"It won't start!" she exclaimed.
"Mace can fix it," Henry said.
"No, I can't."
"I thought you were an engineer," Josie said, hands on her hips.
"I'm a chemical engineer. Liam's the car guy. He and Jack used to build engines from scratch in college. Speaking of which—Jack is calling me over video chat," I said, pulling out my phone.
"Can we talk about the land-use meeting tonight?" Jack Frost asked when I answered. "I heard it didn't go that well with Meghan last time. We should have a strategy. If we're going to put this factory out in Harrogate, this process can't drag out for years."
"I agree. I'm going to bring Hunter in on this call," Liam said. I ran a hand through my hair in agitation. They sounded like they were settling in for a long conversation.
"I have to take Henry home. I can't get another ticket for driving while on the phone. Hold on," I told them. I looked at Garrett.
"My evening schedule is full," he said.
"Someone needs to take Henry home."
"Are you seriously arguing about who's going to drive home?" I heard Hunter's voice come out of the phone speaker. "I can't believe you put me on this call, Liam."
"This is your fault, Hunter," Garrett said loudly. My jaw clenched. The easiest way to work Hunter up into an angry froth was to blame him for the new cell phone law.
"Stop it," I hissed to Garrett. "You're not going to have to deal with him!"
"I heard that," Hunter said. "Have Adrian drive."
"He's working on the marketing push," I replied.
"Have Josie drive, then," Garrett said. "There. Problem solved."
I looked at Josie. She looked a little nervous.
"In my car?" I asked dubiously.
"Yes, Mace, inyour car. Her car is broken," Garrett sneered. "You know, sometimes I wonder how you made it this far in life."
I waved him away and went back to strategizing with Jack and Liam while I buckled Henry in.
Josie sat down in the car, and I resisted the urge to stop her as she pulled the seat forward, adjusted the mirrors, and fiddled with the radio settings. I would never be able to put everything back how I liked it. It would take months. I was sure of it.
"Are you even paying attention, Mace?" Liam asked through the phone.
Josie clenched both hands on the steering wheel and slowly pulled out of the parking lot.
"Sure," I told my brother. "I'm thinking that if we offer to pay for park improvement and—"
Screeeeech!
"Ignore that!" Josie shouted.
I looked over. "Why were you even driving that close to the light pole? This is a huge parking lot! You have all the room in the world!"
25
Josie
Mace looked shaken when I parked the car in front of the large estate house. I took Henry out of his car seat, and we all inspected the damage.
