During the winter months, he was running his trucks on the ice roads in Alaska and Canada. He made beaucoup of money doing it, and was gone from January to sometimes the end of March.
When he came home, he ran the mechanics shop he bought from an old mechanic when he moved to town.
Seeing as he’d gotten home to catch up on some of his backlog of work not too long ago, Court might not have time to look at Holly’s car.
“The new vet that works with Boone is having car trouble,” Denver said, watching as Nettie pushed Holly to her car and yanked Holly’s keys out of her hand. “You got time to take a look at it? Sounds like more than the battery.”
“You can get it down here. I can work on it.” He paused. “Tow truck’s currently in my bay right now with a fucked-up tire.”
“What happened to it?”
There was a long pause and then, “Saw Charleigh at the store when I pulled up. She was parked in a tow-away zone and I threatened to tow her car. Came out and the tire was slashed.”
There was a long moment of silence, and then we both started to laugh.
“Fuck off,” Court said, then hung up.
We laughed some more.
“What’s so funny?”
I’d seen her start heading our way, of course.
I was so attuned to the woman that there was no way that she would ever slip my awareness.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and explained.
“You know Charleigh Kensington?” I wondered.
“Seen her around. She went to school somewhere else, though, so not as well as most.”
“Charleigh had Court as a bodyguard a year or so ago. They get along like oil and water. Charleigh parked in the tow-away zone, and Court offered to tow her car away for her, and she took offense.”
Nettie smiled when I finished the story.
“Court, being Courtland Navarro? The one that bought Pop’s Garage?”
“That’s the one,” Denver confirmed as he watched Holly drive out of the parking lot. “Come sit in the car, you can steer.”
We got it to Court’s a couple of minutes later—one of the benefits of living in a small town. Everything was close to everything. Blink and you missed it.
Court took the keys and studied Nettie. “Watched your last game.”
Nettie’s smile was small. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “You could use some work on your place kicks.”
Nettie’s mouth dropped open.
“Did I forget to tell you that Court was once a professional soccer player?”
Nettie’s eyes narrowed as she studied Court.
Then her eyes widened.
She didn’t say anything, but I knew what she was thinking.
Emory Fox, star forward of the Netherlands.
