Shane (Mallick Brothers 1)

“Oh, I’ll bet she is,” Fee said, voice heavy with innuendo. “Okay. Well, that’s one worry off the list.”

“What else is on the list?” I asked, refilling the coffee pot.

“Well, three of the windows broke at the office so I need to get down there and get that taken care of. Lea’s car needs to get off the street. The township is street sweeping and it’s in the way. Chaz’s lost a tree. It didn’t do any real damage, but it needs to get gone. Hunt’s car got slammed into by some idiot out driving in the storm…”

“Busy day,” I said, turning on the machine. “Tell you what, you deal with your office. Let Hunt deal with his car. Mark and Ryan and Pops can deal with Chaz’s so strike that. I’ll deal with Lea’s car. How did your place do?”

“We just lost some branches and there is water in the basement. So much for it being dry. Those lying bastards who owned this place before us even signed the paper swearing it was dry. The fucks. How’s your place?”

“It’s a warehouse, Fee,” I laughed. “Nothing can knock it down. And I don’t have any trees or a basement.”

“Right, just the first floor you refuse to remodel. You know, your heating and cooling bills would go down if you finished that floor.”

“Sure. I’ll just catch all the rats and raccoons and drop them off in the park next to your house.”

“You’re an ass,” she laughed.

“You love it.”

“Yep,” she agreed.

“Well you get going. I have some calls to make now.”

“Oh, and Ryan did call us this morning,” she said and I knew what was coming. “So we will see you here around… three-ish next Saturday to move furniture?”

“I’ll be there.”

“And you’ll bring Lea. We’ll feed you.”

“Ah…” I said, knowing Fee was great at a lot of shit. But cooking was not one of them.

“Hunter will grill, you ass,” she said, not offended.

“Alright. Sounds good.”

There was a pause. “I’m really happy you guys are hitting it off,” she admitted before she ended the call.

As I scanned through my contacts, I silently agreed with her.

“Yup?” his voice answered on the third ring, sounding distracted.

“That’s how you answer your work phone?” I asked, shaking my head.

“What’s up, Shane? Busy day. I think every car in this county got hit or rolled into a ditch. It’s crazy.”

“Got a favor to ask, Colt,” I said, walking over toward the front of the building and looking down at the street. Colton King was someone we all grew up with, one of the few kids at school who had enough attitude not to be intimidated by us. He set up roots as a mechanic and had been working on all our cars and bikes since.

“Don’t tell me you were fuckin’ stupid enough to ride that bike in the hurricane,” he said and I heard slamming noises around him.

“Nah. I have a car I need you to pick up and work on.”

“You just got a truck…”

“It’s not mine.”

There was a pause and, when he spoke, I could hear a sneer in his voice. “This is for a chick, isn’t it?”

“Easy, Colt. I can call that Repo kid to do this for me.”

To that, he chuckled. “That won’t be necessary. What’s wrong with it?”

“I just know it’s dead. It was a death trap to begin with. So fix whatever killed it and every fucking thing else while you’re at it.”

“If it’s that big of a clunker, it won’t be worth the work I put into it,” he said, ever the honest mechanic, something that kept his customers loyal to him. He’d never con you into a brake job if you had a while left to go before you needed it.

“Yeah, I know. But she can’t afford a new one and wouldn’t ever let me get her a new one. As it is, she’ll flip shit that I had it fixed for her.”

“A chick that can put your stubborn ass in your place? I’ll have to meet her. Alright,” he said, and I could hear him slamming the door to the tow truck. “Where am I headed?”

“Out front of Fee’s place. You’ll know it when you see it.”

“Alright, I’m on it. I’ll get back to you once I look it over.”

“Appreciate it,” I said, hanging up.

“Appreciate what?” Lea’s voice asked, sleep groggy, and I turned back to see her sitting up on my bed, self-consciously trying to tame her hair. And damn if it wasn’t the fucking sweetest thing.

“Nothing, babe. Want some coffee?”

“God, yes,” she said and I smiled at the desperation in her tone.

I moved to the kitchen to get it for her as I heard the door to the bathroom close. She came out a couple minutes later, taking the coffee from my hands and breathing it in deeply before taking a sip.