Chapter Six
The following weeks passed without much difference than the previous weeks. Our routine stayed the same for the most part. I finally just accepted that the “escorts” to each class were just friends walking with each other to class and nothing everyone else in the school didn’t already do. Cade still tried to make me eat more than I wanted, but I gave him a look every time and he would back off. Brody found it hilarious. Hunter watched our exchange with feigned disinterest, but I knew he was paying close attention to our interactions. Why? I had no clue. Bree and Cassie thought it was cute, seeing as no one ever stood up to Cade the way I did. I thought it was good for him. I hadn’t forgotten about the exchange between Hunter and Cade but at that point, I was taking Cassie’s advice and not worrying about it until later.
Tyler invited us back to his bonfire every weekend, but I thought after the last fiasco it was better to let things cool off before we attempted that again. So far, we had been out by ourselves a few times around town. It was great to have just girls around to chat about anything and everything. While we did tell the boys where we were going, they didn’t demand that we allow them to go with us. Not that I didn’t catch Cade’s car cruise by on the street a few times. Coincidence? I think not.
It was now a Saturday, three weeks after the bonfire incident. I was helping Nicole around the house again when I heard a honk from our driveway. I looked to Nicole to see a gleam in her eye.
“What’s going on?” I asked a little nervously.
“Let’s go out to the driveway and see.” She almost skipped out of the room and I followed her to the front door. She stepped out ahead of me and turned to me as I made my way out the door. I didn’t even hear the door shut behind me. My eyes were riveted on the sight before me. I traced the lines of a dark burnt orange hood, over the sleek top, to the back tail lights. The classic muscle car was beautiful. Sexy. Totally awesome. I admired the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T from the porch as I slowly made my way to it. The only problem? It was on the back of a flatbed trailer. Steve and Cade were standing side by side, grinning at my reaction.
“What’s this?” I finally managed as I stopped in front of them.
“Your new car.” Steve grinned. My eyes widened.
“Oh my God, really?” I yelled. I threw my arms around Steve, practically jumping up and down.
“Whoa, don’t get too excited yet, it needs some work.” He chuckled. I pulled back and looked at him.
“What kind of work?” I questioned as my eyes flew to the car.
“Well, Cade here helped me find it. He knew you liked muscle cars and knew we were looking to buy you one. He found this one cheap and offered to fix it up for you.” Steve grinned.Internally, my excited meter just dropped a notch.
“It doesn’t run?” I asked hesitantly. While I admired and loved classic muscle cars, having the know-how in mechanical skills was not in my forte.
“Not yet.” Steve admitted. “But Cade said he could find the parts and have it fixed in no time.” I just bet he did. I pasted a smile on my face and hugged Steve again.
“Thank you, it’s great. Really great.” I turned to Nicole who also stood by to witness my first reaction. “Thank you so much.” I gave her a hug too.
“Hey, don’t I get one?” Cade asked. “I did find it online for you.” I turned to him and stepped into his open arms. I rose up on my tip toes to whisper in his ear.
“You did this on purpose.”
“No idea what you’re talking about.” He whispered back before I pulled away and stepped to the side. I jumped up on the trailer to get a closer look.
“So, I take it you’re pulling this back to your house to work on?” I glanced at Cade.
“All my tools are there.” He commented.
“I suppose I’ll have to bug you for a ride a little while longer,” I added sarcastically.
“Looks like it.” He grinned. I shook my head.
“Fine.” I looked to Nicole. “You mind if I go with him to get started?”
“Today?” She raised an eyebrow and looked between Cade and me.
“Yes.” I replied firmly. “The quicker we start, the faster I can drive this baby.” I smiled as I ran my hand over the hood. Cade chuckled.
“Yeah, okay.” Nicole answered.
“I’ll have her home tonight.” Cade called as I jumped down from the trailer. Cade’s truck was connected to the trailer, how I missed that earlier was a wonder. I moved to the passenger side and Cade was suddenly there beside me. He opened the door and easily lifted me inside. I waved to Steve and Nicole before Cade shut the door and walked around to his side. Before long, we were making our way to his house.
“You know that was pretty sneaky, right?” I asked.
“What was sneaky?” Cade chuckled.
“You knew Steve was looking for a car for me. And you happen to find the perfect one. Minus the working engine part.”
“It will be a great car once it’s running.”
“Yeah, but I could have found a cheap one that already runs. Not that I’m complaining about this one.” I grinned at him. “How long will it take to fix up?”
“As long as it needs to.” He replied with a grin. I rolled my eyes.
“Hey, one thing I’ve been curious about. What made you like cars so much? Most kids our age wouldn’t be driving the latest model Charger.”
“I don’t know. I’ve always liked things with motors. I scrimped and saved to buy the Charger and my parents helped a little.”
“Do you have other favorites?”
“Who doesn’t?” He asked with a chuckle. “The ‘69 Camaro SS, ‘68 Shelby GT500, ‘69 Pontiac GTO are on my list to own one day if I can find and restore them.”
“And the Challenger didn’t make it on the list?” I asked with a nod to the vehicle we were pulling.
“Course. But you never know what Fate has in store.” He replied cryptically without meeting my eyes. I left his statement at that because I wasn’t sure how to take it. Did he plan on me selling the car to him at some point? Or was he hinting at a future time when he would own the car…at the same time I did? I shook my head and abandoned those dangerous thoughts.
Soon we pulled up beside his house and Cassie was on the porch steps with admiration in her eyes. I opened my door and hopped out before I shut it behind me.
“What do you think of my baby?” I asked.
“I think I’m in love.” She breathed. I laughed and couldn’t agree more. I jumped back up onto the trailer to look in the interior. Cade was still on the other side of the trailer and grinned up at me. I could see Brody about twenty paces away, making his way toward us.
“It needs a little work but she will be a beauty when it’s all done.” I smiled as I turned around. I must have misplaced my foot because I stepped off into air. I pin wheeled my arms to no avail, before I started to pitch backwards. I closed my eyes and braced myself because I knew it was going to hurt like hell when I hit the ground. Just as I braced for impact, strong arms caught me mid-drop and pulled me against a solid chest. It wasn’t Cade, but there was still something familiar about the scent surrounding me. I opened my eyes to see Brody who looked down at me in concern. Huh, I could have sworn he was farther away when I started to fall. Two seconds later, Cade’s face was over mine and he took me from Brody’s arms.
“Are you all right?” Cade asked, worriedly.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I pushed off his chest so he would set me down. “Brody caught me in time.” I looked to him to see him blush and look at the ground. I wanted to ask how he reached me so quickly but Bree came running up beside us and enveloped me in a hug.
“Oh, are you all right?” She questioned, almost squeezing me to the point that I couldn’t breathe. I felt a sense of comfort wash over me and my original question about Brody disappeared.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I wheezed. Bree finally let me go.
“That was scary.” She said shakily. “You should watch where you step.”
“Yeah, I’ll try to remember that next time.” I replied sarcastically. No one would meet my eyes and Cade was the first to break the silence.
“Brody, help me push her into the garage, will you?” Cade asked, eyes on the car. He nodded and both Cade and he worked on unloading the car. Hunter turned up a few seconds later and helped push it into one of the garage stalls. Cassie, Bree, and I watched…and admired. Who wouldn’t with all that testosterone on display?
We spent the afternoon going over what needed to be fixed. I could tell many afternoons and evenings were going to be spent in that garage. The boys were excited about their new project. I was excited for the day I would get to drive her.
I still had a nagging thought in the back of my head as Cade drove me home that night. How did Brody get to me so fast? I was positive he was too far away to be anywhere close enough to catch me. That night when I fell asleep, I had no problem remembering my recurring dream. They were becoming easier to remember unlike when we first moved there. Weirdly enough, they were all about wolves. I dreamed of the black wolf running through the forest. The weird part was? I was a wolf running alongside him.