He was curious, but he didn’t want to snoop through her things. He got out and popped the hood and looked at the starter and the alternator, and then saw exactly what the problem was. It was dead. Hallelujah. There was not a thing he could do with the car now.
* * * *
As Janice sat at her desk, working, she kept looking over at the auto shop. She saw that Chris had returned without her car.
Staring across the street, she allowed her thoughts to drift. She knew he was a widower, had four young adult children, and many people adored him and looked to him as one of the leaders of the community. He seemed almost too young-looking to have children, she thought. When she collided with him the first time she met him, she’d felt suddenly warm and safe. And when he touched her accidentally that day she took her keys from him, it had sent shivers through her body.
She couldn’t understand her body’s reaction to him. He was attractive, with a gorgeous, muscular body and beautiful black hair, but how could she be attracted to him after they’d had words ever since she came to town? She wasn’t certain she could trust him. Was the car really that bad off? Was he trying to salvage the car for her, or was he just ripping her off? She’d bought the car from a used car lot before she left Aspen. Had she been ripped off by the used car dealer?
Everything inside her screamed that this mechanic across the street was trying to help her, but her head just wouldn’t let her accept it. She was wary of men, and didn’t know how to read them or understand them. If she were smart, she wouldn’t be interested in finding out. Curiosity had been way too painful for her in the past.
Janice let out a sigh and had gone back to entering books into the database when Chris walked in the library and came up to the counter where she was. His sudden presence startled her when she looked up. “Oh, hi! What did you find?” she asked breathlessly.
“Oh, you’ll love this.” He clenched his mouth tight as he put one hand on the counter and his body leaned toward it. There was annoyance on his face and his tone was harsh. “Your car has died permanently. The whole damn engine seized up.”
“What?”
“I said the whole engine in that car just seized and the car died on you,” he replied, his voice raised a little louder.
“What can be done about it?” she asked, not sure what she should be asking or not asking, and cursing herself for not knowing anything about cars to begin with.
“What part of ‘it died permanently’ do you not understand? It can be hauled to the junkyard or the incinerator, or it can stay in your driveway. You pick.” He glowered at her.
She put both her hands up to her face and covered her nose and mouth, pressing her nasal passages with her fingers. Oh no, what am I going to do now?
“You can’t fix it?” she asked, knowing that he was probably going to go ballistic with that question.
He looked at her like he couldn’t believe what she’d just asked. Finally he said, “No.”
“Why can’t you fix it, when you could all the other times?”
“It’s not fixable. When the engine seizes up, it’s done.”
“What caused it to do that?” she asked. She saw a swift shadow of anger flash across his face.
“You didn’t take care of it like you should have, that’s how,” he said, his voice cold.
Janice started to panic. “But it needs to run, and I need it to run for at least two more months, then I’ll give you the pleasure of doing whatever you want with it.” She was almost on the brink of tears, hoping that the last little pitch would encourage him to reconsider, but determined she would not cry in front of him. No such luck.
“Janice, it can’t be fixed. It’s done for.”
“I can’t believe that. It’s too bad this town only has one mechanic, because it seems to me you just don’t want to work on it anymore because there isn’t a lot of money in it.”
He raked his hand through his hair and shook his head. “Look, I did everything I could to keep that car running for you. It just won’t work anymore.”
“No, you didn’t. These mechanicky things can be replaced. After all, it’s just a machine!” she said, sticking her chin out at him.
“Mechanicky things?” He looked at her incredulously. “Yeah, it probably could if you had a couple of thousand dollars to do it. Do you?”
“No. I wouldn’t be asking you to fix it for little money if I had thousands of dollars to fix it.”
“Well, there you go. It’s dead, unfixable at this point, and you can do what you want with it. I’ve got several cars that need work and I’m already two days behind,” he said, antagonized.
“I knew it, that’s why. You got better business from someone else and an opportunity to make more money.”
People in the library had begun to watch as Chris and Janice argued about the car.
“Hey look, I’ve tried to help you, but fine, if that is what you want to believe, you just go right ahead and believe it.” Chris turned and walked out of the library.
She turned around and went into her office. Tears threatened to spill from the corner of her eyes, but she refused to give into them. She just would not.
She was frightened of him. He appeared very agitated and angry with her. She shivered and felt the tears starting to come. David was always angry at her after they got married, and he was always ready to strike her if she so much as questioned anything, and often times he did. She would never get herself in that situation again, she vowed silently. There has to be something about me that makes men just want to strangle me. She was sure that Chris wanted to wrap his hands around her neck.
A while later, after she’d gotten control of herself, she stepped out of the library and looked over at the shop then walked down the street toward her apartment. She walked home slowly and changed her clothes. She cleaned out her car and put her stuff in the spare bedroom, then called Tony’s Wrecker Service to tow her car away.
When Tony got there he asked, “Where do you want me to tow it, Miss?”
“Um, I don’t know. I don’t know what to do with it. It won’t work anymore, according to Mr. Jamisen.”
“What did Mr. Jamisen recommend?”
“Oh, he said it could go to the junkyard or an incinerator,” she said absentmindedly. She had other things on her mind, like what she was going to do for transportation. She guessed she would have to walk most of the time.
“Okay, why don’t I call Mr. Jamisen and see what he suggests?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
He went to his wrecker and called Chris, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying because of the noise of the wrecker.
A few minutes later, Tony came back and said, “Mr. Jamisen has arranged for the car to be taken to Clancy’s Junkyard. Mick Clancy will give you seventy-five dollars for the car. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
* * * *
As Janice was reviewing a printout report she looked up and saw Chris coming into the library to pick up his daughter Sandra. He had his baseball cap on backward, and his dark blue sweatshirt had a vee neck. His sleeves were rolled up. The man didn’t have an ounce of body fat. He was very muscular, and the sweatshirt emphasized his shoulders and his chest. And lower? Well, she didn’t dare try to peek down lower to see what kind of pants he had on. She was not going to look…she was not going to look…but she did look, and he had on a pair of jeans that were so tight they looked molded to him.
A few other times she had gotten a glance at his jeans when she’d taken her car in to him. His jeans were tight-fitting and some were ripped at the knees or had white thread bearing the beginnings of a rip. She wondered how he could work on cars in tight jeans like that. Especially with the stretching and bending he had to do. But she wouldn’t be bothering him anymore with her car, she thought as she pondered how she was going to get transportation.
Since Carly was working the late shift today, Janice checked out for the day and left. She started t
o walk toward her apartment. At least she’d remembered to wear her walking shoes. She knew her feet would never be the same if she walked the distance from the library to her apartment in high heels.
* * * *
Chris turned from talking to Sandra and watched Janice leave the library, admiring her legs under the pink suit she wore, the hemline about an inch and a half above her knees. She had walking shoes on, which meant she was walking back and forth to work. There was something about her that gnawed at his gut, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
He had some unfinished business to take care of with her. He finished his conversation with Sandra then left the library and pulled his truck out on the street. On the next block he pulled his truck in front of Janice as she walked to the intersection.
He rolled his window down and said with a cheerful grin, “Get in. I have something for you.”
“No,” she said.
He frowned at her. “Come on, Janice, I’m not going to bite you or anything. We have a few paperwork things to handle, that’s all.”
She hesitated for a few minutes, then she climbed into the truck beside him. “What do you have for me?”
“You need to sign off on the title, and you’ll sign that you received the check for the car.”
“A check?”
“Yes, the junkyard paid you seventy-five dollars for the car. There’s also the towing that needs to be taken care of.”
“How much?” she asked nervously.
“Forty-five dollars.”
After they dealt with the paperwork. she put the seventy-five dollar check in her purse and handed him forty-five dollars cash for the towing. “Anything else?” she asked.
“Janice, I really tried to keep your car running for you. I told you several times it was falling apart, but you just wouldn’t listen. I was starting to lose my patience, and I’m sorry—”
“Well, now you won’t have to worry about it anymore. There is no car for you to fix, so I’ll try to stay clear of you so you won’t lose your patience again.”
“That’s not what I meant. This is coming out all wrong. I was trying to tell you—”
She waved her hand to cut him off. “I understand perfectly.”
She opened the passenger door of the truck, but he caught her wrist before she could slip out. “Look, I’m sorry. I was just trying to be helpful. Let me take you home. If you’re not used to walking like this, your feet are going to kill you walking that distance.”
“My feet will be just fine.”
“Well, let me take you home anyway.”
After a second’s hesitation, she nodded and closed the door.
He drove her to her apartment. As soon as he came to a stop she mumbled “thanks” and got out. She put her key in the door of her apartment and went inside and shut it behind her.
Chris made sure she got in, and then he turned around and went back to the shop. By this time, his kids had all gathered there waiting for him, as they wanted to take him out to dinner as a birthday gift. His sister Robin and her husband were there too, laughing as he walked in the door.
He threw the paperwork down on the counter and said to Aaron, “Take these and drop them off at the junkyard on your way over to dinner.”
Aaron picked the paperwork up. “Dad, have you asked her out on a date yet?”
“A date? Dad? Are you going on a date?” Cheryl asked.
“No,” he muttered, giving Aaron a mean look. Cathy was standing next to him, and she started laughing.
“Chris, I think it’s high time you started dating. You need some companionship,” Robin said quietly.
“Will you please stop?” He looked at everyone, agitated, yet the kids were giggling.
“But Dad, if it’s that cute little librarian across the street—Janice—we heartily approve,” Cheryl said with a big smile.
“Hmm, I don’t know, she might be too hot for Daddy to handle,” Sandra spoke up.
“Okay, you kids can cut it out.” Chris had a faint grin on his face. He knew they were riding him, as they sometimes did. Alexis was the only one who hadn’t said anything as well as his son-in-law and his brother-in-law. Chris looked over at Alexis, who was normally the quiet one. Chris thought that Alexis wouldn’t say anything, but he was wrong.
“I don’t think Dad needs to date anyone,” Alexis piped up. “He just needs to get laid.”
Chris glared at his son, who gave him a smug smile, one that Chris wanted to slap off the boy’s face. “That’s enough, Alexis,” Chris replied.
Father and son eyed each other, while everyone else laughed. Only this boy would say just the right thing to strike a nerve in me. Chris hadn’t been with a woman that way in almost a year, and it felt like ten years.
“Are you going to buy her a new car since you mucked up the one she had?”
“I did not muck up her car. She was quite capable of mucking that car up herself.” Chris looked at his younger son, giving him the eagle eye.
“Boy, did she ever.” Thank goodness for Dale, as he piped up in Chris’s defense.
“Finally. A voice of reason,” Chris muttered. He had half a mind to trade his kids for new ones.
Even if he did get involved with someone like Janice, it would be only a brief affair. Biracial relationships scared Chris. He felt that there would be a lot of things to overcome should he get involve with someone not of Native American descent. In addition, his family was very important to him, and whoever he eventually became involved with would need to understand and accept that.
When it came to Janice though...she smelled lovely, like vanilla, and she had the bluest eyes he had ever seen. He wondered what it was that made her afraid of him. Did he do something that made her feel threatened? He might not be interested in getting romantically involved with her, but he didn’t want her to fear him either.
Chapter 7
Janice thought it was time to start a children’s program. It would be targeted at children ages five to ten years old. It would take place on Saturday mornings and last for three hours. Janice would read them a story the first week, and each week thereafter, one of the parents would stay and read a story. After the story reading, the children would watch a DVD and the older children could find a book to read if they wanted. While Carly was working the floor, Janice and Robin sat down in her office and hatched out all the plans.
Janice left and walked down to the local newspaper office to talk to them about putting an ad in the Sunday paper. She talked to one of the reporters who took the information down and said she would email Janice a draft of the ad later that day.
As Janice was leaving, she ran into Chris. “Hello,” she said as she started to step back and walk by him. “Excuse me.”
“Hello, Janice,” he said quietly, and grabbed her arm gently as she walked by.
She spun around to face him and he released her arm.
“What’s going on at the library lately?” Chris asked as he stepped over and leaned against the building.
“Oh, the literacy program is under way and working out pretty well. We’re starting a children’s program on Saturday mornings, and the next thing we want to tackle is the basement.”
“So, it looks like you’re going to be staying then,” Chris said matter-of-factly.
“I never had any intention of leaving,” Janice responded with one eyebrow raised. What rumor has he been hearing that I would be leaving? “Chris, can I ask you something?”
“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured.
“I’d like to get the basement cleaned up, get rid of the rats, and either have the area set to a climate-controlled environment or move the books somewhere else to restore them. How could I go about getting the funds for that?”
He looked her up and down as if he was noticing her business attire, and then he answered. “Submit your proposal to the mayor’s office and he’ll bring it to the council meeting, which is every Wednesday night. We’ll determined if it’s something we will fund or not, and
any other alternatives that we might want to look at.” Chris crossed his arms over his chest.
“Okay.”
Chris added, “I have to warn you...we rarely vote to spend funds on stuff that would be extravagant, such as a climate-controlled environment. We would approve something about getting rid of the rats. So be prepared for a denial on part for your requests.”
“Thank you for the information. I’ll get something to the mayor’s office soon.” She turned and walked away.
* * * *
Chris stood against the building watching Janice as she walked down the street and crossed over to the other side, heading back to the library.
He wasn’t really sure what to think about her. She’d been doing a lot for the library and the community. It was like she had two sides. The side where everyone thought she was a great librarian and really cared about the community, and the other side no one knew about except he and Shane—that she was after money. Well, he couldn’t think about that now, he had another problem on his mind as he thought about the encounter with his son Alexis early that morning. He walked into the post office and got his stamps.
Alexis was having financial problems and was living on the edge. He had run himself into deep debt. He had two snowmobiles, a motorcycle, a truck, a workout bench, and all sorts of other toys. In addition to that, he drank a lot at the local watering hole and had been cited for drunk driving once already. About four months ago, Chris had a run-in with Alexis about his debt and drinking and the fact that he had to work overtime every week to pay for everything. The boy hadn’t talked to him much since. He came around for Chris’s birthday dinner, but he sat far enough away at the restaurant that Chris couldn’t get in a discussion with him.
That morning Chris had woken up around three o’clock and wasn’t able to get back to sleep. He finally got out of bed around four and decided to go into the shop and get his list of stuff ready to order. His cellphone rang. “Who the hell...” He looked at the number and saw that it was Alexis.
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