Restored

I walk over and pick up my wedges by the front door.

“Yeah.” I could use a good dose of eye candy, but then I need to face reality and get a new start. Maybe I will start looking for a new place.

Chapter Two

Bronx

Mac was a great man and like a father to me. He gave me a shot when no one else in town would and I always hoped to repay him for that. The day he died my heart broke twice, once for losing someone so important to me in my life, and again for his daughter Gemma.

He was all she had and for years I heard him sing her praises. There was never anyone or anything he loved more than his baby girl, and I’ll never forget the way he’d light up when she walked into the shop.

The car accident was a freak thing that happened in a blink of an eye. I sometimes wonder if he didn’t sense something was coming because a couple of days before the accident he pulled me into his office.

“Hey, Bronx, everything going okay at the shop?”

“All good, thanks to you.” I grab his hand and pull him in for a hug and we slap one another on the back. I lean back and grab the stool next to his desk as I get down to business. “What up? You said it’s important. Everything over here okay?”

“Yep, we’ve still got more business than we can handle, so that’s good.” He sits down at his desk and puts his elbows on it as he steeples his fingers in front of him. “I’m leaving in a couple of days for Santa Clarita. There’s a guy down there I’m going to take the Mustang to so he can use it for a music video.”

“No shit, Mac? That’s actually really cool.” I clear my throat and try to play it as cool as I can. “Is Gemma riding with you?” I stutter over the last part and quickly try to cover it. “I mean, I know she goes with you to car shows but this sounds different.”

The edges of his lips pull up and I wonder if he’s fighting a smile. “Nah, she’s got a hair show she’s going to with some friends. But that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

I swallow hard and try to act cool. There’s no way he knows how I feel about his daughter. I’ve done everything I can to control not only my body but my thoughts when it comes to her and I’ve almost convinced myself that being away from her really is a good idea. Although my dick disagrees.

“Yeah?” I lean back a little and square my shoulders. “What can I do?”

“You know how much my baby girl means to me, and I’ve just been thinking a lot lately about what would happen to her if something happened to me.”

“Pfft, Mac, don’t talk like that.” I wave my hand at him dismissively. “You’re going to live to be like three hundred or something and still in this shop banging on old parts.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “If my back holds up maybe I will.” I look into his eyes and for a second I see something pass over them. “But if something does happen to me, I want you to take care of Gemma.”

“Mac—”

I start to protest, but he holds up his hand. “Just promise me, Bronx. I’ve always thought you were a good man and, well, she’ll need looking after.” I sit in silence and he leans forward. “Please.”

“Yeah, I swear. On my life she’ll be taken care of. But don’t talk like that.”

“All right, enough of that. Tell me how’s that Lamborghini you’re working on?”

That was two days before he died, and I’ve thought about it every day since. Maybe he knew something was coming or maybe it was just bad luck. But I made that promise that day not only because he asked me to, but because I’ve been looking out for Gemma for as long as I’ve known her and I don’t ever have plans to stop.

Mac was the one who got me on my feet and helped me learn the ropes of owning a business. He showed me what it was like to be successful and he helped launch my career. My shop is all custom work and I’ve got a wait list months long. I stay just as busy as I want to be and I make more than enough to take care of myself and Gemma. She’s always my first priority and the reason I work so hard. I want her to have the life she dreams of, even if it was derailed for a bit.

She finished her degree with hair and makeup and I know she’s looking for a salon. I’ve been working on something for her for the past few months and I hope that maybe when she’s ready she’ll be open to it.