Walt chuckled.“Then yeah, have at it.I was thinking Savannah here would be the one to fix it for me.”
“And we all know that she could,” Jake said with a smile.“But I feel like I need to prove that I’m worthy of at least being her assistant.”
Walt smiled and turned to Savannah.“He might be all right, this one.”
A rush of warmth filled Jake’s chest when Savannah nodded happily and said, “He’s more than all right, Walt – and he knows what he’s doing.”
Jake noticed that she stayed close to Walt, who had tried to stand up straight when they approached but was looking like he needed to sit back down.
He squatted next to the scooter, glad that he’d worked on a few of them in his time, and was relieved to see that it was a simple fix.“Looks like your battery connector’s come loose,” he said after a moment.“Happens a lot on these if the clip isn’t tight.”
He reattached it, pressed the switch, and the scooter whirred to life with a cheerful buzz.
Walt laughed.“Well, how about that?Thanks, son.”He climbed on before turning to Savannah again.“He might be a keeper, this one.”
She glanced at Jake and nodded but didn’t reply.
“You must know your way around engines,” Walt said.
Jake grinned.“I’m used to fixing bigger ones, but…”
“Well, thanks again.I appreciate it—you’ve saved me a whole lot of trouble.Did you keep Art’s phone number?”
It took Jake a moment to understand what he meant.
“I did,” he said with a smile.“I figure it’ll take me a while to build up the business, so if anyone still has the old number for the garage, I’ll be more than happy to take their call.”
“And I’ll be happy to spread the word for you, son.There’s plenty of old-timers like me who’ve been none too happy to go all the way out Route 20 to that Taylor’s place.It’s not the same over there.He’s a good enough man, but it’s just not the same.”He smiled.“We’d rather give our business to one of our own.”
“Thanks.That’d be awesome.”
Walt winked at Savannah.“It’s good to see you out and about, young lady.Thanks again, I’ll see you both around.”
~ ~ ~
As they watched Walt drive back down the cobbled walkway toward the main plaza, Savannah’s heart felt like it filled up and overflowed when Jake’s hand found hers again.
“I like him,” he said.“Art warned me that the old-timers might give me the cold shoulder.”
“And he was right,” she told him.“But it’s like Walt just said – folks around here would rather give their business to one of our own.The good thing is, you’ve now been accepted as one of our own.Now that Walt’s given you his seal of approval, I think business will start picking up for you very soon.”
“Why?”He raised his eyebrows, and she could guess what he was thinking.
“I know it might not seem that an old man on a scooter would have much influence or be able to send much business your way, but Walt’s very well connected around here.He used to be on the town council.He and his wife used to run the convenience store in town.Everybody knows him, everybody loves him—and more importantly, at least when it comes to you building your business, his opinion still carries a lot of sway.”
“And I thought he was just a nice old guy,” said Jake.
She laughed.“He is.And I guess that it meant more to him that you were prepared to help when you didn’t know who he was.”
He frowned.“I’d help anyone.”
“I know.But you know what I mean – he didn’t know that, but he does now.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Her heart sank when he checked his watch.
“Hey, don’t look like that,” he said quickly.“I’m trying to be considerate, not wanting to get rid of you.If it were up to me, we’d hang out all afternoon and tonight—but I know you have to get back over here to work, don’t you?”
