“What’s up, Tim?”I clap a hand on his shoulder.“You’re all out of breath.”
“Dad’s out of town and won’t be back until dinner.Mom is busy inside, and Terry is being a pest.Mom forgot the cranberries at the store, and I want to go get them for her, but my bike chain came off.I’ve been trying to get it back on.”
“We have lots.I’m sure Tessa won’t mind sharing,” Peter says.
Tim’s face drops.“Let’s go have a look at that bike.”Instantly, I get a smile from the kid.
It doesn’t take long to get the chain back on, and Tim’s soon racing down to the corner store to pick up cranberries for his mother.
“It was never about the cranberries,” I tell Peter as I wipe my hands clean on the rag I grabbed from our garage.“Tim’s father works an hour away, and his commute is crazy.Jean, Tim’s mom, is with the kids most of the time and works part-time.Tim sees how much his parents are working and wanted to do something nice for his mother.It isn’t the same to hand him a bowl when he wanted to do it himself.”
Peter smiles, and it’s huge.It’s the first time since he got here that he’s shown any kind of warmth toward me.I’ve gotten to know mostly everyone on the street, and since Tessa is loved by all, the neighbors stop in often to say hello.We don’t get very far when I see Greg Fallon standing over the hood of his car while his family sits inside.
“Try it again,” Greg shouts over the hoopla of kids getting impatient to be on their way.The motor does a slow groan but doesn’t turn over.
“I’d better call my mother and tell her we won’t be able to make it,” his wife, Ally, says with a resigned sigh.
“Excuse me, Peter,” I say and go over to Greg.“Having trouble?”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to take your time on the holiday,” Greg answers, wiping a hand over his brow.
“Hey, Motown,” the kids shout.
Their oldest son, Flynn, asks, “Can you fix it?Grandma’s alone this year with Grandpa gone.”
It was a huge loss to their family.Tessa tells me that Ally was a mess when her father passed, and her mother was devastated.They’ve been trying to get her to move closer to the family, but she doesn’t want to leave the house where she lived for forty years with her husband.
“Let’s see what I can do,” I reply.Greg moves behind the steering wheel, and I ask him to give the car another try.It’s his battery, but even with the battery replaced, I would want to check out the starter.I’d hate for his family to get halfway there and then be stuck at the side of the road.
“What do you think?Is it hopeless?”Greg asks.
“One sec.”I hold up my hand and make a call to Hawk.“Yo, I know you’re on the way over.Can you bring the loaner for Greg?The family is supposed to be with Ally’s mom, and their car is giving them trouble.”Hawk agrees immediately.“We’ll boost it in the morning and bring it to the shop.”
“I can’t believe you did that,” Ally says on the verge of tears.
“You’d better get your stuff out of the car and ready to load again.”I chuckle.
I introduce Peter to Greg, Ally, and the kids, and once Hawk arrives, he greets Peter first and tells us that he dropped Etain off at Tessa’s so she could help out.Together, we load the car, Peter pitching in as well, and Greg and the family are on their way.
“We’d better get back,” Peter says, clasping a hand on my shoulder.
“I thought you wanted a walk?”I remind him.
“Let’s cut the shit.I wanted to know what kind of man you are.Now I know.My little girl’s safe with you.That’s all a father wants,” Peter states.“And if we don’t head back, my wife is going to lose her mind.She’s tiny, but she can be downright scary when she gets angry.”He lets out a wholehearted laugh.Hawk and I join in.Now that the ice is broken and we’re all relaxed, I learn that Peter is a pretty handy guy and wants to come to the shop tomorrow to help with Greg’s car.
When we get back to the house, Peter goes to the kitchen to pacify his wife, who is ready to give him a verbal thrashing, but one look from Peter and a kiss on the cheek, and she settles right down.I guess Tessa has more of her mother in her than I thought, I think to myself.
“Is everything all right?”Tessa asks with a worried expression.
“All good, baby.”I stroke her hair and kiss her forehead.
“Was Dad horrible?”
“A father loves his daughter and wants to know she’s going to be loved and protected.That’s what I’m going to be like when I have a baby girl.Your dad is great.We’re great.Pretty soon, we’re going to have lots of hungry Riders to feed.What can I do to help?”
“Men, out of the kitchen!”Tessa commands.She hands me a bowl of nachos and salsa and shoos me out of the way.
Eventually, the guys are sitting in front of the big screen television watching football, but I keep my eye on Tessa, just in case she needs me.She knows when I’m watching because she blows me a kiss from across the room.