Pit Stop: Baby! (Crescent Cove 4)

Like that parental figure she accused me of being? Or like a boyfriend?

Nah. Like a…friend.

Much better.

I really didn’t want to leave her alone. Watching her crumple like that had taken ten years off me, man. I was used to her railing at me, not going as pale as Casper and sagging as if her bones had dissolved.

I pressed my forehead to her door and inhaled and exhaled until my still-racing heart leveled out. Then I made myself go downstairs.

Rylee was indestructible. A ballbuster with a mouth to match. It had taken everything inside me to get up and walk out after touching her. And not because I wanted to peel her out of those tight jeans and the sweater falling off her shoulder.

Okay, so I always wanted to peel her out of her clothes.

But I also wanted to tuck her in bed and make her sleep away the circles under her eyes. And I wasn’t that guy. Sleepovers meant clinging and expectations and I was never around long enough for that.

But things were changing in my life.

And if my stupid, stubborn brother would give me a chance to help him, I might just find a reason to stick around. I really wished she hadn’t heard us fighting this morning, but then again, if she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had a chance to be there for her.

My gut dropped into my toes and I had to steady myself on the front door of her building. What if I hadn’t been there and she’d fallen into the street?

I couldn’t think about that. I had been there, and it didn’t seem as if it was a usual occurrence for her to rely on someone else—even for a few minutes.

Sleep deprivation could mess you up. I knew that all too well. Not because I normally had trouble sleeping, but when I was deep in figuring out a problem with my car, I’d spent a string of nights working it out with the engineer on my team. I had a knack with motors, but with new high-tech electronics making everything more complex, well…there were some things above my capabilities. Then getting behind the wheel—yeah, I’d pulled some bonehead moves in my time.

Rylee seemed more practical than that, so I assumed she hadn’t been intentionally burning the candle at both ends. I could only hope she had a touch of some flu. I’d know soon enough since I couldn’t keep my lips off of her.

“Fucking animal,” I muttered as I pushed open the door.

Instead of heading out to my car, I went into J&T’s Auto. I wasn’t done talking to my brother. He was surly as shit, but even more so than usual. I hadn’t been around much and he’d shouldered a lot of the responsibilities in our family. Our parents were getting older, but they definitely weren’t ready for the old folks’ home.

My mother probably would run whichever one she ended up in anyway.

Besides, I’d been at their house for the last few days. The Honey-Do list was extensive enough for me to know Dare had been dealing with his own stuff. Maybe it was just nerves due to another kid on the way, but it felt like something else.

Dare under stress grunted more and put his head down to do the work. Today, his eyes had been a little wild and panicked. And I wasn’t used to seeing that when it came to my big brother.

Time to find out the score.

The change from bright spring daylight to the dank garage made me squint. Instead of my brother, I found the heavyset owner, his shock of white hair nearly standing straight up, flicking through an order book.

“Hey, old man. Where’s my brother?”

“Well, if it isn’t the fancy pants race car driver. Decided to hang up your helmet?”

I shrugged. “At least for now.”

“If you’re looking for a place for cars, come talk to me.”

I frowned. “Why?”

“Didn’t Dare tell you?”

Ding-ding. I knew something was up. “You selling?”

“Yeah, time for this old man to retire. All these cars are just computers these days. And no one wants to pay a decent mechanic. Get their tuneups at the car wash combo oil change places these days.”

“Good to know. Not sure what I’d do with a garage.”