8. Jedd
JEDD
Bright light streams into the wreckage of the shop, the early morning sun not making the destruction any prettier.
After a hasty clean up and shut down last night, I didn’t have it in me to do more than that.
The water damage was minimal, but enough things are knocked over or moved entirely from the emergency crews that the idea of having to clean everything up was too much.
I’ve been an engine head for as long as I can remember.
If it uses a motor to run, I can work on it.
After a short stint at trade school, I sunk most of my inheritance into buying the shop from the previous owner rather than open my own.
My reasoning was that there was already an established client base here, and opening a new shop in town would be confusing and might divide the town’s automotive loyalties.
Now, I’m kicking my ass for not buying a bigger space and building from there.
There’s only so much room in the small garage, and without a massive influx of cash or a loan from the bank, the dream of expanding the shop is just that … a dream.
I push a rolling cart of tools off to the side and try to look at the space with a critical eye.
Michaels sent over a scathing email last night with the attached fine for the shop, which made for a shit end to the evening on top of everything else that happened.
Even dinner with my family and the entertainment that provides couldn’t help pick me up after yesterday’s disasters. I ended up begging off early, and I know that Andy wanted to follow me, but getting Piper home and into bed was more important.
Being alone with my thoughts last night also didn’t help matters. The email for the fine, the new safety requirements, the unaddressed damage and the knowledge that something has to give left me tossing and turning in my bed last night.
I spend about thirty minutes cleaning up what I can of the shop. I haven’t even started to think about what I need to do to meet the new requirements. That’ll have to come later.
I have a meeting with the bank later this morning to try—again—to qualify for the commercial loan that would let me buy the lot and expand the shop, but after looking at my numbers, I’m not sure that I’ll make the cut. Especially with the fine coming out of the shop’s bottom line.
Stop worrying. Go talk to the bank and see what they say.
“Knock, knock.” A cheerful voice comes from the front of the shop. I glance up and the explosion of red curls catches my attention first, quickly followed by the blood-heating perusal of Andy.
From the riot of curls down to the daisy ankle bracelet she wears, everything about her screams to the primal side of me wanting her more than my next breath.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask.
She holds up the to-go bag from Ma’s Diner and the cup carrier from Brewed Awakening.
“Figured you could use provisions and maybe a hand with cleaning some of this up?”
I glance around before asking. “Where’s Pip?”
“Spending time with Grandpa Hal. He came over this morning and swooped her up for a day at the lake. They’re probably drowning some worms as we speak.”
My dad can’t resist playing Grandpa to Pip and Audra.
“I’m actually wrapping up here, about to head over to the bank. I have a meeting with them.”
“Commercial loan?” she asks.
“Yep.” I nod. “I called Mr. Harding last night, and he agreed to open up for a bit this morning to talk with me about it.”
Our bank isn’t usually open on the weekend, but living in this town and knowing everyone for most of my life has a few perks.
Like opening the bank on a Saturday so that I can apply for a loan.
“Is David still willing to hold onto the property for you?”
“I called him this morning. He’s got someone interested, but said that if I come up with the money soon, he’ll still sell to me.”
That was an agonizing call. David Barnhart has owned the property for years.
Originally, he was hoping to turn it into a storefront, but the shape and small size didn’t work out.
Now he’s retired and spends his winters down in Florida for his arthritis, so he put it on the market before he moved. It’s been sitting there ever since.
The fact that he has someone interested in the lot next to me means I need to get a loan—yesterday—if I have any hope of buying it from him.
Her eyes widen a fraction. “Someone’s interested? That lot has been vacant for years.”
I nod. “He reached out to a development company since he hasn’t had any luck selling it, and apparently they’re interested.”
“Want me to come with you to the bank?”
A kernel of stress evaporates at her offer. Of course, any one of my family members would go with me, be there for me if I needed them to, but they all have their own stuff going on and I didn’t want to ask.
But Andy … she senses when I need her and is there even in the midst of her own chaos. Whether it’s conscious or not, it’s a comfort to me.
I shrug again. Scared to ask. To put more on her already-full plate. Still down in the dumps after everything that’s happened over the last few days. I’ll get it all taken care of, I always do, but man, the bind I’m currently in fucking sucks, and I just wish I was on the other side of it already.
She sets her haul on the rolling cart I just moved, then steps into me and wraps her arms around my waist.
“I know it sucks right now. But we’ll get everything taken care of, okay? I’ll come with you, and we’ll see what’s what.”
I nod, burying my face in her hair, breathing in the lemony vanilla scent of her shampoo. When she’s in my arms, everything is right in the world. Even if it’s burning down around us metaphorically.
“Eat the sandwich and drink the coffee. You’ll feel better for it.” She unpacks the sandwiches before handing me one and then passing me a cup of coffee.
I take a sip of the hot liquid, letting the smooth caffeine roll down my throat before I take a bite out of one of Dawn’s famous breakfast sandwiches. The flavors of fresh sausage, cheese, and fluffy eggs explode on my tastebuds and my stomach unclenches.
I didn’t realize that I was as hungry as I am and I make quick work of the sandwich before scooping up the egg that she discarded into her wrapper and eating that too.
Hot coffee washes the impromptu breakfast down, and I feel marginally better.
“Thanks, Mischief,” I say.
She nods at me and swallows her own mouthful of food. “You’re welcome.”
“What are you going to do if the bank denies your request for the loan?”
She’s too nice to say again. And her question has merit. The only other option that I can think of is to search for other lenders outside of town that might be willing to take a chance on me expanding my business.
But I know that, if I could just get more space, I’d be able to take on more jobs at a time, more staff, and therefore increase revenue.
“Not sure.”
“We’ll figure it out. Now, tell me, what’s going on with the new inspector? Finch said he’s a bit of an …”
“Asshole.”
She laughs, the sound like a confetti cannon of joy to my dumpy mood.
“I was going to say pill, but I like asshole better since he shut down my favorite person’s place of business.”
I scratch the back of my neck. “I’m not really sure. Samson said that he’s more strict than the previous supervisor, but there are so many changes he’s demanding that I’m thinking it’s a little dick in a big position situation.”
She smirks at me. “Little dick?”
I nod. “Microscopic. He’s the new inspector, so he’s trying to put his stamp on shit, and he picked being a stickler as the way to do it.
I’ve been open for almost ten years, and I’ve never been shut down.
We’ve never had a serious injury. What happened with Clancy sucked, don’t get me wrong, and I feel terrible that he got hurt, but mechanics get hurt. ”
I think of my fair share of scars from the job, not to mention the bruises, sore joints, aches and pains that come along with crawling under vehicles every day.
A broken bone is a worst-case scenario, but even Clancy said it was more wrong place, wrong time than an unsafe work environment when I visited him at the hospital stewing in my guilt.
“That makes sense. Kinda like the salon owner where I first worked after getting my license.”
I groan. That woman was a nightmare. She constantly tried to undermine Andy, reduced her hours and stole clients who specifically asked for Andy.
She stuck it out until she had enough money saved to open her own place here in town.
Adding in the barber services and partnering with Jenner was smart thinking on her part, as are the incentives she offers during tourist season, when we have more people in town.
She’s seen steady success since opening by growing her client and service base.
More of a success than my own business in any case.
“Exactly like your old boss, just more crotchety.”
“Well. I guess we should go to the bank and see if we can get you the loan you need to rip this place into a bigger and better auto shop.”
The way she says we is a balm to my battered mental state.
We toss our sandwich wrappers in the trash, and she shuts off the lights as we head outside. I close the open bay and set the alarm. Doubt anyone would try to break in during the day, but it never hurts to be prepared, and I’m at my limit for testing the universe on what I can handle.
Better not borrow trouble.
Everette Bank and Trust has been the bank in town since the early eighties. I remember my mom bringing me down on my sixteenth birthday to open my account.
Mr. Harding, the bank owner, is older than my dad and from one of the more affluent families in town. I certainly got into more than my fair share of trouble with his son, Jason, who’s the assistant manager and will likely take over the bank when his father retires.
“Jedd.” Mr. Harding steps forward and shakes my hand.
“Mr. Harding, how’s it going?”