“Can you pop the hood?”
Once she’d propped it up, she took a flashlight from her pocket and examined theengine.
Josh leaned against the fender, giving me a smug look.
I glared back at him, hoping the look communicated something like “We might have had sex, but that does not give you the right to get all territorial and force me to buy tires.”
Clearly not getting the message, he broke into a smile, that damn dimple popping.
After a few minutes, Frankie closed the hood and dusted her hands off. “She’s in good shape. I’d need to take it in and run some diagnostics to be sure. But at a minimum?”
I held my breath.
She kicked the front tire. “These are not in great shape. Our roads suck in winter. I’d like to do a tune-up, new wiper blades, and at least a tire rotation before the first snowfall.”
I nodded, mentally scrambling for a way to pay for all of that.
“The good news is that I know a very qualified person who can help.”
I smiled at her, avoiding Josh’s eye. There was absolutely no way I’d admit that he may have been right.
“I’m not going to force anything on you. It’s your car and I love telling Josh to fuck off. But…” She trailed off, lifting her brows.
A sigh escaped me. It looked like my credit card would have to take the hit.
“Come here.” She nodded, lifted her chin, then waved a hand, shooing Josh away.
Once he was out of earshot, she put an arm around my shoulders. “Drop it off tomorrow before school. I’ll work upan estimate.”
“I—”
“Also,” she went on before I could even figure out whether to agree or argue. “I’ve heard rumors. Is it true you put your piece-of-shit ex-husband in jail?”
My heart sank. Wow, the small-town rumor mill was no joke. “Um. Yes.”
She pulled me into her side. She was ridiculously strong for someone so tiny. “Fuck yeah, you did. Okay, then you get the friends and family discount. I was raised by a single mom and have a piece of shit dad. I’ll take good care of you.”
“No,” I protested. “I can’t accept that.”
“Yes you can. You’re one of us now. And in this town, we take care of each other.”
She turned, eyeing Josh. “Which is what this dufus was trying to do, in his own annoying, controlling way.”
I let out a sigh. Despite the happiness that had hit me at the potential of a new friend and discount tires, I was deeply annoyed with Josh.
“He’s actually one of the good ones,” she said quietly so he couldn’t hear. “Granted, the bar’s low.”
I laughed. “It’s in hell.”
“Don’t I know it. But he’s a decent guy. He just wants you to be safe on the road. Don’t kick his ass too hard.”
“Thanks.”
Chapter 29
Celine
By the time I got Julian to bed and Ellie and Maggie washed up and tucked in with books, my annoyance had turned into legitimate anger.