Chapter 9
Brewer
I hung up the phone with Makenna and took a look at the clock. I couldn’t believe I’d just willingly agreed to babysit her kid. I barely knew the two of them. They’d been my neighbors for what? A few days? What the hell was wrong with me? I didn’t lead the kind of life that allowed me to get tangled up in the personal affairs of my sexy ass neighbor and her cute little kid.
The fuck was I doing?
But, my mother was also a single mother and I saw firsthand the challenges she faced. And my mother wasn’t near anyone we knew or trusted for help. So, she had to stick to jobs where she could take me to them if school was out or if I got in trouble or some shit. I watched my mother willingly give up her life for me and neglect herself so I could have the best shot possible.
I was sympathetic to what Makenna was going through, and I knew the uphill challenge she would face if she didn’t have someone she could trust.
She had been desperate this morning for help. As I stood there watching the tow truck fiddle with her damn car, I thought back on it. How wide her eyes had been when I opened the door and how flustered she had sounded when talking. Her words flew at me ninety miles a minute and she had been clutching Ana’s hand so tightly. Trying to keep a strong facade for her daughter while slowly breaking down on the inside.
Single mothers deserved more than that kind of shit.
I watched the tow truck try to back up to her car for the third fucking time. The asshole was probably new, and the more he yanked her car around the more damage would be done to it. I ripped the door open and walked outside, crossing the yard and jogging up to the tow truck.
“Hey,” I said. “Hey, you.”
“What?” the trucker asked.
“Wow. Lose the attitude. Leave the car here,” I said.
“Got an order to haul it away. Once the fire trucks are involved, I have to haul it.”
“They didn’t have to blast it with water. Just leave it.”
“I don’t have any other slot in my day to come get this hunk of junk. So, if I set it down, I’m gone.”
“Well you haven’t technically picked it up yet with your pristine towing skills, so let’s save us all the trouble and get you out of here,” I said.
The man scoffed at me before he pulled his truck forward and got out.
“Suit your fucking self,” he said.
He packed his shit up and left before I turned my sights onto the car. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with it, but even if I could fix it temporarily it would help Makenna out a lot. It wasn’t the safest car for Ana to be riding in, but like Makenna said… in three or four pay periods, she could afford something else.
Hopefully.
I pressed the button to pop the hood before walking around to the front. I had all the doors open to filter air through the stuffy car and almost immediately I saw a few things that were wrong. The battery was fucking old, which meant it probably didn’t start up this morning. Constantly clicking the alternator probably wore the rest of it out, and if the car wouldn’t even turn over that meant the alternator was probably bad, too. And, since the water compartment that kept the engine cool was cracked and empty, that meant clicking the alternator heated up the damn car, causing the fucking engine to smoke.
I didn’t think there was permanent damage to the engine, but I wouldn’t be sure until I fixed up everything else.
Nothing was going on with the club, with everyone being paranoid about the rat. I had a few hours until I had to pick up Ana, so I got to work. I hopped into my Chevy and I went to the mechanic shop in town. Searched around in a few places for parts I would need, then went home and dug out my toolbox. I set myself up with a beer and a hanging light so I could see deep into the engine’s parts, then I got to work.
Within a few minutes I was cussing up a storm. The car was a fucking mess. Half the bolts were rusted over, and I had to use all of my strength to get them loose. It seemed like there were a few shitty patch up jobs to keep the damn thing running, which probably caused more problems than they fixed. After pulling everything apart, I saw exactly what the real problems were. But I would be able to get it up and running anyway. That was the perk of restoring cars like I did.
I could work with anything as long as the engine wasn’t destroyed.
I replaced the water container and piped it back into the engine. I found a battery that would work and installed it. I moved around a few parts to get to the alternator and gave it a nice love tap, then it was just a matter of trying to start the damn car up.
The alternator didn’t seem to be bad. Just stuck.
Which happened sometimes with old cars.
I pulled down the plastic frame hiding the wires of the car from the feet of the driver. I unhooked a couple of them and sparked them together, striking up the engine of the car. The dash illuminated and the radio came on, and I grinned when I heard the Disney Channel blaring all the way to the trunk of the damn car.
It made me think of Ana.
I revved the gas and waited for something to happen. I watched the temperature gauge slowly creep up on the dashboard. The engine wasn’t smoking, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t overheat.
I watched the tab slowly raise to the middle of the road, but it didn’t breach into the ‘hot zone’ of the temperature gauge.
I wouldn’t have a way of checking the alternator until she tried to crank up her car, but I had one I could replace it with if it still gave her troubles.
I got down onto the floorboard of the car and grabbed my wire shears. I got the car to turn off and hooked all the wires back up to where they were supposed to be, then I put the plastic frame back. I wiped my greasy hands on my shirt and tossed the shearers into my toolbox, then I started back into my garage.
I had some oil somewhere that helped with unclogging gas pipes, and I figured her car could probably do with an oil change.
By the time I got the pipes cleaned, some of the rust wiped off, and the oil changed, it was time to go get Ana. I closed up Makenna’s car and dropped my toolbox off in the garage, then I went to go take a quick shower. I washed the grease off my hands and tossed my white shirt into the corner. That would be another work shirt I could use for projects, but it sure as hell wasn’t salvageable for public. I pulled on a pair of jeans and another white t-shirt, then grabbed my shit and headed downstairs.
I had fifteen minutes before Ana needed to be picked up.
I pulled up to the front of the school and revved the engine of the car. Ana squealed and clapped her hands and sprinted away from her teacher. I got out of the car and caught her as she launched herself into the air, then slipped her into her car seat so she could buckle herself up.
I saw a woman approaching me with a kind smile on her face as she held out her hand.
“You must be Ana’s father. I’m Mrs. Buckman, Ana’s teacher.”
“He’s not my daddy,” Ana said. “My daddy’s dead.”
I furrowed my brow at the little girl as she calmly buckled herself into her seat.
“Oh,” Mrs. Buckman said. “I’m so sorry. I just thought-”
“It’s fine. I’m the neighbor. Her mother’s car broke down this morning, so I’m helping out today,” I said.
“Oh,” the woman said. “Well, it’s very nice to meet you.”
I noticed the way her voice dropped. The way her shoulders rolled back and how her chest poked out a bit. I saw the way Ana’s teacher was looking at me. I knew when a woman was coming onto me.
I also saw her wedding ring on her finger and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
“Nice to meet you, too. How was Ana’s first day at school?” I asked.
“Oh, it was wonderful. She’s a really good kid. Smart and funny. All the kids wanted to know about the car she rode in this morning.”
“Good,” I said. “Hopefully it gave her an easy transition into her new school.”
“And I’ll be here every step of the way to help with that.”
I nodded my head at the teacher and pulled my hand away from hers. She cleared her throat and stepped back onto the sidewalk as I slid into the seat. I looked back at Ana and she grinned at me, and I revved the engine again.
She giggled profusely as we took off, my hands placing my sunglasses onto my face.
“You hungry?” I asked.
“Yeah!” Ana said.
“How does a burger and fries sound?”
“Can we get a milkshake, too?”
I laughed and shook my head as I turned us onto the main stretch of the road going through town.
“Of course, we can. Milkshakes are always appropriate,” I said.
We rode into one of those places where you park and eat. I let Ana unbuckle herself so she could scramble in front, and she dropped down onto the leather passenger seat. A woman skated out on roller blades and took our orders before I paid, then I turned to Ana and grinned.
“So, you had a good first day?”
“Where’s Mommy?” she asked.
“She’s gotta work a little late tonight. She’s training for her job,” I said.
“When will she be home?”
“Around eight, I think,” I said.
“Okay.”
I could see the disappointment in Ana’s eyes.
“Did you miss her today?” I asked.
“Yeah. I wanted to tell her all about my new friends.”
“I’m sure she’d love to hear about it when she gets home.”
“Okay,” she said.
“But in the meantime, you could tell me.”
“You wanna hear about my friends?” Ana asked.
“Of course, I do. How many of them asked about the car?”
“Oh my gosh, so many of them,” she said. “They all wanted to take a ride in it, but I told them it was my car and I’d have to make sure it was okay.”
“Your car, huh? I guess I’ll let that slide.”
“And when you came by the playground and did the sound again, everyone laughed. That was really awesome, Mr. Brewer.”
“I’m glad you liked it, kiddo.”
“Wanna know what else I did today?” she asked.
“Of course, I do.”
“I got to color. And talk about myself.”
“Oh really? Were people asking you questions?”
“Yeah. Mrs. Buckman made me do an introduction and everyone had all kinds of questions. It was really fun. No one’s ever asked me questions before.”
“Well trust me, everyone’s going to be curious about you around here. So, get used to it. In Redding, you’ll be the talk of the town.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because you’re smart. And likeable. And you have this awesome car I’m driving,” I said with a grin.
Ana giggled as the woman skated out with our food.
“Give it a few days,” I said as I grabbed our milkshakes. “You’ll have so many friends your mother won’t know what to do with herself.”
“I hope so,” Ana said. “I’ve never had a sleepover before. I wanna have one.”
“Then make that your goal. By the end of this week, get to know someone and ask them over for a sleepover.”
“I gotta ask Mommy first.”
“You leave convincing Mommy to me,” I said with a grin. “You focus on making that first friend.”
Ana beamed up at me with pride as I tipped the waitress. We sat in my car and ate our dinner as the sun slowly started to sink. She had her burger and french fries with a strawberry shake and I had my double-bacon loaded cheeseburger with fried onions and a large banana-chocolate shake.
I found myself enjoying the time I was spending with Ana. Which surprised the hell out of me. I bit back a laugh. If anyone from the club saw me right now they would be shocked.
“Wanna watch a movie?” Ana asked.
“Depends. You got homework?” I asked.
“Not much. Just some reading.”
“What kind of reading?”
“I have to sit with someone and listen to them read for fifteen minutes.”
“You sure you’re not supposed to be the one doing the reading?” I asked.
“Mrs. Buckman says that’s next year. But right now, I have to listen to someone while they read.”
“Well, what’s your favorite book?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Does Mommy not read you stories at night?”
“No. We cuddle and talk.”
“Oh, well that sounds like fun. But what will you read if you don’t have any books?”
I watched Ana shrug as I swallowed the last of my burger.
“Do you like shopping?” I asked.
“I like buying stuff.”
“Spoken like a true woman,” I said with a grin. “How about we go pick you out your first book?”
“Really?” she asked. “What kind of book?”
“Any kind you want,” I said. “But you have to get back in your seat and buckle up.”
“I can do that!”
I chuckled as Ana scrambled into the backseat and quickly buckled herself in.
“Want your milkshake?” I asked as I handed it back to her.
I could feel her legs wiggling with excitement as she started sucking laboriously at her straw.
“Ready to go?” I asked as I slipped my sunglasses back over my face.
“Mhm,” Ana said as she gulped down her milkshake.
“Time to go find you a book,” I said.