Laine stood up with her wine in her hand. “I heard you’ve been a busy girl. Why don’t you show me what pretty things you’ve been working on and then we can decide on what to order for dinner.”

  “You’re staying for dinner?” Josie asked. “Yay.”

  Laine turned to Avery and winked over Josie’s little dance in the kitchen.

  The three of them went up the stairs and Laine started to walk around Josie’s room and gave encouragement and suggestions. Josie grabbed a piece of paper and made her own little notes on what colors to add.

  “Can I see some more of your sketches?” Laine asked. “You told me you’ve been busy at the clinic this week.”

  There were piles of sketch pads on a shelf, most used. She was going to have to buy more soon too.

  Josie grabbed the one she was working in and handed it over. “This is all dogs from the clinic. When I’m all done I’m going to pick a bunch to put in frames, but I don’t want to pick any until it’s filled up and then I can get the best.”

  Avery grinned. “They are all awesome that I’ve seen,” she said.

  Laine was flipping through and making comments on how wonderful they all were. “Is this Dopey?”

  “That’s Carter’s dog,” Josie said. “I’ve got a lot of pictures of Dopey. I gave one to Carter when he came in with Doc. Look, I’ve got pictures of Doc too. I want to bring it to him or give it to him when I see him again. He said Betty could play with his dogs.”

  “He said that huh?” Laine asked, looking at Avery.

  She shook her head at her friend. She didn’t need to go there right now.

  “He did,” Josie said. “But if he comes in again when I’m in school, then I’ll have Avery give it to him.”

  “I’m sure Avery would have no problem doing that, right, Avery?”

  “Sure,” she said. “No problem.”

  Hopefully it wouldn’t be months from now, but she didn’t know any other way to reach out to him. In her eyes, it was in his hands if he wanted to get to know her more and the silence told her what she needed to know.

  13

  Being Obvious

  The following Saturday morning, Carter looked up when Avery and Josie came into the shop the minute he was officially opened.

  His plan was to close around one since it was Labor Day weekend and he’d be off Monday too. He rarely took time off but was trying to learn to do that more.

  “Thank you for fitting me in,” Avery said. “I’m sorry for the last minute call.”

  “Not a problem,” he said. She’d called when she left the clinic last night; the tire light was on in her SUV. She’d said she went to put air in them all and the light went off, but driving the half a mile back home, the light came back on. “It wasn’t flat this morning?”

  He’d told her to call him this morning and he’d come out and deal with it or at least tow it to the garage and get air in it to get here and figure out the problem.

  “No,” she said. “It’s soft but not flat. Maybe I shouldn’t have driven it here though.”

  “It’s here so don’t worry. I’ll get it on the lift now. I’m going to assume you’ll wait?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “I didn’t want to call Laine and wake her this early.”

  “I’ve got this for you, Carter,” Josie said.

  He reached his hand out to the little girl. Another piece of paper and he assumed it was a drawing of Doc.

  “Wow,” he said. “It looks just like her.”

  “Is she here?” Josie asked.

  “Both Dopey and Doc are here,” he said. “They always come to work with me.”

  “Can I play with them while we wait?”

  He smiled. He hadn’t put his coveralls on yet. Not sure why. He shouldn’t be embarrassed over his career choice and how he looked while he worked, but there was part of him that wanted to greet them looking like they’d always seen him.

  Not dirty with grease on his hands and looking a mess in baggy stained coveralls even though he had four pairs.

  “They normally stay in the garage with me if no one is up here yet, but you know what?” he said. “I think they would love to visit.”

  They were in the waiting room right now. He tried to keep it clean and upbeat as much as he could for a garage as many did wait to have oil changes or small things done. He even had a TV for them to watch.

  “We’ll take a seat,” Avery said. “And take good care of the dogs for you.”

  “If I can’t trust my vet, who can I trust?” he said as he walked away.

  He had Avery’s keys in his hand too. Might as well move her car in, then get the dogs.

  Her car was in the front. He went around to see what tire was low. No, she shouldn’t have driven it but nothing he could do at this point other than fix it.

  He pulled it on the lift, grabbed his coveralls to put on, then got the dogs while the SUV rose up.

  When he walked back through, he looked at the tire to see if he could see anything in it, a nail or something, but nothing.

  “Come on, kids, let’s go visit in the other room.”

  He moved through and saw Avery and Josie still sitting there. Josie looked up and ran toward his dogs. Doc got excited like a puppy would, Dopey moved through like he was the king of the garage as always.

  “Hi, Dopey,” Josie said. “Hi. Do you remember me?”

  Doc was nudging her for attention, but the little girl wanted his boy first. He found it funny and cute at the same time.

  “Come here, Doc,” Avery said. “Are you afraid of me?”

  Doc trotted over to Avery, not even remembering the woman that gave his large puppy a shot.

  “Avery has an outfit like that,” Josie said looking at him now in his coveralls. “But hers is black.”

  Avery snorted and he lifted an eyebrow at her. “Not quite, Josie,” she said.

  “I’m sure Avery’s is much more fashionable than my work wear.”

  Avery giggled and winked at him. He’d been trying to figure out a way to see her again without it being obvious.

  He wasn’t good at making things up. Nor was he going to say something was wrong with his dogs when there wasn’t.

  He passed her last Saturday on the road, but he could have sworn she was crying and there was no way he was going to stop and find out why. He’d let her have her space. She didn’t wave, so it’s not like she noticed him.

  The fact she had a problem with her tire and had to call him could be considered a good thing. Not for her but for him to see her again.

  Maybe feel her out some.

  “I’ve got your vehicle on the lift. I don’t see a nail or anything in it, but there is definitely something causing the leak. I should be able to see it soon and let you know.”

  “Thanks,” she said.

  He went back into the garage, and by then, Jason had shown up and was checking someone in. There wasn’t much scheduled today, a few oil changes and a brake job. Once Carter took care of Avery’s car, he’d get to work on the brake job that was scheduled. He could do it faster than Jason and maybe they’d be out of here on time for once. The brake job had been dropped off last night and he’d call the customer when it was completed.

  He filled the low tire with air and then listened. He heard the air hissing out and was slowly spinning the tire to find the leak. This was faster than he thought it’d be. Once he got to the general area he put his hand over it but didn’t feel the exact spot.

  He grabbed a water bottle with a soap mixture and sprayed and then saw the bubbles where the leak was.

  No hole that he could see but rather a few cracks. The tires didn’t seem all worn when he looked at the other three, but this one was more.

  He went to check out if there was a spare in there and there wasn’t. Interesting.

  He wiped his hands off and went to talk to Avery. Josie was petting both of his dogs. Doc was sitting nicely and loving the attention but trotted toward him like she always did when she saw her Daddy.

  “Got a minute to come back so I can show you what I found?” he asked Avery.

  “Can Josie stay here?” she asked.

  “Dopey will keep an eye on her,” he said. Nothing would happen to the little girl at his place. There wasn’t anyone else in the waiting room and he could move over fast enough to see in if he had to.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said to Josie.

  “She’ll be fine,” he said. “We’ll be a minute. Dopey won’t let her do anything. Josie seems like a good kid anyway. One that listens.”

  “She is great,” she said. “Always listens. I’m sure at some point she’ll break that, but for now it’s a good thing. It’s been a rough year.”

  He nodded. Nothing he could say to that, knowing what he did, however little it was.

  They got to her SUV on the lift. “There are a few cracks in the same area on this tire. It’s worn more than the other three. Do you know why? Not worn in one spot, but it clearly has more miles on it.”

  She frowned and then her face flushed. “I had a flat about nine months ago. My ex took care of it for me. He said he had a friend that worked at a garage. I feel like a fool for not paying attention.”

  “Was it this tire?” he asked. He was going to ignore the ex comment. She moved here alone, no reason to worry about some guy not even on the island.

  “Yes.”

  “Looks to me like he put a used tire on it rather than a new one. You don’t have a spare in the back either. Did they say you needed a new one?”

  “Kurt never said. Just that his friend took care of it. Kurt had put the spare on it to get it there. I assumed they’d put it back. It didn’t cost much that I can remember and I know people don’t always get a new tire when there is a flat but rather have the original one patched.”

  “No,” he said. “But now all your tires have worn unevenly because this one was way off.”

  “So driving it like that for nine months hasn’t been good?”

  “No,” he said. “My guess is your alignment is off too by the way these are worn on the other three.”

  “So what you’re saying is I need four new tires and an alignment?” she asked.

  “Not four,” he said. “Your car is only three years old, I’m going to assume these are the original tires. At least the other three?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “We can put two new on the front; they should at least be the same. The back can stay. It’s not like you’re going to be doing much driving on the island. I’d say you can get another year or two out of the back ones.”

  “But the new front will be two years old when the back is new. If I replace all four I’ll be set for a long time and my car would be aligned better?” she asked. “I’m not someone to get cars every few years. I’d like to get five to seven more years out of this if I can.”

  It was a nice luxury SUV. No reason she couldn’t if she took good care of it. “I can give you prices for two and four tires,” he said. “Different ones. I can put one on if you want, but that defeats the purpose of saving the wear on your car for the future.”

  “It’s fine,” she said. “Money isn’t an issue. I know you won’t take advantage of me. The truth is, I need to be as safe as possible. As you can tell, I’m not good with things out of my wheelhouse. I’d tell you what to do if there was a thorn in your dog’s paw and you’d listen to me. I’m going to listen to you. What’s your recommendation on four tires for living on this island and going on and off the ferry?”

  He liked that about her. That she didn’t know what she needed but knew it was more than the basic if she was loading and unloading her car to get more wear on it.

  He brought her to the room where the tires were stored. He only had two styles that would fit her SUV. One lower end, one middle ground. He gave her the options and then said he could get her something else, but it’d have to be ordered. Until then he could put a spare on so that it was drivable around the island.

  “If you think the middle-of-the-road ones are good, I’ll take them. If you tell me to get higher end ones I’ll wait for them to come in.”

  “I think these are great. No reason to spend more money for the little amount you drive. Some people who drive more want a different feel.”

  “It makes no difference to me,” she said. “I’ll probably walk to work most days.”

  “Then I’ll get you a price on those four.”

  She waved her hand. “Just do it. The price doesn’t matter,” she said. “I mean it does, but knowing before you do it or after means nothing.”

  “It will be less than an hour,” he said, nodding.

  “Thanks, Carter,” she said.

  He thought back and realized it was the first she’d said his name. He wasn’t sure why the sound of it on her lips had his heart racing, but it did.

  He pushed past it though and got to work on her tires, then was ringing her out less than an hour later.

  “Can you bring Dopey and Doc to our house to play with Betty?” Josie asked.

  He looked at Avery, saw her flush and wasn’t going to answer. It’d be up to her to make that decision.

  “Carter is working,” Avery said. Which told him what he needed to know.

  “You have to work all day?” Josie asked with a childlike pout on her face.

  “Until one,” he said. Normally he would have let it go, but he couldn’t for some reason.

  “Then after one?” Josie asked, her eyes lifting and her hands coming up in prayer. “Please. I want to take a picture of Doc and Dopey together playing in the yard so that I can draw another picture of them.”

  He was looking at Avery and not saying a word. There was humor in her eyes and he wasn’t sure what that was about.

  “Josie, why don’t you go say goodbye to Dopey and Doc quickly.”

  “Okay,” Josie said, her head down. It kind of broke his heart that she was upset but again, he wouldn’t say a word.

  “I’m sorry she put you on the spot like that. I’m sure you’ve got plans.”

  He grinned. “No plans.”

  “If you don’t have plans and you don’t mind, then I’d love to have you—and Dopey and Doc—stop over. Maybe I can cook dinner?”

  There was no way he was going to say no. “I can do that,” he said. “Just give me a time.”

  “Why don’t we say four? This way if you get held up here you won’t feel rushed. I bet you’re like me and won’t close the doors because it’s closing time.”

  “No,” he said. “I won’t. I’ll see you at four.”

  He handed her credit card back to her, she signed the receipt and he watched her walk away.

  It sounded like a date to him. One with four chaperones. Three dogs and a kid.

  He’d take it.

  14

  Silly Things

  There was no way Avery was letting the opportunity go that presented itself this morning.

  What she felt bad about was that Josie thought she was in trouble and she had to tell the little girl she didn’t do anything wrong, but that in the future she did have to check to make sure no one was put on the spot.

  Which of course led to the conversation of what that meant.

  This parenting thing was harder than she’d thought it’d be.

  “Do you think Carter likes steak or chicken?” Josie asked. She’d told Josie she could pick out their dinner tonight before they knew they’d have a guest.

  “I’m sure he’s not fussy,” she said.

  “Don’t men like beef?” Josie asked.

  She laughed at the way it was said. “Where did you hear that?”

  “In school last year, Liam told everyone that men like beef. It’s what real men eat. But I don’t know because I don’t know any men.”

  Why hadn’t she thought of that? That the only man that was ever around Josie was Kurt and even then it wasn’t much.

  Once she got custody of Josie, she didn’t have a lot of time for Kurt. She wasn’t going to pawn Josie off on her mother so she could go out all the time. Not that she and Kurt did.

  But he refused to stay at her house often, and again, she wasn’t going to spend the night at Kurt’s either.

  Colleen had rarely dated, and when she did, she didn’t bring the men around Josie.

  “Not all men are alike,” Avery said. “Why don’t you pick what you want to eat and I’m sure Carter will be fine with it.”

  “Let’s do steak just in case,” Josie said, nodding her head like an expert. “I like him and I don’t want him to think we aren’t good hosts.”

  Oh my God. This was hilarious and she wished that her best friend was indeed looking down on them to see the silly things that Josie was saying.

  “Your mother was always a great hostess,” she said.

  “She was. And she set the table pretty for parties and when people visited. She made yummy foods and desserts. Are you going to make dessert for Carter?”

  She hadn’t thought of that. But Josie was in a good mood and she was too, knowing she had a guy coming over. Even though they wouldn’t be alone and it’s not like they could do much. Not even talk the way two adults might.

  “What kind of dessert do you think I should make?” she asked.

  “Brownies,” Josie said. “And we’ve got ice cream and chocolate syrup.”

  She laughed. “That is what you wanted this weekend.”

  “It’s a good dessert for anyone,” Josie said, bobbing her head again.

  “I think you’re right. Do you want to make them for him?”

  “Can I?” Josie asked.

  “We can do it together right now. We’ve got an hour before Carter shows up.”

  She grabbed the box of brownie mix, the eggs and oil, then the bowl and pan. The oven was preheating and she let Josie do all the work while she supervised.

  Once the brownies were in the oven, Josie said, “That was fun. Can we do that again sometime?”