Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Theo stood up, wiping his greasy hands on the front of his mechanic’s overalls. Around him, the car repair shop was filled with the sounds of clanging, laughing, and rock music. The air was pungent with the smells of grease and oil, and Theo’s hands were absolutely filthy.
He couldn’t have been happier. He loved fixing cars.
Sometimes it was difficult and he wanted to tear his hair out, but it was always like a puzzle he was determined to solve.
He liked the challenge that came with every car repair.
He knew that it needed to be done correctly to ensure that it was being done safely, and he liked overcoming the obstacles that came along with every new repair.
Once a job was finished, he had an immense sense of satisfaction that he didn’t get from anything else—except maybe from playing shows with his band.
He’d just finished up replacing the brakes on Harper Clements’ car, and he stretched back, thinking to himself that the light blue Volkswagen Beetle was a cute little car.
He thought it was fun when people had cars that seemed to match their personalities.
Plenty of people had cars that didn’t seem to suit them at all, and that was just fine, since it was about the function of the vehicle, not making a fashion statement, but he liked when it worked out the other way.
Michelle, for example, had a bright yellow jeep that seemed to suit her personality perfectly, just like when she wore something that was bright green.
She’d even worn a neon green dress to the party to celebrate the opening of The Birchwood House, and if he’d seen a dress like that in the store, he would have thought no one could pull it off, but when he’d seen it on Michelle, he’d thought that she looked great in it.
He cleared his throat, realizing his mind was starting to go down the rabbit hole of Michelle again. He glanced up at the windows of the garage that overlooked the parking lot and saw Harper walking up to the front door of the repair shop.
Perfect timing, he thought.
He squeezed a dollop of an orange goop onto his hands, rubbed it around, and then wiped it all off with a blue shop towel. It didn’t get off all the grease, but it was good enough for the moment.
He made his way to the front of the shop and found Harper waiting at the front desk. She waved.
“Hey, Theo! How’s that car of mine coming?”
“She’s all done.” Theo smiled. “Just finished the job about a minute ago. Your timing is perfect.”
Harper laughed. “Okay, wow. Awesome. Thank you so much for pushing it to the front of the line. I hope nobody else needed an emergency repair like I did.”
Theo shook his head. “Nope. Just boring stuff like oil changes and routine vehicle inspections.”
“Oh good. Well, I appreciate it, really. I really need my car today.”
“No problem at all.” Theo started to type on the computer, filling out the final details of Harper’s bill so that he could print it. “How come you need it so badly today in particular?”
Coral Sands was a small enough town that it was fairly easy to walk most places, even in the winter cold. If Harper really needed her car, it must be some kind of special occasion.
“I’ve got to finish setting up the Christmas adoption event that we’re having at the shelter today.
” She glanced at her watch nervously. “At noon! I’ve only got two more hours.
” She took a deep breath. “Anyway, I’ve got to transport all kinds of things, and I couldn’t do it all on foot.
When I realized my brakes weren’t working right, I panicked.
The fact that you guys were able to fix my car right away feels like a Christmas miracle. ”
“Santa’s helpers, that’s us.” Theo laughed. “Glad it worked out. Brakes are arguably the most important feature on a car.” He clicked on the computer a few more times, sending her bill to the printer.
Harper nodded, making an expression that was a mixture between a grin and a grimace. “Thank goodness they’re working again.”
He pulled the freshly printed bill from the printer tray and handed it to Harper along with a pen. “The adoption event sounds like it should be a lot of fun. Animal barks and howls for music, and pet hair for confetti. Sounds like my kind of party,” he joked.
She chuckled. “It’ll be magnificent. And we’ll have real music playing—but not confetti.
Just balloons and Christmas decorations.
Which I still need to pick up!” She swiped her card and hurriedly signed her bill.
“You should come,” she said, handing the bill back to him.
“It’ll be a lot of fun, and Audrey and Michelle are coming for sure.
You should help me convince Audrey and Michelle that they should bring home a furry addition to The Birchwood House. ”
Theo’s heart did a strange flip-flop at the mention of Michelle.
All at once, he thought of the odd interaction they’d shared the night before.
They’d both been at The Brick Oven, but instead of talking to each other, they’d just kind of stared at each other from across the room.
Normally, they sassed each other like crazy and did their best to get on each other’s nerves.
Guarded looks across a crowded restaurant were a new thing for them.
I wish I’d just gone over and said something to her, he thought. I felt like I couldn’t. Whenever we actually talk to each other, we’re always bantering and teasing each other. I just didn’t want to do that. But I did want to talk to her.
He squirmed, wishing that their longstanding tradition of having an adversarial relationship could be done away with.
He wanted to just hurry over to her whenever he saw her and act kind and affectionate.
It was getting tiring feeling like he had to hold himself back from behaving that way toward her.
Why didn’t he just act the way he wanted to? Was it because he thought she wouldn’t like it? Was he nervous to show her genuine affection? Why?
Because of what it implied?
He swallowed, suddenly feeling flushed and jittery.
“Michelle wouldn’t ever adopt an animal,” he said, shaking his head and trying to think of something funny to say.
“She likes things to stay the same, and she likes things to be orderly. She’s all about responsibility and keeping on top of things.
She wouldn’t want all the craziness an animal would bring. ”
Harper cocked her head to one side, giving Theo a skeptical look. “You know, I don’t think you know Michelle as well as you think you do.”
Theo’s mouth opened, and he was about to ask Harper what she meant by that, when the animal shelter owner glanced at her watch again.
“Ah, I’ve got to run,” she said with a groan. “Thank you again, Theo, so much. See you later, hopefully?”
“Yeah—sounds good—bye, Harper.”
She darted out of the shop so fast that she was gone before he’d finished saying her name. He chuckled, and then his expression became puzzled as he thought again about what she’d said about Michelle.
I’m right though, aren’t I? he thought. Michelle does like order and responsibility. I mean, the first time I invited her to one of my concerts she said she couldn’t because she had to work, for crying out loud. At a job that didn’t actually need her to do her work during that specific time frame.
He shook his head, lingering behind the front desk instead of going back out into the shop.
He was filled with a sudden urge to see Michelle.
He glanced down at the schedule and noted that he and the rest of the mechanics would be done with the scheduled appointments in the next couple of hours.
He would be free to go to the adoption event if he wanted to, as long as he kept working and got everything done.
Suddenly filled with a new energy, Theo went back into the shop and started to work on another car, his hands and his brain moving much faster than they usually did.