Chapter 1
“Hey there, boss man,” Eli said from under the hood of a massive Suburban he’d just finished changing the brake fluid in.
He’d been afraid that he wouldn’t get to it that day, but he’d managed to work it in by skipping lunch. The owner was taking all three of her kids out to the lake that weekend and the only other car she had was a Corolla. He’d basically saved their vacation. And, with the way she’d talked to him as she dropped the car off, he wasn’t ruling out the possibility of a more personal thank you which might have been a motivational factor in the whole thing.
“How’s it going?”
Shane had been gone all day, picking up a car for a client. Eli was actually surprised that he’d gotten back before closing time, since he’d been asked to close up the shop.
“How’s it going?” Shane repeated, sounding almost dazed. “Eli, this may be the best day of my life.”
Eli dropped the hood with a clang and looked across the garage floor. Shane, the owner of Harris Garage, was grinning at him. It wasn’t just any grin either, the man wore an ear to ear grin of pure excitement.
“What’s up?” Eli asked, wiping his hands on the rag he kept tucked into his belt.
He’d never seen Shane so excited. Of the two of them, his friend was the one that always kept his emotions in check and under control. Eli was halfway tempted to ask if he’d met someone on the run out to meet the new client. That was definitely the smile of a man in love.
“Come on over and see.”
Okay, so it probably wasn’t a woman. Eli followed Shane over to the next bay and then his jaw dropped. Shane hadn’t told him what he was going to pick up and Eli hadn’t bothered to ask. It was usually a decent mix of classic and run of the mill vehicles. Harris was a pretty well-known garage in Kansas. But they’d never gotten their hands on anything like this.
“Oh my God,” he said, aware of the reverence in his own voice.
“I know,” Shane replied in the same hushed tone.
“That’s...that’s a 1970 Plymouth Superbird.”
It was almost a question, even though Eli knew damn good and well what he was looking at. It was just that he’d never expected to see one up close like this. He took back his previous assessment. Maybe Shane was in love. If so, Eli hoped like hell that his friend would share.
“I know,” Shane repeated.
They stared at the car in silence for a few moments longer. It gleamed back at them, black and sleek and perfect looking under the fluorescent lights of the bay.
“They made less than 2,000 of ‘em.” Eli said after they’d passed nearly a minute simply staring.
“I know,” Shane said for the third time.
Eli laughed. “Is that’s all you got to say?”
Shane crossed his arms defensively. “Maybe I’m in shock, you hick. And if you keep talking like that, you’re not going to get to help me work on her.”
“You wouldn’t do that to me,” Eli said confidently. Then, unable to resist anymore, he stepped forward and ran his hand over the hood. The paint was good and he couldn’t see any rust on the body. It didn’t surprise him. Anyone lucky enough to have one would take damn good care of it. “So, what needs to be done?”
“A few things,” Shane said. “The guy that I picked it up from today just bought it from an estate sale. There’s nothing too wrong with it, but it’s been sitting since about the late eighties. We’ve just got to get it tuned up and running well.”
Eli nodded, trying hard not to look too eager. “Then it sounds like we’ll have it for a while?”
Shane grinned at him over the hood. “Yep. He said to take all the time we need.”
“Perfect. When do we get started?” Eli was already cataloging everything that would need to be done. Check the engine, the transmission. All the fluids and seals. The water and fuel pumps would probably need to be replaced. Maybe the rear end... “I can stay late tonight if you need me to, do an inventory on everything we should check. I can tell that we’re not going to have to worry about paint or the interior, but--”
Shane shook his head and held up one hand to stem the flow of Eli’s planning. “Sorry, man. We can’t start tonight.”
“What? Why not?” Eli demanded. He was itching to get his hands on the engine and play around. “That Suburban is done and all the Tacoma needs is a--”
“I know. But we have to close up early. That’s why I hurried back.”
“What for?” Eli felt like a kid who’d just dropped his ice cream cone.
“My sister’s coming into town.”
Eli only pried his eyes off of the car because his friend’s tone changed so much. All of the excitement had faded out, leaving him sounding tired and tense. Shane’s expression had changed as well. He was looking down at the car, but he was frowning slightly now. He didn’t look angry though; he looked worried.
He’d known that Shane had a sister, but they’d never really talked about her other than in passing. Maybe they didn’t get along and that was why his friend was so stressed out. Or maybe there was more to it. Eli decided to pry just a little, knowing that Shane would duck out of any questions he really didn’t want to answer.
“How long will she be in town?”
“I don’t really know,” Shane said, rubbing his chin and then fiddling with the cuff of his button up shirt.
He always dressed nicely for a guy who spent a hell of a lot of time under a hood. He said it made him look more professional. And furthermore, if he didn’t dress nicely, people assumed that he was still in high school. Eli thought that he had a point there.
He’d assumed that Shane was a college freshman when they’d met three years ago. It had damn near shocked him to find out that the guy had been running his own garage for 10 years and that he had a bachelor's degree and had just celebrated his 30th birthday.
Eli had never had that problem. If he kept a straight face while doing it, he’d been able to buy beer at the age of 17. He thought that it was partly his height and his build. Most seventeen year old kids weren’t 6’5 and 200 pounds of solid muscle. Of course, looking older wasn’t as much fun now that he was staring down the barrel of 33, but there wasn’t much he could do about that.
“Indefinitely, I guess.”
That could sure as hell explain the tension. If anyone in Eli’s family had tried to descend on him without a clear exit strategy he’d probably laugh himself sick and then buy an extra lock for his front door. Then again, he had a feeling that Shane’s family might be a bit more normal than his.
“Where’s she coming in from?”
“California,” Shane answered. “Santa Monica.”
“What’s bringing her all the way back to Kansas?” Eli asked.
“She broke up with her boyfriend. They’ve been together since they were in high school. They both went out there for college and liked it so much that they stayed. At least until now.” Shane gave a small shrug. “I don’t know how it all shakes out, but she’s leaving and he’s staying.”
Eli leaned against the car, waiting. He knew that Shane had more to say, but he also knew that he’d have to take his time to say it.
“She doesn’t have a job out here yet,” Shane said finally, still frowning slightly. “So that’s why she’s gonna stay with me till she gets back up on her feet. She can’t afford rent anywhere after she had to ship all her stuff back.”
“And you’re not a big fan of the idea of her hanging around?”
“No, it’s not that. I mean, she’s my sister and I love her. It’s just...” Shane flung his hands out. “We haven’t lived together for a long damn time. And she hasn’t been back to North Carolina since she was eighteen. I guess I don’t know what to expect here.”
“How old is she now?”
“Twenty six.”
That was a long damn time. Eli raised an eyebrow determined to lighten his friend’s mood. “Are you sure that you’ll recognize her after all that time? How are you gonna pick her out of the crowd at the airport?”
Shane laughed. “She says she’ll get a cab from there to my place. I’m just gonna assume that the chick outside the door tonight is her.”
“It’d have to be,” Eli said. “No other woman in her right mind would be knocking on your door.”
“That’s it,” Shane said, pointing at Eli. “You’re off the project.”
“Yeah right. Listen, if you’ve got a while till the plane comes in and you’re really not going to let me get at this baby tonight, why don’t you come and have a beer with me?” Eli asked. “Might help you take your mind off of things.”
“Nah, not tonight. I’ve still got a bunch of housework to do if I want to keep my sister from running straight back to California. You have fun though.” Shane rapped his knuckles on the hood of the car and grinned as he turned to walk out. “Remember to keep it to two drinks, buddy.”