Nick waves his hand and tugs his beanie back on. “It’s already been taken care of.”
“That—” I blink. “That can’t be right. You did so much.”
He nods but doesn’t elaborate. “Cain said if you ever need anything else done, to drop it by my shop and we’ll take care of it for you.” He hands me a business card. “On the house. Have a good one, Ms. Carpenter.”
And just like that, he’s gone, leaving me standing there on the frosty driveway, blinking at my newly revived SUV like it’s a hallucination.
Sure, those things have been on my list to get fixed eventually. But things like groceries, the mortgage, and the electricity bill have continuously taken priority.
“Rhiannon?” Leo’s muffled voice comes from my pajama pocket. I pull out my phone.
“Sorry. I forgot you were on the phone.”
“What happened?”
I exhale, watching the Rossi Auto Garage tow truck disappear down the road, its taillights fading around the curve by the sparkling lake.
“Cain got my car towed last night without telling me. It just got dropped off and it’s completely fixed and passed inspection.”
There’s a pause, then Leo sighs.
“I swear, Leo, I didn’t tell him to do that. I didn’t even know he knew it had expired tags.”
He chuckles softly. “I know. Because you’d never ask for help.”
“That’s not fair.” But he isn’t wrong.
“What is it you always tell your clients? ‘To be loved is to be known?’ Cain’s trying to know you, Rhiannon. Actually, I think he already does. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be showing you he cares the only way you’ll let him. You’ve probably told him you don’t need help, reminded him that you have things under control, and this is his way of not so silently helping you and showing you it’s okay to accept his generosity.”
I tug off my mittens, running my fingertips over the cold metal of my car door, still trying to process what just happened. “But I’m scared to be known.”
Leo sighs again, softer this time. “It’s time, Rhia. Time to accept love. To let someone in. To stop blaming yourself for what happened.”
The words sting, and the cold air suddenly feels sharper, like it’s slicing at my skin. Tears prickle in my eyes, warm and unwanted. “I need to go.”
“Rhiannon—”
“I’ll call you later. I have to get ready to meet with Rebel.”
He’s still cursing when I hang up on him. I duck past Gabriel, who’s giving me a look that screamswe’re going to talk about this later,and hurry upstairs.
In my room, I drop onto the edge of the bed and grab my phone again to text my best friend.
Rhiannon:Sorry for hanging up on you.
Rhiannon: Send me Cain’s number, please.
Leo sends it through instantly, followed by another message:
Leo:Please give this guy a chance. You know I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it and think he was good for you. But Rhia, he likes you and he’s good.
I bite my lip, thumbs hovering before I finally type up a message to Cain. The first time I’ve contacted him since last night.
Rhiannon:Thank you. For my car. You shouldn’t have done that.
Cain:I wanted to.
Rhiannon:I know.
