Chapter 7
Jeremiah
As the glass doors open, my arm falls from her shoulder as she approaches the nurses’ desk. “My Paw was just brought in,” she begins to say as Beckett comes through the door in his uniform with a look on his face that makes me sick to my stomach. Landry looks to him and as she turns to look at me, I see her begin to fall. Sliding behind her, I grab her in my arms and hold her tightly as she begins to sob uncontrollably. Taking her in my arms, I scoop her into them and hold her tightly as Beckett walks us back to him.
Walking into the room, it’s quiet and the stillness brings back the worst day of my life. I can still remember the day we were all brought into a room like this and when I looked down, I saw the most beautiful woman in the world completely silent. The day I lost my parents, I lost a piece of myself, but there’s something about the silence that you can’t forget and right now, the silence is deafening.
Placing her down, she doesn’t say a word and I look to Beckett. I’m sure that she wants her privacy. Taking a step toward the door, she reaches for my hand and I pause. Taking a deep breath, Beckett leaves me with her in there alone.
She doesn’t say a word, but as she looks at Mr. Mayes, we see he no longer is the man full of shit and a hard ass. He looks peaceful, happy, and almost smiling.
Landry lets go of my hand and takes his in hers as silent tears fall from her eyes. “What the fuck, Paw?” she says as she looks at him. “You said you were fine.” I feel her anger begin to rise and I don’t know if I should stay or leave. As I start to take a step away from her, her shoulders begin to shake and she breaks into a million pieces again. Looking at her, I know that I can’t leave and for the first time in my life, I want to hold and comfort someone.
Taking her in my arms, she turns as her tears soak my dirty t-shirt. I place my hands in her hair and gently rub them through her hair while resting my chin on the top of her head.
“It’s going to be okay, Landry,” I say. She pauses and looks up to me.
“For some crazy reason, I actually believe you.” I smile at her and can’t help but thank Mayes for bringing her to town, even if she’s a complete pain in my ass.
Landry
The moment he told me I’d be okay, I believed him. I have no idea why. Oh hell, who am I kidding? The moment he took charge when we got the call, I knew that he was the one. He’s the one that Paw had been pushing me toward. He wanted me to take over the shop, but he also wanted to have someone there to watch over his pretty girl. Jeremiah Drake is that man. He’s rugged, cusses like a sailor, great with his hands, and most of all, he’s loyal to a fault.
When I can no longer cry, I pull back from him. “Can I have a minute with him?” He nods.
“You want me to wait on you or do you want Beckett to take you home?”
“Wait, please,” I say as he steps out of the room and closes the door.
Pulling up a plastic hospital chair, I take a seat and hold Paw’s hand. “You know I really want to cuss you right now? You had this planned all along, didn’t you? Paw, I don’t know how I’m gonna survive without you, but I think you’re right. He’s good at what he does. I think I’m going to give him the shop. He deserves it more than me. Damn, I miss you already.” The nurse comes in and asks if I’m ready, and I nod, the tears beginning to flow as I tell him I love him once more. She escorts me to the waiting room and as I enter the room, Jeremiah stands and I walk into him arms. He doesn’t say a word; instead, he takes me in his arms, carries me to the truck, and takes me to Paw’s.
Arriving at Paw’s, he goes to open the door, and I take his hand and shake my head.
“I can’t go in there right now.” He nods, puts the truck in reverse and takes me to the shop.
As we pull up to the shop, there’s not a car in the parking lot as the sun has set. He walks around and opens the door as I slide out and we walk inside. He doesn’t say a word, but as we enter, he locks the door, turns on the lights, walks to the refrigerator and passes us both a beer.
“Come on, let’s take a look at ole Betsy over here,” he says, knowing that this will be the only cure for the hole in my heart. He cuts on the radio and as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” plays through the speaker, I do my best to keep from crying. Jeremiah takes the socket wrench and passes it to me as I pull my hair through a Mayes Auto hat. He pops the hood and we both go to work without a word. As the music continues to play, my mind wonders what happens next.
When we’ve worked until the engine begins to purr, we both prop ourselves up against the work bench and listen for a few moments in silence.
“Damn, that sounds amazing,” I say.
“It does. I bet he’s smiling down,” Jeremiah says with a small smile.
“I know he is.” Taking a long pull on my beer, I try to keep the feelings at bay. I think that there’s more to what’s happening here, but it could be the loss I’m feeling. Finishing my beer, I toss it in the trash can and turn to grab another when he takes me by the hand and pulls me flush to his chest.
“Landry, I’m sorry about Mayes, but I’m also sorry for how I acted at the hospital. I shouldn’t have been like that with him. It just pissed me off that he’d trust you with this place and not me.”
Speechless. I can’t even form the words. He takes the hat and pulls it from my head, forcing me to look him in the eyes.
“I’m also sorry I walked out of here last night.” My eyes find his and everything in my heart says to fall, but my mind says to slam on the brakes.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that, too.” He leans down and turns my chin to him. His eyes lock in on mine and my body relaxes as I look up to him. He leans in and his lips find mind. Tonight, they are gentle, unlike last night. His hand slides behind my neck and as our lips dance together, I realize that only Jeremiah can make me forget the loss that I feel right now. Taking him by the hands, I pull him toward the office. As we walk inside, I push the door shut and walk him toward the worn leather couch. As he takes a seat, I straddle him as eyes find mine. “Landry, are you sure?” he questions.
“Make the hurt disappear.”