Uncle Ray sighs. "Honey, why would you do that? Why would you put yourself through that?"
"I just felt like I needed to be there," I say, not looking at him. "I'm sorry if that makes you mad. That's why I didn't want to tell you."
"Skye, I'm not mad. I'm concerned. Going back had to have been horrible for you. All those memories. Having to relive them again. That's the last place you should've been last night." He shakes his head. "I shouldn't have listened to you. I should've just drove up here and got you like I'd planned. Brought you home so you could be with us. I was trying to respect your wishes but if I'd known you were going back there, I never would've allowed it."
"I needed to be there," I say under my breath. "For her."
He pulls me into his arms. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry you're going through this. I don't know how you do it. Being here on your own. Going back to college. Your aunt and I can barely get through the day sometimes. Even now, something will remind me of her and I can't keep it together. I have to leave work and go be with your aunt. Even if she won't talk to me about it, just having her there helps." He pulls back and looks at me. "But you don't have anyone here you can go to. You have Heidi, but I know you're not talking to her."
"She told you that?" I ask, feeling my anger rise. "Are you two talking behind my back?"
"I've called her a couple times, just to check on you. Don't be angry with her."
"She should've—"
"I asked her not to tell you."
"What did she say about me?" I ask.
"Not much. She said you pretty much stay in your room except when you have class. Although she said you might've missed some classes. Is that true? Have you been skipping class?"
"No!" I jump up from the couch. "I can't believe you're spying on me! And I'm pissed at Heidi for telling you that stuff! Do you know how many times I've covered for her so her parents don't find stuff out?" I huff. "I can't believe she'd betray me like that!"
He stands up. "Honey, calm down. Heidi is just concerned about you. What you went through isn't something people just get over. Losing Amy was a tragedy in and of itself, but being there to witness it..." He takes a breath and runs his hand through his thick gray hair. "No one expects you to be over it this soon. It could take years for you to fully deal with this. It'll take me at least that long and I wasn't even there that night."
"She's your daughter," I say, my anger lessening as I see the anguish on his face as he talks about Amy. "You'll never get over losing her. It's not the same for me. We were cousins."
"She wasn't just your cousin. She was like a sister to you. You two were best friends." He walks up to me. "And you're like a daughter to your aunt and me. We don't want to lose you too, so please...don't shut us out."
Lose me? What is he talking about? Does he know what I almost did last night? He couldn't. If he did, he would've tried to stop me.
"You're not losing me," I say with a smile, trying to make light of his comment. "I'm right here. And I'm fine. See?" I hold my arms out, looking down at myself. "Totally fine."
"Physically, yes," he says, remaining serious. "But emotionally, you're not. None of us are. We couldn't possibly be after suffering such a huge loss." He rests his hand on my shoulder. "I know you're trying to be strong but you don't have to be. You can talk to me, Skye. I won't make you go back to counseling but I do want you to talk to me. Or talk to someone. Will you do that for me?"
I nod, agreeing to it so he'll leave. I love my uncle but I want to be alone. The past 24 hours have been exhausting and confusing and now I just want to be alone to sort through it all in my head.
He gives me a hug. "We love you, honey."
"Love you too," I mutter.
"Call us if you need us," he says as he pulls away.
"I will."
"Promise?" he asks with a smile.
I smile back. "Yes. Now go before Aunt Nora starts beeping the horn."
When he's gone, I go in my room and lay on my bed. I'm so tired I fall asleep but wake up during a nightmare, my heart racing, my lungs struggling to breathe. I could see her in the water. I could feel her hand. Her fingers slipping from mine.
Why couldn't I hold on? How could I let her slip away?
10
Travis
"Afternoon, Sunshine," I say with a smile as Skye comes into the garage.
"Hey," she mutters, followed by a sigh.
"Excited about your first day, I see." I chuckle as I wipe my hands on a rag. "That's good. I always like employees who are excited about the job."
She stops just in front of me. "So what do I have to do?"
"Well, for starters you need to smile. Customers don't come back if they're not treated with a smile. That's business 101."
She looks around. "We're in the garage. There aren't any customers here."
"No, but you need to practice." I stand back, folding my arms over my chest. "Go ahead. Let's see it."
"Are you serious?" she asks.
"It's part of the job. Now hurry up. I've got people waiting."
She forces out a smile. It's a tight, annoyed smile but still adorable on her little heart-shaped face.
"Needs work," I say. "Keep practicing." I walk over to my desk, which is just an old workbench my dad had at the house where I grew up. I moved it here to use as a desk so I'm not always having to run back to the office. "Come on over," I say to Skye.
She mumbles something before stopping beside me. "Any idea how long I'll have to do this?"
I look at her. "You really should see this as an opportunity."
"Opportunity for what? I'm not here to learn about cars. I don't plan to be a mechanic."
"This is a business. You'll learn how a business works. How to manage customers. How to smile properly when your boss asks you to." I grin.
She rolls her eyes. "I'm still waiting for an answer."
"For how long you have to work here? Depends on how many hours you put in. If you only show up on Mondays, it could take years."
"I'm serious. Just tell me how long. If I come in a couple hours three times a week, will I be done by the end of the semester?"
I pause to think but I already know the answer. "No. You won't even come close to paying it off. If you want it paid off by then, you'll need to come in every day, especially if you're only coming in for a few hours."
"I can't be here any more than that. I have class. "
"What about Saturdays?"
"I guess I could do a Saturday now and then."
"It'll have to be every Saturday if you want to pay that bill off by December."
"Every Saturday? Then I'll have no time for anything else."
I cock my head. "Like what?"
"I don't know. Just..." She glances around like she's searching for an answer. "Other stuff."
"Like dating?"
She looks at me. "Maybe. Who knows?"
"You said you didn't want to date anyone."
"Well, maybe I'll change my mind."
"If so, you'll still have time to date. We're only open until three on Saturdays."
She puts her hands on her hips. "You're saying I have to work every day of the week, including Saturdays?"
"Not every day. You get Sundays off."
She glances at the laptop on my desk. "Was that estimate you gave my uncle close to what it'll actually be? It's not going to be any higher, right?"
"Depends on what I find once I get a better look. I haven't had time to check out the car yet."
"But you know what's wrong with it. You're fixing the brake line and the bumper and putting on new tires. So the estimate should be close, right?"
"Your uncle asked me to check it over. See if there's anything else that needs to be fixed while it's in the shop."
She eyes me suspiciously. "My uncle never said that. He only wants you to do what was on the estimate and that's it."
"He called me last night. Asked me to take a closer look at the car. The brake thing was really bothering him. He said he wa
s worried there might be other issues he didn't know about. He told me to do a complete inspection and let him know of anything else I find."
"And if you find stuff, who's paying for it?"
"I assume you are, given that he's giving you the car."
"He told you about the deal?"
"Yeah. And if you ask me, that's a damn good deal. That's a forty thousand dollar car."
"When it was new. It's not worth that much now."
"It's still a nice car."
"Which is why he should just trade it in. I don't know why he's giving it to me. I'd rather just work really hard and buy my own used car."
"Why? You're getting a really nice car and all you have to do is pay off the repairs."
"Yeah, but then I feel like I owe them, and I already owe them enough."
"For what?"
"My apartment. Living costs. Raising me since I was ten."
"I doubt they're keeping track. They seem like nice people." I walk over and get the paperwork from my desk.
"They are. It's just that—"
"Here." I hand her the forms. "Fill these out and leave them on Laney's desk."
"What are these?"
"New hire forms. Even though I'm not actually paying you, I want the proper paperwork on file. Laney is my office manager. She handles all the paperwork and does the bookkeeping. I told you about her."
"The girl you went to high school with?"
"Yeah. She's awesome. Keeps the place running so I can focus on the cars and not worry about all the other stuff."
"Did you two used to date? Back in high school?"
"Laney and me?" I chuckle at the thought. "No, we didn't date."
Laney's a sweet girl but not at all my type. She has long straight dark hair and thick black glasses and one of those naturally skinny body types where she can eat as much as she wants and doesn't gain a pound. Her arms and legs are stick thin and her chest is flat as a board. Some guys like that, but not me. I like a girl with curves. Soft, luscious, womanly curves, like the kind I'm looking at right now.
Skye is wearing dark jeans that tightly hug her rounded ass and a v-neck shirt that clings to her ample breasts. She's exactly my type. In fact, if I were to draw the body of my ideal woman, it'd be exactly what I'm looking at right now.
"Why is that funny?" Skye asks.
"What?"
"You dating Laney? Is there something wrong with her?"
"Not at all. She's great. I'm just not attracted to her. She's like a sister to me. Her kids even call me Uncle Travis."
"She has kids? Isn't she your age?"
"Yeah, and she's already married with three kids. Talking about having a fourth." I walk toward the office, motioning her to follow me. "C'mon. I'll introduce you."
We go through the door to the office. Laney is at her desk, staring at the computer screen.
"Laney," I say, getting her attention. "Want you to meet our newest hire."
She pushes her glasses up as she rises from her chair. "You must be Skye," she says with a smile.
"That's me." Skye smiles back and shakes her hand.
"I hear we only have you for a few months."
"Hopefully less than that," Skye says, glancing my way. "But we'll see."
"You might end up like me and decide to stay," Laney says with a laugh.
"You didn't plan to stay?" Skye asks.
"No. I've got three little ones at home so I didn't think I could make it work but Travis lets me set my own hours so I'm able to work around my kids' preschool schedule. He's a great boss."
I look at Skye. "I swear I didn't tell her to say that."
Laney laughs. "He really is a great boss. So you filled out the paperwork?"
"Not yet," Skye says. "Do you have a pen?"
"I'll let you two work on that. I have to get back to Mr. Pearson's car."
I return to the garage where three cars are waiting to be serviced, not counting Skye's car. It’s more work than I can handle but I haven't been able to find another mechanic. They all work at Auto Fix, a national chain that can afford to pay more and provide benefits. I've heard they're not hiring right now so I figure this might be my chance to finally find someone. I have an interview with a guy tomorrow. I'm really hoping it'll work out.
"I'm done." Skye comes into the garage, a big smile on her face.
I step away from the car I'm working on. "What's with the smile? Did Laney tell you stories about me from high school?"
"Maybe. Or maybe I'm just practicing my smile like my boss told me to."
I check my watch. "You were in there for ten minutes. Doesn't take that long to fill out the paperwork." I walk over to her. "So what'd she tell you?"
Skye laughs. "She said you were kind of a nerd back in high school."
"I wasn't a nerd. What the hell?"
"Nerd, as in you got good grades. She said you were valedictorian."
I shrug. "Small high school. Not much competition."
"Still a big deal to be valedictorian. Your dad must've been proud."
"I suppose," I say, but he really didn't care. All he cared about was working on cars. He didn't care about grades or going to college. Academics weren't important to him. He didn't graduate high school. Seth barely did, which in some twisted way seemed to make my dad happier than me being valedictorian. Seth was just like my dad, which made them closer. They both failed at school but excelled at fixing cars. If my dad could've chosen, I know he would've wanted me on that motorcycle a year ago, not Seth.
"Guess it makes sense," Skye says. "Engineering is one of those smart people jobs. You have to be smart to do all that math."
"Doesn't make me a nerd."
She pauses, her eyes going over me. "You definitely don't look like a nerd."
"What do I look like?" I ask with a smile as I lean against the workbench, wiping the grease off my hands.
Her eyes go up and down me again. "I'm not sure. You don't really look like a mechanic. Don't they usually wear a uniform? Or one of those jumpsuit things?"
"My dad wore those but they're not for me. I prefer jeans and a t-shirt."
I always wear dark jeans and a white t-shirt when I'm working. The white gets dirty but the t-shirts are cheap so I either buy new or bleach the stains out.
"I like it," Skye says, trying not to check me out again, but her eyes keep going to my chest and my arms. I like my t-shirts to fit tight. Always have. "It's better than the killer lumberjack look," she teases. "You should save that for Halloween."
"Maybe I will. It's coming up."
"So now what? What do you want me to do?"
"I need you to watch the front," I say, motioning her to follow me to the door that leads to the customer waiting area. "Donna quit a couple months ago. I've been trying to find a replacement but haven't been able to."
"You don't have anyone running the register?"
"Just me for now. And I can still do that part until you're comfortable with it."
"Then what do you want me to do?"
"Interact with the customers. Greet them when they come in. Talk to the old folks. They love that. And help with the little kids."
"Old folks and little kids? I'm not good with either of those."
"You don't like kids?"
"I do. I've just never really been around them. I don't have any experience with them. Or old people."
"So now you will." I go through the door to the waiting area where two men are sitting, one middle aged, one in his seventies. Next to the old guy is a young mom with a toddler. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet our newest hire, Skye Cooper."
Skye nudges me. "Slater."
I turn to her. "I thought it was Cooper."
"That's my aunt's name. Her married name. Her maiden name is Slater. Like my mom's."
"Oh." I face the customers again and smile. "Pardon me. Skye Slater. Skye will be assisting you with whatever you need while you're waiting for your vehicle."
"Hi!" she says, giving them a smil
e. The two men have already turned their attention back to the magazines they were reading and the young mom is busy on her phone. Her toddler runs up to Skye, slamming into her legs before stumbling back.
"Barney!" she says, holding her stuffed dog up to Skye.
Skye looks at me, panicked, and whispers. "What do I do?"
I smile. "You'll figure it out."
As I leave, I hear Skye say, "Is that the dog's name? Barney?"
When I look back, I see the little girl nodding really fast. Skye has kneeled down to her level and is holding the stuffed dog.
I chuckle as I go back to the garage. Skye's completely out of her element but she'll be fine. How is it possible she hasn't been around kids before? Or old people? She must not get out much.
Over the next hour, I finish up the old man's car and return to the waiting area. I find the toddler coloring on the back of a customer feedback form with a red pen while sitting on the floor by Skye's feet.
She whispers to me, "It's the only way she'd be quiet."
I smile, then call out to the old man. "Mr. Turner, your car is ready. If you want to step up to the desk, we'll get you rung up."
He slowly gets up as I move behind the counter next to Skye.
"Want more colors!" the toddler calls out, holding up her pen to Skye.
"Um, hold on." She searches the drawer beside her for a different pen. "We really need some crayons in this place," she mutters.
"Here." I open a drawer and hand her the pink pen Donna used to use to write notes to herself.
Skye gives the little girl the pen. "Look, it's pink!"
The girl's eyes widen and she snatches the pen.
"Most places have a TV," the old man grumbles as he comes up to the counter.
"I'll keep that in mind," I say. "The total is $207.19."
"Auto Fix gives out coupons," he says, getting his wallet out.
"But they charge more so it ends up being the same," I tell him. "And you don't have to wait to get scheduled here. We offer same day service."
"There's no wait because there's no TV. Get a TV and you'll get yourself more customers."
Skye chuckles beside me. "A TV would be nice."
I look at her out the side of my eye. "Noted. Are you paying by credit, Mr. Turner?"
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