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“Sam will do,” Sam offered, then smiled at the kid. “Nice to meet you, Craig.”
Craig mumbled a barely audible, “Yeah. You, too.”
“Sam is here to discuss restoring the car,” she told her nephew.
He glanced up at Sam through the mass of bangs he hid behind, then dropped his gaze and turned away with a mumbled “Whatever” and headed back toward the house.
“Hey!” Leah called after him. “Where are you going?”
“Homework.”
“But don’t you want—”
The door slammed, cutting her off. Heaving a sigh, she turned and gave Sam an apologetic smile.
“He really is a nice kid. He’s just been having a tough time. Losing his father hit him pretty hard.”
“Tough blow for a kid his age.”
“Yes, it is.”
He frowned, remembering the boy’s reference to homework, as well as her mention earlier about school. “Isn’t school out for the summer?”
“For most students. Craig failed two classes, so he has to go to summer school.”
He nodded, wondering if the kid’s father’s death had anything to do with his failure.
She opened her hands. “So? What do you think? Are you interested in the job?”
You’ve really stepped in it now, Sam thought, realizing too late his mistake in allowing her to go on believing he was a mechanic. He supposed he could tell her the restoration would take more work than he’d first thought and make a fast exit.
But that would mean leaving without getting the information he’d promised Mack, which didn’t settle well with him at all. He owed Mack. Big-time. And he was determined to honor that debt.
Pursing his lips thoughtfully, he studied the car as if considering whether or not he wanted to take on the job while buying himself some time to figure out what he should do.
Getting the information for Mack wasn’t going to be the easy-in-easy-out mission he’d first thought. Mack had warned him about Leah’s obstinance in refusing to discuss her father, but Sam hadn’t taken him seriously until he’d gotten a taste of it himself. It was going to take some time to finesse her into telling him what he wanted to know.
And restoring the car might be just the ploy he needed to gain that time.
But if he agreed to work on the car, he’d be saddling himself with a troubled teen. Sam had seen the resentment, as well as the grief, that shadowed the boy’s eyes and suspected it was the loss of his father that had put them both there. Sam had lost a father, too, at a fairly young age. Not to death, but a loss just the same, and he understood what the boy was going through…and where he’d end up if someone didn’t intervene.
He had a month, he reminded himself, with nothing to do but puzzle out the direction he wanted to point his future in. He could think as easily working on a car as he could lying on his back on some sun-drenched beach surrounded by bikini-clad women.
Decided, he said to Leah, “Yeah, I’m interested.”
He would swear he felt her sigh of relief from five feet away.
“I have no idea what kind of payment to offer you. I know nothing about this kind of thing or how long it would take to complete the job. I guess it would simplify matters if you’d simply tell me what you’d charge for the restoration, then I could determine whether or not I can afford to hire you.”
“Since you want your nephew to help with the restoration, I suppose the work will need to be done here?”
“That would be best. He comes here after school each day.”
Nodding, he began to circle the car again. “I’ve only got a month to devote to the job, but I think I could get it done in that length of time. Most of it, anyway.”
“Are you saying you’ll do it?”
Smiling, he stroked a hand over the Mustang emblem on the hood. “Hard to say no to a beauty like this.”
“We haven’t decided on a fee yet,” she reminded him.
He hitched his hands on his hips and looked up at the ceiling. “Most carriage houses like this have an apartment overhead. Does this one?”
“W-well, yes,” she stammered as if wondering why he’d ask. “Although not a full one. Just a bedroom, sitting room and bath.”
Lowering his chin, he met her gaze. “Tell you what. Provide me with room and board for the next month, and we’ll call it even.”
“Room and board?” she repeated dully.
“I’m not from around here. In order to do the work, I’d need a place to stay.”
She nervously wet her lips. “I suppose that would be okay. The apartment’s furnished. I keep it ready for relatives and friends who come to visit. But I don’t cook,” she was quick to inform him. “Not regularly, at any rate.”
“As long as I’m allowed access to your kitchen, I can see to my own meals.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “And that’s all you want in exchange for doing the work? Room and board?”
He hid a smile. “If you’re worried I’ll demand sexual favors, I won’t.” He waited a beat, then added, “Although I wouldn’t turn them down if offered.”
She jutted her chin. “I’ll want references.”
He shrugged. “Fine with me. None will be local, though. Lampasas is where I call home.”
Her brows shot high. “How on earth did you hear about the ad I placed? Lampasas is hours from here.”
He shot her a wink. “I guess some things were just meant to be.”
As he pulled away from Leah’s house, Sam punched in Mack’s phone number. His friend answered on the first ring, obviously awaiting the call.
“Did you talk to her?” Mack asked anxiously.
“I did,” Sam replied. “And the answer to your next question is no. I haven’t gotten the information you need. But I’m working on it, which is why I called. I need a favor.”
“What?”
“Personal references.”
“Why?”
“I’ll explain later. Right now I need you to call Lenny, Pastor Nolan, Bill and Jack Phelps. Tell them that Leah Kittrell might be calling and asking questions about me. If she does, tell them to keep whatever information they offer to a minimum and not to mention anything about me being in the Army.”
“Why not?” Mack asked in confusion. “Your service record is nothing to be ashamed of.”
“No,” Sam agreed. “But if Leah finds out I’m in the military, it’ll kill whatever chance I have of getting the information you want.”
Leah frowned in concentration as she fussed with the strands of ivy draping the tiered crystal pedestal centered on the sample table setting she had arranged. Once satisfied with the design, she would photograph the table, note the style and color of linens used, as well as the other accessories, and record them all in the client’s file to reference for the wedding reception scheduled for October.
“Looks good.”
Leah glanced over at Kate, her assistant, then back at the centerpiece and worried her lip. “You don’t think the ivy will obstruct the guests’ views?”
“You’re just obsessing because Mrs. Snotgrass is the client.”
“Snodgrass,” Leah corrected. “If you’re not careful, you’re going to slip and call her that one day.”
“It would be worth it just to see the expression on the old biddy’s face.”
“Easy for you to say. It isn’t your business she’d send down the toilet.”
Kate snorted. “As if she could.”
Leah lifted the digital camera hanging from her neck and moved around the table, clicking off shots of the table from different angles. “Though I appreciate the vote of confidence, Mrs. Snodgrass’s opinion carries a lot of weight in this town. One derogatory comment from her and my business would suffer the reverberations for months.”
Satisfied that she’d taken enough pictures to record all the accessories used in the design, she headed for her office to download the photos into the appropriate file.
Kate trailed behind. “How’s the search going for the mechanic?”
“I found one.”
Kate dropped down into the chair opposite Leah’s desk and lifted a brow. “Really? Who?”
“Sam Forrester.”
“Never heard of him.”
“He’s not from around here.”
“Then how’s he going to do the work?”
“He’s staying in the apartment over the garage.”
Kate sat bolt upright. “A complete stranger? Have you lost your mind?”
“I checked his references,” Leah said defensively.
Scowling, Kate slouched back in the chair.
“Which doesn’t mean squat. The references he gave could all be his friends.”
Leah caught her lower lip between her teeth, having thought the same thing, then shook her head. “No. He seems like an honest guy. He even agreed to allow Craig to help with the restoration.”
“He’s probably cleaning out your house as we speak.”
“Would you stop?” Leah cried. “You haven’t even met the man.”
Kate rose. “Then introduce me.”
Leah looked up at her blankly. “Now?”
Kate shrugged. “No time like the present. We can grab some lunch on the way back.”
“And who would mind the shop while we’re gone?” Shaking her head, Leah plucked her purse from beneath her desk and headed out.
“Where are you going?” Kate asked, following her.
“I—I forgot something at home.”
Kate bit back a smile. “Liar. You’re going to check on the mechanic.”
Leah opened her mouth to deny the statement, then clamped it shut and marched out the door, her chin in the air.
Settling into the apartment above Leah’s garage took Sam all of about five seconds. All he had with him was crammed into his duffel bag, which consisted of about four changes of clothes, his toiletries and an extra pair of boots—all civilian wear, since he was on a monthlong leave from the army.
He’d just dumped his underwear and undershirts into a drawer when he heard a tap on the exterior door.
“Come on in,” he called. “It’s open.”
Just as he stepped from the bedroom and into the sitting room, Leah was bumping the front door closed with her hip. And a nice curvy set of hips at that, he noted.
She lifted her arms, indicating a stack of towels and washcloths. “Thought you might need these. My cousin and her husband were my last guests, and I forgot to restock the linen closet after doing the laundry.”
“Thanks.” He took the linens from her and set them on the antique trunk that served as a coffee table.
“And speaking of laundry…do you mind if I use your washer and dryer? I’ll supply my own detergent.”
“Help yourself. It’s off the kitchen. The controls are self-explanatory, but let me know if you have any problems.”
“I’m sure I can figure it out.”
When she didn’t make a move to leave, he looked at her curiously. “Was there something else?”
Avoiding his gaze, she picked up a pillow from the sofa. “About your references…” she began uncertainly as she plucked at its corded edge.
“Is there a problem?”
“No. No problem. In fact, they were all glowing.” Huffing a breath, she tossed the pillow to the sofa and turned to face him. “Yes, there is a problem. Not a one of the men I spoke with mentioned anything about your past work history.”
Though he knew he was treading on dangerous ground, Sam wasn’t worried. He’d gotten himself out of tighter spots in the past. “Probably because I’ve never worked directly for any of them.” He gestured to the sofa. “Have a seat,” he invited. “I’ll answer whatever questions you might have.”
