Sidecar Crush

For what he was paying me for it, it needed to be spectacular.

I picked up my phone and answered. “Hey, Dee.”

“Hi, Jameson.” She had a slight New York accent. “How’s the piece coming?”

“Just fine.” I was hedging a bit, because I still wasn’t quite sure what the finished piece was going to look like. Until last week, I’d had it all worked out. But there was another vision in my head that I couldn’t shake. It was making it hard to stay focused on this one. I usually knew exactly what each piece was going to look like, but this time was different.

“If you’re going to have trouble delivering on time, you need to let me know as soon as possible,” she said. “This commission is a game-changer. The client loves your work, but I wouldn’t count on him being very forgiving of a missed deadline.”

“Yeah, I know. You don’t need to worry about it.”

“All right,” she said, although I could tell she wasn’t sure. “There’s something else I need to run by you, and you’re not going to like it.”

I adjusted the phone, holding it against my ear with my shoulder. “And that is?”

“There’s going to be a grand opening at the building,” she said. “They’ll unveil your piece then. And you need to be there.”

“Ah, hell, Dee. They don’t need me there.”

“This is part of the deal, Jameson. You need to show your face once in a while. People like to see the genius behind the art.”

“I’m no genius.”

“I beg to differ,” she said. “Although the fact that you don’t realize it is part of your charm. Don’t worry about it for now; we have time. I’ll be there, too. And you can bring anyone else you’d like—your girlfriend if you want.”

“Don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Well, maybe we need to get you one,” she said. “A guy like you shouldn’t be single.”

“I’m not sure being my art dealer qualifies you to comment on my personal life,” I said, my voice light so she’d know I was teasing her. She always commented on my personal life. Or lack thereof, as it were.

She laughed. “You don’t know how much I hold back with you, Bodine. Boy, would I love to play matchmaker. I know a few girls who—”

“No, thanks,” I said, cutting her off before she could continue. “I don’t need you going to all that trouble on my account.”

“Fine,” she said. “But if you change your mind, let me know. My niece—”

“No, Dee.” We’d had this conversation too many times already. “I’m certain your niece is lovely, but I don’t need you settin’ me up with someone.”

“All right, back to business. Keep me posted on your progress. And pencil in a trip to Charlotte for October. You’re going if I have to come out there and drag you with me.”

I had no doubt she’d do just that. “Duly noted. Take care, Dee.”

“Talk soon.”

I hung up and put my phone down just as Jonah stuck his head through the door.

“You about ready?” he asked. “We’re supposed to be at Bowie’s soon.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll just be a minute.”

He nodded. “Sounds good.”

Jayme, our family’s lawyer, was calling to update us on the investigation, so we were all meeting at Bowie’s. The police had taken the sweater Scarlett had found and obtained a warrant to search Dad’s house. So far, we hadn’t heard if they’d found anything new, nor when we might be able to get back into Dad’s place. Hopefully Jayme had some good news for us.

I took off my leather apron and hung it on a hook. My workshop was housed in a re-purposed old barn next to my house. It had a forge and several work benches. I’d built heavy duty shelves to house all the scrap I collected, and there was a big open area for me to work on larger pieces. Nothing fancy, but it suited my purposes just fine. I liked it in here—liked the quiet. I was in my element when I was creating things. Sometimes the rest of life seemed like it was just a bunch of interruptions.