“I don’t know, Scar. I mean, don’t get me wrong, her car isn’t in the greatest shape, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to tell her. What if she comes in here and talks to Dad? You think he’s going to lie to her too?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. All I do know is that…gah! Just do it, Dean! Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”
Before he could answer, she was talking again.
“And hold off on the renovations.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to offer the house to Courtney rent-free while she looks for a job closer to town. That will eliminate one problem for her. And since I can’t drive, she can use my car. She’s going to need a way to get around.” She let out a small laugh. “I can’t believe you lent her your truck. You baby that thing.”
Yeah, he couldn’t believe it either. Normally, he didn’t let anyone drive it, but this was Courtney and he felt bad about leaving her stranded.
Plus, it had given him an excuse to go home at lunchtime to see her.
And the sex on the kitchen counter definitely brightened his day.
“She was in a pinch and you know we don’t keep a loaner car at the shop.”
“Well, it was very nice of you. I just wish you would have called me and just brought her here. I can’t believe you let her go to my old place. What were you thinking?”
Um...what?
“Oh, uh...what was I supposed to do? You know how Courtney is. There was no way I could change her mind.”
“You should have insisted. Hell, you should have taken her home with you!”
“What?!” he cried, more than a little shocked that his sister was even making this suggestion. “Are you saying you would have been fine with me asking Courtney to spend the night?”
“Of course!” she said with a laugh. “What’s wrong with you? I know she’s like a sister to you and you’re the brother least likely to pounce so, yeah. I wouldn’t have a problem with that.”
Now she tells me…
“If it were Kyle, I would have had to break both his arms, but I know I can trust you.”
“Uh…thanks,” he muttered.
“Anyway, it’s all a moot point now,” Scarlett went on. “Once you handle the whole car thing and tell her she can’t have it back because...I don’t know...the frame bent from the trailer pulling and falling off and then tack on shocks and brakes and...you know, general maintenance that you might as well tackle while you have it. Trust me when I say Courtney knows nothing about cars. You could probably make up words and she wouldn’t know the difference.”
“You’re being a really crappy friend right now. You know that, right?”
“I don’t see it that way. As a matter of fact, I’m being a great friend because I’m making sure she doesn’t make a big mistake. If we can keep her here until her parents get back, then we should be okay.”
“That’s three months, Scarlett! I can’t possibly hold her car for three months!”
“Okay, yeah. I didn’t think that through…”
“And what do her parents have to do with this? They were fine with her moving away.”
“They were but at least then she can move back in with them if she needs to. Right now she’s on a limited budget and needs to find a job. I’m giving us three weeks to make that happen.”
“Three weeks? We just said her folks were going to be gone for three months!”
“They are, but if we don’t do something fast, she’ll leave. Like I said, it’s up to us to make this happen and get her a job.”
“Us? And now I’m supposed to find her a job too?”
“No, doofus. You’re supposed to hold onto her car and make sure it’s really okay. Not only doesn’t she know anything about cars, she doesn’t believe in maintenance either. We argue about it all the time.”
He groaned.
“Think about it. When was the last time she brought her car into the shop?”
“Maybe she takes it someplace else,” he reasoned.
“Dean, please,” she said blandly. “She knows I’d kill her if she went to another garage. Plus, you’re the only garage in Magnolia and she knows she can trust you and Dad not to screw her over.”
“And yet, that’s exactly what you’re asking me to do! Think about it!”
“Nobody’s screwing anyone.”
Ugh…if you only knew…
“For all we know, we’re saving her life because we’re making sure she’s not driving around in a death trap.”
“Jeez, dramatic much?”
“Can you please just work with me on this? Sheesh!”
“Okay, okay, fine. When Courtney comes by later, I’ll break the news to her and then we’ll swing by and pick up your car, okay?”
“Perfect! And in the meantime, I’ll send Mason over to the house with new pillows and blankets so she doesn’t have to keep digging through the trailer for her stuff.”
“No!” he cried.
“What? What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, I just...I mean...I’ve got extra stuff. No big deal. There’s no reason for Mason to have to go out. You shouldn’t be left alone and I’m sure he doesn’t want to be out delivering blankets and stuff. So yeah, no worries. I’ve got this.” Then because he couldn’t seem to stop his mouth, he added, “Or…you know…you can just give her the stuff when we come over later. No one needs to go out of their way. Which…you really don’t need to do. Really. I’ve got this covered.”
Scarlett was quiet for a moment. “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing. Why?”
“You’re just suddenly being...overly accommodating. And babbling. Normally I have to argue with you a little more.”
Great. How the hell did he explain himself?
“Um…”
“Admit it. Court’s like a second sister to you and you’re helping her because you care.”
“Um…”
“Come on, admit it. There’s nothing wrong with it. You know she’s an only child so it’s kind of cool that you and Hunter and Kyle are there for her. Like big brothers.”
Why did she have to keep saying that?
“It’s not the same, Scar. Can you just let this go? I’m doing all I can to help you with this crazy scheme. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, you know?”
“Okay, fine. For whatever it’s worth, thank you. This means a lot to me.”
“No problem. But enough about this crazy situation, how are you feeling? Do you need anything? When I come back later with Courtney to pick up your car, do you want us to bring dinner or something?”
“That is incredibly sweet of you, but Mason’s mom went overboard with having food brought over. But...maybe you and Court could hang out for a while and eat with us?”
“I know I can,” he said, not wanting to agree on Courtney’s behalf because that might look suspicious.
“I’ll just ask Court when she gets back.”
“Where’d she go? Did she take the truck?”
Laughing, Scarlett replied, “Dude, relax. She went to go grab cupcakes for me. Well...for us. Mason put in his order too. She should be back any minute.”
“Okay, tell her I’ll text her when it’s time to pick me up. And if it’s okay, I’d like to go home and change before coming over.”
“Why? What’s the big deal?”
He let out a long breath. “Because I’m filthy and Mason’s place is all...you know...nice. I’m not going to sit on his furniture with grease-stained clothes.”
“Oh, that makes sense, but the place is mine too, you know. You can stop referring to it as just Mason’s.”
“Whatever. I’ll text when we’re on our way, okay?”
“Fine…”
“Look, I’ve got to go. There’s a lot to do around here and I can’t believe I’ve stayed on the phone this long already. I’ll see you tonight, squirt.”
“Later!”
Sliding his phone back into his pocket, Dean
rested his head against the office wall and sighed. He honestly didn’t mind going to see his sister later, and he didn’t mind lending Courtney his truck. The problem was he didn’t like lying to her. Them. It was all for the greater good–on many accounts–but he never liked to lie. Ever. Even when it was for his own benefit.
Like now.
“Everything okay, Dean?”
Great. Now his father was going to start asking questions.
Straightening, he forced himself to smile. “Yeah. I was just talking to Scarlett.” And then he told him all about her crazy plan regarding Courtney’s car.
For a minute, his father simply stared at him. “I’m not sure I like lying to Courtney, but I see where your sister’s heart is at.”
He nodded.
They stood like that for several minutes before his father finally said, “Well, I think for today we tell her the truth–that we haven’t had time to look at it. Tomorrow we’ll get it up on the lift and see what kind of damage there is.” Then he shook his head. “It’s not like I’m hoping for damage so we won’t have to lie, but…I think we just prolong telling her the actual truth.”
“Either way, it’s lying, Dad.”
Domenic nodded. “I know, but it really is for a good reason. Courtney’s like a daughter to me and I hated the thought of her moving away, especially when it wasn’t for the right reason.”
Frowning, Dean asked, “What do you mean?”
He waved him off and turned to go back out to the work bay.
“Dad?”
With a long breath, his father turned around. “Courtney’s always looking for something bigger, something more. She’s looking for the great love of her life and when she didn’t find him here in Magnolia, she thought she’d go look elsewhere.”
This was all brand-new information.
Although…didn’t Scarlett say something similar to him just minutes ago?
“How do you know this?”
Shaking his head with a small snort, he said, “Dean, I’ve spent enough time around Scarlett and Courtney and neither one of them ever held anything back. And believe me, sometimes I wish they would have.” He shuddered. “Personally, I think when Scarlett and Mason got together, it hit Courtney hard. Her best friend found her true love and where did that leave her?”
Inwardly groaning, Dean wondered how they had ended up talking like this–about the love life of his sister and her best friend.
“Okay, maybe that had something to do with it, but…she lost her job, Dad. She needs to find a new one and there aren’t any here in Magnolia. What is she supposed to do?”
He shrugged and turned to leave again. “Maybe have a little faith. Not everyone loses a job one day and finds one the next.” He looked over his shoulder back at Dean. “And do you really think another dentist isn’t going to set up a practice here in town? The good people of Magnolia will make sure of it.”
And then he turned into the garage bay and out of sight.
Dean took a minute to sit down behind their desk and just let everything they talked about settle in.
So Courtney’s disillusioned with the men here in town. Did that include him? Was he even a consideration–you know, before the weekend?
Then he thought about their conversation from the night of the rehearsal party.
“Then I guess that makes you one of the idiots,” she grumbled before trying to walk away, but he stopped her.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Then you’re an idiot too. Probably the biggest idiot.”
Raking a hand through his hair, he sighed. This was getting complicated, and the only way he was going to feel better was to talk to her and see where her head was. Even though he still didn’t feel good about lying about the car, he knew the extra time was going to help in figuring out what he was doing.
What they were doing.
And if they were going to keep doing it.
7
“So…wait…you didn’t get a chance to look at the car at all?”
Dean shook his head. “I’m really sorry. There were a few cars ahead of yours that we had…you know…complications with.”
Her shoulders sagged. “Oh.”
And yeah, she was kind of disappointed, but…not as disappointed as she should have been. After all, this was supposed to be her big adventure–her big move! Her chance to finally break free of small-town living and possibly meet the man of her dreams.
Except…she already did and he was standing in front of her with greasy hands, a stained t-shirt, and a lopsided grin on his face.
“I really am sorry, Court.”
“It’s okay. I understand. I wasn’t expecting preferential treatment or anything. You told me there were other cars ahead of me so…it’s fine. Really.” She paused and looked around the garage. Mr. Jones was still puttering around and a few of the other mechanics were gathering their things and saying goodnight. “So, um…can I borrow your truck again tomorrow?”
“Didn’t Scarlett talk to you?”
“About what?”
For a minute he looked mildly uncomfortable. “Um…she’s lending you her car. We’re supposed to go over and pick it up and have dinner with them. At least…I’m supposed to have dinner with them. I didn’t want to make the assumption that you’d want to go too.”
And she couldn’t help the silly smile tugging at her lips. He was so adorable and unsure of himself right now and it was so unlike him. For as long as she’d known him, nothing seemed to get him flustered. But suddenly, one little dinner invitation has him completely off his game. If they weren’t standing in the middle of the garage with Mr. Jones ten feet away, she’d kiss him.
“It’s not like I’ve got any other plans,” she said lightly. “All day long I’d been thinking…wait. How did Scarlett know my car wasn’t done before me?”
His eyes went wide. “Oh, um…she called here after you left her place to find out for herself. You know how nosy my sister can be.”
That had her relaxing.
And laughing. “That she is.” Looking around, Courtney had no idea how long they were supposed to stand here or when they were supposed to be back at Scarlett’s. “So…you ready to go?”
“Yeah. Definitely.”
She handed him his keys as they both called out a goodnight to his father. Outside, they started to walk toward his truck when he stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
“Do you want to get anything else out of your car or trailer? I know you only took the necessities last night, but…”
Waving him off, she started walked toward the truck again. “I think I’ve got enough with me for another night. It’s no big deal.” She was almost beside the vehicle when she realized he wasn’t with her. Turning, she said, “Dean?”
There was something in his expression that she couldn’t read–something like…guilt.
That’s odd…
He caught up to her and helped her into the truck before walking around to the driver’s side and climbing in. “What’s in the box?” he asked, but he was already grinning.
“I got cupcakes for Scarlett and decided to grab some for you too,” she admitted shyly. “I just thought…”
“You know I want to kiss you right now, right?” he asked, his voice doing that low, sexy thing she was really coming to love.
All Courtney could do was nod.
“I didn’t think it was a good idea to…you know…”
Reaching over, she placed her hand on his jean-clad thigh. “Dean, you don’t have to explain. I understand.”
His gaze was intense as he continued to look at her, and when he finally looked away, he started the truck and quickly pulled out of the parking lot. They talked briefly about her visit with Scarlett on their way to his house and she found she was a little nervous about going back there with Dean. No one knew her better than Scarlett, and Courtney feared she wouldn’t be able to hide her feelings in front of her. Especially now since things were…dif
ferent between the two of them. How could she possibly act casual when in her mind all she could think of was how this was like a double date?
Something she and Scarlett always talked about doing when they found their perfect guys.
And they had, only…Courtney couldn’t openly claim hers.
She sighed as they pulled up in front of Dean’s house and he glanced over at her. “You okay?”
“What? Um…yeah. Just wondering how this is all going to go.”
Twisting in his seat, his expression a little grim, he said, “Okay, Scarlett thinks you stayed at her old place last night and she’s going to assume you’re staying there again.”
She nodded.
He raked a hand through his hair and let out a long breath. “Here’s the thing, Court, I hate lying to her–I do – but I’m also…you know…it’s like the whole thing with kissing you in front of the shop. We haven’t…”
Holding up a hand to stop him, Courtney felt as helpless as he sounded. “I get what you’re saying. I don’t think I’m ready to tell Scarlett about last night or Saturday night. Honestly, it’s none of her business.”
“I agree, but like we said earlier, she’s nosy.” He paused. “We’re not strangers either. We’ve known each other for so many years so there’s nothing odd about us hanging out together at Scarlett and Mason’s, right? I mean, we’ve hung out before and no one said anything.”
She gave him a look that said, “Really?”
“Okay, yeah. Not the same,” he said miserably. “So…can we do this? Can we go there and relax and enjoy ourselves?”
“I want to say yes, but…it feels weird. And your sister has some serious skills at detecting when something’s not right.”
“Then you don’t want to go?”
Did she? Thinking about it for a moment, she realized she was being crazy and paranoid. It may be a completely innocent dinner, but in her mind, she was going to pretend it was all normal and the double date they always talked about having.
Finally, she nodded. “I think we’ll be fine.” Then something hit her. “Why are we here then? Why didn’t we go directly to Scarlett’s?”
And Then One Day Page 9