The Fragile Line: Part One (The Fine Line #2)

by Alicia Kobishop

  Matt: Don’t forget to bring your whiskey cider.

  ~~~

  As the afternoon went on, I thought more about the prior evening. I thought about how it ended so perfectly and how it started so horribly. After showering and eating, I found myself sitting at my tiny dining area table, glaring a hole through my handbag. The handbag which I now remembered carried a certain marriage proposal “menu.”

  Matt made me forget all about it, but now that he had been gone for a while, his calming effect was wearing off. I tried to push the image of Ryan’s surprised face and my sister’s look of horror in Luciano’s VIP room last night out of my mind. I wanted to pretend I was over it and that they couldn’t affect me this way anymore, but I was failing terribly.

  Eventually, I reached into my handbag to take out the menu. I definitely had to give Ryan credit for presentation. The black 8x5 padded faux-leather, double-pocket cover with gold-clasped corners, was quite the fancy touch. The words “Lifetime of Happiness Menu” had even been embossed onto the front in gold script.

  I breathed in some strength before opening it, then began to read the words that I knew would shatter me.

  Love

  I never knew what love was until I met you, Brynn. You showed me how deeply love can burn, and you’ve made me a better, stronger man so that I can be worthy of yours. I have no idea how I’ll ever repay you for that. But I promise I’ll find a way, every day, if you’ll let me.

  Commitment

  I fell for you hard, and fast, like a flash-fire that neither of us ever saw coming. I love the passion we have and even though I can’t imagine there will ever be a time that you wouldn’t light a blaze inside of me, I know that fires can die out. I promise I’ll never let that happen with us. For us, the passion that drove us together happened without a single thought.

  But staying in love is a choice.

  Keeping that passion is a choice.

  You’re what I want.

  You’re what I need.

  I choose to stay in love with you, and keep the passion alive with you, always and forever.

  Communication

  I know this is not my strong point. I tend to shut down when issues come up. But I’m trying to be more open, and I know that the more I try, the better I’ll get at it. Because you deserve someone who is open with you about everything. And that’s the kind of man I want to be.

  So let today be the start.

  Something I’ve never told you is that the very second that I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the one. And after we found each other again, I knew I was screwed because of our situation, but I had to try. And no matter how difficult it was, I’ll never regret the jagged road we had to take to be together. Because you have made me happier in these last three years than I ever knew could be possible.

  Time

  You are the most important thing to me, Brynn. And you always will be.

  Our lives sometimes have hectic moments. But I love that we can be independent and follow our own dreams while at the end of the day, we are there for each other. In fact, my favorite part of the day is at the end of it, when we listen to each other and talk about our lives and our future.

  We make time for each other, and that is part of what makes our relationship so strong. I want to continue to follow the path to our dreams alongside you. And to do that without taking a wrong turn, or suddenly finding ourselves on separate trails, I have to understand your needs. And to understand your needs as they change and grow, I promise to make time every single day to learn them.

  Selflessness

  Before you came along, I looked out for me. I had no desire to ever put another person’s needs above my own. I didn’t think that was something that people actually did.

  But with you, it’s easy.

  When you’re happy, I’m ecstatic. When you smile, I feel alive. And when you’re stressed or overwhelmed, I want to lessen the burden you carry.

  Just like you do for me.

  You do so much to make my life better and you’d think that the reason I’d want to enhance yours is to return the favor.

  But it isn’t.

  I just want you to shine for the simple reason that you deserve it. And I will do whatever it takes to make you smile every day.

  Forever

  Marry Me, Brynn.

  Let me love you forever.

  Fuck. My. Life.

  The menu shook in my trembling hands just before it dropped out of my fingers and onto the table. It felt wrong peeking into the inner depths of their relationship this way. It felt immoral to have it in my possession when it was meant for my sister.

  But then I inwardly kicked myself for feeling guilty over it when they were the ones who should feel guilty.

  In any case, I couldn’t deny the fact that the words on the menu sounded a hell of a lot like real love. The kind of love that’s more than what you see in the movies or read in books. The kind that’s imperfect and substantial. The kind that takes hard work. And he felt it for her. All because she had allowed him to be present in her life. All because she had abandoned me…for him.

  It sounded like Brynn’s letting me go was worth it. At least in her mind it probably was. Maybe she even thought that cutting me loose was the best thing she ever did.

  As much what they did to me still hurt, a tiny voice inside urged me to consider taking a step toward accepting it. The reality was that my heart had already been shattered long ago to pieces so tiny they could be damaged no further.

  Maybe it had been crushed for so long that it was finally ready to be pieced back together. I’d probably never fully understand or approve of the actions my sister and Ryan took against me, but maybe, at the very least, I could try to let it go.

  Try to let them go.

  ~Matt~

  Present Day

  Logan being holed-up in his apartment for the last week, moping about losing Liv, meant his presence in the shop had exceedingly diminished. In turn, his uncle took time away from the office to help out in the garage. Normally, the shop was empty when I came in on Sundays to work on the "old man’s" classic cars, but Craig had come in to catch up on some overdue office work today, keeping busy shuffling papers and looking at his computer behind the windows that overlooked the shop.

  I had already checked the spark plugs and changed the fuel pump and filter, but this damn ’67 Shelby GT500 Fastback kept dying out anytime I’d shift it to drive or reverse. I’m not sure if it was the lack of sleep that made me unable to think straight enough to figure out the problem, or if it was the savory flashbacks of Chloe’s naked body pressing against mine—or the fact that being here in the shop reminded me that my friend was in a situation caused by the woman I spent last night with...the woman I couldn’t seem to shake out of my head.

  In any case, my mind was off today.

  As I entered the office area, Craig—the spitting image of his departed older brother, Logan’s dad, and clearly a recipient of the robust Tanner genes—looked up at me from the papers on his desk. “Hey, Matt. How’s it going out there? I see Gary has you working on another beaut.”

  “Hell, yeah. She’s my dream car,” I said before explaining the problem I was having with her.

  He leaned back in his chair, “Did you check the choke pull-off?”

  I instantly felt like an idiot. The carburetor should’ve been the first thing I checked, and it had slipped my mind completely. “Nope. Sure didn’t.” I shook my head at my rookie-like oversight. “Thanks, man.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he grinned. “Most guys your age wouldn’t know what to do with a carburetor if it crawled up their leg and bit ‘em in the ass. You’re wise beyond your years, Matt, in more ways than just cars. We’re lucky to have you here.”

  “Appreciate that, Craig.”

  Through the windows behind him, my eyes caught a white Lexus GX pull into the parking lot, followed by a black Cadillac Escalade.

  “You expecting company?” I nodded toward the
lot.

  Craig swiveled in his chair to see who it was, “Yeah. Speaking of Gary, he called this morning, wanting to meet. Said he had a friend who wanted to see the shop.”

  “You’re not thinking about selling are you?”

  He shrugged, “Probably not. Been here so long I can’t picture my life without this place. Even if I would consider it, I’d need Logan to be on board since he’s a partner, and there’s no way he’d be ready to let it go. Gary’s a good customer. The work you do on his cars puts a good dent in our bills. I figured it won’t hurt to humor him. Besides, he was pretty vague on the phone…I have no idea why his friend wants to see this place. Could be nothing.”

  I squinted my eyes as a familiar-looking man stepped out of the Escalade. “Is that Dalton Davis?”

  “From American Muscle?” Craig stood and stepped closer to the window. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  ~~~

  “This is the Matt you were telling me about?” Dalton said to Gary after introductions.

  “You two know each other?” Gary answered, his white hair perfectly matching his polo shirt.

  Dalton nodded, “We met last night. Good to see you again, kid.”

  “Likewise,” I acknowledged. “What brings you here today?”

  “Nostalgia. A little trip down memory lane.” He took a reminiscent look around the office area. “Twenty years ago, before your brother bought the place from me,” he said, pointing to Craig, “it used to be known as Davis Automotive.”

  “No shit?” Craig declared in astonishment.

  Gary interjected, “Dalton’s father, the original owner of the shop, was the first mechanic I had ever hired after establishing an interest in vintage automobiles many years ago,” he patted Dalton on the shoulder. “When he passed, Dalton took over and did such a fantastic job following in his father’s technician footsteps that he became the only person I trusted with my collectibles. When he moved to Vegas, my car restorations followed him.”

  “Until the show started a few years ago, that is,” Dalton added, “Gary here worried about the publicity and pulled the plug on our arrangement.”

  “What can I say, I’m a private person,” Gary smiled. “I supported your new venture, son. I just didn’t want my cars to be a part of it. Once Hollywood gets a hold of things, they’re never the same.”

  “Water under the bridge, old man,” Dalton chuckled.

  “I continued to add to my collection,” Gary resumed, “but the cars sat, untouched for quite some time before I started bringing them back here to be serviced. Part of the thrill for me has always been the return on investment, and it was only a matter of time before I’d been drawn back to the auto auctions. But without Dalton, I needed to find a good mechanic who specialized in classic cars. You’d be surprised how hard it is to find someone like that these days.”

  Craig and I shared a glance. We had just been talking about that.

  Gary looked at Craig and me and continued, “I gave you boys here at Tanner Automotive a test-run and was thrilled to find that you knew your shit when it came to cars. Matt here exceeded my expectations, keeping an open line of communication with me about the problems he’d found and how he could help keep costs low. That old ’53 LaSalle came out of this shop in mint condition. After that first run, I knew I’d found the right guy for the job.”

  “Thank you, sir,” I acknowledged.

  “Speaking of that,” Dalton chimed in, directing his attention to me, “I thought you worked security?”

  “I do,” I replied. “That’s my part-time gig.”

  “Well, you do a damn good job for a part-timer. Ever consider switching careers?”

  “I’m pretty content with the way things are at the moment, sir. Cars are my passion. But who knows what the future holds. I’ll never say never.”

  “How ‘bout I say ‘never’ for you,” Craig laughed. “I’d support whatever the future holds for you, Matt, but hot-damn, I’d hate to lose you.”

  We continued to talk shop for another half hour or so when I finally excused myself to finish working on the Shelby that the old man called his “black beauty.” Craig gave the men a tour of the building, minus Logan’s apartment, and after they viewed the garage area, Dalton stayed behind, checking out my work under the hood of the car.

  I explained what I had done, and what I planned on doing, and he watched me check the choke pull-off. As expected, the damn thing didn’t retract. Together, we assessed the shroud, the heating tube, and the thermostat coil, and found that the thermostat coil had indeed broken. Since we had no surplus carburetors laying around the shop to pull an intact coil from, I’d have to order the part. Which meant my work here for the day was done.

  The “old man” had already left to have dinner with the misses, and Craig had subsequently gone back to his office to finish his paperwork. Mostly, I just wanted to go home to get some shut-eye but didn’t want to be rude, so I offered Dalton a beer. He graciously accepted.

  After taking his first gulp and proceeding with an aaaaaahhh from the carbonation, he sat on the stool next to my Craftsman tool chest and seemed to be at a loss for words.

  As I doused my hands in liquid lava soap and scrubbed the grease off of them in the shop sink on the other side of my tool chest, Dalton spoke-up. “I’m not sure how to say this, Matt, so I’m just going to say it.”

  I dried my hands on a blue shop-rag and smiled, “Go for it, man.”

  “Funny. Listen, my executive producer and I have been at odds about how we’re going to go about finding a cast-member to replace my son on the show. Time’s running out on us, and she wants to do a public casting call like they’re doing for Marc’s new show. I want to do things a little more old-school and find someone qualified on my own. I want someone real, who knows cars. Someone grounded. Someone who’s not looking for a career in acting. I want to get back to basics and away from the damn soap opera that show has become. The basis of the show is fixing up cars and selling them at auction, it ain’t no Real Housewives, and I’ll be damned if I get another drama queen on the show.”

  Holy shit, was this going where I thought it was going?

  “You’d be the perfect guy, Matt. If you joined my team, my producer would jump for damn joy because you’re the right age, and you’ve got the right look. I’d just be glad to have a hardworking guy who knows cars.”

  Yep, it went there. My eyebrows raised up. “I have no idea what to say.”

  “Look, I can see you’re happy here, and Gary would probably shit his pants if he knew I was talking to you about this, but it’s an opportunity you’ll want to consider at the very least. You’d have to maintain residence near the Vegas shop but only during filming season. The rest of the year, you’d be free to live wherever you’d like. The pay is good. I can guarantee you’d triple your income at minimum. You’d gain experience working on the best custom muscle cars in the nation, you’d get your name out there for any professional endeavors you may be envisioning for the future, you’d have opportunities to be included in promotional events like the one at Rain last night, and you’d even get your own fifteen minutes of fame.”

  “It sounds amazing. I appreciate the consideration, sir, but—“

  “Just think about it. I don’t need an answer today,” he took another swig of his beer and set it down on my tool chest, then pulled a business card out of his back pocket, handing it to me. “But I’ll need one soon. Filming is set to start in January.”

  I took the card and flipped it over to see his personal cell number written on the back. “When do you need to know by?”

  “I’ll give it a week. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll assume you’re not interested.” He placed his hand on my shoulder. “You have to want it, Matt. I won’t chase after you.”

  I nodded. “Understood.”

  Damn. Working with Dalton would be the opportunity of a lifetime. I’d land my absolute dream job. So why wasn’t I happier about it?

  As I watche
d him walk away, I didn’t think about money, fame, or opportunity. Chloe’s smile was what came to mind first, followed by how remarkable one simple look from her made me feel. All the moments I’ve spent with her up until now flashed through my mind. Could I give moments like that up? Could I give up her?

  After last night, I thought my feelings for her would be gone. I thought getting her out of my system—you know, by fucking her senseless—would get her out of my thoughts. But it’s done the complete opposite. And I didn’t have a single clue where she stood in the matter. For all I knew, she’d already moved on.

  Shit.

  One week. I had one week to find out. One week to decide. In any case, I had to tell her about the offer. I had already lost someone by making an impulsive choice, I wasn’t about to let that happen again. Chloe deserved to know.

  ###

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading Part One of The Fragile Line! If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends about it, and/or leaving a short review on Goodreads, Amazon, or anywhere else you’d like. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend! Part Two is coming soon. And if you haven’t read The Fine Line yet, give it a go!

  Thank you!

  Alicia Kobishop

  Acknowledgements

  I can’t even begin to describe how grateful I am for my husband. Don, thank you for believing in me. Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for helping kick my inner critic in the face.

  Before embarking on my writing journey, I had an important conversation with my kids, letting them know that if they ever felt like I was spending too much time writing, and not enough time with them, that they could let me know, and that I would make time for them because they are more important to me that anything. Thank you to my kiddos for keeping me in check, and for helping me to always remember the important things in life.