“Thanks.”
He walks me to my truck. I open the door and slide inside. Alone, I’m able to exhale. Some of the tension leaves my shoulders. “At least I played it cool,” I mutter.
I click my seat belt on and insert my key into the ignition. Turning it over, I hear the sound of it catching, but not the roar to life I’m used to. As I glance down to the dashboard, sure enough, the orange warning light for the engine is glowing. No repair shop in town is going to be open on a Sunday. Looks like I may have to call Daph for a ride.
Chapter Five
My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of Fernando tapping on the driver’s window. Since I can’t roll it down, I open the door.
“Do you have a problem, Ava?”
Reluctantly, I nod. “I think the battery’s dead.”
“That’s no bueno.” His eyes flicker from my car to his. “I have cables in my trunk. Do you want me to try jumping it?”
“That’d be great. That way I can at least get it to the garage on the other side of town. We don’t have decent roadside service up here like we did back in Colorado.”
“I learned that lesson the hard way. I had a flat my first week here. I found out pretty quickly it’s better if I fixed the issue myself,” he says.
“Do you know how to fix cars?”
“Not everything, but enough. My abuelo owned a garage. Growing up, I helped him out over the summers and picked up a couple of skills.”
“I wish I could do stuff like change a tire. My dad tried to teachme when I started driving, but I’m hopeless with it. I can operate on any animal, but give me a car and all I can do is use my phone to call someone else.”
An image of Dylan appears in my mind. The last time I had a major problem, he was the person I called. It was actually one of the few times we got into a major argument. He didn’t like the fact that I still drive the same car I’ve had since high school, calling it a safety hazard. He may or may not have been right.
As long as my truck is kept in decent running condition, I don’t see a reason why I have to give up on it. We didn’t speak for a few days. That was the longest period of time we’d gone being mad at one another. Until now.
“Do you mind popping the hood?” Fernando asks.
“Sure.” I reach under the dash.
“Gracias. Let’s take a look at what’s going on.” I watch as he walks to the front, props the hood upright, and leans forward to inspect the engine. “You’ve got an interesting mix of parts,” he calls out. “How old is this truck?”
“Twenty or twenty-five years? It was my dad’s before it was mine. I had it in North Carolina and Colorado before here.”
He lets out a low whistle. “They don’t make them like they used to.”
“They don’t,” I agree.
He inhales sharply. I hear him muttering under his breath.
“What? Did you find something?” I stumble out of the driver’s seat and to the front.
Fernando nods grimly. “It’s not your battery.” He points to a crevice and some gears. “It looks like your timing belt snapped.”
I stare, not having a clue if that’s an easy fix or not. “Uh...”
“The timing belt keeps all the parts of the engine running in sync. When they get old, snapping is common. You just need a new one. Everything else looks like it’s in good shape.”
“That’s a relief.” I rub the back of my neck. I just hope it doesn’tcost an arm and a leg to fix. It’s never the parts that cost a ton, it’s the labor.
“Unfortunately, that means your car will have to be towed to a garage.” Fernando unlatches the hood and closes it. “It’s not drivable without the part.”
My heart sinks. I’ll have to rent a car to get through the week. Another expense I didn’t account for. Daphne and Brian need their vehicles for work. I can’t see my parents lending me theirs. Mom does a lot of volunteer work and won’t want to cancel anything.
“Can I give you a ride home or anywhere else?” Fernando asks.
