Page 20 of Phantom
Behind me, I could hear the door open. A moment later, Tess said, “Hi, Daddy. I thought you said you’d be back later.”
“Thisislater.” The sound of boot steps entering the house pulled me to attention. “Morning, CJ.”
I nodded. “Hey, Nick.”
“Did Val tell you I came by earlier?” Nick asked. “I’ve got a pretty nice set up for working on bikes at my place, but I figured it’d be more trouble than it was worth getting your bike over there. We’d probably hurt it worse.”
I hadn’t considered that, but he was right. “She told me.”
“All right. Let’s get started, then.” Nick turned and kissed Tess on the cheek. “Can you open the garage door for us?”
Tess nodded, saying, “Sure,” and Nick was out of the door a moment later. Tess turned and looked at me. “Well, that was shitty timing.”
I smiled, the feeling of Tess’ skin still burning against my hands. “Indeed.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Finish later?”
I knew that I shouldn’t, but she looked so hopeful, and I wanted it, too, so I smiled and said, “Yeah.”
“Good.” She grabbed her keys from the key rack next to her door and pointed it outside. A few seconds later, the rumble of the garage door lifting pierced the calm morning air. She chuckled at me. “Have fun bonding.”
“One question,” I said.
Tess closed in on me and quickly pecked me on the lips. I wasn’t expecting it, but she pulled away quickly, keeping me safe. “I suppose you’ve earned one more question.”
“Why does he keep calling you Val?”
Tess let out a loud, barking laugh that reminded me of her father. “Oh, you don’t like it when someone else uses different names?”
I let out a huff, knowing she wasn’t wrong. “Fine, don’t tell me.”
I started to walk around her, and she grabbed my arm. “Don’t be a brat.” She put her hand up and stroked my cheek. “My nickname at the club is Valkyrie. After I stole Lockjaw on the bike I’d stolen from my dad, he said I was like a fearless Valkyrie riding into battle and coming back with the spoils. Over time, they stopped saying the full name and just settled for Val.”
I thought about the headstrong girl I knew back before I left Hoppa and the impressive one I’d known since I got back. “Valkyrie.” I grinned at her. “I like it.”
She walked past me. “Go before I tackle you and do something I’ll regret doing while my dad is outside.”
I’d started off toward the door when I heard the rattle of Lockjaw’s collar. I looked down, and the pit bull had bounded to my side and was waiting patiently. I chuckled down at him. “I guess Lockjaw is coming.”
“He’s got a bed in the garage, too,” Tess called before disappearing down the hallway.
I stepped out into the already blazing Arizona morning with Lockjaw at my side. I walked down the path and up the remaining length of the driveway into the garage, where Nick had already arranged both bikes and had a bunch of tools and parts laid out on a tarp, along with what I immediately recognized as the type of engine that my bike used.
“Hey,” Nick greeted again. He followed my gaze to the engine. “Yeah. I’m a big Harley fan myself, and I thought that I had a spare engine. Turns out, I did.” He rubbed the back of his head, and it was almost as if there was a touch of nerves there. “Taylor made sure the engine was destroyed. I’m sorry about him.” The nerves faded in an instant, and he just laughed. “I guess fifty-percent success isn’t bad, kid-wise, right? Don’t get me wrong, I love my son, but he needs help. Help he’s probably never gonna get.”
“Maybe not, but you’re doing the best you can as a dad, loving him regardless.”
I thought about how quickly my mom discarded her responsibility to take care of Caid because of how sick he was. A good parent would have done anything they could to help, but my mom regularly complained about how shedidn’t sign upfor taking care of Caid. I had respect for Nick, who could at least love Taylor, even if he didn’t know how to help.
“Thanks,” Nick replied. He held out a wrench to me. “Well, should we get started?”
I took the wrench from him with a nod. “Yeah.”
The silence around us as we worked on the bikes was welcome and calming. The clink of metal and ratchets was a sound that often relaxed my mind and spirit. I thought back to when I first restored my bike after I fished it out of that dumpster. It took me close to two weeks to clean it enough to see what needed to be replaced and what didn’t. Fortunately, I didn’t have to clean human remains out of my bike this time, but Taylor had done a number on it. The casing was going to need to be replaced, but, fortunately, the exhausts were okay. The engine was totally busted, so it was a good thing Nick brought a replacement.
About halfway through dismantling my bike, Nick swapped from working on Tess’ bike to helping me with mine, taking apart the pieces so that we could take out the old engine and replace the new one.
“So. You and Val knew each other from high school?” Nick asked.
