Trouble on Main Street

by Kirsten Fullmer

  Heidi pointed to the body. “You want us to lift that?”

  Tyler joined them, shaking his head. “I don’t think my mom should lift that, she’ll hurt herself.”

  Glad that the kid showed concern for his mom, Adam clarified. “I have a hoist, but it’s not designed to do this. It will bear the weight, but the frame will swing around out of control. I need more hands to help me.”

  Tyler shrugged. “Okay.”

  Heidi still wasn’t convinced. “Is it safe?”

  Adam double checked the chains he’s fastened around the frame earlier. “Should be.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Tyler asked.

  Heidi stepped in front of her son. “Wait until he’s given us some direction, back up.”

  Again, Adam was amused at their concern for each other. “I’ll use the hoist to lift it, and I need one of you to help me keep it from rocking, while the other makes sure the supports don’t move as I lower it back down.”

  Heidi bit her bottom lip.

  “I’ll have control of it the whole time,” Adam assured her.

  Tyler followed the chains with his eyes, from the Jeep body up to the hoist. “Cool, can I run it?”

  “Absolutely not!” Heidi exclaimed.

  Adam stifled a chuckle. “No, I’ll run the hoist. Thanks though.” It had been a while since he’d been around anyone so excited about his projects. Everyone he knew was tired of him talking about vehicles that could take a year to complete.

  “I don’t want Tyler under the frame while it’s in the air,” Heidi said, her words firm.

  “Come on mom, I’m not a kid,” Tyler argued.

  “Your mother is right,” Adam said. “No one should be under a suspended load.”

  “So, what’s my job then?” the boy asked.

  “I’ve got these supports set up so you can adjust them without being under the load. Your mom and I will make sure the frame doesn’t hit you; you just make sure the frame will be resting on the supports as I lower it.” He could see that Heidi was still concerned about the task, but she complied.

  “How high are you going to lift it?” Heidi asked, eyeing the hoist in speculation.

  “Just high enough to rotate it. Ready?”

  Heidi had a million more questions, but Adam and Tyler were ready.

  “Here we go, stand clear” Adam instructed, motioning for the pair to step back.

  Adam started the hoist, using the hand-held device that hung on a cord from the hoist’s overhead frame. The chain clinked in protest and the frame jolted. Heidi jumped back and grabbed Tyler’s arm to jerk him back too. Adam stopped the hoist. “It’s okay, it’s gonna be a little herky-jerky at first, but everything is okay.”

  Tyler shook off his mother’s hand and stood ready.

  “Okay, let’s try this again,” Adam said, restarting the hoist. This time the group was ready and the clanking didn’t bother them as the frame rose off its supports. “Be careful guys, don’t get under the frame as we shift it,” Adam reminded. Slowly, he adjusted the hoist to tilt the frame to one side. As it turned, the frame slipped within the harness, causing Heidi and Tyler to rear back. But soon enough, the frame was at an angle they could safely turn it so the unpainted side was up.

  “Now we have to lower it,” Adam said. “You ready, Tyler?”

  “Ready,” the boy answered with his full attention on the frame.

  Adam wiped his forehead on the inside of his elbow. “Heidi, you make sure it doesn’t swing and hit Tyler.”

  She tossed him a look that was part exasperation and part fear.

  The chains clanked as the hoist reversed. “I’m lowering it now,” Adam barked.

  Heidi worked to keep the frame from swinging as it lowered in one smooth motion.

  Tyler squatted to adjust the supports. “Hold it!” he called out, using both hands to slide one support further in. “Okay now, go ahead.”

  The frame gradually made contact with the supports and the chains rattled in protest, then went slack.

  All three stood stock still, waiting for any surprises, but nothing happened.

  “Well done,” Adam sighed in relief.

  Tyler circled the Jeep body, bending to check that the supports were well placed, then straightened and grinned. “We did it!”

  Heidi plopped onto a crate. “I can see why you couldn’t do that alone.”

  “What else do you need help with?” Tyler asked, exhilarated by the thrill of success.

  Heidi glanced up at him and shook her head. “Oh, to have the enthusiasm of youth.”

  “Seriously man, this is cool,” Tyler continued. “What kind of paint do you use? What happens after that? What will you put back on first?”

  Adam laughed at the barrage of questions. “I use automotive paint applied with a sprayer. I have to set up a paint booth right here since I can’t really move it.”

  “A paint booth? What’s a paint booth? Mom, did you hear that? He really knows what he’s doing.”

  Heidi stood and brushed her hands together, wondering if she had grease on her backside. “I heard, now quit pestering Mister Williams.”

  “It’s no bother,” Adam assured. The boy’s interest was flattering.

  “Can I come watch you paint? I could help.”

  Adam’s first inclination was to say no, especially when he saw the look on Heidi’s face. But the kid was fun, and he really could use a hand. “Maybe…”

  Heidi’s gaze snapped to his.

  “But only if it’s okay with your mom, of course.” Adam backpedaled.

  Tyler’s imploring eyes about undid Heidi. She was happy to see him enthusiastic about something, but the place looked like a minefield.

  “I’ll be careful,” the boy promised.

  “I won’t let him do any more heavy lifting or anything dangerous unless I check with you first,” Adam promised.

  Heidi took Tyler’s arm to lead him out of the garage. “We’ll talk about this on the way home.”

  Back in the house, Tyler resumed a game of tug of war with the dog, and Heidi and Adam settled onto the sofa.

  “I’m going to Raleigh tomorrow to deliver the demolition request,” Heidi said.

  “You got it finished already?”

  Heidi blushed. “Yes, I had some help.” She figured there was no need to explain about Mildred’s assistance with formatting and such. “Thank you so much for all the help. I never could have done it by myself,” she added, and it was true. Adam had been very helpful.

  Adam shrugged off the gratitude. It felt awkward. Then his mouth kicked in before his brain engaged. “I can’t go along tomorrow, but if you can go the day after, I could go with you.”

  Heidi’s head swiveled to meet his gaze, her thoughts jumbled. Now he was interested in spending time with her? Going clear to Raleigh? Or was he just feeling guilty about the house thing?

  “Mom check this out,” Tyler called. “Shake,” he said to the dog, who obediently offered a paw in response. “How cool is that?”

  “Did you teach him that, just now?” Adam asked.

  Tyler laughed. “I guess so, if he didn’t already know how to shake.”

  “I’ll be damned,” Adam muttered.

  Seeing Adam’s irritation, Heidi rose to leave. “We should be going.”

  Adam shook off his mood and stood. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, Heidi said, motioning to her son. “Tyler has school tomorrow.” She didn’t add that her son had been acting completely out of character all evening and she was a little concerned. Then again, should she worry about him having an improved attitude?

  As they headed to the front door, Adam interrupted Heidi’s thoughts. “I was thinking that tomorrow afternoon I could scope out the location of that proposed viaduct, you know, see what I can find out.”

  She blinked up at him. “You’d do that?” Now she was really confused. Yet, his offer was still about saving her house, not about her personally. Which suited her fine, o
f course.

  He shrugged. “Sure, that’s what I did for a living before I came here. It’s no big deal.”

  She could only stare at Adam. He’d slammed on the brakes the second he’d heard about Tyler, and now he was offering to not only let her son come out and work in his garage, but he was willing to go out of his way to come up with a solution to the traffic problem for her?

  Adam could see that Heidi was shocked. “Like I said, it’s no big deal,” he repeated, as if to convince himself he wasn’t doing anything extraordinary.

  Without responding, Heidi walked to the door and waited for Adam to open it. The man was a riddle of confusing messages. “I appreciate your help,” she finally murmured.

  They stepped onto the porch and the dog wanted to go along.

  “Whoa, old boy,” Adam said catching him by the collar.

  Heidi and Tyler headed for the car.

  “I’ll come by the post office tomorrow,” Adam called out, then he grimaced. “Just like every day,” he muttered in embarrassment as he offered a goodbye wave.

  Chapter Eleven

  Adam pulled the covers up and tucked them under his arms. At the end of the bed, the dog heaved a heavy sigh and Adam lifted his head for a look. But the dog showed no interest in Adam whatsoever, so he flopped back onto the pillow. Damn dog. From the moment Tyler had left, the dog had gone back to his usual sulky self.

  Lacing his fingers behind his head, Adam stared at the ceiling, contemplating the evening. Tyler hadn’t been what he expected, not that he knew what he had expected. Somehow the thought of having a kid around had seemed… irritating or stressful, but Tyler had been easygoing and interested in everything. How old did he say he was, 14? What had he been like at 14? It had been a while since he’d thought about being a kid. His gaze roamed the ceiling, looking for memories of being that young. In his mind’s eye he could see his mom in the kitchen and his dad sitting in his recliner.

  How would his 14-year-old self react to the garage he had now? Probably about the same way Tyler had.

  How old had he been the first time he’d handled tools in a real garage—19? 20?

  He flopped onto his side and adjusted the covers, making the dog snort. Adam had been amazed to see the dog come to life and show some interest in Tyler. What was it about the kid that the dog responded to?

  He scoffed. Most likely the dog liked the same thing about Tyler that he did—his enthusiasm. The kid hadn’t been beaten up by the world yet and still had some spark to him.

  A responsible voice in the back of Adam’s mind, the proverbial angel on his shoulder said, “You should invite that kid out to help you in the garage.”

  But his world-weary, jaded self, the devil on the other shoulder, said “You don’t need to get involved with some fatherless kid.”

  To which the angel replied, “How much happier would your teen years have been if you’d had a wrench in your hand? Besides, it will make the dog happy.”

  The devil sulked, then got an idea, “If you get close to the kid, you could spend time with his mom.”

  A silly picture came to Adam’s mind of Heidi in the kitchen and him sitting in a recliner. With a grunt, he flopped onto his stomach, his face in the pillow. Enough thinking for tonight.

  Heidi too, lay in her bed contemplating the evening. The last week had been so strange. First the bloody parcel had shown up, and then she’d found out her home was in danger. She couldn’t have imagined the course of events those things would trigger.

  On top of that, Adam had come into her life. The trip to his house earlier had been weird. Not only had Tyler reversed his attitude 180 degrees, but Adam had seemed to like him too. In the past any time she’d so much as mentioned a man, even an unattainable man like a movie star, it had put Tyler off. Yet, show the kid a dirty, dangerous garage and an ugly dog and he fell all over himself to be happy.

  Tyler was probably just nice to Adam because he was interested in cars. Evidently, he found all that grime and dirt fascinating. She frowned and adjusted the covers. There it was again, that feeling she got in the pit of her stomach every time she thought of Tyler not having a father to show him man things.

  She’d tried hard to be attentive to his every need, but she didn’t like grease and dirt much, maybe because they lived in a museum of sorts. Oh, the house was comfortable, cozy in fact, and she loved it. She just did everything she could to keep mud, grime, and dust at a minimum. That just meant she was a good housekeeper, right?

  Then there was that strange looking dog. Tyler’s eyes had lit right up at the sight of the skinny thing. He must have been around dogs at friends’ houses, because they’d never owned one, yet he’d been confident and happy with the animal.

  Should she allow Tyler to do more dirty activities? Should she get him a dog?

  The thought of picking up poo in the yard didn’t appeal to her, but then neither did the thought of cleaning up after Tyler. No, she was already stretched to her limit right now, what with the house problems and all.

  Then an idea crept up the back of her mind, like a vine growing and twisting its way into a coherent thought. Yes, she could allow Tyler to play with the dog and learn about cars at Adam’s house, and if she left the idea at that, it felt innocent enough. It was just a matter of being sure Tyler’s needs were being met. But she knew better, because that vine of a thought had woven deeper, into the woman’s part of her heart. Any amount of time Tyler spent with Adam meant she’d spend time with him too. And spending time with him would only bring up more feelings she couldn’t deny. Adam reached her on a level where she hadn’t been touched for a very long time. And it scared the hell out of her.

  The next evening, Monique wiped the table, then wiped it again. Ignoring her task, she leaned to one side, concentrating on the conversation at the next table. Frank Simms was telling old man Keller all about the mayor’s cousin, and the discussion was informative, to say the least.

  Frank took a swig of his beer then lowered his mug, “Well, whatever the case, I don’t like that Buford fellow. I just don’t like him.”

  Monique scoffed, remembering sticking her shotgun in the little man’s face.

  Both men turned to look and she pretended to scrub at a spot on the table. They turned back to their conversation.

  “Well—I’m willing to give him a chance,” old man Keller argued, “but he better toe the line. I asked some of my buddies in Raleigh if they know of him and he doesn’t have the best reputation. Seems he’s known for taking projects that no one else wants, if you know what I mean.”

  Frank scowled. “No, what do you mean?”

  Old man Keller rolled his eyes. “Come on man, you know, the under the table stuff. Geeze,” He sighed, taking a drink of his whisky.

  “Well, how am I supposed to know,” Frank objected. “I’m a school teacher not a mob boss.”

  “You’re a stupid jock, is what you are.”

  Frank’s beer sloshed as he slammed his mug onto the table. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m a coach. You’re just jealous because you couldn’t catch a cold, let alone a ball.”

  Monique turned away from the argument and headed back to the bar. She rinsed out her wash rag and then stood staring out over the bar, thinking about what she’d heard. Evidently, Buford was the contractor on the viaduct job and he was also the mayor’s cousin. Apparently, he wasn’t to be trusted, given his track record. So, did that mean the mayor had sunk to another low by hiring him, or did it mean that Buford was running the show and that’s where it had gone off track? If Buford worked on projects with ulterior motives on a regular basis, was that the only type of project he did? Was he involved with organized crime or something? They didn’t get a lot of big city crime out here in the mountains, and she didn’t know what to think. She better tell Heidi.

  She gave the tap room one last look-see to be sure all was well. Frank and the old man had calmed down and ordered another round, so she left her waitress in charge and hurried to the b
ack of the tavern. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much of an office, just a desk in one corner, so privacy was a problem. She hurried to the back door and peeked out, but it was still pouring rain. She could sit in her truck, but that seemed pretty silly; besides, she didn’t want to leave the bar. With few options left, she decided on the walk-in fridge. She could make a quick call in there without anyone overhearing.

  She opened the door and flinched at the cold rush of air. She’d have to make the call short.

  Inside, she checked her phone but she had no bars, so she climbed up onto a stack of empty crates and held up the phone. Two bars, that would do. Heidi was on speed dial and luckily she answered on the second ring.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, I have news, gotta make this quick.” Monique snapped, tucking her hand into her armpit to keep it warm.

  “Are you okay?” Heidi asked, startled by the greeting.

  “Yeah, yeah, but I overheard some gossip between Frank Simms and Old Man Keller. Evidently Buford is the mayor’s cousin, and he’s—”

  The fridge door opened and the cook came in. As he reached for a head of lettuce, he caught sight of Monique’s feet. He froze with his hand still stretched out, his eyes following her high heel boots, then up her legs, to stare in surprise at his boss perched on top of the stack of crates.

  “Do you mind?” she snapped.

  He jumped back. “Sorry, boss,” he blurted, then hurried from the fridge and slammed the door.

  “Geeze,” Monique huffed. “Anyway, Buford may have mob ties, he’s got a reputation for taking jobs that no one else wants, under the table.”

  “Where are you?” Heidi asked.

  “Never mind, I gotta go,” Monique huffed. “I just had to tell you that.”

  “Okay, thank—,” Heidi said as the phone went dead.

  The next morning, Sarah stood in the teacher’s lounge filling her coffee mug. Behind her a rumble of voices filled the room as teachers prepared both mentally and emotionally for the day ahead. She emptied the coffeepot into her mug and started another pot, listening to the crowd in the room. As she stirred sugar and cream into her mug, one conversation in particular caught her attention. Patty Markle was telling Sue Hemsworth about one of her students being upset.