Best of all, for the first week at least, Tom had kept his word. He never came over without checking with her first. He’d even stayed a few nights but left before Connor woke. She didn’t want her son seeing him living there until they knew where this new relationship was going.
Today she’d finally agreed to let Tom teach her a few things about car maintenance, so here she was at Bad Boy Autos. Although it probably was about time she bought herself a new car. She had the most important meeting of her career coming up with one of pop industries biggest female singers, a young girl who was riding a wave of success from a single #1 bestseller. If the pop princess liked her song and bought it, with the payment and royalties, she’d have more than enough for a new car. She still didn’t have the lyrics down, but she couldn’t push her muse. It would happen. She still had a month.
While she was proud of two advert jingles, she’d written the chance to write songs for a big recording artist…
“Hey, are you listening?” she heard Tom ask.
She stopped day dreaming and focused on the task at hand.
“Why won’t this damn thing move?” Kendra said through gritted teeth as she tried loosening a lug nut on the rear driver’s side wheel of her van.
Tom crouched down a short distance away. “Does the expression ‘righty tighty, lefty loosey’ ring a bell?”
Kendra let the tire iron fall to the concrete floor and stood straight while she panted. “No. Should it?”
Tom tilted his head as he looked up at her. “Have you ever used a screwdriver or a wrench at all? To put together furniture or anything?”
Kendra felt like a dumbass. “No. Marcus did all of that and anytime I need something fixed, him or Melvin from downstairs helped me.”
Tom groaned and let his head drop forward. “Okay. No problem.” He raised his eyes to hers again. “The rule of thumb when you’re dealing with lug nuts, screws, or just about any fastener like that, is this; turn it to the right to tighten it and turn it to the left to loosen it. Righty tighty, lefty loosey. Get it?”
It dawned on Kendra as she looked at him. “I was turning it the wrong way!” She picked up the tire iron. “Okay. I can do this. Lefty loosey.”
She fitted the socket of the tire iron over the lug nut until it was snug. Then she gave a mighty shove in the correct direction and screamed when the lug nut gave so easily that her momentum pitched her forward.
Tom grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her against him so she didn’t fall on her face. “Whoa! You okay?”
Kendra held onto his strong arms while her heart knocked against her ribs. The fast rhythm had more to do with being in close contact with Tom than any fear of falling.
“Yeah, sure.” She glanced at his mouth and whispered, “If I get any booboos, will you kiss them and make them better?”
One side of Tom’s mouth lifted at the corner. “Honey, I’ll kiss every inch of that luscious body if it’ll make you feel better.” He cast a wary glance around. “But for now, let’s get back to our lesson before I get wound up, okay?”
Kendra let go of him and nodded.
“Take the other four off, now,” Tom instructed.
As she bent to the task, she hoped Tom thought she looked adorable in the black overalls and steel-toed work boots that she’d borrowed from Lexie. She’d put her sleek, black hair in a ponytail, hoping for once she would not be the only one hot and bothered.
Kendra loosened the last lug nut and laid it on the floor beside the others. “I did it! Now what?”
Tom smiled at her enthusiasm. “Now we jack it up and take the tire off.”
“But I don’t have a jack.”
Tom pointed at the back of the van. “Yeah, you do. Look under the donut. I found the right model at a junkyard the other day and tested it.”
She tossed him a grateful smile. “You think of everything.”
“I don’t know about everything, but I do okay.”
Kendra lifted the hatch and opened the compartment that housed the donut. She loosened the wingnut that held it in place and put it to the side. The heavy weight of the donut surprised her as she struggled with it. She almost had it out of the well when someone nudged her aside, and it fell back down.
“Hey!” she protested.
Marcus said, “I’ll get that for you since he won’t. You don’t need to strain something.”
Tom took Marcus by the shoulder. “Let her do it. There will be no one out on the road to help her. She has to learn to do this for herself.”
Marcus shrugged him off. “I can teach her, then.”
“You haven’t before? I’m happy to do it.” Tom shook his head. “She needs to learn the whole process from start to finish.”
Kendra grabbed hold of the donut and tried to wrestle it away from Marcus. “I want to do it. Truly. Tom is right. I can’t always rely on anyone being available to help me, and you know me. I hate being helpless.”
Marcus was immovable thanks to his brawny, superior strength. “You’re making me feel like shit. You’re right, I should have taught you this stuff. So let me.”
“You and I would fight. I’ll stick with Tom.” Kendra refused to give in and gave it a hard tug. Her hands slipped off the donut and she fell hard on her ass. Pain shot up her back and she let out a loud cry.
Tom jumped around Marcus and kneeled by her. “Don’t move. Where are you hurt?”
Marcus appeared next to Tom in Kendra’s line of vision. Both men’s eyes filled with concern.
She gritted her teeth for a moment and then let her breath out. Sometimes she wanted to knock these guy’s heads together. Over protective or what? “I’m fine.” She sat up, and Tom supported her shoulders.
“Did you hit your head?” he asked.
“No. I’m fine. I just want to get up and finish the job,” she replied.
Marcus shook his head as Tom helped her up. “I think you’ve had enough for the day.”
Kendra tried to rein in her temper, but Marcus was pushing all her buttons. This is what he always did. He tried to protect her from things she did not need protection from. She wasn’t sick anymore. She thought of Tom and all the wasted years. Marcus was ruining what had been a lovely morning with Tom. “I’ll tell you what I’ve had enough of; you, bossing me around.” She poked Marcus’ broad chest. “Stop interfering. Tom was doing just fine instructing me until you showed up. I can do this!”
“Why Tom? Why not Sully?” Marcus said, eyeing Tom with suspicion.
She flashed a gaze at Tom and took a deep breath. Like a band aid, she ripped it off. “I can make my own decisions, like whether I want to learn how to fix a car, or who I want to date!”
Marcus’ eyebrows shot up. “Who you want to date? What are you talking about? Are you dating someone?”
Tom nodded at the question in her eyes. She put her hand on Marcus’s arm and quietly said, “Yes. I’m dating Tom!”
Stepping closer to her, Tom put an arm around Kendra’s shoulders. “That’s right.”
Marcus looked between them and then his gaze bored into Tom’s. “You lied to me the other day, you son of a bitch. You told me you were kidding about Kendra. You know how I feel about this, but you went behind my back anyway.”
That did it. Marcus needed to hear the truth. “Who do you think you are? I love you dearly big brother but it’s my life. I fought really hard for the curtesy to live it. What gives you the right to warn someone away from me? Who I date, who I sleep with, or who I don’t, isn’t any of your business!”
Marcus pointed at Tom. “He’s not the right guy for you. He’s my best friend, and a good guy, but he’s not the settling down type, and you’re not the type of woman who just screws a guy and moves on to the next one. Look how the last guy treated you. He took off and left you pregnant and all on your own.”
Tom’s jaw tightened; Marcus’ disapproval obviously bothered him. “Thanks, Marcus. Nice to know that you don’t think I’m good enough for Kendra. Good to know
what you really think of me.” Tom didn’t blame Marcus. He was probably right. Tom had never had a long-term relationship. He’d let no woman close. What was the point, marriage wasn’t a priority to a man like him—but suddenly none of that rang true to him because it was important to him now?
Marcus said, “Tom, you know that I think of you as a brother, but I gotta be honest. You’ve chased skirts all over the world, just like me. You’re not cut out for a serious relationship. I’m not saying that in a shitty way. I’m not cut out for that either. Neither of us will ever settle down. We both know it. I don’t want Kendra to get hurt.”
“Like she said; Kendra is a big girl and can handle herself. We are dating, it’s not a crime. It’s a shame you don’t give her—and me—more credit. Do you think I’d do anything to hurt her?”
Marcus didn’t give any ground. “I don’t think you’d mean to, but it’s just who we are. We are not one-woman men. I love Kendra, but I think her judgment is a little off sometimes. Like when she let some guy get her pregnant and refused to tell me who it was. Now she’s a single mom trying to make ends meet.” He threw a hard look at Kendra. “Which is why she’s always borrowing money from me.” His gaze returned to Tom’s. “I don’t want something like that happening again.”
“It won’t. My song writing is beginning to pay. I’ve even moved into a new rental on Tom’s street. He told me about it and I grabbed it.” She wasn’t really lying, just not revealing the whole truth.
“On Tom’s street. How convenient,” Marcus hissed.
Tom looked pissed at Marcus. “You’re a real asshole to talk about your sister like that. Throwing Connor in her face. Nice way to show her you love her.”
Tears streamed from Kendra’s eyes, and she couldn’t breathe. This is what she’d been dreading—friend hurting friend. She needed space to think about what to do to calm her brother down. She ran to the door leading outside, flung it open, and rushed out into the sunshine.
* * *
“Way to go,” Tom said to Marcus. “I can’t believe you.”
Marcus pointed at his chest. “Me? You’re the one who started all this. You promised me you’d leave Kendra alone.”
Tom nodded. “Yeah, eight years ago when we were kids. You can’t seriously hold me to that now. Unlike you, I’ve grown up. I’ve always liked Kendra. I should’ve never listened to you back then.”
Marcus’ eyes turned a deeper shade of green and his face flushed with anger. He grabbed Tom’s overalls by the collar. “I don’t want you seeing Kendra!”
“You better get used to it. Nothing will stop me, not even you,” Tom countered.
“Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that.”
Marcus cocked his right fist back, but a strong hand grabbed it and jerked Marcus away from Tom, who was coming right for Marcus. Lexie inserted herself between the two furious men and Sully hauled Marcus backwards.
“Knock it off, boys,” Sully said. “You’re acting like a couple of jackasses.”
“Men!” Lexie kept ahold of Tom, who was trying to get around her. “Stop it, Tom! You should go after Kendra.”
Marcus tried to get away from Sully. “I’ll go.”
Sully shoved him towards the office. “No, you won’t. You’re the problem. Let’s go in the office. We’ll have a beer and you can cool off.”
Marcus pointed at Sully. “Who the hell do you think you are? I think you’re forgetting who the boss is here.”
Sully gave him a stern look. “No, I didn’t forget. You’re the boss, but I’m your friend and real friends tell their friends when they’re acting like a damn idiot. Marcus, you’re acting like a huge ass. So, before you say something you can’t take back, it’s best that you go in the office until you get yourself under control.”
Marcus glared at Tom and Sully and then stomped into the office. He slammed the door, and they heard the lock slide shut.
Tom took a huge, calming breath and then went looking for Kendra.
Chapter Fourteen
Kendra sat on a chair on the porch of the big storage building that flanked the main shop. It held their client’s expensive cars overnight for the longer jobs. During lunch or after work, the gang sat there in the shade to drink a beer and unwind. She’d helped herself to one from the fridge inside the staff workroom kitchen.
She set her bottle on the small metal lawn table next to her and unbuttoned her overalls with trembling hands. Standing up, she took the garment and her boots off, glad that she was only wearing a pair of gray workout shorts and a matching sports bra. Feeling cooler, she draped the overalls over another chair and sat back down.
Her stomach ached from stress. Or she hoped it was stress. She’d been feeling so tired the last few days. Perhaps the move had taken more out of her than she’d thought.
How had things gone so bad so quick? She should have kept her mouth shut. One minute she’d been having fun with Tom, and then she opened her big mouth. A fist formed tight in her stomach. She’d pushed because she’d wanted to test Tom. To see how committed Tom really was. Would he risk his friendship, his business for her…?
How selfish could she have been? She should have told her brother differently.
Now everything was ugly.
Kendra sat straighter as she realized something. Tom had corroborated her story, had stuck up for her. Tom and Marcus were at each other, but she couldn’t help the feeling of her heart singing in her chest. He’d stuck up for her—for them. It was enough for her to let down her defenses.
She made a decision.
She would throw herself into this relationship and give Tom her heart if he wanted it. But if he broke it again—fool me once, all on me. Fool me twice—never again. There would not be another chance.
He thinks he wants it all, wants a family, well let’s find out.
On that thought, the workshop door opened, and Tom stepped through it. He was so gorgeous she almost forgot to breathe. Just watching the man walk filled her with hunger. His muscular arms swung a little as he came towards her, his strides loose and sure. What a prize winning this man’s heart would be…
Although his gait was relaxed, his shoulders and expression were tense as he came up on the porch. “You okay?” He sat down by her and put a hand on her knee.
Kendra ignored the way her heartbeat sped up at his touch. “Yeah, I guess. Sorry to dump you in it. I am just so sick of being scared to show what I really want in this life. I’ve always held back because of all the sacrifices everyone made for me when I was ill; I’m apprehensive to say—do—what I want. I shouldn’t have to care what my brother thinks. He should love me unconditionally as I love him. But my parents didn’t and if I lost Marcus too…”
She put her hand over his and traced one vein on the back of it. “Any regrets about my announcement?” The memory of how good his caresses had felt the other night came back to her. Feeling daring, she took his wrist and pulled his hand up higher on her thigh.
He linked his fingers with hers. “Not a damn one. Marcus will calm down and if he doesn’t,” Tom shrugged. “Him and I will sort it out. This won’t destroy us. We’ve known each other too long for that. Besides, he loves you. He’s only likely to kill me if I hurt you, and I will make sure I don’t.”
She looked at him. “Is it true you’ve never had a long-term relationship? I mean, I figured as much with all the women you dated, but can you tell me why? I doubt it’s because you want sex with hundreds of women. It has to be something more.”
He let go of her hand and hung his head.
She pressed him for more. “You say you want a relationship with me—to marry me. If that is true then why is it so hard to talk to me. To share your past?”
He stood and put his hands in his pockets, his back to her. All that did was pull his jeans tight showcasing a superb backside.
“My mother walked out when I was twelve. Sam was seventeen. I can’t blame her for leaving my father, he was an unfaithful, drunk bastard—”
Kendra sucked in a breath. “But she left you too.” Tears welled. “I have Connor and I cannot understand any mother leaving their children behind—for any reason.”
He turned to face her. “I thought it was because of something I’d done. Sam tried to tell me it was because of Dad, and after a while I worked out that that was true. But to this day, I do not understand why she didn’t take me with her. I thought I was bad, or unlovable…”
“I can’t imagine what that must have felt like at such a young age.” A mother’s rejection—she of all people understood the pain. Her mother had said nothing when her father virtually threw her out when she wouldn’t reveal the identity of Connor’s father, but she was older, almost twenty-one. And she’d had Marcus to help her out. Tom was just a little boy.
“I know her leaving affected me. But it’s only now, now that I’ve reviewed my past, I’ve understood why I let no one close. I feared losing someone again. That pain of being left behind, of being rejected, is indescribable. I was protecting myself from that pain. I thought I didn’t need anyone.”
She nodded. “But now, because of Connor, it’s worth risking that pain?”
He moved to stand before her, reaching out to cup her face. “And because of you. For some reason I believe my heart will be safe with you.”
She slowly rose to her feet and slipped her arms around his neck. “It is. And always will be.”
They stood together holding each other. He slid his hands up and down her sides.
“That feels nice,” she murmured, meeting his gaze. “But it’s not what I need.”
His eyes darkened as he kneaded her buttock. “What do you need?”
Reckless Curves: Bad Boy Autos (Drive Me Wild Book 1) Page 12