I sigh as I look back up at my brother. “What about Grace at the Secret Garden Bookshop? I bet she knows someone who could help us out.” I knock on the side of the truck as inspiration hits. “What about someone at the high school? Or college? There has to be some geek that likes making that shit and is looking for a side hustle.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” He shrugs. “Either way, it’s more time we’re spending and less money we’re making—especially when we have an answer right here.” He shoves off the truck and stands under the streetlight, pointing back to Fireside. “I saw her mom’s website. It’s good, Gray. It’s better than good. Haley knows what she’s doing.”
Groaning under my breath, I push off my truck too, and kick at a rock. It rolls across the pavement before coming to a rest near an empty pop bottle that someone should really pick up.
“You’re obviously going to want this done soon, and I’m busy,” I tell him. “I wouldn’t be able to sit down with her for weeks. Months, maybe. Hell, it could be next year before my schedule frees up.” Never would be even better.
He ignores me. “Let her come to the shop and follow you around. You can grunt your answers from underneath a truck. You won’t even have to try to keep your eyes off her. It’ll be impossible.”
I whirl around to face him. “Ever heard of OSHA? That’s definitely a safety violation.” And fucking stupid.
“Oh, since when do you care about rules, Gray?”
That’s fair.
“I don’t know why you’re being a jerk about this,” Garret says. “So, it’ll put you out for a few minutes. Don’t be selfish.”
I run my hands through my hair and try to avoid his gaze. Garret never asks much of me. He lets me get away with ignoring company meetings and buying supplies that are better quality but higher priced than he would like. I come in late, half-ass my paperwork, and Garret never says a word.
And when I look up at him, I know he’s thinking the same damn thing.
He grins a got-ya smile, and my defiance starts to slip.
“I’m going to be real with you here,” he says. “I’m seriously worried about the future of Blake Brother Auto. With that place in Syn City closing down, we have a shot at not only saving our ass but also expanding. Expanding, Grayson. But if we don’t use this opportunity to our advantage, we might have to let Tristan go.”
“Shut your fucking mouth.”
We stand facing each other under the hazy halogen lights. The severity of the situation is written all over Garret’s face and, despite knowing this was an issue, I didn’t know it was this level of an issue—not a “let Tristan go” problem. This guy is like a brother to us. He needs us as much as we need him. Fuck.
I pace around the truck and back again.
“This is where we are,” Garret tells me. “Numbers don’t lie. I don’t like it either, but we have to face it.”
“But fire Tristan?” I run my hand down the side of my face and stop moving. “We can’t do that. He’s the best motorcycle mechanic that I’ve ever seen, and he needs this job, Garret. It’s everything to him. Letting him go is not an option.”
“I don’t want it to be an option, but it’s what we might be looking at if we can’t bring in more revenue. Now, there’s a pool of potential new clientele waiting on us. We just have to hook ’em and reel ’em in.”
I scowl at his mixing of fishing and work phrases.
“You can’t expect some miracle out of Haley,” I point out. “Maybe she gussies up your website and makes some fliers or whatever. But that’s no guarantee. We have to think of something else.”
“I have been thinking. It’s all I do.”
“Glad to know you do something all day.”
We exchange a grin because we both know I’m kidding. Garret works as hard as Grant and me—just differently. But, hey, we all can’t be brains and brawn.
Garret slaps me on the back as he walks by. “I gotta get home. But you need to walk in there and take Haley up on that offer, or it’s gonna be your ass who fires Tristan if it comes to it.”
“Bull-fucking-shit.”
“Then don’t let it come to that.”
I turn back to my truck and yank open the driver’s side door. The seat squeaks as I climb in.
I start the engine, revving it just enough to feel the vibration in my blood. But instead of pulling out, I pause.
My sight roams around the mostly empty parking lot until it lands on Haley’s little maroon Mazda.
The corners of my lips twitch.
My lord, that woman just does something to me. Anytime I’m in hollering distance of her, I feel myself being pulled her way. Just being near her causes a shock to my system; it makes me feel alive. It’s a high I can’t get from anything else—not fixing an impossible job, finishing a dangerous hike, or sleeping with a woman I met a few minutes prior.