Finn's question cuts through the moment. "You guys want beers?"
I'm back in the storage room, finishing up, when I process what he said. Beers. Plural. Implying an invitation. Implying me.
"Beers where?" I call back, because specificity matters. Beers at the shop means standing around in the heat drinking warm beer from the questionable fridge. Beers somewhere else could mean anything.
"My place. Celebrate Scout surviving Coyote Bend." He's moving toward wherever he keeps his keys, which seems to be a different place every time. "It's tradition."
"How often does that happen?"
"You're the first in two years." He flashes that wide smile. "Which says more about us than the employees, probably."
"Definitely says more about you," Holt's voice comes from the main garage. He appears in the doorway behind Finn. His hair's damp with sweat, tank top stuck to his chest, and he's got that look he gets at the end of a long day—tired but satisfied. "You scare people off."
"I'm delightful."
"You're a lot."
"Same thing." Finn turns back to me. "So? Beers? You coming?"
I hesitate, suddenly uncertain. This feels like their thing. Their routine. Something they've been doing long before I showed up and will keep doing long after I—except I'm not leaving. I decided that, didn't I? Somewhere between the sundress and the boots and the way Holt looked at me like I was the only thing in the room worth seeing.
"You sure?" I stand up, brushing dust off my shorts. "I don't want to intrude on your—whatever this is."
"It's beers, Scout. Not a secret society." Finn heads for the door. "Come on. I've got the good stuff. By which I mean the cold stuff. By which I mean anything that's been in my fridge for more than an hour."
Holt's still standing there, watching me with that steady blue gaze. "You up for it?"
He's asking. Not assuming. Giving me the choice. Making sure I want this and not just going along because I feel obligated.
"Yeah." I grab my phone from where I left it on a shelf, shove it in my pocket. "Sounds good."
His shoulders drop slightly—relief, maybe—and he nods once. "Alright."
Finn kills the music, Holt checks that everything's locked, I make sure the front desk is clear.
The walk to Finn's trailer takes maybe five minutes. The sun's setting properly now, turning everything gold andbeautiful in that way the desert does—harsh during the day, gorgeous at the edges. The heat's finally breaking, temperature dropping from unbearable to merely oppressive. Almost. I can actually breathe without feeling like I'm inhaling fire.
Finn walks ahead, talking the entire time about something that happened with a customer last week that apparently involved a misunderstanding about brake fluid and someone's very expensive mistake. Holt and I walk side by side, quiet between us while Finn provides the soundtrack.
I'm hyperaware of him next to me—can't stop noticing the way he moves, that slight unevenness in his stride I've picked up on but can't quite place. He smells like work—grease and engine heat and clean sweat underneath. His arm almost brushes mine when we walk but never quite does, like he's tracking the space between us and maintaining it deliberately.
"The boots you ordered," I say quietly, not looking at him. "Thank you. You really didn't have to do that."
"Your shoes had holes." He doesn't look at me either, both of us staring ahead while we talk. "Couldn't have you tripping over your own feet more than you already do."
"I don't trip that much."
"You kicked over a bucket of bolts on your second day."
"That was the bucket's fault for being in a stupid place."
His mouth curves slightly. "If you say so."
"I do say so. And thank you. For noticing. For ordering them."
"You're welcome." There's warmth in his voice, something softer than usual.
Finn's trailer appears ahead—vintage Airstream that's seen better days but is clearly loved. String lights are hung outside, wrapped around the awning and strung between poles, waiting for dark to glow. There are mismatched camping chairsarranged in a circle, a cooler that's probably older than me, and a portable speaker that Finn's connecting to his phone.
