“Dirk Crusher is awesome,” Lucy said.
“Oh no. Not another convert. What have you done, Axel?” Valene asked with a laugh. “I saw Diesel and Cam earlier reading the exact same paperback, something dreadful calledJust Die Already. It’s like the zombie apocalypse with everyone reading the same thing.”
“Oh, it is not. Besides, I haven’t talked you into it yet.” Axel waggled his eyebrows at Valene.
“That would take quite some doing. Besides, I’m busy. I don’t have time for leisure reading these days.”
“What are you busy with that takes so much time?” Axel asked. He meant it as a teasing jab at his little sister and got a totally unexpected reaction.
“Lots of things…plus, other stuff…” Vivid color came up in her cheeks and she looked to be at a loss for words. She didn’t stay stymied for long. “AndI’m very involved in a big Earther wedding for my brother, who obviously doesn’t appreciate me nearly as much as he should.”
Axel thought of Valene and Wyatt and lovers’ lane. He’d tried to discuss it with his sister a few times since the incident with the sand-claw beast, but she wasn’t having it. She avoided being alone with him and made it very clear she did not want to discuss that day anytime soon.
He had also contacted Wyatt to ensure he didn’t remember anything about fetching Axel and Lucy from the Cosmos Café. The sheriff acted like they hadn’t seen each other in a while, so he was relieved on that front.
Axel decided to let his sister keep her secrets—for now. Eventually he’d catch her off guard and extract all the information he could.
“Whatever. One of these days, Valvoline, I’ll get you to read Dirk Crusher and you’ll be one of us. A Dirk Crusher fan zombie.” He made his best monster face, but his sister was unimpressed.
“Yeah. Good luck with that. And stop using my real name, you know I hate it.” She rolled her eyes yet again, but Axel could tell she was not truly mad. “Listen. I know we were going to discuss the wedding today and tie up more details with the food, but we don’t have time.”
“Why, what’s up?”
Valene glanced at her wristwatch. “I invited your future bride and your future in-laws to your garage so they can see the muscle car you’ve been restoring.”
Axel sat up. “What? Why would you do that?”
“I think it would be good for them to see you doing something you excel at, you know?” Valene grinned. She had always been fascinated with his work on engines and the like, but not everyone thought working on a greasy motor was exciting or impressive.
“I don’t think it would be a good idea.” Axel frowned.
“Well, you’re the only one that thinks that. Francine thought it was the perfect idea to help her parents like you even more.”
“They don’t like me at all, especially not her mother.”
“Then anything will help, right?”
“I don’t know about that,” he said under his breath.
“Well, I do. Now, get up and let’s get going.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, now.” She motioned for Lucy to stand. “Lucy, you’re invited. Also, I have some ideas to show you for the food at the reception after the wedding ceremony. Francine picked out a few things already. I’d like to see what you think. We need to finalize the menu by tonight. The rehearsal dinner will have to be two nights before the wedding, instead of the night before, because the local bowling team secured the venue months ago for their tournament presentation.” She huffed. “I don’t anticipate a problem, though. We’ll do a partial run-through of the ceremony in plainclothes and then head over to the restaurant.”
“Okay,” Lucy said, but the excitement she’d shared with him while they talked about Dirk Crusher was gone. Talking about a wedding neither of them wanted to participate in had that effect. He didn’t want to be the groom and she likely didn’t want to have a ringside seat to the nuptials as the maid of honor.
“Cheer up, you two. I know nothing is as exciting as Dirk Crusher, but pretend to be excited about the wedding plans, okay?” His sister turned away without noticing Lucy’s melancholy look, or what he was certain was his own foul expression.
Axel stuck out his elbow and Lucy slipped her arm into his as they followed Valene out of the Celestial Barbeque Shack.
Lucy climbed into Valene’s two-seater sports car, telling Axel to go on ahead and get the car ready to show them at his oversized garage next to his home in Alienn.
Axel beat them there. He parked the truck and opened the garage door where his pride and joy, beyond Dirk Crusher novels, waited. He pulled the canvas car cover off the two-door ’67 Mustang he’d been restoring in his spare time. The car didn’t look like much yet, but he’d gotten the new engine installed and the tires were on. The interior needed a bit of love, and the final paint job remained in the distant future, but he’d enjoyed every greasy, dirty minute of working on it.
He’d done his first car restoration with Wyatt’s help. He loved the process so much that he built his own garage to continue it. As hobbies went, it was rather expensive and why it had taken him a year to get this far, but building and restoring the awesome classic car was immensely satisfying.
Axel popped the hood to look at the amazing engine. He grabbed a rag to clean up a spot of oil. He noticed another spot and wiped that up as well. He didn’t know how long he’d been puttering around. At some point, he flung his shirt off and managed to get grease stains all over his chest and belly. It didn’t help that the afternoon heat left him sweating up a storm.
