Flynn dropped his arms and stepped back.
“Take care, Bailey. Think about what I said. Your brothers love you. They want you happy.”
Damn it. Flynn didn’t make a move. Of course he didn’t. Everyone saw me as the little brother who needed coddling, even him.
And crying on his shoulder today wasn’t likely to change that. If I wanted Flynn to see me as a man, I had to start acting like it.
So I hitched on a smile and waved goodbye as he drove away, pretending like everything in me wasn’t crying out for him to stay just a little longer.
CHAPTER 8
Flynn
“Flynn,take a break, for fuck’s sake!” Axel called as he came into the garage just before noon. “I’ve got visitors for you.”
Visitors? I lifted my head out of the Chevy Malibu in front of me. “Huh?”
A sharp bark echoed through the shop.
“Aw, damn it,” Gray said. “You brought the demon.”
“Taz!” I grinned and crouched down. “Come here, you little lover, you!”
Taz trotted across the shop and leapt into my arms, craning his head back to lick my chin.
“I’ve missed you,” I murmured. “You’re a good boy, aren’t you?”
“Unbelievable,” Gray muttered.
Holden opened his office door, and his Samoyed, Banshee, raced out with happy yaps to greet her former pack. Before he’d adopted her, she’d been one of a handful of strays that Axel took in at the junkyard. Now, he ran an official animal rescue that placed animals with fosters. He’d asked me to volunteer,but my rental didn’t allow pets. Too bad, because I really missed the dogs I used to see every day when I’d first worked at the junkyard.
“You’re just in time for lunch,” Holden said.
“What’s for lunch?” Axel asked.
“Zacos.” He tossed him the keys. “There’s a tow over on Beechwood Street. You can pull double duty.”
“Fuck.” Axel turned to me. “Wanna ride along? We haven’t talked in forever.”
I glanced at Holden. He waved me on. “You’re due for a break. Don’t let Axel make you do all the work.”
It would be nice to grab a breath of fresh air. I used to make these tow runs on occasion, but as the primary mechanic now, there just wasn’t time. Gray or Axel usually did it.
I followed Axel out. Behind us, Gray called, “Aren’t you taking the dick biter with you?”
Axel turned back with a smirk. “Nah. It’s time you all made up.”
“What?” Gray sounded horrified.
Axel just laughed and kept on walking.
“He’s sweet, really. Just…try not to act so scared.”
Gray glared. “He’s never tried to eat your dick.”
I shrugged and turned to jog after Axel. Gray could handle Taz. He was just a tiny dog.
I opened the passenger door and swung myself up into the cab of the tow truck. Axel shifted it into drive, and we bumped down the rutted path toward the highway.
