Harvey made a face.“Knew you’d say that – want me to get you a soda from the break room instead, then?”
“I’d love one.”Jake felt bad.He knew Harvey was capable, but he was nearly eighty – Jake just didn’t want him overdoing it.
“Don’t worry about it,” Harvey said.“I know you’re only looking out for me.I’ll meet you back here if you can spare five minutes when you’ve got that thing up on the lift.”
“Let’s do that.”They should catch up.Now that things were getting busier in the garage, Jake had less and less time to hang out in the office and chat.He felt kind of bad about it but –
Harvey grasped his shoulder on his way into the back.“You know I love catching up with you – but the point of me being here is to help carry the load with the paperwork and the like, not to add to it by having you think that you need to babysit me.”
“I don’t think that!”
Harvey chuckled.“I know, I’m only pulling your leg.Go on, get her up there.”
By the time Jake returned to the office once the SUV was up on the lift, Harvey was sitting behind the desk again with two cans of soda in front of him.He jerked his chin toward them.“Take it with you if you want to get started working on that thing.”He made a face through the window at the SUV.“You ever noticed that it’s always them foreign jobs that need towing in?”
Jake smiled.Harvey was all about old-school American-made vehicles, and Jake was with him to a certain extent, but …
“Right, sorry.I forget that you’re an equal-opportunity fixer, right?”
“Something like that.”
“I won’t bang on about it, then.”Harvey winked.“I’ll keep to myself how glad I am that they break down so often, since it’ll keep you in work.Things are really picking up around here, aren’t they?”
“They are.I was just thinking that I’m going to have to bring someone in soon to …” The way Harvey’s face fell, Jake could easily guess what he was thinking, so he hurried on.“Another mechanic, you know?I might not have enough work to bring someone in full-time yet, but maybe on a casual basis.”He met the older man’s gaze.“I hope you know how grateful I am that you’re helping me out with the office like this.”
Harvey grinned.“We both know that you’re the one doing me a favor, but it’s all good.I’m glad to be here for as long as you want me, but don’t feel guilty when you’re ready to bring someone else in for the office now, will you?”
Jake shrugged.He’d have to hire someone full-time at some point, but no way was he going to promise that he wouldn’t feel guilty about it.
“Yeah, well, we’ll cross that puddle when it rains, huh?And you know, whenever you’re ready for a part-time mechanic, there’s someone who could help you out.”
“Yeah?Who’s that?”Jake was almost to the point that he wanted to at least put feelers out so that he’d have someone standing by when business picked up a little more.
Harvey winked at him again.“Who do you think?Who do we both know who’s handy with a wrench, knows all she needs to know about fixing cars – and a whole lot more besides – and who we’d both enjoy having around?She’d sure brighten the place up.”
Jake dropped his gaze.Harvey was talking about Savannah, of course.
“Still not ready to talk about it, then?”Harvey asked.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Not yet maybe, but there should be – there will be – there should have been right from the start.There’s no missing how taken you are with her – and she’s the same.I thought you young folks were supposed to move at lightning speed these days.You and Savannah have danced around each other for longer than I ever did with my June.”
Jake loved the way the old guy smiled whenever he mentioned his wife.From what Jake understood, she’d died a very long time ago, but it was easy to see, even now, how much Harvey loved her.
“You should give her a call.See if she’d be interested.”
Jake pursed his lips.He didn’t even need to do that – he knew she was interested.The attraction was mutual, and it had been since the first moment his Uncle Dom and Sadie had introduced them, right here at the shop, but …
When he looked at Harvey again, the old guy was wearing a knowing smile.“I meant interested in picking up some hours here when you need a second set of hands.You should call her – better still, take her out to dinner to talk about it.”
Jake had to laugh.“I bet no one’s ever accused you of being subtle, have they?”
“Not a once.But you know I’m right.You two both make out that you’re just friends, and that’s a good enough beginning, I’ll give you that.But you need to move past the beginning and onto what comes next.You never know, if you keep dawdling the way you have been, you might miss your shot.”Harvey grinned, apparently warming to his theme.“I mean, how would you feel if some other fella came along and beat you to it?If one of these tourists came along and asked her out?She might go, might get swept off her feet.He might move her away to the city.Then you’d only get to see her when he brings her back to visit, and you’ll be the lonely old mechanic, working up here, living your life out alone.Spending lonely nights …”
“All right, all right!I get the idea.You don’t need to lay it on that thick.”
To his surprise, instead of laughing with him, Harvey met his gaze and held it.“I may be joking around with you, but there’s truth in it, son.I had a lot of good years with my June, but if I’d known she’d be taken so soon, I’d have asked her to marry me the first time I saw her, and I would have made the most of every minute I got to spend with her.”He turned to look out the window at the lake and sniffed before turning back.
