Page 89 of Lee

Rori nodded. “Blake said that everything looks fine, except that they hadn’t changed the oil like the guy said they had.”

“I took care of that,” Blake said. “So you don’t have to worry.”

“Oh. Wonderful.” Rori pulled her backpack around to unzip it and get her wallet out. “What do I owe you?”

Stan waved off her question. “This first one’s on the house.”

Rori froze and looked up from where she’d been pulling out her bank card. “What?”

“This oil change is on the house,” Stan repeated.

Rori glanced at Blake, then back at Stan. “I didn’t expect Blake to do the work for free.”

“I know,” Stan said, crossing his arms. “But since it’s my business, I can choose not to charge someone if I don’t want to.”

Rori clutched her wallet to her chest, unable to believe he was being so generous. “Thank you. Truly.”

“You’re welcome. And if you ever have concerns about your car, bring it to us. We’ll give you a diagnosis that’s true, and we’ll never overcharge you.”

He really didn’t need to convince her. “I will definitely be coming back here.”

Stan smiled. “I’d say we look forward to it, but I’m not going to wish car problems on you.”

“I really appreciate that,” Rori told him, in all honesty.

“Well, I need to get home to help with the pizza preparations,” Blake said. “Are you coming, Rori?”

She glanced at Lee for a moment, then said, “Yep.”

“Great! The more the merrier.”

After saying goodbye to Stan, the three of them left the garage. Blake went right to his truck, but Lee walked Rori to hers.

“If you ever have car problems, I want you to know that you can call me for help, and I’ll let Blake know.”

Rori smiled up at him, cherishing the feeling that someone was actually there for her in a way she’d never experienced before. “I will definitely do that.”

“Perfect,” Lee responded with a smile of his own.

“I’m going to run home, and then I’ll be over,” Rori said, eager to get her brief stop at the apartment over so she could rejoin Lee.

“Sounds good. See you there,” Lee said.

He stayed beside her car as she slid behind the wheel, then closed her door for her. Taking a couple of backward steps, he gave her a nod, then turned to head for his car.

Rori smiled all the way to her apartment, where she rushed through changing her clothes. She swapped out the clinic T-shirt and jeans she’d worn that day for a pink blouse and a pair of black capris.

It would have been nice to leave her hair down, but when she pulled the scrunchy out to brush it, there was a definite bump. She didn’t want to take the time to straighten it, so she settled for putting it back up into a ponytail. She didn’t have a lot of jewelry, so she just left the dainty hoops and simple silver chain that she’d worn to work on.

After slipping on a pair of sandals, Rori exited the apartment, excited for the evening ahead. For once, she was going with total confidence that her presence was truly desired. Maybe not by everyone, but by the person who meant the most to her in that group. Lee…

Once she arrived at the house, Rori rang the doorbell. She’d barely had a chance to step back before the door swung open to reveal Amelia.

“Hi, Rori! Come in!”

Rori smiled at the young girl. “How are you doing, Amelia?”

“I’m good,” she said as she shut the door behind her. “But Layla got in trouble.”

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