Fender Bender Blues Read online

  Her cell phone rang and Dexler’s flashed across the display. Her hand hovered over the phone in hesitation. Her gut instinct told her not to answer, so she let it ring and ring and ring. Finally, it beeped to announce the new message. After a few moments of staring at the blinking display, she flipped open the phone to listen to the voicemail.

  Jackie’s irate voice spewed into the phone. “You little bitch! I know it was you and that slut friend of yours who egged my house. So help me, if I see you, I’ll kick your ass! You better watch your backs!”

  Rach winced, and as an afterthought clicked to save the message. In case Jackie made good on her word, the message was great proof of premeditation. In between all her recent jobs Rach had seen enough Court TV and CSI to know the process.

  When her cell rang again, she jumped.

  “Shit,” she muttered and picked up the phone. “It’s about time,” she told the empty room. After no contact for the last two weeks, the staffing agency was finally calling her. Crossing her fingers for good news, she answered. “Hello?”

  “Rachel Bennett?”

  “Yes, this is she.”

  Dear God, if you help me out with a job, I promise to never toilet paper another house again. Ever. I swear. Also, I’d never have to lie to my parents again about having a job, because I’ll really have one. Amen.

  She felt good about the promise since she didn’t have any other enemies besides Jackie. It would be a piece of cake to hold up to her end of the deal.

  “This is Theresa from the staffing agency. We have a position to offer you if you’re still interested in employment through us.”

  “Hell, yeah!” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I mean, yes. Thank you. That would be wonderful. How much does it pay?”

  The woman paused. “Well, um, it pays fourteen an hour.”

  “Great, I’ll take it.” Fourteen an hour was amazing compared to the nothing an hour she’d been getting for too long, and much better than the eight an hour the copier service place had paid her for one day’s work. She’d never seen such a tiny paycheck before.

  “Don’t you want to know what it’s for?” The woman seemed surprised by Rach’s lack of interest in the position details.

  Rach shrugged. “If it pays fourteen an hour, I doubt it’s that bad. There isn’t much in town paying that. Where’s it at and what time do I need to be there?”

  “The company is Rings-N-Things just near the overpass on Second Street. Show up Monday at eight a.m. for training and you’ll get started after noon.”

  She hung up and did a little happy dance in her kitchen. “Yes!”

  Deciding she needed to share the good news with her parents, she went into the living room to the stairs, but the door bell rang before she put her foot on the first step. Her stomach dropped and her heartbeat accelerated. “Oh God,” she whispered. An image of Jackie with a baseball bat flashed through her mind. Or maybe she’d sent the cops over to arrest her.

  Frozen in fear, she waited, hoping the knocking would go away. It didn’t. She dropped to the floor, scared the crazy woman might be peering through the cracks in the window shades. Her knees protested as she crawled across the hard floor and she wondered if the owner had skimped on the carpet padding. When she got to the door, she stood slowly then peered through the peep hole.

  “Oh, perfect,” she muttered, staring at the back of Mrs. Petska’s poofy permed head. At least it wasn’t Jackie come to break her legs. She hesitated, pondering whether to open the door or not. If they didn’t make peace it would be a long year before Rach’s lease was up. With a heavy sigh, Rach tugged the door open. “Mrs. Petska, I’d like to say that I—’’

  “Rachel, I was just telling this young man how wonderful it is you’re involved with a genuine pillar of the community.” Mrs. Petska beamed up at Craig as if she were in the presence of the President of the United States.

  Rach snapped her mouth shut and looked back and forth between Craig’s grin and her neighbor’s awed expression. The smile on Mrs. Petska’s face left her speechless. Had she ever seen a smile on her neighbor’s face? She didn’t think so.

  Craig pulled Rach out onto the porch to drape an arm around her neck, squeezing her into his side. He announced, “Rach is very lucky to have me.”

  Rach snorted and Mrs. Petska nodded.

  “Very, very lucky,” Mrs. Petska agreed with an exaggerated nod. “Your family has been a God-send to the Habitat for Humanity. As a past board member, I must say, we’ve been so blessed by your contributions to our community.”

  This new side of her neighbor made Rach raise her brows suspiciously. Between Mrs. Petska’s bitching about her neighbors’ yards, and lecturing Rach about Tally’s poop, Rach couldn’t imagine the surly woman having time for community service—or anything that involved smiling.

  “And we enjoy helping out all we can,” Craig assured with a warm smile.

  Rach pouted. Just another damn reason for me to fall in love with him. And that’s what she’d done. She knew that now. If she could physically do so, she’d kick herself in the ass. Not that he wasn’t a great guy to fall for. He’d proven to her every day since meeting him how great he was, but that didn’t calm her nerves. Nothing in her life, besides these new feelings for this perfect man, had fallen into place. Still floundering around to find a job, to get her life back on track, she worried that with him being so successful he’d tire of her chaos.

  She hoped that starting Monday, what with her new job, things would turn around. This was her new beginning. At least, she hoped so.

  “Heelllooo! Yoo-hoo!”

  They looked across the lawn to see Mrs. Jacobs rushing across the street, holding her large sun hat down so it wouldn’t fly off her head. For a woman who claimed to have a bad knee, she was very quick. Rach glanced over at Mrs. Petska. Her lips had tightened and she’d taken a controversial stand with crossed arms.

  “Linda.” Mrs. Petska gave a short node.

  Oblivious to the cold greeting, Mrs. Jacobs said breathlessly, “Why Evelyn, so great to see you. Missed you at bingo last week and I saved a seat for you!”

  Mrs. Petska’s tensed up frame relaxed a little and she raised inquisitive brows. “You did?”

  Mrs. Jacobs chuckled and patted her on the arm. “Well, of course I did! I was just telling Wyatt how we need to start our Bridge games again. Weren’t those a hoot? Let’s get the gals together sometime this week.” She turned to Rach, but her eyes were on Craig. “Won’t you join us, Rachel dear?”

  “Uh, well,” Rach stuttered, unsure how to respond. The women’s on-again-off-again feuds seemed a bit high maintenance.

  “Of course she will,” Craig answered for her. The older women beamed at him and Rach narrowed her eyes. Craig smiled. “She’d love to. She’s unemployed, you know. It’d give her something exciting to do because she’s constantly telling me how bored she is and how much she enjoys both of you company.”

  Rach glared back at him. “Thanks, Craig. I’d love to. And I love when you talk for me. It’s like we’re so in sync.”

  He ignored her sarcastic comment and stuck his hand out to Mrs. Jacobs. “Excuse Rach’s manners, but she forgot to introduce us. I fluster her, so it’s really not her fault. I’m Craig Larsen. Rach calls me Pookie, but you can call me Craig.”

  Rach wondered what the two women would think of her if she stomped on his toe.

  Mrs. Jacobs giggled when Craig leaned down and kissed the back of her hand. “Aren’t you just the catch! Isn’t he just a peach, Evelyn?”

  The other woman nodded in agreement. “He certainly is.” Mrs. Petska looked at Rach and said, “Hopefully he’ll be able to keep you on the right track, young lady. You kids these days are so rowdy.”

  “I agree.” The twinkle in his eyes belied the seriousness of his tone. “There’s a definite lack of morals and sense of responsibility in today’s youth.”

  Mrs. Petska clucked and Mrs. Jacobs nodded in agreement. Mrs. Jacobs said, “I couldn’
t agree more.”

  Biting her lip to keep from telling Craig he was the biggest butt-kisser she’d ever met, she inched toward the still open front door. Craig spotted her retreat and put his arm around her shoulders again.

  “Well, ladies,” he said, “It’s been a real pleasure meeting the both of you. I’m sure we’ll get to know each other quite well now that Rach has fallen in love with me. We better go, though. I’m taking Rach for a romantic outing.”

  Rach’s eyes widened and she almost choked on her own saliva. The two women exchanged a look Rach didn’t care to decipher and Mrs. Petska gushed, “You tell your mother hi for me.”

  “I’ll do that.” Craig smiled and clasped Rach’s hand and stepped inside the townhome, pulling Rach inside behind him.

  When he closed the door, Rach yanked her hand from his. “What is your deal?”

  “You aren’t mad at me, are you Pookie?” He joked and she smacked him in the arm.

  “Whatever.” She walked to her stairs and asked, “What are you doing off of work already? Since when do you leave work early?”

  He smiled and stepped in front of her. “Since I met you and decided to take some sick days.”

  She stood up on tip-toe and kissed him on the lips. He was startled by the show of affection but only for a moment before catching her around the back with both arms, drawing her close. She snuggled up next to his chest and inhaled his cologne.

  “You always smell so good.”

  “I know.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Jackie called and left a nasty message this morning. She says she knows it was me. Clearly, she’s not too pleased.”

  He pulled away to look down at her, a frown on his lips. “How does she know your number?”

  Rach shrugged and pulled him close again to press her face into his shirt. “I suppose she took it off my application.”

  Which meant…

  “Crap, she has my address then, too.”

  Craig shook his head and grumbled, “Told you all that crazy stuff would get you into trouble. But she won’t find you. We’re going to stay at my house for the next few days.”

  Rach cocked a brow. “Huh?”

  “Got the keys to the house and had the movers get everything from my apartment today. The fence was finished yesterday so Tally can come stay with us. She’ll love it.” He let her go to scratch Tally behind the ears. “I picked up some steaks on the way over and I’m going to cook us dinner and then we’ll spend the rest of the evening in bed.”

  How could she argue with a plan like that? Spending a quiet evening alone with Craig where Jackie couldn’t hunt her down sounded amazing.

  “I’ll go pack my bags.” She rushed up the stairs and called down to him, “It’s probably best if we leave in case Jackie decides to visit.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Kathy had almost fallen off her chair when Craig told her he was taking a few days off. Then she’d practically pushed him out of the office, telling him he’d better treat Rach to a romantic evening since she was responsible for his uncharacteristic break from work and “knocking some sense” into him.

  And that’s exactly what Craig intended to do. He’d gone to the store and found large candles to go around the jetted tub in his new master bath and smelled thirty different bubble baths until he found one similar to the perfume Rach wore. The smile on her face when he’d led her into the bathroom had been well worth the time he’d spent in the busy superstore in the middle of the day, even though he’d sworn to never again enter another superstore after their last midnight stroll for yard war supplies.

  While she’d been in the bathroom, Kathy had called to let him know Maggie had gone to his office twice to speak to him. She’d claimed to have information about the lawsuit, which she insisted Craig needed and wanted to know. After hanging up with Kathy, he’d pondered over whether or not to call Maggie. He hadn’t wanted to, but in the end curiosity won and he made the call.

  Maggie hadn’t wanted to talk about the lawsuit. Instead, she’d questioned him about his sudden absence from work. Annoyed that she still hadn’t been able to grasp the realization that what he did and with whom was none of her business, he told her the truth—he was spending time with Rach.

  “I know all about her, she’s no good for you,” Maggie spat into the phone.

  “Who I spend my time with is none of your business anymore. Kathy said you had some information you wanted to tell me so make it quick.”

  “Just thought you’d want to know that the news found out about the faulty brakes and called the dealership, wanting statements from willing staff. A friend of mine from the service department called, saying they couldn’t get a hold of you and wanted to know what they should do; if you even care. I handled the situation, but you of all people should know this isn’t a great time for you to be taking any time off, Craig.”

  The pleased tone to her voice hadn’t been lost on Craig. Before he could tell her it wasn’t her job to “handle” anything, that she should have called Craig or even Phil to deal with it, she’d rushed on, “There was mention of negligence—something about our service department not completing mechanical and electrical inspections before the vehicles leave the lot. Death traps.” After a few minutes of silence, he’d almost hung up, thinking she was already gone. Then she added, “I know how important your time is, Craig, how important this dealership is to you. This woman you’re seeing, if she knew you, cared anything about you, she wouldn’t be dragging you away from work. It isn’t like you to be so irresponsible.”

  After she hung up, he’d stared at his cell phone, hating the guilt beginning to bubble. The word “irresponsible” ate at him. Logically, Kathy had everything under control. She was capable of running his office, he had no doubt of that. And Craig could handle any emergency with a phone call. He owned a car dealership, not a hospital where life or death decisions were made in a matter of seconds. Everyone deserved a damn vacation; he’d only be gone a few days. But for a workaholic, a few days was difficult to justify.

  Maggie’s mention of death traps pissed him off. Every vehicle the dealership bought went straight to the shop for inspection the moment it was entered into the computer as inventory. He had records of every inspection and the vehicle involved in the lawsuit was no exception. He wasn’t sure how the brake system had been overlooked this once. Stan, a mechanic who’d been with the dealership for five years, had checked off the brake system himself. The mechanic was still in Craig’s employ because he was good at his job and it was unlike him to miss something so big. Whatever had happened had been a fluke, an accident; a strange twist of fate.

  Craig shook his head, perturbed. Where the hell was the information coming from, and who the hell was giving it away? It has to be someone at the dealership, there’s no other explanation. But Craig trusted everyone near to the matter and Kathy kept close watch on everyone coming in and out of his office.

  He’d just spoken with Phil, the lead attorney, and they were still going forward with the mediation proceedings the next week. The man suing American Dream Autos and his attorney would be sent to one room, Craig and his attorneys to another, and a mediator would go back and forth, listening to each side’s arguments. Either a settlement would be reached, or it wouldn’t, and if it didn’t they would end up going to trial. Hopefully it would end in settlement; Craig didn’t want the matter going to trial.

  And he hadn’t wanted to think about it tonight, not when he’d planned to spend the entire evening thinking only of Rach.

  He shook his head and unscrewed the cork from the bottle of red he’d purchased that day. The rest of the night was his and Rach’s and he would do his damndest to not think of work or the lawsuit or Maggie and her attempts to make his life a living hell. He planned to enjoy himself, and that meant enjoying Rach. He looked over at where she sat curled into the side of the couch, watching the flames dance in the fireplace.

  Something had changed in her—in them—in the last few
days. Whatever had happened, he was glad for it. After Maggie, he’d had no intention of getting serious any time soon, he wasn’t even sure if what he and Rach were doing together could be described as serious. There was a feeling of intoxication when she was near and emptiness when she wasn’t around.

  Just the thought of touching her, holding her, brought a smile to his lips. They still managed to get under each other’s skin, but that was them, it was how they were together and he wouldn’t want to have it any other way. When they disagreed, he found himself anticipating the pinkening of her cheeks just before she pinched her lips together. He loved how the skin between her brows would crinkle when she bit her tongue on an expletive. Those were all things he loved, but God, when she turned those eyes on him, that smile—there was nothing else like it in the world.

  He poured a generous amount of wine into their glasses and walked to hand Rach her glass over the back of the couch. A thick lock of her hair sat on her bare shoulder and he gently brushed it away so he could lean down and kiss the soft, creamy skin there. How easy it would be to fall into a relationship with this woman and have this comfortable companionship every night—so easy.

  Because his mouth was already there, he shifted a little to the right and kissed the spot just under her earlobe and enjoyed her sharp intake of breath. Right now he didn’t want to analyze his feelings. All he needed to worry about was getting her fed and getting her to bed as quickly as possible. He’d mull through the complicated stuff later.

  He sat down beside her and pulled her close, shifting her body so that she faced him on the couch. She wasn’t tiny, but she was thin, and light as a feather in his arms.

  “I like being here, just you and me. I like how I feel when I’m with you.” His words surprised him as much as they surprised her, but they’d been the truth.

  Her lips quivered before forming a smile. “Me, too. Even though you’re an ass most of the time.”