“Yeah. I mean, I have a lot of ideas if you’re really serious.”
My throat closed up a little and I swallowed down the lump. “Yes. I should have asked you sooner.” I patted my slight bump. “Things are going to get hairy soon.”
“And not because you can’t see your cooch to shave.” She impulsively hugged me and even kissed Lily’s forehead without being coaxed to do it.
“You’re terrible.” I laughed and patted her arm. “Okay. Go before the deliveries are even later.”
“Going.” She dabbed at her eyes. “Okay.” She blew out a breath with a laugh. “I’ll find you tomorrow. But text me to let me know you’re home.”
“I will.”
She ran back to her car and took off with a wave.
I turned to find Dare already hooking my tires up to whatever winch thing he had going on. He gave Lily a half smile and she buried her face into my neck.
“Sorry. She definitely missed her nap.”
“She’s not screaming the world down. It works for me. Ready?”
I nodded and followed him to the truck. We got Lily in the seat and I sat in the back with her. It was cramped, but she was happy to have me sitting beside her. She wouldn’t let go of my finger at first. Until she looked out the window and realized she had a very different vantage point than my little car.
I relaxed against the seat and dug into my purse. I hadn’t checked in with him all day. And he usually texted me a few times to make sure there was nothing amiss.
Then Dare asked me a few questions about what I’d heard when I pulled over. When I made the sound, Lily laughed. Dare gave a small laugh and made a phone call to the shop. I was just about to ask Dare if he had a charger when we hit Main Street.
By then we were getting into the shop, and the noise was intense. Lily’s eyes grew huge as she took in all the big machines.
“Tell you what. I’m pretty sure it’s your rotors. You probably were driving on the last slivers of your brake pads. It’s not a huge deal. Will probably take me about an hour to get them fixed. So, if you want to head over to the café we’ll have you on your way.”
“Are you serious? It sounded so much worse.”
“Nothing quite like metal grinding on metal to scare the crap out of you. If it’s worse than that, I’ll come down and have a talk with you.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Happy to help.”
I unbuckled Lily and let Dare help me get out of the huge truck. A stunning redhead came out with a welding mask in her hand.
“So, this is the mom you helped. I swear you people are so mush with the kids and moms.”
“It’s called being a human, Tish.” Dare shook his head. “Don’t mind her. She forgets how to talk to people. Why we usually keep a welding tool in her hand.”
Tish shrugged and put the shield on. She threw up a peace sign and sauntered away.
I glanced around at the custom motorcycle getting worked on in the corner, and the very posh vintage Mustang on a lift. I really didn’t want to think about how much this was going to cost me. This was no quickie mechanic place.
Luckily, I had quite a bit of money socked away these days.
“My phone is almost dead, so I’ll just come back in an hour or so?”
Dare shook his head. “No. I’ll come to you. Or I’ll send Rylee a message to let you know to come down. I think she’s working at the café today. She’s my brother’s wife.”
“Oh, okay. Sounds good. I really can’t thank you enough for helping me.”
“Anything for a Cove resident. Even if you’re pretty new.”
“Good to know. We’re not going anywhere.” At least I was pretty sure we weren