Page 4 of Sanction

I froze, turning around to face my agitated mother.

“Did I not tell you to stay clean today?” She asks with her hands braced on her hips. Her long brown hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and she gave me a pointed look with her green eyes. You know, the looks only mommas can give.

“I’m sorry momma, I was trying to help Widow with that old mustang. It’s got real potential,” I say with a confident voice.

A smile pulls at the corners of her pink lips and she shakes her head. “What am I going to do with you?”

I shrug and give her my best smile.

“Go wash your hands. Daddy's taking us to lunch today.” She kisses my forehead before stepping around the corner.

After washing my hands, I climb into my dad’s black desk chair. It swivels as my feet dangle off the side since I’m too short to reach the floor. The desk is messy. It’s cluttered with papers and empty coffee cups, so I kick my feet up, pretending I’m the boss. My dad runs this place along with our club. My daddy is the President and there is no one as strong or as brave as him. I want to be just like him when I grow up. I may even take over this mechanic shop. A girl can dream.

I wiggle my purple toes through my sandals and smile when I see the picture on my dad's desk. It's me, him, my mom, and my brother Maverick at my last birthday party. Seven was a big one. I got a pink motorized scooter. I really wanted a pink Harley, but my dad says I’ve got to wait a few more years for that one.

The office door opened and I turned the chair just enough to see who entered. It’s a boy. Probably about my brother’s age, I’m guessing sixteen with blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. When he sees me, he smiles and stuffs a hand in his pocket.

“Hi, can I help you?” I ask as I keep my feet propped up on the desk.

“I’m looking for the owner?” The boy says as he glances around the dirty office.

“That would be my dad. Zane LeBlanc. He’s out of the office right now, but maybe I can help you?” I pull my feet down and straighten my dress, so I look professional.

He chuckles. “Well, I’m looking for a job.”

I eye him from head to toe. He looks a little ragged. He has a backpack over his right shoulder and a styrofoam cup in his left hand. I glance at his face again. He’s handsome and looks nice enough.

“Let me see what I can do,” I reply as I dig in the desk drawer.

I know I saw my dad give a piece of paper to some guy a few months ago who wanted to work here.

“Oh, here we go.” I pull out a sheet of paper that reads “job application” at the top. “Please fill this out.”

He smiles and takes the paper from me. “Thank you, ma’am.”

I wave a hand. “I’m not old. My name is Daniella LeBlanc, but you can call me Dani.”

“I’m Travis Bennett, nice to meet you, Daniella.”

I find myself blushing as he takes a seat on the desk chair in front of me and grabs a pen from the mason jar.

I’m watching him fill out the application when the door to the shop opens.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t know anyone had come in.” My dad wiped his hands on a red rag and shoved it in his back pocket.

“That’s okay, Daniella was helping me out,” Travis says as he stands to greet him.

My dad gives a low chuckle. “What can I help you with?”

“I was hoping you were hiring? I don’t have a ton of experience, but I worked on some bikes, lawn mowers, and things like that back home. I'm a quick learner and don’t mind getting my hands dirty?” Travis answers.

My dad nods and moves his eyes to the application.

“I see Dani got you all set up.”

I smile proudly. “Just doing my job.”

My dad motions for Travis to follow him as he heads back out to the shop area.

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