Chapter 24

Five minutes later, it was mostly over.

Derek, in spite of his attitude earlier, had said surprisingly little during the whole encounter, which ended with me giving Officer Nelson an apologetic smile. "So anyway," I concluded, "sorry for the misunderstanding."

"Aw, that's alright," he said. "Got me off the desk for a few." He looked to Cassie. "See ya Monday?"

She gave him a little wave. "See ya Monday."

As Officer Nelson lumbered toward the exit, Derek said, "What's going on Monday?"

Cassie said, "Chocolate day at the cookie shop." She lifted her chin. "Officer Nelson's a regular."

"Well, goodie for you," Derek said, turning back to me. "Speaking of Monday, I'm gonna have a mechanic look over the Porsche." He gave Joel a warning look. "To make sure nothing's damaged."

Joel said, "You should. The clutch is slipping."

I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. What was a clutch? Sadly, I had no idea.

From the looks of it, neither did Derek. His eyes narrowed. "What?"

"The clutch," Joel said. "When's the last time you had it checked?"

"Hey!" Derek barked. "I don't answer to you."

"Good thing," Joel said, "with the sorry job you're doing."

Derek took a single step forward. "Listen, asshole…"

I jumped between them and looked to Derek. "A mechanic? Great! And while you're at it, have them fix the other car, too."

Derek frowned. "Your mom's car? What happened to that one?"

I shrugged like it was no big deal. "It stalled at the campground."

"What campground?"

"You know. The one a few miles from my house."

Derek stared at me. "You took the car camping?"

"No." I hesitated. "I was visiting a friend."

Derek's gaze shifted to Joel. "A friend, huh?"

I nodded. "Yup."

Looking more annoyed than ever, Derek said, "You got funds for the repair?"

No. I didn't, actually. But that was partially my point. I forced a smile. "I dunno. Do I have 'funds' to have someone look over the Porsche?"

"You know what?" Derek said. "Forget it. You wanna deal with the cars on your own? Fine by me."

"Great," I said. "It's fine by me, too."

Was it fine? Probably not. Supposedly, I had two cars at my disposal. Unfortunately, the one I normally drove was stuck at the campground. As for the other one, I didn't even know how to drive it.

I bit my lip. What would I do now? Maybe it was time to pull out my bike and get peddling. That might work, until winter, anyway.

Derek gave me a long, penetrating look. "What's up with you tonight?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah, whatever. But the attitude's getting old."

My jaw dropped. "My attitude?"

But already, Derek had turned to go. Without so much as a goodbye, he stormed out the same way he'd come in, with lots of pushing and shoving.

Next to me, Cassie, "God, what's his deal lately?"

I shook my head. "I wish I knew."

"Well, at least he's gone."

I sighed. "Yeah. Until next time, anyway." I looked to Joel, who had shown remarkable restraint during the whole ugly encounter. I said, "I'm really sorry."

His eyes filled with humor. "About what?"

He had to be joking. Mentally, I ran through the list. Let's see. I'd involved him in estate drama with my sticky-fingered relatives. I'd dragged him to a party where he was the only person not drinking. And then, as the grand finale, I'd almost gotten him arrested for grand theft auto – twice, if I counted the thing with the Camaro.

I had to admit, "I'm not sure where to begin."

"Forget it." He smiled. "Not a big deal."

"How can you say that?" I asked. "I've caused you loads of trouble."

"Tonight?" He gave a loose shrug. "That was nothing."

I looked to Cassie, who appeared just as confused as I felt. Reluctantly, I looked toward the rest of my birthday party, who'd been sitting in awkward silence during that whole scene with Derek.

I gave them an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry about that."

April said, "You shouldn’t apologize. Derek was a total dick." She frowned. "Funny, I remember him being a lot nicer."

"Yeah," I sighed. "You and me both."