Page 3 of Slide
“Whose kind isn’t welcome anymore? Old lady Morrison’s?” Travis glanced up in time to see Miles flip him off. Yeah, some people told Bella she should’ve stayed gone, but she’d always gone her own way. He liked that about her.
“Get off it, will ya? Her brother was the first-rate asshole, not her.”
“Uh huh.”
That was all his brother said, but it was enough. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Travis sighed after the words left his mouth. “Most people don’t give a shit anymore. Why do you?”
It was pretty common knowledge that she’d had nothing to do with her brother’s crimes. Oh, at first, everyone assumed she was as crooked as Artie, but as the drama played out, they’d learned she was a victim too.
Regardless, Travis’ anger over the loss of his family’s investments died the first time he saw her coming out of the flower shop after she moved home. He’d always had a fantasy about dragging her curvy ass across his lap to spank the ever-lovin’ piss out of her. She’d never been particularly stuck up, but their social circles didn’t collide too often. He’d asked her out a couple of times, expecting the rejection she gave.
Back in the day, she’d had a bit of a reputation for liking her sex a little rough. Travis had itched to try it then, and seeing her now … That itch was stronger than ever.
Miles was the only one who’d ever known about the hard-on Travis had for Arabella Drake and was afraid he’d tipped his hand that the desire lingered.
“What’s wrong with her car?” Miles asked, interrupting Travis’ thoughts and ignoring the previous question. He leaned a hip against the Wagoneer Travis had his head in.
“Transmission and fuel injection.”
Miles grunted. “Ouch. Nothing cheap. Especially for that kind of car.”
“Nope.”
“Don’t s’pose she can afford it?”
“Not sure. Told her I’d hold it until Friday for her.”
“Why?”
“Why not? It’s the right thing to do. Not like she can drive it.” Travis didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Not with his brother sounding almost gleeful about her hardships. He hadn’t decided what he was going to do about Bella’s car yet. He could fix it, but with what she’d said about not having access to that kind of money … he didn’t know what that meant exactly. If he only charged her for the parts and waived his labor costs, would it be easier for her to pay the bill?
“Serves her right.”
Travis kept his mouth shut on the topic of Bella. He wasn’t interested in giving his brother further ammunition. “So, you here to work or what?”
Miles smirked, held his hands up and stepped away from the Jeep. “Okay. I get it. I’ll drop it. Put me to work. What do you need?”
“That silver sedan on the end needs an oil change.” Travis nodded his head in the direction of the Mercedes on the other side of the garage. He’d learned the business from the ground up and when his uncle retired, Travis took the reins.
It had its ups and downs, especially in a small town that no longer had a lot of money flowing through it. But people trusted him and his name and still brought their cars in.
He’d expanded the business a few years back to take on more domestic vehicles. There were a couple of other garages in the tri-county area, but his was the oldest with the most loyal business. He aimed to keep it that way.
“Got it. You got time to help me out at the Piersons’ this weekend? They want that deck finished.”
“Yeah. I can help you on Sunday morning.” Miles had taken over their father’s contractor business. He had a way with tools the way Travis had a way with engines. Both were raised to handle whatever job needed attention and to be self-sufficient. Travis wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. “How long do I have you for today?”
Miles clucked his tongue as he pushed off the vehicle and disappeared into the office. He emerged a few minutes later in a set of coveralls. “Until closing. I took care of a few jobs this morning.”
“Appreciate it.”
“It’s what we do, bro.”
“You got that right.”
Miles popped the hood on the silver sedan. “What are you going to do about Bella’s car?”
“Thought we finished that conversation?”
“Sue me.”
Travis snorted. “I don’t know yet.” Truth of the matter was, he did know. He also knew he wouldn’t be waiting until Friday to see her again. He shouldn’t entertain ideas about her other than getting payment for the repairs on her car … He shrugged at his thoughts, knowing he planned to ignore the caution. He wanted things from her that had less and less to do with money.
