Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Dean sat at his desk in Main Street Auto, tapping his fingers against his knees as he looked over the books.
“Looking good, looking good,” he murmured.
Business had been fairly good of late, although his personal finances had taken a hit because he wasn’t able to work on any cars during his recovery.
Since he owned the business, he still made some profit from the overall income, but he always gave the main part of the money that came in to his mechanics, as commission.
He glanced up, through the indoor window in his office that looked out onto the garage. He watched his guys talking and laughing as they tinkered with an old Ford truck, and he sighed. He was itching to get back to working on cars himself, but there wasn’t much he could do about that at the moment.
Soon, he thought with a smile. Before I know it, I’ll be out there with them, feeling better than I’ve felt since before all of this started.
At the thought of doing more work, and along with it, making more money, Dean was reminded of how spectacularly disheartening his surgery bills were—especially when combined with the cost of the treatments that he had a feeling were the best choice moving forward.
He sighed again, tossing his pen down and leaning back in his chair.
He shut his eyes for a moment, as if he could will away all of the problems in front of him by wishing hard enough.
He felt worried about his recovery timeline, and about the bills.
He worried that he couldn’t afford the treatments to speed up his recovery, and that he would end up being in pain on his and Noelle’s wedding day.
He shook his head, finding himself wondering if the surgery had been worth it after all.
A moment later, he scolded himself. Stay grateful, Dean, he thought. Your body is feeling better. It was definitely worth it. I’ll figure this all out—somehow.
There was a knock on his office door, and he glanced at it, surprised. “Come on in!” he called, wondering who it was. He knew it wasn’t one of his mechanics, at least none of the guys who were working that afternoon, since he could see them all out in the shop.
The door opened and Noelle and Vivian stepped inside. Dean’s face lit up into a grin when he saw them, and he hurried to stand up and give them both bear hugs.
“So nice to see you,” he said, kissing Noelle’s forehead. “What a lovely surprise.”
“We wanted to drop by and say hello,” Vivian said, her eyes twinkling at him. “We were out looking for a flower girl dress for Macey with Julia and the girls, but she had to get on home because Quinn was getting fussy.”
“Sounds like fun.” Dean leaned against the side of his desk and crossed his arms, smiling. “Did you find the right dress?”
“Oh yes, and it’s just perfect,” Noelle said.
“It’s a pale green, almost a mint, and it’s got flowers embroidered all along the hem.
Macey looks darling in it.” She laughed.
“And you should have seen how proud she was. She gave so many twirls. She definitely understands that it’s not just a dress, it’s for something important. ”
Dean nodded, grinning. “I can’t wait to see how cute she is in it.”
“I didn’t know you were back at work already,” Vivian said, glancing down at the papers strewn across his desk.
“Just paperwork,” Dean said, smiling. “This place can’t run itself. I had a lot of business work to catch up on.”
“Are you sure you didn’t get too tempted and sneak out there to be with the boys?” Noelle teased. “I know how you get about those cars. They’re like candy to you, and you have to stare at them every time you’re in here.”
Dean chuckled, holding up his hands in an “I surrender” gesture. “I promise I didn’t strain my hands. Just paperwork. Writing with that pen has been as easy as pie.”
Vivian looked at how easily he was moving his hands with delight. “Dean! You really seem to be feeling a lot better. That surgery did wonders.”
Dean’s expression darkened as he thought of the bills. “Yes, I have been feeling better.”
Noelle slipped her arm through his. “That’s incredible. How come you don’t look happier about it? Hearing you say that makes me want to start dancing on the ceiling.”
Dean shook his head. “I am happy, but you missed the moments when I was first reacting to this change in my hands. I’m also really worried about money, and that’s my predominant emotion right now, I’m afraid.”
“Why are you worried about money?” Vivian asked, her expression alert.
“The bills for the surgery were worse than I thought they’d be.
I knew they would be a lot, but they’re like, next level a lot.
And I’d been hoping that I could undergo some treatments that would improve my recovery time and speed up the healing process, but those are expensive as well.
” He made eye contact with Noelle, who had brightened at the word “treatments.” “But I don’t think I can afford those, not with the surgery bills and the wedding coming up. ”
Noelle stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
“I don’t want you to worry about any of that, Dean.
There are still plenty of things we picked out for our wedding that we don’t actually need, and we could cancel them and save the money.
Heck, we could even switch the venue to the basement of the church and I’d be happy.
What matters it that we’re getting married, and I care more about you feeling good than I do about anything else. ”
Dean felt his heart burst with love and gratitude as he looked down at her. She’d said exactly what he knew she would, but it still touched him deeply to hear her say it. He knew there weren’t a lot of women who would so quickly give up the idea of their dream wedding.
“I don’t want to do that, though,” he said softly. “I want you to have everything you picked out. We want our day to be as beautiful as you are.”
She shook her head, smiling. “It will be. No matter what. Even if you’re not feeling your best—which I believe you will be—it will still be the best day of our lives.”
He kissed her forehead. “You’re amazing.
Even this news doesn’t affect your optimism.
” His chest swelled with appreciation for the woman he was going to marry, even though he still felt burdened by what felt like two almost insurmountable obstacles.
He wanted to have as much faith as Noelle did, but he couldn’t help fretting that things weren’t going to work out and their hopes were going to be dashed.
Vivian was quiet throughout the exchange, watching Dean and Noelle with that same alert look. Finally, she put a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “Hang in there, Dean. I just know it’s all going to work out beautifully. Don’t you worry. Promise?”
He laughed. “I’ll try.”
“Good.” She winked at him. “Well, I’ll head on home and let you two love birds chat about everything for a while. Don’t forget about our family dinner tomorrow night—at The Lighthouse Grill.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Dean smiled. Ordinarily they had family dinner nights in Vivian’s home, but every once in a while they met at The Lighthouse Grill, usually for special occasions.
There was always an added sense of excitement in the air when they ate at the pub, and Dean knew it wasn’t just because Samantha always rejoiced over how fun it was that they all got to eat different things.
There was a sense of being proud of their family restaurant, and all that their family had accomplished together over the years.
“I’ll be there too,” Noelle promised.
Vivian slipped out the door with a wave, and Noelle folded into Dean’s arms. For a few minutes neither of them said anything, and then she said softly, “Okay, no worrying. You promised.”
Dean laughed and kissed the top of her head. “Yes, ma’am.”
He closed his eyes, treasuring the way she felt in his arms, and knowing with all of his heart that she was right—whatever happened, their wedding day would be the best day of their lives because of all that it promised.