by Hadley Quinn
Jay reached over and patted her knee appreciatively. “And you’re sweeter than you let on.”
She laughed and returned to her stool. “Yeah, well, life is about give and take. If I was nice to you all the time, your head would inflate beyond measure.”
“Listen to you, thinking you know all about what my head is like,” he cocked a suggestive eyebrow.
She feigned a gasp at his blatant innuendo. “I don’t even want to know about your sex-capades,” she bit back a smile. “Besides, I hear enough from all the women you leave befuddled and bemused.”
That sent a raw feeling to his chest and he almost dropped his fork. “What are you talking about?” he asked carefully.
“Oh relax,” she smiled, her green eyes shimmering with enjoyment. “I’m just messin’ with you. Besides, I need to butter you up because I have a favor to ask you.”
He took another bite and relaxed a little. “Sure, what’s up?”
She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Well, my mom is getting rid of some things and apparently she has an old car she wants to give me. She said her husband bought it before he died; he was going to have it fixed up or something, but never got around to it. I really don’t want an old junker, but I thought maybe you would. You know, to fix it or something. Sell it, I don’t care. But she just wants it out of the garage.”
“What kind of car is it?” Jay asked, thoroughly interested.
“It’s a ’69 Fastback.”
That time Jay did drop his fork. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Is that a good thing?” she asked with a chuckle. “I mean I know those kinds of cars can be worth something when they look really good, but I have no idea what shape it’s in. She said it needed a lot of work.”
“Where is it? Up at her place in Oregon?”
“Yeah. So you’re interested?”
“Hell yes I’m interested.”
“Good, then you can have it if you find a way to haul it out of her garage.”
“That’s not a problem,” he shook his head. “But I’m not just taking a car like that from someone. I’ll pay something for it. I mean I don’t really have any funds available right now—I mean I have a lot saved but don’t want to touch it—”
“Jay, she’s just giving it to me. She made me feel like she’d be indebted to me just by getting it out of her house. I’m handing it over to you because that’s your kind of thing.”
“Well, then let me see what I can do for it first. If it’s a car I can re-sell—which I’m sure I can, unless it’s just a pile of scrap—then we’ll split the profit.”
“You’re going to be doing all the work on it, so you keep whatever you make from it. I certainly didn’t do anything to earn it, and I’m definitely not going to be working on it. Out of all the things my mom could have given me over the years—you know, time and love and normal stuff like that—she gives me a damn junk car because she wants it out of her house? No thanks. But since she said she was just going to give it away to someone, I told her I’d take it for you to have. She was overjoyed.”
Jay was overjoyed, as well. He was putting in extra hours at Beck’s, and now with two cars to restore, he just might be getting ahead in life in the near future.
“Melanie, I love that you’re so giving like that. But I also want you to consider your own situation right now. You’re getting some of the profit, no questions asked. Put it away for the baby or…take some college classes or something.”
“College,” she scoffed, playfully sticking her tongue out.
Jay chuckled. “Yeah, I hear ya on that one. Not my thing, either.”
“That’s not what I heard,” she smiled at him.
“What is it that you heard?”
“Jay, I know how smart you are. You graduated with a 3.4 GPA, despite all the trouble you got into all the time.”
He shook his head with a smile. “Teague dropped out of high school after his junior year, and even though he got his GED and paved his own way, he threatened to kill me if I dropped out too. But other than that, I just wanted to get the fuck away from my dad. I was hoping to get a football scholarship, but then that went down the shitter in a matter of seconds.”
Melanie spun on her stool to face him and asked, “Is that when you broke your leg?”
“Well, I did break my leg my senior year, but that’s not why I lost out on a scholarship offer. That’s where the ‘stupid shit’ comes into play. You know, the gambling and stuff.”
She nodded her head because she already knew about it. Jay hadn’t kept much from Melanie. They both came with pasts that could have easily been kept a secret, but neither of them had really felt the need to. It’s why Jay never kept anything from her. She had always been upfront about herself, so he’d automatically offered her the same. No matter how much shit they threw at each other, the baggage always came with mutual acceptance.
It’s why she was easily one of his best friends.
“Well your life wasn’t meant to go that way,” Melanie told him matter-of-factly. “Now you’re meant for something else.”
She gave him another smile before she went back to eating, and being here in Teague’s house again brought back a lot of memories that involved Melanie. In a way he wished he’d never moved out, but he knew it was the right thing to do. Life seemed to be changing quickly, and Jay was learning to adjust on the fly.
But there were some things that would never change with Melanie, and he would stick to his guns if it fucking killed him…
Chapter Six
The next weekend, Jay pulled his car behind Teague’s house and parked in front of the detached garage. It was four in the morning on Saturday and he’d come to borrow his cousin’s truck so he could make the trip to Oregon and pick up the Fastback. He’d have one more stop at Beck’s to snag a car trailer, and then he’d hit the road.
He used his key to open the garage out back where the Boss was parked. It was automatic to check in on his former project-turned-perfection any time he was back here by Teague’s shop. He flipped on the lights and gently removed the car’s cover. It never failed to impress him each time he saw this car. It was a beautiful machine; moss green with black racing stripes, and an interior that had been modernized pretty nicely. He and Teague had spent so many late nights restoring this car. The memories were endless.
And then Jay decided to be a dipshit and fuck over his own life. Jay’s father had never put his family first, but despite his dad’s idiotic choices in life, Grandpa McCallan had still taken care of Jay and his sister Kellie. He’d even given them both money to go to college, and whereas Kellie used it to go to cosmetology school, Jay made the mistake of investing in something else.
Underground fighting.
Like all addictions, it started out small. But the bigger the fights the bigger the bets, and it snowballed from there. Soon he was in so deep that he’d lost everything, including his chance at the future he didn’t know he wanted. He’d not only destroyed his means for getting ahead in life, but he also ruined his relationship with his grandfather when he finally discovered the truth. College hadn’t been for Jay, but there were other ventures he would have rather gotten into instead of gambling.
In hindsight it was a pretty obvious path of destruction, but it was too late to dwell on it now.
He sighed as he leaned his hands against the driver’s side and peered into the car. Well, however things ended up for him, he was glad Teague got the car. He deserved it anyway.
“Whatcha doin’?” a familiar voice asked.
He startled with surprise and bolted upright. He could only imagine how pathetic he looked hanging his head and moping over a damn car.
Melanie entered the garage and he wondered if he’d woken her up when he drove by. Her room was right on the back corner of the house. But instead of being clad in sleepwear, she was fully dressed in jeans and a hoodie. Her hair was in a ponytail and she had a little bit of makeup on.
“W
hat are you doing?” he countered instead of answering her question.
She folded her arms across her chest and blew a stay strand of hair from her face. “I decided to come with you,” she said, glancing away from him toward the window. “I know I said seeing my mom was the last thing I wanted to do, but I think that I should. Part of moving forward, I guess.” She looked at him again and shrugged. “Is it okay if I ride with you?”
Jay grabbed the car cover and proceeded to put in back over the Mustang. He was stalling for sure, but eventually answered, “I’m driving straight there, Mel. It’s a fifteen-hour drive. One way.”
“I know.”
“And I’m throwing the car on the trailer and heading straight back. Another fifteen hours.”
“I know.”
“It’s gonna be boring as hell.”
“I love road trips.”
“I’m not making tourist stops. No Golden Gate Bridge, no damn wild animal park.”
“I get it, Jay.”
“And only two bathroom stops each way. More than that, you gotta piss in a cup.”
“And what about food? Do I need to pack my little lunch pail?”
He barely smiled as he held the door open for her and shut the lights off. He locked up and headed for the main garage to swap car keys.
Melanie followed him there. “Well? Should I go pack some food?”
“No,” he sighed, grabbing Teague’s truck keys. He replaced them with his own and paused, facing Melanie. “Are you sure you wanna come? I’m lame as fuck. We’re not gonna be chatting like girlfriends, either.”
“Well now that would shock the hell out of me,” she replied easily. “So no, I don’t expect to be humored for thirty hours. I’ll bring stuff to do like a good little child. I’ll pack my activity books and crayons and stay silent with my lollipops and fruit snacks.”
She was obviously irritated by the way her green eyes were narrowed, but it was cute as hell. She looked like she was ready to slap him if he told her no, but he bit back a smile and said, “Fine, go pack your diapers and meet me outside in five minutes.”
He expected a retort but didn’t get one when she turned to head into the house.
With another sigh he shook his head. He wasn’t sure why she decided to come, but he hoped he didn’t regret allowing her to. He’d already talked to her mom over the phone and she knew he was coming. All he wanted to do was load the car and head straight back.
Melanie was at Teague’s truck before Jay even got there. She had a backpack slung over her shoulder and a bottle of water in her hand, so he met her at the passenger’s door and opened it for her.
“You packed diapers, right?” he asked as she climbed in. “You drink all that water you’re gonna have to piss in a couple of hours. Might want to pace yourself, trooper.”
“You just focus on being lame, sweetheart.” She gave him a sassy smile and almost shut him in the door when she pulled it closed.
With an amused chuckle, he eyed her through the windshield as he walked around the front of the truck. She was watching him too, almost like a challenge. But as much as he cared about Melanie, this road trip was going to fucking suck. He didn’t like spending more than a couple hours with any female, and now he was going to be caged with one for an entire day.
***
Jay was in auto mode two hours later, traveling up Interstate 5, when something pulled him out of his daze. It took him a few seconds to understand what it was, and after one look at Melanie tapping a foot as she wrote in some notebook she always wrote in, he instantly figured it out.
“What the fuck is that sound,” he stated. “Hell no, change it,” he pointed to the stereo.
“Why? You’re just stuck in your own little world and I’m tired of listening to classic rock.”
He didn’t even respond and scanned for another station.
“Fine,” Melanie sighed. She reached into her backpack and pulled out an iPod and a pair of headphones. “You know, maybe you could learn a few things from country music,” she muttered just loud enough for him to hear.
He couldn’t help but snort, and then he laughed out loud. “I already know how to drink beer and I’m pretty damn sure I could drive a tractor.”
“Pssh,” she scoffed with a laugh. “That was a beautiful song. He wrote it about his wife before they were married. Drinking, trucks, tractors, girls, hot guys… Those are just the playful parts of country music. There are so many lyrics that go beyond that.”
“Well then they can just remain a secret to me ‘cause I’m not interested.”
She didn’t respond as she slipped her headphones over her neck, but as she shuffled through her iPod to find a song, she smiled and asked, “But someday will you drive a tractor shirtless with a cowboy hat on?”
He glanced at her and saw that she was serious. “Why the fuck would I want to?”
She put the headphones over her ears and smiled. “Because you’d look pretty damn sexy.” She winked and went back to writing in her notebook.
Jay looked straight ahead at the road as he mulled over the compliment. Well, maybe it was a compliment. Maybe it was laced with some other meaning, like he’d only be sexy if he were a country hick and not the untamed city boy she always dubbed him to be. It was most likely a crack at his rude and abrasive personality.
He subtly glimpsed her way again. She was biting her lower lip as she furiously scribbled in that damn notebook. Was it her fucking diary? Jesus, if it was, he could only imagine the shit that she wrote about him. The thought made him smile to himself—not because it was funny, but because he was seriously a complete prick sometimes. She probably had a truckload of information on him.
Which made him slightly uncomfortable…
He reached over and tapped her leg to get her attention. When she slid off the headphones and pressed pause he asked, “What are you writing?”
She was obviously confused as to why he’d care. It was sort of outside his nature to even inquire. But he did find himself butting into her life more often these days, but that was just to keep an eye on her for Camryn’s peace of mind.
“It’s just…” She shrugged, like she didn’t want to tell him. And then she closed the book and held it to her chest like she was afraid he could read it.
“It’s just what?” he asked, and he could even hear the impatience in his own voice.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “What’s it to you, nosy? It’s just something I write in sometimes.”
“Sometimes? You’re always writing in it. I’ve even seen you whip it out when we’re all out to dinner or somewhere public. You’ll turn away and do it secretly, but I’ve seen you do it.”
“So?”
“So? So what do you write in it?”
She laughed, but was obviously borderline appalled. “Seriously, what’s with the inquisition?”
“What’s with you being so cagey about it? Since when do you hide things from people? It’s not like you at all.”
“Oh, so just because I usually wear my whole life on my sleeve, I’m required to share this one thing with you?”
“Share what? What the fuck is in the notebook that you can’t tell me? Is it about me? My family? You writing some fucking memoirs or something about us?”
Her mouth dropped open with shock, and even after he turned his attention to the road, he could feel her gaping stare searing into him. It actually made him feel like shit, but he was too stubborn to assess the damage objectively.
Finally Melanie shoved the notebook into her bag, but the headphones went back on and she turned her music up.
Since she couldn’t hear him, Jay didn’t hold back on his frustrated sigh. It was that damn McCallan arrogance that fueled his inquiry, but it was history that assured him he was in the right. Too many people had worked their wiles for a story or some other major form of deception because of his last name.
It was hard to trust people.
But he knew Melanie and that’s why he wa
nted to kick his own ass. She wasn’t out to hurt anyone, and she definitely seemed to have other things on her plate these days instead of being concerned over his family’s shallow lifestyle. What the hell did he think she was doing? Jotting down notes to sell to a damn tabloid?
Melanie was a smart and witty girl. He’d never actually had a female friend that put up with his shit and put him in his place at the same time. Any other chick would have cried after so many of his blatant comments, but not Mel. She battled him easily, forgave quickly, and still stuck around. She was like the gorgeous best friend in high school that you were too afraid to date because just being friends with her was already too good to be true. It’s not that you never thought about what it’d be like to have her in your bed…
You just didn’t fucking go there.
***
“Can I use my first bathroom break?” Melanie asked thirty minutes later.
Jay had been in his own head since she cleverly pulled the mature card and decided to ignore his behavior. Then she’d whipped out a bag of Cheetos for breakfast and silently offered them to him as he drove. She had even played her ace fifteen minutes ago and opened a bottle of Mountain Dew and set it in his cup holder. He knew damn well she didn’t drink that stuff and she’d brought it specifically for him. It was even cold.
Her peace offering had been adequate. He decided he could accept it.
“Sure,” he answered.
But after drinking the entire twenty ounces within ten minutes, he felt like he needed to take a piss, too, and then understanding began to dawn on him. What a crafty woman. That was an impressive but wicked move and he had to he hold back the smile that was trying to spread on his face.