Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
The rest of the reunion weekend–Sunday–they took part in all the events: the pancake breakfast and the afternoon picnic and softball game.
And as much as MacKenzie couldn’t believe it, she’d had a really great time.
She hadn’t played in the game–sports were so not her thing–but she sat on a blanket with all of her new friends and cheered everyone on.
When they’d gone home that night, Devin had hauled her into the shower with him and it was by far the sexiest and most erotic thing she’d ever done.
And loved every minute of it.
Now, as she booted up the computer Monday morning, it occurred to her that this was kind of the best her life had been in a long time.
And if she were being completely honest, she hadn’t felt this way since before her father died.
Not that she never had fun, but…this last week had shown her that it was okay to let her guard down a bit and that leaving Syracuse was the best thing for her.
That would only stand to logic that perhaps she was also doing the right thing by trying to reconnect with her mother.
After all…there was the possibility that she hadn’t reached out in years because she thought that’s what MacKenzie wanted.
Maybe she was going to be excited about the possibility of the two of them having a relationship again.
Devin unlocked the doors and smiled at her as he made his way out to the garage area.
He told her he might have the car to a point where she could take it out for a test drive today, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
On the one hand, this was great news and meant she could start making her way to Oregon.
But…she really wanted to stay for the festival, and she wasn’t quite ready to walk away from Devin just yet either.
“Ugh…how am I supposed to decide what to do?” she mumbled.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to figure that out because suddenly there were four people waiting in line to talk to her about either making an appointment to have their car looked at, or dropping off their car to get worked on today.
Naturally, everyone was super chatty and she found that it was kind of endearing.
They all wanted to talk about the reunion and asked if she went and enjoyed herself.
Then she heard all the stories of what they loved about all the events.
And once that topic was exhausted, it turned to the upcoming festival.
And the best part? She could seriously actively take part in the conversations because she knew all about all of it!
Before she knew it, it was lunchtime and, rather than Will running to pick up their orders, MacKenzie volunteered. Of course, Will volunteered to watch the desk for her, and she had a feeling he just enjoyed having an extended break and that’s why he was always the one going out each day at noon.
They had ordered sandwiches from the café–which was only a block away–but opted to take a quick detour over to Books and Beans because she wanted one of their brownies and figured she’d surprise the guys with something yummy for dessert.
Devin had given her the shop’s credit card to use to pick up lunch, but dessert was going to be on her.
“Hey, MacKenzie!” Jade called out from behind the counter. “This is a surprise!”
Smiling, she glanced around on her way over to the display case.
“I’ve been meaning to come in here–and I’m supposed to be picking up lunch at the café–but I’m taking a few extra minutes for myself.
” Winking, she added, “This place is amazing, Jade! I wish I didn’t have to go back to work because I’d love to just stay and browse. ”
“We’re open until eight, so maybe after the garage closes, you can come back down. I’m sure Devin won’t mind.” Then her eyes went wide. “That reminds me, he asked me to order a book for him and I just got the confirmation that it will be here tomorrow.”
“Oh, great!” she replied, all the while wondering what kind of book Devin would order. “Um…”
“He loves a good thriller,” Jade explained. “And he seems to really like them in hardcover.” She paused and wiped down the counter. “I know he can order online and get his books much faster, but I really appreciate that he’s supporting my business.”
It never ceased to amaze her just what a good guy he was.
“Well, I’m definitely going to come back later,” she assured her. “But for now, can I get a half a dozen brownies, and four of the snickerdoodle cookies?”
“You got it!”
After she paid, she promised to be back later and made her way out the door and down the street toward the café. On the way, she got stopped several times by people she’d met who just wanted to say hello or to ask how she was doing. By the time she was stepping up to the café, her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” Devin said and she could hear the concern in his voice. “Is everything okay? You’ve been gone for a while.”
“Oh, crap!” she murmured. “Sorry! I stopped by Books & Beans because I really wanted a brownie, and then I started walking back toward the café and got sidelined a few times by some people. I didn’t want to be rude, so I stopped and talked to all of them, but…”
He was laughing softly.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“I think you’re practically an official citizen of Sweetbriar Ridge now. You’ve experienced how a short walk through town can turn into something much longer.”
That made her laugh too. “Yeah, well…I’m standing right in front of the café and I promise I’ll be back with lunch in no time. Please apologize to the guys for me! And I’m bringing back brownies and cookies, so…”
“In that case, all is forgiven!”
When they closed for the day, Devin prepared himself to let MacKenzie know her car was done. Walking into the front office, he found her running the end of day reports. “Hey,” he said as he moved closer. “Everything look okay?”
“Oh, definitely. I updated your POS program and it looks like today beat last year’s sales for this day.” She smiled up at him. “That’s a good thing, right?”
Nodding, he leaned in a bit and looked at the screen. “And we can see that now?”
Then she walked him through the end of day reports and how to see the most up-to-date financials so he could see every day how the business was doing year to date and so on.
“You can personalize what you want to see–like you might not want to do that comparison every day. You might only want to do it once a week. I’m going to make a manual for you and the guys and for whoever you hire after me, so you’ll know how to do all of this. ”
It didn’t matter how many times she said it, he still hated to hear she was leaving.
“That all sounds great,” he murmured. “So, um…listen, I was…”
“Ooo! I forgot to tell you,” she began, spinning around in her chair and ending up practically nose to nose with him. “When I stopped at Books & Beans earlier, Jade said your book will be in tomorrow. But I wanted to stop by there on the way home if that’s okay.”
Straightening, Devin frowned down at her. “You don’t have to ask my permission. You can go wherever you want.”
“I know that,” she said with a sweet smile. “But considering that you’re my ride…”
“Um…yeah. About that…”
She held up a hand to stop him. “I can tell by the look on your face that you have something to say that you’re dreading, so let me make it easy for you.”
“O-kay…”
“My car’s not ready,” she stated. “And you’re afraid that I’m going to be upset.
But you know what? I’m not.” She paused and cupped his jaw.
“You are such a sweet man to be so worried about me, but I would rather know that the car is fixed to your standards than have you rush it because you think that’s what I want.
” Pulling him close, she kissed him soundly.
“I can’t believe how lucky I am that you were the one who found me on the side of the road. ”
Again, this was his cue to tell her the car was ready, but…
“I know you usually have some things to do around here after we close, so why don’t I head down to Books and Beans and you meet me there when you’re done?
Then we’ll go home and maybe make some chicken enchiladas for dinner.
I’ve got a great recipe for them. We just need to stop at the grocery store for a few things. ”
“Um…”
“But if you don’t like Mexican, we can totally do something else. I saw you take the chicken out of the freezer this morning, and all day I’ve been thinking about something fun to make with it. Did you have something in mind?”
“Not really,” he admitted. “Normally I just fry it up and make a vegetable on the side.”
“Well, that’s a little boring.” Hopping off her seat, she patted him on the chest. “You’ve seen what I can do with my chicken parm. I promise if you like Mexican, you’ll enjoy the enchiladas. What do you say?”
“Yeah, that sounds great.” He watched her move around grabbing her purse and pulling out her sunglasses.
“So I’m gonna head down to Books & Beans and just come and get me when you’re done!” Then she got up on her toes and kissed him again before practically skipping out the door.
As soon as she was gone, Devin went back to his own office and collapsed in his chair.
He had no idea why he didn’t just correct her and tell her exactly what he was trying to say.
And on top of that, he really needed the space in the garage.
The Mustang had been taking up the last bay for a week and they had other cars that needed to be seen.
His customers depended on him to get their cars fixed in a timely manner and in order to do that, he needed all four bays open and turning cars around as efficiently as possible.
“Tomorrow,” he said firmly. “Tomorrow I’m going to tell her the car is done and just be done with it.”
It all sounded good and he vowed he was going to stick to it because dishonestly really wasn’t his thing.