Chapter Twenty-Five
Dylan
The air was crisp, almost too cold to have the top down, but I couldn't get enough of the blue sky or the long, freeing drive. I took the winding scenic route and enjoyed every curve and twist. The custom classic Roadster purred along and filled me with contentment.
It was still unreal how close I came to being incarcerated again.
The thought of the locked-down routine and bone-crushing regularity of every day inside made me press on the gas a little harder.
I was free.
I hadn't done anything wrong in the first place, but I still felt like I'd gotten away with the most elaborate scheme of all. I'd somehow won Bethany Durham's trust.
Her part in my name-clearing became obvious when I went to her offices to corroborate Jasmine's statement. Bethany stayed a demure distance away from me, but I ran into her friend, Annie, in the foyer.
"You're not taking off for Italy again, are you?" Annie asked.
I smiled and shook my head. "Not this time. My name has been cleared, thanks to Bethany."
Annie tossed her hair. "Well, she had a little help."
I laughed. "Speaking of help, my buddy Joey was hoping you could help him have a drink or two sometime soon."
Annie's face lit up. "I'd like that. Maybe we could double-date."
I handed her my card and tried to keep my hopes reasonable. After all, I was talking to Annie not Bethany. Bethany had not tried to talk to me during or after my meetings. In fact, she had done a great job of looking too busy to talk to me.
I hoped she was just trying to be professional. It was reasonable after how close I had come to tanking her entire career. So, I left her office building and didn't give into the urge to slip into the hotel's parking lot and hang out with the valets while I waited for her to head home.
No. This time, if I was going to be lucky enough to see Bethany again, I was going to make sure there was nothing underhanded or sneaky about it. Annie made me think maybe there was hope so I hung on to that and went off on a long drive.
After all the police tape and upheaval, the boys and I had decided to close the shop for the holidays. Normally, we all worked straight through, happy to have work to deflect the odd hotspots of family holidays but this year it felt good to take a vacation. I had no idea what to do with myself, so I pushed the car another few miles.
Joey was still in town, a 'staycation' as he put it. I knew he'd be eating cheeseburgers, losing a little bit at the racetrack, and hanging out in all his favorite dive bars. Now that I'd seen Annie's flattered face, I was jealous of what a good staycation he was going to have.
Thomas was shacked up with the waitress still, and things were starting to sound serious. He'd even taken his holiday bonus and bought her tickets for a cruise. I laughed, trying to think of my pale mechanic lounging poolside but I wished him and his girl well.
Everything was going to blow over. All the confusion from the bust had been smoothed out. Most of my clients liked the extra publicity and spoke kindly of me on all the gossip sites.
Even the DA had gotten what she wanted. Her re-election campaign had skyrocketed after she announced the chop shop bust. It hadn't taken her team long to strike a deal with Jasmine's street fighter boyfriend.
Turns out he had been recruited as a car thief but wasn't very good at his job. Not only did he let Jasmine stumble onto the chop shop in action but he fouled up their last heist and turned it into an attention-grabbing carjacking. They must have turned on him pretty quick because by the time the police picked him up, he was ready to cut a deal.
I knew it was Jasmine's confession that had cleared my name. I also heard that she had found a great little job and an affordable apartment. Annie and Bethany had made sure to set her up with everything she needed and the support it would take to stay on a better track.
Bethany's miracles didn't stop there. She'd even gotten Al off the hook. He had been the last one recruited to the chop shop ring. The criminals had played off his desperate need for money and made him take advantage of his position at my shop. Al was the one who had let them in after hours and cleaned up the mess. He'd worked frantically to cover everything up as they threatened to hurt his mother. With all that to lay in front of the DA, Bethany quickly secured him immunity.
Al was home with his mother, celebrating the bonus I gave him, and the extra little nest egg his uncle Joey threw in. It was going to be a great Thanksgiving for everyone.
And I wasn't about to count myself out. Not yet anyway. As I navigated another winding pass, I thought about all the ways I could start wooing Bethany again. She was more than a flowers and cards kind of girl. It needed to be something big but not embarrassing.
I could arrive outside her home in a stretch limousine and whisk her away for a whole weekend. It wasn't hard to imagine the whole thing beginning a lot like our trip to the inn.
Then I shook my head. Bethany needed more. She deserved more.
I could easily spend a fortune on the best restaurant ticket in town. But, then again, Bethany had told me she liked eating take-out on the couch best of all.
I swore to myself I wouldn't ask Joey for help. He'd get too much pleasure out of giving me outlandish suggestions. But, seeing as all I could come up with was flowers that Bethany probably didn't really want, I was going to need help.
So, when Joey called, I hit speaker. "How's the staycation?" I asked.
"Busier than I thought," Joey said. "I gotta come clean about a little sideline business I've been doing, boss."
I laughed. After the whole debacle I had caused with the DA's office, whatever side deals Joey had been doing were going to be easily forgiven.
"Just please tell me it's nothing illegal," I joked.
"No, totally above board," Joey declared. "In fact, I think you might get a kick out of it."
I eased off the gas pedal as Joey caught my interest. "All right. Tell me all about your newest scheme."
My brainstorming over Bethany would just have to wait. I'd put Joey through enough that he deserved my attention.
"Well, I've been teaching driving lessons," Joey said.
I howled with laughter. "Like with terrified teenagers?"
"More like with sexy women who want to get to know sports cars," Joey bragged.
That made me laugh more. "You're telling me some poor woman is getting drive lessons from you? I'm surprised you haven't been left on the side of the road. Wait, is that why you called me?"
"Very funny," Joey said.
I cruised along and had to admit I was interested in Joey's new scheme. Bethany had been interested in my cars, and I wondered if free lessons might be a good way to get us back together in the same space.
"So, tell me about your students," I told Joey.
"Well, there's this one, a real firecracker. She looks like she wouldn't be able to break the speed limit, but she took us up to eighty miles per hour in less than ten seconds. Not bad for a beginner."
"Sounds pretty good to me."
I was jealous of Joey's sideline. It seemed a lot easier to concentrate on that than erasing the whole mass of confusion that stood between Bethany and me.
"Yeah, turns out she's a natural. Handles a car better than some of the big-shots we know," Joey said.
"It's not hard to drive better than Jasper. He'd rather polish his cars with a baby diaper," I joked.
"You want proof then?" Joey asked. "I'm sure my student is ready to take you on any day."
Before I could answer Joey, a bright Porsche 911 cut me off. I couldn't see the driver from the glare off the road. I swore as they roared off down the road in front of me.
"You still there?" Joey asked.
"Yeah. You wouldn't believe the car that just cut me off. Remember that little Hollywood number that was all dusty and dented?" I asked.
"The 911? Yeah, I loved that car," Joey said.
"Wait a second. Didn't you end up buying that car?" I started to speed up, suddenly determined to catch a glimpse of the Porsche's driver.
Joey chuckled. "Oh, yeah. I did."
"Are you gunning for a street race, old man?"
I pressed the gas and roared up behind the Porsche 911. The county road was an empty two-lane stretch, but I still had a hell of a time catching the little sports car.
"I told you my student was a natural," Joey said.
"That's her driving?" I had to admit I was impressed.
Still, I wasn't going to be outdone by an upstart student. I maneuvered smoothly through a tight corner and pulled up next to the Porsche.
Bethany turned in the driver's seat and gave me a quick wave.
My foot slipped off the gas and the little sports car shot ahead of me down the road again. Was I imagining things?
Joey's howls of laughter assured me that I was not. I raced to overtake the Porsche again and saw my best friend in the passenger seat egging Bethany on.
"Oh, so that's the way you're going to play it?" I asked. I hung up and focused on my driving.
Bethany gave me a good race all down the empty stretch of road and up a winding side route. When the way got steep and curvy, I started to worry about her inexperience on the curves. I was just about to call Joey when I zoomed around a corner and saw the Porsche 911 waiting in a turn-out.
I pulled up tight behind it and got out of my car. Bethany was laughing when I knocked on the driver's side window. She rolled it down, and I heard Joey's laughter as well.
"He said you'd back off on the curves," Bethany told me.
I scowled at my friend and opened Bethany's door. "I'll admit you won if you come out and talk to me."
She slipped out of the small car and stretched with a wide grin on her face. It was all I could do not to grab her up in my arms and swing her around. Seeing her so close again finally had my senses on overload.
The faint scent of her floral shampoo on the next breeze was enough to make me dizzy. I barely noticed Joey climbing out of the Porsche and taking my car keys out of my hand.
"How about I drive your car back and Bethany can show you what she's learned from an expert," Joey said.
I nodded. "Sounds good to me. That all right?"
Bethany smiled again and nodded. "I'm up for another drive if you are."
"Just a minute. I might need a second to get acclimated," I admitted.
Bethany's expression softened, and she stepped in front of me. "You know it's all behind us now, right? There's no need to worry about it anymore."
I shook my head and leaned back against the Porsche. I was not ready to let it all go yet. "You saved me. You kept me out of jail."
"Not necessarily the same thing," Bethany said.
I shook my head. "You have no idea."
"Then you can tell me," Bethany said. She stepped forward and slipped into my arms.
I leaned against the car and held her tight. "I wish I could, but I think all I can say is thank you."
Bethany squeezed me and then leaned back so she could look up at me. "How about I give you a ride home?"
I laughed and happily watched her take the driver's seat. All day, I had been thinking how wonderful it would be to have Bethany sitting next to me in the passenger seat. Now I knew it was even better to let her drive.
"You know, there's this little inn not that far from here," I said.
Bethany grinned and gunned the Porsche's engine. "Sounds like a good place for a pit stop."
She peeled out of the turn out and had me gripping the door handle as I laughed. "Just make sure you don't get us pulled over."
"Scared I'll get a speeding ticket?" Bethany asked.
I shook my head, no longer scared that she and I were going too fast. As long as Bethany and I were in the same car, I knew my life was finally heading in the right direction.
* * * * *
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