Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

LIAM

Watching her meet my family and interact with them was an experience I wouldn’t have done with just anyone. I needed her to lighten up around me and realize I wasn’t a horrible person. Of course, my sister and mom had their share of fun when embarrassing me. I knew she thought of me as a serial killer, so maybe if I had someone else know who she was and see that she was with me, just maybe it would put her at ease.

Once she had one of the best burgers in North Carolina, we headed to my shop. I unloaded her car into the shop, hooked her up to set up the necessary tests, and showed her to the cabin she would sleep while I repaired her car..

“Do you need anything, or will this be good for tonight?” I asked, grabbing a set of one of my spare keys.

“This is perfect, thank you.” She says, looking around.

“The shower is down the hall to the left; no cameras are installed yet. If you need to wash clothes, the laundry room is on the other side of the kitchen; the code to enter is 4534. Here’s a set of keys, and it should have a full gas tank. If not, there’s a card in the glove box with plenty of money on it. There are linens in the closet beside the bathroom, and if you make me a list of food, I’ll place an order and have it delivered first thing in the morning or late tonight, depending on first availability.” I smiled, hoping I covered everything.

“There’s grocery delivery out here in the sticks?” She asked, shocked.

“No, Isabella does my shopping for me. Be specific or vague. She’ll figure it out. If she can’t, she usually calls. She lives in the cabin on the other side of the shop. Mom and Dad live on the other side of her.” I explained.

“Oh, okay. I hoped she wasn’t just making a trip out here just for me. That would be a bit selfish.” She turned around to grab something.

“There’s body washes, shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and the whole nine yards in the bathroom, and even more under the sink. It’s the fancy, expensive stuff, too. Isabella said I’d never get anyone to stay in our furnished cabin without all the luxury items.” I paused a bit to breathe. Why was this girl making me so daggum nervous?

“It’s perfect. You could set it up as a rental, and it would get its money’s worth. Plus, I love the beachy decor. It’s like a beach in the mountains!” She laughed.

“We do have springs and lakes around here. The only thing that separates us from the coast is we rarely–if ever– see hurricanes.” I laughed, knowing the reality of the situation.

“Perfect. How long will it take to know what’s going on with Little Bertha?” she asked, fiddling with her hands.

“A few hours. The tests are running now. Why don’t you go ahead and take a shower, make me a list for Isabella to pick up, and I’ll start on your car. I can do so many things to ensure she’s in tip-top shape. And you can join me when you’re finished. Do you like to play card games?” I had no idea where I was going. I hated conversations with people. But there was something about her. Something drew me to her, and I wanted to see more of her. FUCK.

“I love to play cards. That sounds like a plan. If you don’t mind, I’d like to nap and rest before doing anything else. Then, we can play cards or whatever.” She smiled.

“Of course, I didn’t think about that. Go ahead, make yourself at home. I’ll be in the shop if you need me.”

***

I walked back to the shop and started working on her car. She clearly had a failing head gasket. Her car was overheating due to no coolant in the radiator, and the transmission was likely slipping for the same reason. There were a few other issues with the car and I fixed everything I could without having to order the parts. I replaced her spark plugs, gave her an oil change, replaced her air filter and then reran the tests.

No codes appeared on the screen, so it appeared her car was ready to go. I serviced the transmission and replaced the fluid. Refilled the fluids for the rest of the parts and she was good as gold.

What was the underlying culprit? It's probably the transmission. Luckily, she didn’t try to drive the car again after it died on her. There was no way I was charging her $400 for the repair, so I checked all of her tires and replaced the two that were needing to be replaced. I replaced the windshield wipers and the lights as they were dimmer than they needed to be. With a full service done on her car, I knew it was good to go. I let it run for twenty minutes to see if any other codes came up while it was running.

Nothing.

Satisfied, I detailed her car and backed it up to the cabin. After six hours and with her car ready to go, I decided to clean up the shop and take a nap.