Even at Your Darkest

by A J Love

  “Why are you here?” I ask, after wiping down my tools.

  My next job isn’t for a couple of hours, so I want to clean up a little. Plus, I need to work out how I can fake an employee here. I managed to convince Layton last night to text her old boss and tell him she has a new job working for me, but I doubt they’re stupid enough to believe I brought her on as a mechanic, so I need to figure something out. To be fair to them, that Vinny guy seemed pretty cordial about the whole thing, told her she’d always have a job with them if it didn’t work out. Over my dead body, asshole.

  “I’m between jobs so thought I'd see if you wanted coffee and food picking up. As you haven’t got anything on right now, you can come with me,” Nolan replies.

  “Shit,” I am hungry. “Yeah, okay. I need to nip to the store first though.”

  Following Nolan out, we make the short walk into town. I want Layton to myself tonight, so I need to buy some shit for dinner. My cooking is pretty basic, so I’m hoping that she’s good with pasta because I’ve seen my mom make that a few times. It can’t be that hard. When we get there, we head inside, and I say a small prayer for the air conditioning. I should really look into getting this installed at the shop.

  I walk the aisles and grab at groceries that I’ve seen Ma pick up, not really paying any attention to anything around me. I must look like a hobo with all the shit I’m covered in right now. It’s only when I hear her laugh that I take note to look up. Layton is leaning over the counter beside some guy, giggling at whatever the hell Nolan is saying. I didn’t even know that he wasn’t beside me. I stalk over to them, my fist clenching at the sight of this stranger with his arm snaked over her. She smiles shyly as I approach and drop my things on the counter.

  “Hey,” I say, a little forcefully.

  “Hey,” she replies.

  She’s looking at me like she’s reliving every moment we shared together last night. I inhale deeply, which is about all I can do to stop myself from dragging her out of here and doing just that.

  “You must be Kane,” the stranger interrupts.

  I turn to face him, a little taken aback when I see he’s giving me an appreciative glance. He turns to face Layton and nods. “You’re right. He is hot.”

  He disappears into the back of the store then and all I can do is stare. Did I just get mentally undressed by a guy?

  Nolan laughs a lot, Layton laughs a little. “That’s my friend, Jackson. He’s a little full on.”

  “I didn’t know you were working today,” I say.

  She rolls her eyes. “Me neither, but Karl called this morning and asked me to come in for a few hours, so here I am. It’s not like I’m in the position to say no, huh?”

  “You’ll get straight,” Nolan offers. “You’re better off out of there.”

  She shrugs, then begins to ring up my groceries without really looking at them.

  “What time do you get off?” I ask her.

  “Probably around two. Then I’ve got a yoga class.”

  That explains why she’s so bendy, I muse. “Okay, so can you come by the shop when you’re done?”

  “She can,” Jackson answers, reappearing. “I’ll drop her off when we finish.”

  “Okay then,” she chuckles a little, pushing my bag of groceries at me. “That's seventeen-twenty.”

  I pass her the cash and grab the bag. “I’ll see you later.”

  Nolan and I leave and head to the café a few doors down. I can tell he’s dying to ask me a bunch of questions, but I wait until we’re seated and have ordered our lunch before I give in.

  “I don’t know if we’re together,” I mutter, “so don’t start pestering me.”

  “You seem like you’re together. I’m willing to bet my dick that you’re making her dinner tonight. So romantic,” he laughs.

  “Asshole. It’s just food. Besides,” I smirk. “I’m not exactly boyfriend material.”

  “You’re right,” he nods. “I’d never date you.”

  Snorting, I take a sip from my coffee. “What about you, anyway? You’re at the clubhouse a lot. Found yourself an MC bunny, have you?”

  “Nah, man. Way too much drama for me,” he shakes his head. “Trev asked me to check out the lighting there. He wants them all replacing, so he gave me the job. I can’t complain. It’s business at the end of the day.”

  As the MC guys make up most of my own business, I can’t argue with that. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Just be careful though. They might be all right, but they’re still bad news.”

  “I know better than to get involved with that shit, you know me.”

  “Yeah, I do know you. Don’t forget I know all the shit you used to get up to when we were kids.”

  He laughs. “We both know Tommy had us beat on that front.”

  My grip on my cup tightens at the thought of my brother. I actively try not to think about him because it fucking hurts too damn much. Just the mention of his name and it all comes hurtling back: the arguments, the fight, that night. As if sensing my mood, Nolan curses.

  “Sorry, man, I didn’t think. I didn’t mean to bring him up.”

  “It’s cool,” I cut him off. It’s not his fault. He doesn’t know the whole story. “You were right. He was the biggest pain in the ass.”

  Right until he fucking died.

  We change the subject over to the jobs we both have on, while we eat, and make arrangements to help each other out for a bit of cash each way. It’s a good deal for both of us. He also helps me come up with a plan for Layton, deciding that I should put her on the books as an administrator for me. Just someone to keep my inventory straight and book in my jobs. In all fairness, I probably need one, but I can’t afford to pay her what I’m sure she’s used to at the club. Though, I can work around her job at the grocery store. I just need to try to sell it to her, and I think I have a plan.

  When I get back to the shop, Nolan heads out for a job, so I store my groceries in the small fridge I have and head over to the desk I put in a few weeks back. I normally organize all my paperwork at home, but I know I’d be better keeping it all here. I clear off the shit that has piled up on top of the desk and set it up with my appointment book and the phone, shoving the cash tin in one of the drawers. When I’m satisfied with that, I use the side door to enter the small store area. I haven’t done anything with this space yet. I’ve been toying with a few ideas for it but none of them have stuck. Trev also had his own thoughts for it, renting it from me for the MC, but I shut that down. It’s one thing to have them hanging around here, it’s another to have them paying to be here. But now, I think I have a plan. I glance at the clock on the wall. I still have an hour or so before my next job is due, so I get to work on clearing the area and pull down the boards covering the windows. Letting the light in only highlights the fact that this place clearly hasn’t been cleaned in fucking years. The wooden floors look structurally sound, but they’re filthy. Still, after a solid clean, they should be okay. I just hope the dirt doesn’t put Layton off the place.

  Once I’ve cleared the room, I seek out the remaining cleaning supplies from when I cleaned the shop and put them by the doorway to the area. I’ll deal with that later. I can see my customer walking through the entrance.

  “Thatch?” He calls.

  I nod and approach him. “Yeah. What have you got for me?”

  I’m lost to the job when I hear Layton outside. She’s laughing and shouting her goodbyes to Jackson. God, I love it when she laughs. I watch her as she walks in, her eyes seeking me out almost immediately. They light a little, her mouth pulling into a small smile. I fight off my own smile. It’s stupid that I automatically feel better about life when she’s around.

  “Hey,” she says.

  I grunt and pull myself up from the pit. The car I’m working on needs the whole exhaust replacing and so it’s easier to use the hydraulic lift.

  “How was yoga?” I ask, smirking.

  She chuckles. “Awful. I don’t know why he ins
ists on making me go with him.”

  I approach her, pulling her close and kissing her hard on the mouth before whispering in her ear, “With the way you moved for me last night, I’m not complaining.”

  She coughs a little, pulling away and looking down at the floor. She’s blushing, but I reckon she’s also thinking about all the dirty things we did last night. I don’t blame her; they’ve been at the back of my mind all day. I take her hand and pull her over to the desk, gesturing for her to sit.

  “How does that feel?” I ask.

  She adjusts herself a little while she looks over at the stuff on the desk. “Uh, okay,” she responds, confused.

  “Good. Because this is your new job.”

  A couple of blinks and then her eyes are on me. “What?”

  “You told that Vinny guy that you have a new job here, and I’m not into lying, sweetheart. So, now you have a job. A paying job.”

  She glances around the shop, shaking her head. “But, I don’t know how to fix cars. I don’t even have a car.”

  I can’t help but laugh at her. “You don’t need to. I need someone to book in customers and keep all the paperwork straight. I’m not exactly crazy busy, but I get more customers every day,” I point at the landline on the desk. “That currently just diverts to my cell, but when you’re here, I’ll take it off, so you can answer it and book them in the appointment book. I’ll tell you how long things will take so that you’ll know how long to book them in for, until you pick it up. Obviously, we can work around your job at the store.”

  I pull her up from the desk and over to the store area. “And once I’ve gotten around to cleaning this place, you can drag that desk in here and use the space for whatever. Like your sewing shit or something.” I walk over to the front and pull open the door. “It has its own entrance and stuff, so you can completely avoid coming into the shop if you don’t want to, and the kitchen links both together.”

  She’s looking around the room, her eyes darting everywhere without her actually saying a word. I’m starting to feel nervous and I don’t know why. I want her to be happy with this. Eventually, I want her to quit her other job and be here full-time. I saw how happy she was when she was talking about the clothes she makes, and I know that if she let herself, that’s what she’d want to do. I’m just trying to give her a push, but maybe I have it all wrong and she doesn’t want that. And now I just look like a dickhead.

  “You don’t have to,” I huff out. “It’s just an idea.”

  She grips my hand, silencing me. “It’s perfect. I just don’t think I can afford to pay you for the space.”

  I turn her to face me. “You don’t have to pay me for it. It’s just sitting here. I only need the warehouse side, but I bought it all together. Besides, you’ll be getting me coffee and shit while I work.”

  She snorts a little. “That’s what you really want, isn’t it? Someone to make you drinks.”

  “Yeah,” I nod. “And the occasional blowjob wouldn’t be so bad either.”

  She smacks my chest, but I can see she’s fighting a laugh. I smirk. She has no idea how serious I am about that. It was probably the third thing I thought of after I decided she would say she worked here. The first being she would be safe, and the second that I would see her every day.

  “Don’t you want to know if I have experience or anything?” She asks.

  “Nope. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

  “Okay,” she sighs, shaking her head. “Well, you better show me what to do and then I better get to work on cleaning this place.”

  She looks down at herself, wincing at her jeans and pale blue tee. “My clothes are going to be a mess.”

  “Oh, I can help with that.”

  I disappear into the kitchen, trying to remember where I put the box of shirts I bought with the shop’s name on. I was sick of ruining all my own stuff so I bought some, plus I figured it looks more professional. They only came in yesterday. I find them in a cupboard and shout for Layton to join me as I strip off my own tee.

  She curses, and I watch her watch me from the doorway. She takes me in, her eyes raking over me appreciatively. I have to stop myself from preening to her like a fucking peacock.

  “You have to stop looking at me like that,” I mutter, losing resolve with every second.

  She looks down. “Then you’ll have to stop being half-naked.”

  I laugh and shrug myself into the new shirt. I toss one at her. “Put this on. I’ll order you some in a smaller size later, but for now it will do.”

  I lean back on the counter, daring her to change right in front of me. I know she senses the challenge when she looks up at me full of defiance. She lifts the hem of her tee and pulls it over her head, tossing it at me. I catch it and wink at her.

  “Pervert,” she laughs, pulling the new shirt from its packaging.

  I growl low at the sight of her bare skin and lacy bra. “You have no idea.”

  She puts the shirt on, and bunches it up on her hip, tying it into a knot. She fists her hands on her hips and looks up at me. “So, boss. Where would you like me to start?”

  I step to her, slipping my finger into the waistband of her jeans to pull her closer to me. “I have a few ideas.”

  As if on cue, I hear someone calling out in the shop and groan. Layton laughs and pushes back from me. “I’ll make you a coffee.”

  I grunt a thank you at her and head out, hoping whoever is out there is just a fleeting visitor. When I see a nervous looking woman, I just know they’re not.

  “Can I help you?” I ask, coming out of the side door.

  The woman smiles shyly. “I hope so. My car is making a noise when I try to steer. I don’t know what’s up with it.”

  “Where is it?”

  “Outside. Do you need me to bring it in?”

  “Nah, I’ll take a look. Where are your keys?”

  With a shaky hand, she passes them to me. I leave her to go inspect it. Problems with steering could be a number of different things.

  When I walk back into the shop, the woman looks a lot more relaxed and is now sitting in the waiting area drinking coffee with Layton. I listen in on them talking, raising a brow when Layton smiles at me discreetly.

  “So, you’re not from around here, huh?” Layton asks her.

  “No, I’m just here for a few days for work. My company are developing apartments just outside town,” she replies.

  Layton smiles. “Well, I guess this was the last thing you wanted to happen.”

  “There are worse things,” she laughs. “So what's a pretty girl like you doing working in an auto shop?”

  Now Layton laughs, “there are worse places to work. Besides,” she inclines her head over to where I’m standing, letting on to the woman that I’m standing here, “the boss isn’t so bad.”

  The woman smiles over at me, then stands and holds her hand out. “Hi, I’m Melissa. Sorry I was such a mess when I walked in.”

  I shake her hand. “I’m Kane. So, I had a quick look and I’m pretty sure it’s the bearings in your wheels, both of the front ones. I can fix them, but it’s probably going to be tomorrow morning and it’s not going to be cheap.”

  She winces a little. “Okay, what’s the damage?”

  Kane scratches at his head. “I can do them both for eight hundred?”

  Melissa looks at me and then at Layton before nodding her head. “Okay, that’s cool. Can I leave the car here, or do you need me to bring it back in the morning?”

  “It can stay here. Just get whatever you need out of it and leave your keys and details with Layton.”

  I leave the women to it and smile a little when I watch Layton go over to the desk with her to take all her information. That’s the part of the job I hate, all the talking, so maybe Layton doing all that will be a good thing.

  Layton sees Melissa off and then comes over to me. “I found some labels in a drawer and so I’ve put one on her keys and stored them on one of the little hooks in the kit
chen,” she laughs a little. “I don’t know if that’s right.”

  “That’s fine. I’m gonna get back to my job. You okay for a couple of hours?”

  She nods. “Yeah, I found the cleaning stuff by the door so I’m going to get started on that.”

  “Okay. We’ll work on a schedule tonight alongside your shifts at the store. I’m uh…” I scratch at the back of my neck. “I’m gonna make dinner for us.”

  She places her hand on my arm, gently, then reaches up to place a soft kiss on my cheek. “Thank you for all of this.” She pulls back. “Really.”

  I’m impressed when I finish the job and find Layton in the store area, having completely scrubbed the floor and windows. It looks a damn sight better and I could actually see this being a store one day. She finishes wiping down the main door and then turns to look at me. She smiles. Really fucking smiles, and it hits me between the eyes. She looks so fucking happy right now.

  Don’t fuck this up, Thatch.

  “You look pretty happy with yourself,” I laugh.

  “I am. Have you seen how much better this place looks?”

  “It does.” I nod toward the shop. “Are you about ready to leave?”

  “Yeah. Let me just clear up. Give me ten.”

  I watch her as she moves quickly through the space, tidying away the cleaning supplies, before moving into the shop side. She picks up the cups and soda cans lying around and tosses them in the trash, then moves over to the desk and begins to put stuff away in the drawers. I have to stop myself from laughing. I never do this shit when I leave here. I just work in the chaos.

  Finally, she grabs her stuff and leaves with me. I lock up the building and then drive us home. I talk to her a little about the shop and the kind of things she will be dealing with for me. When we get to the top of the stairs, she heads to her own apartment to shower and change, and I head into mine to do the same, after telling her to let herself in when she’s done.