The Relationship Mechanic (Peach Blossom #2)

Three

V ini turned off the car and paused. She knew when she went in the house she was probably going to have to deal with some teasing from at least one of her sisters. She contemplated whether she should just turn around and spend the night at the shop. It would only delay the inevitable, but at least she would have another day to think about how to spin things. Peach Blossom was a great place to live, but because it was so small, she had zero doubt someone had already seen her take Jessica back to Grace’s place. She wouldn’t even be surprised if she walked in the house and was immediately confronted about doing something so far out of character.

Vini Williams didn’t like people. She didn’t dislike them either, but she wasn’t going to go out of her way to help someone she didn’t know. It wasn’t the Southern way , as her dad always said, but she figured her sisters could pick up the slack in that regard. She was kind in other ways that really mattered.

With a sigh, she took off her seat belt and left the car. She had stalled long enough. She walked into the house looking one way and then the other when she wasn’t immediately accosted by either her nephew or one of her sisters. She figured their dad would be nice and at least give her time to sit down at the dining table before he started in with his questioning. She had made her way all the way into her room and changed out of her dirty overalls before she heard the first sign of the apocalypse.

“Oh, sister. I heard you met someone new today.” Dani’s singsong words made her freeze. She sent up a silent prayer to whoever was listening before leaving her room and coming back downstairs. The scent of fried chicken and the sound of sizzling on the stove did little to improve her thinking or make the knowledge that she was about to be presented with a firing squad any better. When she braved the dining room, Dani was at the stove. She didn’t turn toward Vini, but Vini had no doubts she knew she was there. Their dad was already at his usual spot at the table with a paper open and obscuring his face. Neither of them made a move, but Vini was still on edge.

Maybe trying to be helpful would keep them from jumping on her at the first chance. “Do you need any help with that?”

Dani shook her head and waved her away. “No. I’m all good here, but if you want to go ahead and set the table, that would be great.”

Vini nodded and slowly stepped away. It was weird that that was all that was said so far, but she decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and made her way to the hutch that kept all their dishes. She resolved to keep an eye out for Ava so she didn’t get rushed from behind, but then remembered that she wouldn’t be in until after her hair appointment. When Jordan made an appearance, Vini let out another sigh of relief. Dani rarely talked about local gossip in front of him. That meant she was probably safe from having to talk about this afternoon anytime soon.

“Did you wash your hands?” Dani asked as she brought over the food. She set it on the table and gave him a look when he mumbled vaguely that he had. “Hold your hands up and let me smell them.”

Their dad let out a soft snort on the other side of the paper, and Vini couldn’t help but smile as Jordan slowly backed away from the table before turning and running out of the room. A moment later she heard water running from the half bathroom down the hall.

“It’s hilarious that you always know when he’s not being truthful,” Vini said with a soft smile. “It always drove me crazy when Mom used to do that.”

The familiar burning sensation that always accompanied talking about their mother was slow to form this time, and Vini felt another sense of relief at being able to mention her without wanting to run the other way. Dani’s smile was just as soft as she looked in the direction Jordan had gone.

“Yeah, I guess it’s something that just happens after you become a parent. But enough about that. How was your day?” Lulled into a false sense of security, Vini answered truthfully.

“It was fine. A little slow, but I did get a call from the sheriff of someone’s car having stalled out on the highway.” Thinking nothing of it, Vini sat down and started doling out food from the plates. Her father folded the newspaper and put it away as he put food on his own plate. Things were calm and normal as they all dug in once Jordan returned with his newly washed hands. It was almost enough to make Vini feel triumphant at getting through dinner without having to talk about Jessica.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk about Jessica. The woman had been the only thing on her mind since Vini had dropped her off at Grace’s house. It was new for her to feel so strongly about someone after only one meeting. Typically, if she felt strongly about someone, it was in the other direction, wishing they would never darken her doorway again. But this time was completely different.

Vini had given Jessica her number without thinking twice about it, but now she found herself glancing at her phone every few seconds, wondering if that had been the wrong move. Was she even interested, or was Vini reading things wrong? What if she didn’t call? What if she did? What would they even have to talk about? Grace had mentioned little tidbits here and there about Jessica but nothing substantial. Vini didn’t know much about her aside from the fact that she traveled a lot. Vini had barely gone farther than the nearest big city. Sure, she occasionally went on vacations to Savannah or Florida when she could get away from the shop, but she wasn’t some profound world traveler like Jessica seemed to be. They didn’t seem to have much of anything in common.

Vini did have Jessica’s number on the paperwork she’d filled out for the car, but using that was overstepping professional bounds, something Vini never did. The number was given for business, not pleasure. Besides, if she had met Jessica organically like at the lesbian bar she frequented on the rare times she went up to Atlanta, it was doubtful that Vini would have had the confidence to approach her in the first place.

“Harley said she saw you driving over to Grace’s place today. What were you doing out there?” Dani’s words might’ve seemed innocent, but the tone in her voice let Vini know the question was far from that. “Did your little trip have anything to do with Peach Blossom’s newest face in town?”

Thinking quickly, Vini answered and hoped that her words would be enough to discourage any interest in continuing this line of questioning.

“Yeah, the person who broke down on the highway was apparently Grace’s friend, Jessica. She was coming to visit so I decided to drop her off. She seemed like the type to try to walk into town, and you know how treacherous that can be. I didn’t need her getting attacked by a coyote on my conscience.” She thought that sounded good, and the way Dani nodded she hoped that would be the end of the conversation. When the front door opened and closed, Vini’s hopes for getting out of this conversation unscathed plummeted.

“Oh, good. You guys are eating. I’m starving.” Ava sat down in her usual chair and started serving herself some food. “What are y’all talking about?”

“Vini was just telling us how she rescued a damsel in distress from the highway.”

“I was not,” Vini hissed glaring at Dani over her fork. Undeterred, Dani continued.

“Harley let it slip that not only did she sweep in heroically but she also drove the poor dear into town—something we know she never does. Isn’t that right, sis?”

Vini narrowed her eyes at Dani’s knowing look. “I hate everything about you.”

“So does this damsel have a name?” Ava asked. “And why was she driving to Peach Blossom? We don’t get a lot of tourists this time of year.”

Vini tried to appear unruffled. It really wasn’t a big deal no matter how salacious Dani tried to make it seem. “Jessica. Apparently, she’s Grace’s friend.” At Ava’s sharp look, Vini felt her heartbeat jump. “I told her I would look over her car and let her know what’s going on with it.”

Ava hummed before taking another bite. She didn’t appear anymore interested than normal, but looks could always be deceiving. “Is that so?”

Her question was deceptively calm, but Vini wasn’t fooled. Whereas Dani might have a few questions, tease her a bit and then let things go, Ava was like facing an inquisition. If not for her being a teacher, Vini had no doubt that she would have made an excellent lawyer. Her way of asking questions back-to-back until you had no other choice but to give in and spit out the truth would have had her highly sought out. Still, Vini refused to surrender so easily. If Ava wanted information, she was going to have to work for it.

“I knew she wasn’t from here, so I decided to be nice.”

Their father grunted and nodded as if cosigning her words. It really wasn’t that outlandish. Sure, she had never offered anyone else a ride to town before, but there was a first time for everything. And surely Ava could agree that being nice to Grace’s friend was the way to go.

“Anyway, other than that, it was a boring day in the shop. Got some parts in and had Aiden—”

“Does she date women?”

Dani’s question cut her off, but she continued like she hadn’t heard it. “—unload them and put them in their places. I’m thinking it might be time to add onto the shop, given the last few jobs Patrick had to send elsewhere since I didn’t have the equipment for them.”

Her dad nodded again. “Always said you would need to add to the new place. Sounds like time to do that. We do have some money saved. Probably a good idea to look at hiring another person part-time at least.”

“You should probably ask Grace if her friend dates women,” Dani powered on, refusing to be ignored. “It’s not every day we get some new blood flowing into town. Was she cute?”

“Anyway,” Ava replied. She looked at Vini. “If it’s the same Jessica Grace has mentioned before, your best bet is to stay far away.”

“Why?” Vini asked the question before she could think about whether it was a good idea to show any interest. It wasn’t like it would be the first time she was interested in someone at all, but it had been a while.

Ava arched an eyebrow. “From what Grace has told me, Jessica isn’t exactly known for settling down with one person. I believe the word she used was free-spirited , but what she really meant was flighty . You should probably keep away from her.”

Vini frowned and looked down at her plate. She didn’t doubt Ava’s words. She would know more than her about Grace’s friends, but nothing Jessica did had read as player to Vini. Then again, Vini probably wouldn’t have known if she did. It wasn’t like she got a lot of practice when it came to the dating game. Peach Blossom was progressive as far as small towns went, but that didn’t mean the dating pool was any bigger.

“Besides,” Ava continued. “From what Grace was telling me, the only reason Jessica is here is to let things die down after being caught with two of her mom’s coworkers. Not exactly a pillar of stable relationships. You don’t need to get caught-up with someone who doesn’t plan on sticking around or being serious about you.”

“Still, how often do new people come in?” Dani insisted. “She could at least ask. No harm in that.”

“The harm is getting involved in someone who comes into your life and fucks everything up because she can’t sit still,” Ava counters. “I’m sure Jessica’s a nice person, but is that really someone you want Vini to date?”

“It really doesn’t matter what either of you want since, number one, I am in fact an adult and, number two, I have no plans to see her again outside of giving her the car back.” Vini jumped back in when she saw Ava about to argue. “I helped her out because of her relationship to Grace. That’s it.”

Vini continued eating, ignoring how wrong that sentence felt. Ava and Dani kept the conversation going, but she was no longer interested. Meeting Jessica had been a fluke, and nothing would come from it. She could keep things professional, and then she would never have to see the other woman again.