A fter McKayla leaves in the pre-dawn grayness, I get right to work, knowing that I’ve got a lot of slack to catch up on. Normally, I wouldn’t give a shit, but I’m feeling an urge to make it up to TJ if I can .

There’s something different about the day. I don’t feel the need for energy drinks or cigarettes, and when I glance across the street after getting the first job done, I feel an unfamiliar sensation on my face. It takes me a moment to realize what it is. I’m actually smiling .

Sure, it’s not all sunshine and unicorns. McKayla and Brad are out of the salon all day today, off to the resort for a wedding trial run. I’d laughed when she told me that over coffee shared downstairs in the salon while she packed up her ‘travel kit ’.

“Who fixes their hair and makeup just to see how it looks, then washes it all off?” I asked, making her laugh. “I mean, really, a test drive of a hairstyle ?”

“Trust me, it’s totally a thing,” she says. “They just want to see different looks . . . make sure everything is perfect for the big day .”

I grin to myself as I work, wondering what McKayla will do to her hair on her wedding day. I decide that it should be big, bouncy pink curls, just like the first time I saw her as a little reminder of how she’d been so fiery and sassy that day in response to my anger. And underneath the dress . . . no panties. For damn sure, no panties as she gives me a naughty grin while the band plays .

“Oh, shit . . .” I whisper as I realize I really just thought about McKayla walking down an aisle toward me. Me, the guy who I swore two weeks ago would never find anyone, and now I’m thinking about weddings? This is big. This should be freaking me right the fuck out .

But strangely, I’m not. I’m steady and maybe even a little excited about the idea that she might actually take vows to put up with me. It’s like the sudden lack of need for caffeine and nicotine. Maybe McKayla’s magic or something .

I laugh to myself, climbing underneath Fast Eddie’s ‘Stang. Damn steering rod . . . I swear, if this fucker ever learns to drive a groove, he’d be the best racer in the state. Instead, I’m making money .

I mutter to myself as I work. “Yeah, I know . . . you’re a badass machine now, too fucked up for your own good, but deep down in your engine, most of these parts are top of the line. Little care, little bit better handling, and you’ll be showing off what you can do .”

I catch the irony in what I told the car as I hear laughter behind me. I stick my head out to find TJ caught up in a full-blown case of giggles. “Well good morning, brother of mine. What’s so funny ?”

Through his laughter, TJ hears the smile in my voice and shakes his head. “You’re talking to cars now? Serious question—has it talked back yet ?”

I wad up a filthy rag I’ve got on my toolbox and chuck it at him, a grease spot appearing on his face where I tagged him .

I laugh, feeling lighter than air for the first time since . . . well, to be honest, since before that last tour in Afghanistan. “No, fucker, they don’t talk back. Maybe that’s why I talk to them. They don’t bug the fuck outta me like little brothers .”

I mean it to be funny, and TJ laughs too, but maybe there’s a kernel of truth in that. I’ve kept myself cut off from the world because, other than Earl, and then only in small doses, I didn’t want to hear what the hell the rest of the world had to tell me .

That was, until McKayla draped herself all over my bike and changed my life forever, it seems. Since that day, I’ve done better, little by little. Sure, to most people, it’s been unnoticeable, and I’ve scared myself more than once with my realizations, but McKayla’s never given up .

Now I can’t, either. Instead, TJ and I talk as we work, and it’s nice. It feels like old times, back in the days when we’d bullshit, talking about girls and cars while we tossed a football back and forth .

He was the one to take auto shop at school and enjoy the dirty magic of getting a mechanical beast to purr and run, following all the proper dos and don’ts, and while I learned a bit, it was through trial and error by playing with buddies’ cars. I picked up a little in the military’s vehicle check system, but TJ was the one who took all that and refined it, taught me how to apply that knowledge in the real world as a way of bringing me back to life, giving me a focus. It’s all I had for so long, and I appreciate that .

Mid-morning, we decide to take a break. “So, triple coffee?” TJ asks .

“Nah, don’t need it today,” I admit. “I actually slept well last night .”

“Just put a necktie on the door to upstairs if you want to sleep well again,” TJ jokes. I start to laugh when the last face I want to fucking see steps in my garage. Jaxson .

I’m instantly on edge, crossing my arms over my chest, my inner asshole not so deeply buried it can’t pop out in a half second when needed. “What?” I ask him .

Jaxson acts as if he’s accustomed to my behavior and just gives us a casual smile, tucking a hand inside the pocket of his suit pants. “Hey, Evan . . . TJ. Just wondered if you’d seen McKayla around today ?”

I raise an eyebrow, obviously not in the mood. I’m not insecure, but he’s not understanding that she’s just not interested in him. She’s my Princess, not his. “Why ?”

TJ gives me a glance. Still, I haven’t threatened the man with a beatdown, so he’s not going to say anything. “Oh, it’s been a few weeks since she cut my hair. Was just hoping she could fit me in .”

There’s no change in his tone, no hint that he meant anything other than exactly what he said, but something about the look in his eyes tells me that he isn’t just curious if she could ‘fit him in’ for a haircut .

So I’m silent, a growing tension filling the space as I stare Jaxson down. Surprisingly, he doesn’t even flinch. I’m not sure whether to be impressed, because I know I’ve broken lesser men with just a hard look, or to be worried that he isn’t affected .

TJ decides to step in before the tension can ratchet up another few notches to the point things could get difficult for him and for me, too. “She and Brad are out at the resort today. Salon’s closed until tomorrow .”

Jaxson smiles triumphantly, his eyes never leaving mine. “Thanks, TJ. I guess I’ll just have to see her tomorrow .”

He turns to walk away, a swagger in his walk. He climbs back into that egotistical dickmobile of his and pulls back into traffic, big as life and twice as much a pain in the ass .

As soon as his car’s out of sight, I round on TJ. “What the fuck, man? Just say you don’t know. You don’t tell people’s business to every Tom, Dick, and Harry .”

As soon as I say it, I know TJ won’t understand, and looking in his eyes, I’m right. He grins, giving me a half shrug. “Relax, man. He wants a haircut. Don’t mess with her business, especially with a city council dick. He might not be your favorite guy, but he could help, or hurt, her business.” He says the latter part with a pointed look .

I disagree, but nothing can be done about it now, and I don’t want to ruin the vibe we’ve finally got again, so I try to let it go. “Fine, fine. Let’s just get back to work .”