He hauled a shoebox out from the bottom of the crate.The heavy tools and parts had squashed it.He hoped it wasn’t bulbs for headlights.
It wasn’t, although it took him a few moments to realize what he’d found.
Photos.A small notebook.Newspaper clippings.
The photos drew him first.Classic cars, all in black and white, including a 1965 Corvette, each photo taken from a different angle.A Mustang from the ‘60s and a couple of older trucks sitting in fields.
Finally, there was what looked to be a brand new 1961 Ford truck.Now a classic, it was shiny and fresh in the pictures.
The last photograph made Lawson’s heart thump.It could have been a young Fox standing beside that shiny truck.Was it Fox or Jay?
Lawson flipped over the photos, but none had writing on the back.Were these Jay’s vehicles from over the years?
Fox had driven trucks as far back as Lawson could remember.When he was little, his grandfather had brought a box for Lawson to stand on so he could see inside the engines and figure out how things worked.Those were good memories.
The air shifted in the garage, and he grinned.“Back here, Dani.”
Her laughter reached him.“You turning psychic on me, Lawson?”
He rose and moved to greet her.She was alone, so he indulged in the kind of kiss he wanted.When he lifted his head, her eyes were as dazed as he felt.He hoped they’d feel the same way in fifty years.“Where’s your sister?”
“Amber’s showing her around the B&B.”
So, he kissed her again.When he pulled back, he took her hand.“I found something back here.”
Her eyebrows shot up.“What is it?”
With her hand in his, he returned to where he’d spread the photos on the floor.He looked around for a box Dani could sit on, but she dropped to sit on the floor, dress flouncing around her, before he could bring it over.She might look like one of her ethereal fairy creatures, but her dresses never stopped her from playing in the dirt.
“These are amazing photos.Are any of these the kinds of vehicles you’d like to restore?”
“All of them, but look at this one.I think it’s Jay.Or maybe Fox.They looked a lot alike.”
Dani gripped his hand.“This is amazing.Have you shown your family yet?What else was in the box?”
He loved her enthusiasm.“Not yet.I found the photo of Jay right before you came in.I think I’ll take it all in so we can look at it together after we eat.”It was late afternoon.Gray was cooking tonight, so no one would be late.The man could have been a chef, but his first love was the gardens.Not true.The man’s first love was Amber, which made Lawson happy.His sister deserved someone who saw how amazing she was.
With the B&B’s opening not far away, they needed to find a chef soon, someone like Babs.Lawson would call Seth, aka Babs, later to find out how he was doing and see if he had any interest in working at an inn in Vermont.
Dani pointed at the notebook and the newspaper clippings.“Do you want to check these now or wait until you’re with the others?”
“I should wait.Maybe I’ll see if everyone has time to get together before supper.”But it was difficult to ignore the possibilities in front of him.What if there was nothing connected to Jay?He might get their hopes up for nothing.He also didn’t want to be selfish.They all deserved to see them.They could loop in Burke and check it all out together.“I’ll wait.See if Burke can video in for a call.”
A backup alarm interrupted them as they were boxing up the items.The alarm sounded like a large vehicle, but not a semi.A delivery he didn’t know about?
Dani’s face lit up, and she grinned, then jumped to her feet and tugged on his arm.“Come on.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s a surprise for you.”
Warmth filled him up as she led him to the front of the barn.He hadn’t opened the main doors, so he couldn’t see what kind of delivery was happening outside.Before she opened the door, he tugged her into another kiss.“I’ll show you the restoration area later.We finished it earlier, and I’m loading it up.”
Her eyes brightened, and she bounced on her toes.“Then the timing is perfect.Come on.”
What had she done?
Curious, he tucked the mangled shoebox under one arm and let her tug him outside.The backup alarm continued to beep, and Lawson spotted the source.
