Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Can they even find it? More like a pipe cleaner,” Mia replied, zeroing right in on his crotch, and Brett and Tucker cracked up.
But I was still cranky because I was hungry, so I grumbled and searched for my damned food.
“I put your lunch on the counter.” She pointed to the brown paper bag my mom had handed me this morning.
“Thanks.” I got shit for that as well—living with my mom. But by now, these guys knew our history. How my dad would go on drunken tirades mostly berating her but sometimes smacking her around too when I was a kid. Until I graduated high school and used the last two years of weight training to my advantage, giving the asshole a bloody nose and a few choice words before I’d bolted to the car where I’d asked Mom to wait.
I’d already placed a down payment on a shitty apartment across town before we left, and thankfully, we haven’t seen the bastard since we took off that night. Even though they’d never officially married, Dad considered their relationship to be common law. Except Oregon didn’t recognize such a union, so Mom never had to go through a messy divorce. Word on the street was that Dad had gotten himself cleaned up, met someone new, and moved away from Portland to be with her. I prayed that was true, though I wouldn’t wish life with that jackass on anyone. Tucker had even driven by the house for us and assured Mom he’d seen an empty house and a FOR SALE sign.
It was tough going at first because Mom had been a complete mess as she tried to adjust to her new normal as well as sort through the wreckage that had been our lives. It took months before she felt confident enough to even leave the premises. She was always on the lookout—and truth be told, so was I—thinking Dad might show up and drag her back with him. Sometimes I’d go out of my mind with worry from a simple grocery-store trip. I was determined no one would hurt her again.
I barely sat down at the table before I tucked a bite of sandwich in my cheek. I guzzled down the soda I’d purchased from the vending machine near the lounge, which only consisted of a couple of chairs and some magazines on a table. Most customers didn’t wait for their cars to be serviced, and I could see why; the place definitely needed sprucing up.
Had I not started working at the garage when I was fifteen, I would’ve never had enough money saved to get Mom and myself out of that house. Dad had discovered Mom’s secret stash weeks before I turned eighteen, almost thwarting our plans.
This garage was all I knew, and I was lucky that I enjoyed working on cars so much. I worked hard, and life was pretty decent, considering where I came from. Tucker’s dad had handed over the shop to his son two years ago, and when Tucker asked if I’d go into business with him, I was grateful. And when I bought the sweet little A-frame house we lived in now, it finally felt more like a home.
Mom, on the other hand, never had the opportunity to have any big ideas for herself, so I encouraged her to spread her wings. Eventually she got back on her feet, and after working part-time retail jobs, she took classes and became a certified nursing assistant last fall. And now that she had a steady job at Rose City Assisted Living, she’d been talking a lot about getting a place of her own. She wanted to live in a high-rise with security at the door, and I totally got it, but it still made me anxious as hell.
“Hey, when’s your mom gonna bake those awesome cookies for us again?” Tad said around a mouthful of pretzels.
“Yeah, those were awesome,” Brett agreed.
“Better yet, give Tad the recipe, and he can make them for all of us,” Mia quipped as she left the room. Tad watched her go, but he’d never admit he had it bad for Mia. She had a nice figure, a pretty face, and was cool as hell, but she’d probably never give him the time of day. Except stranger things had happened. Besides, Tad was all talk but had a good heart, or else we wouldn’t have hired him. Plus, his specialty was rebuilding carburetors, and he brought in plenty of business.
“She’s got a point,” Brett said. “Do you even do any cooking at your place?”
“Hell, no,” Tad replied. “Just got a refrigerator full of them frozen dinners.”
“No wonder your gut is catching up,” Tucker said, and Tad flipped him off.
The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur. We were typically busy as hell during the summer months, likely because families took plenty of road trips and their cars were always in need of maintenance. But Christ, I’d seen my fill of minivans this week, that was for sure.