Chapter 7
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Camden
I pull into my driveway and let my eyes stray to the right. Adam’s truck isn’t there, but the lights are on in the house, letting me know Maren is home. I park my truck near the front of my house, far enough back that I can still get Maren’s little SUV inside my garage.
Climbing from the truck, I grab the car parts and head for the side door of my garage.
I’m not one-hundred-percent sure what’s wrong with her car, but I have an idea and know where to start.
I brought home a battery and an alternator, as well as some basic tune-up needs for her vehicle, and I’ll be able to diagnose it better once I get it in here.
Of course, getting it in my garage isn’t going to be fun. Thankfully, there isn’t much snow outside, because pushing a car through the snow fucking sucks.
When I’m inside, I flip on all the lights. I don’t mess with the thermostat yet, because I’ll have the door open when I bring Maren’s car in. Once I sort out the parts on the counter, I take a deep breath and prepare for the next step.
Outside, I walk straight to her back door and knock.
I hear the lock release, and when she pulls open the door, I’m struck by how beautiful she is.
She’s wearing leggings, an oversized sweatshirt, and fuzzy socks with penguins on them.
Her long blond hair is pulled back in a ponytail, and I have an instant flashback of my hand sliding into that hair while I kissed her in the end zone at the end of my final football game.
“Hey.”
“Can you help me get your car into my garage?” I blurt out, forcing the image from my mind.
“Of course.” Just as she takes a step back, the unmistakable sound of feet running grows louder.
“Cam!”
“Hey, buddy,” I say, just as the boy runs around the corner and launches himself at me.
“Can I bring Theo with me?” she asks, reaching for her winter coat.
“Of course,” I reply, giving the boy my full attention. “Wanna go help get your mom’s car in my garage?”
“Yep!”
I set him down and he immediately moves to the small bench sitting along the way and tries stuffing his feet into his snow boots.
“Wrong feet, silly Billy,” Maren says softly, dropping to her knees to help put his boots on the right feet.
Theo busts out laughing, throwing his head back and smiling so carefree and easy it squeezes my heart. “I not Billy. I Theo!”
“Theodore.” She makes sure his boots are right and velcroed on his feet before bopping him on the tip of his nose and adding, “Let’s get your coat and hat on.”
Theo jumps up and grins, helping his mom zip his coat. The moment his hat is on his head, he turns to me and proclaims, “I weady.” He walks over and takes my hand.
Maren slips her feet into her own snow boots and zips her coat before giving me her attention. “Ready.”
Before I step outside, I pick Theo up and settle him on my hip. “Let’s go.”
Maren follows me to where her vehicle is parked, and when I reach the driver’s side door, I find it unlocked. “Can you get in and try to start it?”
She does as instructed, climbing into the seat and trying to start the car. It acts like it wants to turn over, but doesn’t.
“Okay, Theo, wanna help your mama drive her car?”
He nods eagerly. “Yep!”
“Wait, drive my car?”
“Yep,” I tell her, handing her son over to her.
“What’s happening?” she asks.
“I’m going to push you to my garage.”
Her mouth falls open as Theo grabs the steering wheel and pretends to drive. “What? You’re going to push my car?”
“How else do you think it’s going to get over there?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I don’t know,” she starts, looking over at my garage. “Winch it over?”
I chuckle and shake my head. “I could, but it would take me longer to get the winch set up, and I’d still have to push your car over to my driveway, so this will just be faster. Ready?” I start heading for the front of her SUV.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Not hit my garage?”
She rolls those gorgeous blue eyes of hers, making me grin.
“I’m going to push you back toward my truck. When I move to the back, I’ll start pushing you forward. Crank the wheel, pull into my driveway, and center at the door. I’ll run in and open it and then push you through.”
Her mouth is hanging open a bit. “You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack. Ready?”
“I guess,” she mutters. “Theo, you need to sit in the seat next to me, please.”
“He can stand up and drive,” I say.
“What? No, he can’t,” she insists.
I shrug. “It’s not like I’m pushing you fast, Shortcake. He’ll be fine.”
It hits me before realization crosses her face.
Shortcake.
I haven’t said her nickname since the morning she broke up with me and left town, and it’s like a punch to the gut how easily it fell from my lips now, after all this time.
I clear my throat and look away. She closes her door as I place my hands on her bumper and prepare to give her a boost. My heart is pounding in my chest like a snare drum, the reverb echoing through my entire body.
I’m suddenly a live wire, the energy ready to strike, but I refuse to do it now.
Not with Theo here, sitting on her lap and pretending to drive.
Speaking of Theo…
I can’t help it.
I look.
He’s kneeling on her lap, a cheesy grin on his face, as he grips the wheel and tries to move it side to side. We make eye contact, and I can’t help but automatically return his smile. Everything inside me just…relaxes. Who knew a three-year-old could have this calming effect on me?
Maren says something to him, and he nods in return before showing me a thumbs-up. A chuckle slips from my mouth, and I take it as a sign they’re ready, so I start to push. The car doesn’t move, and it hits me.
“Put it in neutral.”
Her eyes widen and she shakes her head, as if she can’t believe she didn’t remember that.
After applying the brake, she shifts the vehicle into neutral, and I’m able to push it back.
I already checked on her model, and since her Ford Escape is old enough, it doesn’t have the hidden shift lock button feature.
If it had, like most newer models now, it would have entailed taking an extra step to get the shifter into neutral so we could push it.
The car now moves when I push against it, and after a short time, I have it back to where my truck is parked. “Okay, turn the wheel to get to my driveway. When you reach the door, apply the brake, and I’ll run inside and open the door.”
She nods in understanding and so does Theo.
It takes me a few minutes and a little extra muscle to get the car into my driveway, thanks to the grass separating our properties, but I eventually get it there.
Honestly, I should have called one of my brothers to help, or maybe even Quinn, but I didn’t want to listen to them and their many opinions I’m sure they’ll all have in regard to my new neighbor.
I slip inside my garage and open the door. Once it’s up, I return to the back bumper and continue with my push. “That’s good,” I holler, stopping my pushing and watching as the brake lights illuminate.
She puts the vehicle in park once more and returns the key to the off position. I want to open her door and help them out, but I stay back. The last thing I need to do is touch her hand, because then I entertain ideas I have no business entertaining.
“Dat was fun!” Theo hollers as his mom helps him out of her car.
I head over and close the garage door, and as soon as it’s down, I turn the thermostat up so the space gets a bit more comfortable.
I keep it at fifty-five during the winter, with the exception of when I’m out here working.
Then, I usually bump it up to sixty-five.
“Did you drive?” I ask the little boy, who comes running over to me and watches my every move.
“Yep!”
I stop what I’m doing and cross my arms over my chest. “Do you have a license, sir?”
He giggles and shakes his head. “I not sir. I Theo.”
“Hmm, Theo, you say? Well, Theo, I’m going to need your license and registration.”
He throws his head back, his entire body shaking as he laughs. Frankly, it’s the sweetest sound I’ve heard in a long damn time. “You funny.”
I reach over, pull his hat off, and ruffle his hair. “You are too, my friend. Are you ready to get to work?”
His eyes widen. “I help?”
“Of course,” I reply, picking him up and setting him on my workbench. He looks at the pile of boxed car parts and picks up a spark plug. “That one’s your size.”
He grins and holds it up. “Mama, I help!”
She steps forward a bit hesitantly. “We should probably head home, Theo, and leave Camden to work on my car.”
“I help!” he proclaims, holding up the spark plug.
She turns worried eyes my way. “I don’t want to be in the way.”
I shrug and set Theo on the floor. “It’s fine. If I can deal with Cade all up in my business and thinking he’s helping, I can handle a three-year-old.”
She cracks a grin but still looks unsure.
“Have a seat, Maren. Theo and I are going to fix your car.”
Theo runs over to his mom and takes her hand. “Sit,” he says, gently pulling her toward the side of my workbench where a stool is positioned.
“All right, little dude, let’s get to work. We need to determine if it’s the battery or the alternator causing the lack of power. Ready?”
He nods eagerly, his blue eyes wide with anticipation.
I spend the next fifteen minutes diagnosing Maren’s car, explaining to Theo as I go what I’m doing.
Some of my earliest memories are of being in the garage with my own dad, helping him tinker on vehicles or small engines and helping him get them running again.
It’s where I learned to love mechanics, and I find it a little fun and soothing to show Theo too.
“It’s important to take good care of your vehicle when you get older, because cars can be very expensive to fix when the big things go wrong, and if you take care of the little things as you go, the bigger issues might not happen.”
He nods, as if he completely understands what I’m talking about. He crouches down at the front passenger wheel and points. “What that?”