshop, then through to the break room. Seb was working ona Chevrolet Silverado as we went by. Once Bodhi was settled, I would go check in with Seb and see what was next on the docket.
To my surprise, the break room wasn’t empty when we entered.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” Lyric was sitting with his feet up on the break room table sipping coffee, looking surprisingly more awake than I’d expected for this—or any—time of the morning.
“Get your feet off the table, brat. People eat here.” I knocked his feet off the table. “Not that it’s not great to have the help, but how are you here so early?”
“I was up.” He shrugged and jumped to his feet, peering around me. “And who do we have here?” Lyric asked with a smile and wink as he approached Bodhi. He flicked his short brown sun-kissed hair off his forehead as he smirked at me before widening his green eyes and batting his lashes at Bodhi.
“Oh, sorry. This is Bodhi.” I came back to stand beside him. “Bodhi, this is my youngest brother, Lyric.”
“Well, hello,” Lyric said in his usual flirtatious manner while reaching for Bodhi’s hand, only to come up short when he saw it was in a cast. “What in the world happened to you?”
“Fell on the sidewalk,” Bodhi mumbled, looking down.
“I startled Bodhi and caused him to fall. Didn’t Seb fill you in?” I narrowed my eyes at Lyric. “Did you not make it in yesterday?” I was just about fed up with his lack of responsibility.
“Woah. Woah, of course I did. Come on, man.” Lyric had his arms out, palms up. “I just wanted to hear the story from this beauty.” He winked at Bodhi, causing him to blush.
“Leave him alone, Lyric.” I was surprised by the steel in my voice and my body’s reaction as I went to stand in front of Bodhi, blocking him from my brother. Lyric was harmless, but Istill didn’t like him directing those flirtations toward my Bodhi. Wait, what?MyBodhi? No, just Bodhi, my friend.
I quickly shook off my thoughts as Lyric glared at me playfully. “Oh, I see how it is. No worries.” With yet another wide smirk and wink for Bodhi, he left the room, hopefully to get back to work.
Sighing out an exasperated breath, I turned back to Bodhi.
He was holding in a chuckle. “So, that’s the infamous Lyric, huh?”
“Yeah, infamous is right.” I barked out a laugh. “Sorry about him. He’s a notorious flirt.” Shaking my head, I changed the topic. “You can either hang out here or in the office. I think I have a spare tablet around here somewhere if you want to use the internet or watch TV. Help yourself to coffee and anything in the fridge. I’ll just check in with Seb. I’ll be right back.”
Leaving the room, I found Lyric with Seb by the Chevrolet Silverado. They stopped talking as I approached.
“What?” I groaned, waiting for the brotherly ribbing that I was sure was coming.
“He’s a real cutie,” Lyric said waggling his eyebrows. “Does someone have a crush?” he added in a teasing singsong.
“It’s not like that!” I exclaimed defensively.
“Leave him alone, brat.” Seb whacked Lyric over the back of his head. “Get back to work and call those customers with their quotes.”
Rolling his eyes, Lyric headed toward the office. “You’re no fun!”
“Thanks.” I glanced at Seb.
He shot me a raised eyebrow. “We know Lyric’s a pain, but is he wrong? Why’d you bring him to work?”
“It’s really not like that, I swear.” Pinching the bridge of my nose, I wasn’t sure how much of Bodhi’s story I should share. It really wasn’t my story to tell. “He’s down on his luck and needsa place to stay. So, he’ll be staying in my guest room for now. I offered to help him while he’s recovering.”
Seb was still staring at me with his dark eyebrows raised. Out of all my brothers, we looked the most alike, and it was somewhat unnerving. Seb was just a taller, bigger version of me. The fact that he’d overtaken me in height and muscle led to endless teasing because I was two years older, but it was what it was.
“Just leave it alone, okay?” Raising my eyebrow in return, I willed him to drop it. “Come on, tell me what’s on the agenda for today.”
Thankfully, Seb let it go and filled me in on what was coming up next on the list. I was ready to get back to work once I made sure Bodhi was settled.
