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She bit her lip. “I haven’t.”
“You’re full of it.”
“Move your damn car. We’re busy at work, and I need to get back.”
“Alex…”
“Let me go, Deke.”
Not going to happen. He’d done it once, and it had been the biggest mistake of his life. “Is the idea of spending time with me, of sharing my bed, so distasteful?”
She shook her head. “Can you hear yourself? You’ve lost it. Jesus. Can you just stop?”
Never. He stepped back. “For now, but I’ll be in touch soon.”
Alex leaned her hip against Piper’s desk and looked through the partition window out to the workshop. Monday was definitely off to a better start than Friday. She hadn’t seen or heard from Deacon over the weekend, but she knew it was only a matter of time.
“What’s happening?” Piper asked.
“She’s smiling. Our girl’s working her magic. Oh, he’s going in for the handshake.” She squeezed Piper’s shoulder. “Holy shit, I think she did it.”
Piper did a silent happy dance in her swivel chair and squealed under her breath. “Oh, my God, that one job alone will pay for half the new tow truck. And he’s talking several big restorations.”
The guy turned and left, and Rusty tightened her long auburn ponytail, spun on her boot, and attempted to walk casually to the office, while grinning like a loon on the verge of busting out in a victory dance.
She walked in and shut the door behind her. All three of them turned to look out the window and watched Mr. Cannon climb into his car and drive away. As soon as his car was out of sight, they all screamed and danced around the office, laughing until tears were running down their faces.
“We did it, bitches!” Rusty flopped down, planting her ass in Piper’s chair, and pumped one of her brightly tattooed arms in the air.
“I think the long legs and nice rack can take some of the credit,” Piper said, giggling.
“Well, Rusty’s rack might have helped us get the job, but when that car drives out of here looking freaking amazing, it will be our talent that has him bringing in the next one. They’ll be moving advertisements, ladies,” Alex said.
They were at a disadvantage not being set up on South Beach, where all the established big-name car restoration businesses were, but they didn’t want to leave Axle Alley. And even if they did, SoBe was way out of their price range. Their only option was to bring the customers to them. And if the novelty of an all-female-run auto repair shop was enough to do that, they’d work it for all it was worth.
Piper grinned, all but busting out of her skin. “This is just the start of the big-money restoration work. It’s finally happening.” She grabbed Rusty’s hand and tugged her out of the chair, then pulled her and Alex in for a group hug. “I wish Dad was here to see this. He’d be so proud of us.”
They clung to each other, and Alex’s eyes started to sting. Jacob West had been like a father to her, too. She’d loved him and loved this old garage as much as Rusty and Piper did.
She hadn’t mentioned her meeting with Deacon. He obviously hadn’t told them about his plans to sell the business out from under them yet. God, she was glad she’d kept it to herself. They’d already lost their father, and they loved their brother more than anything. Losing this place would kill them.
She watched the two women who had become her family after her own was taken from her. The excitement on their faces made her chest hurt. How would she ever survive without them, without seeing them every day? Without walking into this place every morning?
In that moment, she realized she’d do anything to keep what they had, to keep what they were building. Nothing was more important than these women. She owed them everything. And right then she knew what she had to do. She’d do whatever it took to keep the smiles on their faces, to never lose this.
Piper gave them one last squeeze. “You guys close up, and I’ll go order the pizza.” She did another dance, grabbed her bag, and headed out.
Rusty and Piper lived in a small, quirky cottage next to the garage. It was the only house left on Axle Alley and had once been owned by their grandmother. The West family had lived in it for several generations. Even after their neighbors sold and disappeared, and new commercial buildings took their place, Grandma West had refused to sell. She’d left it to her granddaughters, who were just as determined to keep it as it was, despite the constant barrage of offers they received to take it off their hands. But it didn’t matter how much the land was worth. It wasn’t for sale.
They shut up shop, and Alex headed to her apartment above the garage. After a quick shower, she pulled on her comfy jeans with all the rips and her favorite Metallica T-shirt, leaving her long hair down to dry naturally. Then, before she could talk herself out of it, she grabbed her phone and texted Deacon.
We need to talk. I’ll call you later.
Shoving her phone back in her pocket, she headed next door to the cottage for celebratory pizza. She refused to think about the agreement she was about to enter into, or what it would mean for her. Not yet.
When she hit the stairs to the cottage, she heard music coming from inside, laughter, and even with all this Deacon crap hanging over her head, she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. She walked into the living room, and three beers sat open on the coffee table. Rusty came dancing from the kitchen, carrying a bag of potato chips and a tub of dip.
Her friend grinned. “We’re celebrating, baby. We’ll worry about the size of our asses tomorrow.”
