19. Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Nineteen
H ad it all been a dream?
Thursday morning the sun shone brightly, Maxi awoke in her now-wrinkled dress.
It took her a moment to figure out where she was and how she’d ended up falling asleep in her clothes.
And then the memories came rushing back to her: the romantic dinner, the walk on the beach, the confessions and the kisses.
Her heart pitter-pattered at the memory.
It was all so new, and yet she knew her heart was safe with Owen. He would never intentionally hurt her. But they still had problems to face, starting with the fact that they lived hundreds of miles apart. It would certainly be a challenge to have a Friday night date.
Buzz.
She rolled over and grabbed her phone. She gasped when she saw it was after seven o’clock. She was always at the garage by then. After checking her alarm, she realized she’d forgotten to turn it on.
She jumped out of bed, grabbed her work clothes and headed for the shower. She moved swiftly through her morning routine, cutting corners here and there to shave off some time.
When she made it back to her bedroom, she noticed her mother’s letters.
They were scattered over the side of her bed and some had landed on the floor.
She rushed over to them and scooped them up.
She was relieved to see that none of them had been damaged.
She never would have forgiven herself if anything had happened to them.
She moved to the little wooden desk in the corner of the room. She opened her laptop and crossed her fingers that she’d have a positive response to her inquiries for a radiator. The current one was damaged on the left side, so much so that it couldn’t be repaired.
Yet, when she checked her email, she was told that none were available, or they wouldn’t be able to get it to her until sometime the following week. Which meant that she was out of luck. Her chest tightened. No radiator meant no car for the race.
She headed to the garage to tell Owen the bad news. He was already there and hard at work. She felt bad he was wasting his time.
When he saw the look on her face, he dropped what he was doing and moved to her side. “What’s wrong? Is it about last night? Did I rush things?”
She shook her head. “It has nothing to do with that.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay. Just tell me, and we’ll deal with it.”
When she told him she couldn’t get a radiator in time for the race, he said, “I wasn’t able to find one that would be here in time either.”
He must have seen the devastated look on her face because the next thing she knew, he was giving her a hug. She relaxed in his arms. The tightness around her chest eased.
When she pulled away from him, she leaned back against the workbench. “We might as well quit now.”
“Not so fast. I have one last idea.” When she sent him a hopeful look, he said, “Don’t get your hopes up. This is a long shot.” He reached for his phone.
She tried to see what he was typing, but she was too far away. “What are you doing?”
“Just wait.”
Curiosity chewed away at her. She moved next to him and tried to see the phone screen. He glanced at her with a smile. “Impatient, aren’t we?”
She shrugged. “What are you doing?”
His fingers moved rapidly over the screen. It wasn’t until he put the phone back into his pocket that he looked at her. “I put up a post on Bluestar’s social circle.”
“And you think someone here on the island will have the right part?” Yeah. Right. Cars were outlawed on the island. There was no way any of them would have the part. Her hope fled her.
He shook his head. “No. But they might have a connection. Now get back to work.” When she didn’t move, he said, “You don’t want the right part to show up, and not have the car ready because you gave up.”
He did have a legitimate point. “Fine.” She moved to the toolbox. “But just so you know, I’m working at the carnival this evening.”
“I see how it is. You’re going to leave me to do all the work while you go have fun.” He sent her a teasing smile.
“You could come with me.” The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea.
He shook his head. “Until the bachelor auction is over, I’m keeping a low profile.”
She nodded. “I understand. But you will be missed.”
She got to work. There was still a lot to do. But with Owen helping her, she knew there wasn’t anything they couldn’t do together.
It was the day before the race.
Maxi was out of bed that morning before her alarm. In the dark, she stumbled over to the little desk and opened her laptop. While the computer booted, she yawned and stretched. Today was do or die time.
She scoured her emails. There was no news about the radiator.
And now she was out of time. Feeling defeated, she closed the computer and went to sit on the bed.
She sat back against the headboard and wrapped her arms around the pillow.
This meant she wasn’t going to be able to help her aunt.
Tears of frustration slipped down her cheeks.
Buzz.
She didn’t immediately reach for her phone, but when it went off again, she reached for it on the nightstand. Was it asking too much to hope it was good news?
She checked, and it was a text message. When she clicked on the icon, she found it was a note from Owen. He wanted to know if he should pick up a coffee for her that morning.
She was surprised that he was still going to the garage when he knew that without the part, there was no way of entering the car.
Maxi: Thanks. But I’m not going to the garage.
Owen: Come on. This is the last day.
Maxi: And there’s no radiator.
Owen: It’s too soon to give up hope.
Maxi rolled her eyes. She wondered if Owen was always so optimistic. She’d rather deal with reality, and it said there wasn’t going to be any racing for her.
Owen: Meet me at the garage. Please.
She hesitated. She really didn’t want to go and let him see how disappointed she was, but she also wanted to see him. Her time on the island was quickly running out.
Maxi: I’ll see you soon. And don’t forget the milk and sugar.
Owen: *thumbs up emoji*
At the garage, she got to work. She didn’t know why, other than it would save her time when she made it back to Virginia. Owen was busy with the fender. It was painted and didn’t look too bad, considering not long ago it looked more like a crumpled pop can.
It was a few minutes before noon when Maxi heard a cart pull up. She turned to Owen. “Who do you think that is?”
He sent her a grin. “Why don’t you go find out?”
“Owen, what are you up to?”
His only response was to broaden his smile.
When they stepped outside, they saw Birdie walking up the driveway. “Oh, good. You’re both here.” She looked at Owen. “There’s a package in my cart. Would you mind getting it for me?”
Owen nodded before setting off toward the road.
Birdie set her sights on Maxi. “How are things coming along?”
Maxi shrugged. “We’re at an impasse.”
“Oh no. That’s not good.” Birdie went on to talk about the race and the rumors she heard about who would win it.
Owen returned with a big box in his arms. He was still grinning. He must know what’s in the box . Did he peek?
Birdie looked at Maxi. “You better not stand around. It’ll take you some time to install the radiator.”
Maxi was about to tell her she didn’t have a radiator when she replayed Birdie’s words in her head. “Wait. Are you saying a radiator is in that box?”
Birdie smiled and nodded.
Maxi didn’t understand. “We’ve been trying to find one that could be here today, and we struck out. How did you get it?”
“Well, I saw Owen’s post on social media. And I know a person who knows a person on the mainland. Anyway, it’s here now.”
Maxi turned to Owen. “You knew about this and didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t want to get your hopes up too high in case there was a problem getting it here in time.”
Maxi hugged Birdie and thanked her profusely. In the meantime, Owen took the box into the garage. Before leaving, Birdie decided to take a look at the car. When she stepped into the garage, she gasped.
“What’s wrong?” Maxi asked.
“It’s the car.” Birdie frowned as she stared at it. “I thought it would be further along than this.”
“We’ve been working on it…” Maxi began.
“I’m sure you have been.” Birdie frowned. “Would some more hands move things along?”
Maxi looked at the car and wondered who Birdie had in mind to help them. She hoped they knew something about mechanics. Still, they had everything they needed; they just needed to get it all put together. “Yes.”
Birdie smiled. “Good. I’ll be right back.”
As Birdie stepped away, thoughts of the auction came to her. She checked the time. The bachelor auction wasn’t that far off. No matter what, she was going to keep her word to Owen, even if it meant she didn’t get the car completed in time for the race.
The next thing she knew, two of the Turner brothers showed up and said Birdie let them know they needed help.
Kent and Liam rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
Next Josie and her husband, Lane, arrived ready to get to work.
Others trickled in including Sara, Aster, Sam, and Lily.
Everyone who showed up wanted to help. And no one was turned away.
A few minutes before five o’clock, they finished piecing the car back together. It had definitely looked better, but considering just days ago it was wrecked, it looked really good.
And then the big moment came. Owen handed Maxi the key. It was time to see if it would start. A ball of nerves settled in her stomach.
“No.” She held the key out to Owen. “You do it.”
He shook his head. “Stop worrying. It’s going to fire right up.”
“But what if it doesn’t?”
“Then we’ll keep working on it,” Kent said.
“Yeah!” cheered the rest of the crew.
All of their encouragement helped her get past her nerves.
She sat down in the car for the first time since the accident.
She had a brief flashback to that moment when her fear of hitting the goat had shifted to her fear of hitting the wall.
At the time, she hadn’t even been sure that she would be around to fix it.
She pushed away the unwanted memories. When she held out the key to put it in the ignition, she noticed the slight tremble in her hand. Would it start?
“Go ahead.” Owen’s voice was gentle as he crouched down beside her.
She pushed the key into the ignition, said a little prayer, and then turned it. The car spit and sputtered but died. Oh no .
She tried again. It did the same thing. But this time instead of acting like the nervous driver, she took on her mechanic persona and listened with a professional ear.
She got out and adjusted a couple of things including the carburetor. Then she got back in the driver’s seat. Without hesitation, she turned the key.
The engine turned over. It was a bit rough, but she knew with a few more adjustments it would purr like a kitten.
She got out and immediately hugged Owen. “If it wasn’t for you, none of this would have happened. Thank you.”
When he pulled back, he looked into her eyes. “You know that I really want to kiss you, don’t you?”
Heat rushed up her neck and set her cheeks ablaze. “You do, huh?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“You two need to get ready for the auction,” Lily said. “Get going.”
Maxi’s gaze moved to the car. “But I need to…”
“We’ve got this,” Lane said.
She wanted to ask if any of them were professional mechanics, but she didn’t get the chance as Owen took her arm and led her away from the garage.
“Come on,” he said. “You have a bachelor to win.”
Yes, she did. She smiled. A very sweet and handsome bachelor.