Holly’s eyes bounced between the sheriff and me. “Are you sure I’m not putting you out?”
“Positive. If you could give me your keys and your number, I’ll call you.”
As soon as I heard myself say the words I cringed. It sounded like a really bad pickup line. It wasn’t, but even if it was, that was terrible. I’d been out of the game way too long.
With clumsy fingers, she dug around her purse and pulled out the keys, dropping them in my hand. It wasn’t until I flipped them over and saw the Porsche logo that I realized I wasn’t just dealing with a normal woman. I was dealing with a rich woman. A realization that had me backing up. I’d been the fall guy rich women had gone slumming it with before. When their rich husbands got too friendly with their ski instructors on the slopes, the women ventured into town looking for some trouble of their own. And who causes more trouble than a grease monkey?
As quickly as I could, I punched her number into my phone and shuffled them out of there. The last thing I wanted tonight was to get messed up with a woman who wouldn’t be there in the morning. Especially one with a kid in tow.
I waited until the police cruiser turned the corner and disappeared before heading back into the shop. Evergreen Auto was my baby. Since my dad left it to me when he passed, I’dworked myself to the bone to make it into something. At first, I didn’t know how a mechanic shop in such a small town would survive, but then the winter months arrived, and I couldn’t keep up. Cars ran off the road with drivers who weren’t used to driving in the conditions. SUVs seized in the cold. Snowmobiles needed servicing and, more often than not, repairs. It was a never-ending parade of vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Not only did it pay the bills, it made life interesting. And Holly was just another chapter.
After slipping into my office, I grabbed the keys to the tow truck and climbed in. I waited for it to warm up before backing out and heading down the road. Sheriff had said it was about thirty miles out, so as I got closer, I slowed down. Even as someone born and bred in Evergreen Lake, these conditions were not fun. No one should be driving on these roads tonight. The snow was coming in sideways, and the wind was howling.
I almost missed it, but something caught my eye at the last second. Careful not to hit the brakes too hard and send myself sliding off the road, I rolled to a stop.
“Ah fuck,” I swore.
In the time it’d taken Dennis to bring them into town, the snow had kept falling, and now the tires were half buried. But it wasn’t going to get better anytime soon. If the weatherman was to be trusted, a blizzard was on its way, and what was now only half-buried, would soon disappear.
I yanked my beanie down, covering my ears, and found a pair of gloves, sliding them on before I climbed out.
“Holy shit!” I swore as the wind tore through me.
As quickly as I could, I got the car ready to be hauled out. Every time I took a step, I sunk into the soft snow.
Half an hour later, frozen to my bones, I climbed back in the tow truck’s cab and blasted the heater. The hot air made my frigid fingers burn. The sting of pins and needleshad me cursing while I waited to defrost and the engine to warm so I could get the hell out of there.
The drive back to town took twice as long as it should’ve, but I wasn’t taking any risks. It wouldn’t be long before the road was closed, and Evergreen Lake was cut off from the rest of the world. Not that that was a bad thing if you asked me. The fewer people infiltrating the town with their fake Christmas cheer would be fine with me. I was so sick of being invited to cookie decorating, ice skating, or God forbid, the tree-lighting ceremony. It was bad enough that Mayor Sanchez stopped by every other day offering to get a committee together to come and help decorate my place. I was a mechanic. I didn’t need lights and garlands hanging across the front of my door. And I certainly didn’t need a Christmas tree dropping needles on the shop floor.
Eventually, I made it back to the shop and drove straight inside. I unloaded the Cayenne and as soon as it was back on the ground, I knew it wouldn’t be going anywhere tonight.
Knowing I could do nothing more, I locked up again and went upstairs. After a hot shower, taking extra time to scrub my hands, I changed into a pair of clean jeans and a charcoal Henley. I stuffed my feet into my boots, then went downstairs and climbed into my Tahoe and headed to Sip on Main. No point delaying the bad news.
As expected, parking was a nightmare. Yet another reason I hated this time of year in Evergreen Lake. My sleepy little town turned into something out of a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie, and I played the Grinch. I hadn’t always been this way, but when you walk in on your wife blowing Santa in the back of the sleigh you’re supposed to be fixing two days before Christmas, your holiday spirit tends to pack its bags and leave town with the whore who shattered your heart.
Pulling around the back, I found a spot and hurried inside.
The moment I stepped in Sip on Main I wanted to leave. Christmas music was playing. Laughter echoed. The scent of chocolate and gingerbread filled the air. The lights on the giant Christmas tree in the corner flickered, and the warmth from the fire wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
I tugged my beanie off my head and shoved it in my pocket before dragging down the zipper of my coat.
I looked around, and it seemed everyone was staring at me. Ignoring the curious glances, I found the stranded strangers huddled in the corner, whispering over their steaming mugs. At least they looked a bit warmer.
I wound my way through the tables over to them.
“Holly?” I questioned, her wide green eyes looking up at me, filled with hope.
“Hi,” she replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “How’s my car?”
“Not good, I’m afraid,” I told her honestly. There was no point pussy footing around.
Her shoulders sagged under the weight of my words.
“I managed to get it out and back to the shop, but the front axle is bent.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not. But it is fixable,” I assured her.
