14. Hayes
Chapter fourteen
Hayes
It’s been a week since Rosie and I took Lennon to breakfast and since then there have been little touches that linger for longer than necessary, texts all night long, she even took Rosie to dinner one night, but other than that, nothing.
I need more Lennon in my life, and I’m done acting like I don’t.
I keep telling myself that slow is good. It gets Rosie used to the idea of Lennon being around, which I highly doubt she will have a problem with. It gives Lennon time to acclimate to being back home and work through what she went through. I want to bring it up, purely for the fact that I don’t want to trigger a memory. Sometimes, when I look at Lennon, I can see the faraway look, like she is physically there, but a nightmare is playing in her mind. I know she needs to talk to someone about it, but no one has pushed her on the topic.
Travis and I are in my shop working on restoring an Impala that I should have had done already. I’ve fully taken him under my wing when it comes to restoring, the kid has a talent for body work and painting.
“Hey, Hayes?” I look over and find him with his eyebrows furrowed, like he has something heavy on his mind.
I grab a rag, wiping my hands, as I walk over to him. “Yeah, Trav? What’s on your mind?”
“Well…um…I was just thinking about Lennon. I didn’t want to say anything, but it’s kinda eating away at me. Yesterday at the shop, we had some issues.”
I was out of the shop most of the day yesterday, driving a few hours north into Michigan to pick up some parts for the next rebuild I have lined up. I wasn’t happy about it, but Lennon assured me that they would be fine for one day without me. “What do you mean some issues?”
Travis looks like this pains him to say, never the one to gossip, rather staying quiet and observing. “Well, the first thing, the phone rang a lot…way more than normal. I went up front after eating in the breakroom and asked Lennon about it. She told me that every time she answers, no one is on the other line. She looked scared, man.”
I remember this being an issue last week and wonder why Lennon didn’t tell me this was still a problem. “Huh. We haven’t had this problem before that I’m aware of. I’ll try the phone company and see if there is a way they can trace the call or tell me if they are coming from the same number. What else happened?”
If I thought he looked uneasy before, he looks downright in pain now. “Ugggh I hate this, but for Lennon I’ll be a snitch. Two of the guys got into it in the shop while Lennon was out there grabbing paperwork. By the time the rest of us realized what was going on, Lennon was running out of the shop. I found her sitting in the Bronco crying. She let me talk to her a little bit until she was ready to go back in. But she was pretty checked out the rest of the day.”
I instantly see red. She should never have to worry about that happening at work. At my business. She is supposed to be safe there. I’m mad that this is the first I’m hearing about this. No, I’m beyond mad. Irate. “Who. The. Fuck. Was. It.”
For a brief moment, it looks like Travis isn’t going to give me the names, but the murderous look on my face has him cracking. “It was RJ and Smith. I guess one of them slept with the other’s woman. Once we broke them up, I went looking for Lennon. She was in the Bronco with the door locked. She was crying, but she tried to hide it when I walked up. She was distant the rest of the day.
I start pacing my shop trying to decide the right course of action. My manager should have called me. Lennon should have called me. It never should have happened. I have failed her already. How is she going to feel like she can move forward with me if I can’t keep her safe at work? Travis catches me off guard when he starts pacing next to me.
“My dad.” He stops pacing and shoves his hands into his pockets. “My dad was really mean to my mom. She never did anything right in his eyes. He beat her for years, and she never left him. And now he’s dead, and she is a shell of a person. I see a lot of my mom in Lennon. But you know what? Lennon is stronger than my mom ever was. She got out. She’s strong, and she will get through this. I know it.”
I take a moment to let his words soak in. I knew the kid had it rough, but I didn’t know the full situation. I decide here and now that I will do whatever I can for him. While my childhood wasn’t rainbows and butterflies, I was not raised in a violent home. My dad never raised his voice, and we were never hit. Before my mom decided to up and bailed, he was a loving husband. I don’t understand how a man can hit a woman or a child. In my eyes, that isn’t a man.
“She will get through it; she has a lot of people that love and support her. Thank you for letting me know, I’ll handle it.”
Travis goes back over to the Impala while I go check my phone. Rosie begged me to go to my sister’s shop for a little bit before they go to her house for dinner. My five-year-old has a busier social calendar than I do. Unlocking my phone, I find a text from my sister with a picture of Rosie at a sewing machine. I respond and go to the next unread message that came in ten minutes ago.
Sunshine
You have time for a little field trip?
What do you have in mind?
Sunshine
Meet me here. Twenty minutes work for you?
She sends an address that is on the outskirts of town in the opposite direction of the shop. I don’t know what is up her sleeve, but I’m intrigued.
See you in twenty, sunshine.
“C’mon, Travis. Field trip time.”
We pull up to a trucking company that went out of business last year just as Lennon is pulling up. Even though I always planned on keeping the Bronco, I loaned her, but watching her jump out of the matte black, lifted thing of beauty, there is no way I’m letting her give it back to me.
“Hey, guys! Feast your eyes on potentially the new location of Crew’s Auto and Restoration!” She wildly swings her arms showcasing a building in desperate need of some new paint, at the bare minimum. “Well, c’mon, let’s go check it out!”
Travis and I follow behind her to the front door, both of us giving the other looks of confusion. I’m floored when she fishes a set of keys out of her purse and unlocks the door. No one knows this, but I tried to find the owner of this building when the trucking company went under. There was never a for lease sign out front and no one in town knew who actually owned the building.
Travis starts walking around the lobby, and I know I should be looking around, but I keep staring at Lennon. She is smiling widely, and her eyes shine with happiness. This…this is the Lennon that I remember. The one that wasn’t guarded and smiled freely. The Lennon before her parents passed away.
“How?” Of all the things I could say, that is all I could come up with. “Well, I hope you aren’t mad, but I was sitting there thinking about how you need more space, and how your restorations need to be showcased. I was in the diner and ran into Stretch, and of course he knew who owned this building. Here is the owner’s contact info.” She hands me a sheet of paper with a phone number and the specs on the building.
She starts walking through the space, not making sure that Travis and I are following behind her, so we take the hint and trail her. “So, from what Stretch told me, you could probably either lease or buy. There is an additional two acres behind the building that the owner does own, but I thought it would be a great space to host car shows. The previous business took care of their trucks in house, so you should be set, but obviously that would be your discretion.”
We spend the next hour looking through the building, and I can tell Travis is excited about this. The space is huge, probably more than I need, but operating out of two buildings isn’t working anymore. I can already picture hosting a car show in the back acreage, Lennon is making my dream a reality.
Once we are back out front and Lennon locks the door, Travis playfully bumps her shoulder. “Len, this is amazing! The guys are going to shit if we get this building.” He walks away, laughing on his way to my truck.
I focus my attention on Lennon— it really was never off her— and notice she looks worried. “Hayes, I’m so sorry if I overstepped. I know—” I cut her off when I engulf her in my arms, inhaling her lilac scent. “Sunshine, thank you. This is perfect. I tried to find out who owned the building when the trucking company left, but no one knew.”
Tilting her head up, she graces me with another wide smile. “I guess you just needed me, you know I have an in with some people in town.” I know she means that as a joke, but it isn’t a lie. Everyone in town loves her.
“I do need you, sunshine. More than you know.” I press a kiss to her forehead, wishing that it was her lips I was tasting instead. “I better get going and bring Travis to his truck. I need to meet your brother and Scottie. But I’ll text you later.”
She tightens her hold on me before she responds, like she hates the thought of letting me go. I know the feeling. “I’ll be waiting. Have a good night, Hayes.” After she sends a wave towards Travis, I watch her walk over to the Bronco and get in. I don’t get into my truck until she has pulled out of the lot.
Once I’m back in my truck and headed towards my house to drop Travis at his truck, he is talking a mile a minute about the building and all his ideas. I tell him to make a list of all the things that he would like to accomplish in a year, and then we would sit down and make a plan of action.
Walking into Creekside, I quickly find Cash and Scottie sitting at a high-top in the corner. I notice they already have a pitcher of beer at the table, so I say hi to Presley while walking past.
“Took ya long enough, fucker.” The words coming out of Cash’s mouth don’t match the smile on his face, so I know he isn’t irritated about me being thirty minutes behind. I pour myself a beer and take a seat and find a TV with the UFC fight on. With a young daughter, I don’t get to watch the fights very often, and plan to savor it.
“Yeah, yeah. Travis and I took a little fieldtrip courtesy of Lennon.” That pulls Cash’s attention from the game, back to me. When I mention Lennon, Scottie looks between Cash and I with a worried look on his face. He has no reason to be worried. At least I hope Cash isn’t going to blow a gasket when he finds out I have feelings for his sister.
“Yeah, let’s get into that. Before you tell us where my sister took you, how about you fill me in on what is going on with the two of you.” My friend doesn’t seem mad, just curious. Scottie still hasn’t said too much, but he’s smart. I could ask him what is going on between him and my sister.
Maybe I should ask him, so I can take the heat off myself.
“Listen, I’m not going to bullshit you. As of right now, technically nothing is going on. I’m taking it slow, for reasons we are all aware of. But this isn’t some passing thing for me. She’s so far under my skin.”
At first, Cash doesn’t respond to my declaration. I almost told him that I was so far in love with Lennon, but she should be the first one I utter those words to. She deserves that. He looks like he is contemplating different scenarios in his mind. “I believe you, man; you are a good man. I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”
With that out of the way I tell them about the building Lennon took us to, and my plans to call the owner in the morning. We end up watching the next fight and then all decide that it is time to go home. A part of me wants to follow Cash to his house to see Lennon, but she could be already sleeping. And I don’t want to push the limit with Cash. I know he said he was fine with it, but sometimes, my friend needs a few days to be fully on board with something.
Once I am home and in bed, I tell myself that I don’t need to text Lennon. I know that she is home in bed, probably asleep already. But I need to end my day by talking to her. There is a pull to her that I don’t fully understand yet.
You are amazing, do you know that?
I’m surprised when her reply is instant. Was she in bed thinking about me, like I am her?
Sunshine
I don’t know about that but thank you.
Sunshine
Did you have fun tonight?
I did. It’s nice to meet up with the guys every now and then. It’s hard to do with kids and jobs.
What did you do?
Sunshine
I ordered Shelby to relax. I sent her to go take a bath while I played with the kids and got them ready for bed.
Such a good aunt and friend.
Sunshine
I have a lot to make up for.
Bullshit. She has nothing to make up for.
Sunshine
I’m about to fall asleep. Goodnight, Hayes.
Goodnight, sunshine.