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Things like taking her car in for oil changes were what she wished she had someone to help her with. She would say that she didn’t like adulting, but honestly, she’d been having to deal with stuff like that even before she was an adult.

She could do it, though. She’d proved it plenty of times before, and she’d prove it plenty of times more in the future, of that Rori was sure.

It was important that the world see that, even though she may have been rejected by those who were supposed to love her, she was surviving and strong. She could do the hard things.

She could take care of herself.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Lee watched Alys as she drew blood from a senior dog for a full blood panel. There had been several appointments that morning, and he and Dr. Carl had done surgery on a cat that had an injured leg. It had taken longer than they’d anticipated, so he’d missed having lunch with Rori.

As soon as this appointment was done, he planned to see how she was doing.

“There we go,” Alys announced as she ruffled the fur around the dog’s ears. “We’re all done. You’re such a good boy.”

Lee talked to the owners about what to watch the dog for, then he walked them out to the reception area, while Alys stayed behind to clean up the exam room. After he’d said goodbye and they’d left, Lee turned his attention to Rori.

Immediately, he could tell that something was wrong. Her brow was furrowed as she sat at the reception desk, staring at her phone.

“Everything okay?” Lee asked.

She looked up at him as she set her phone to the side. “I’m… not sure.”

He crossed his arms on the raised ledge in front of her. “What’s happened?”

She didn’t reply right away, as if she was debating telling him. Lee tried to ignore how that made him feel.

“I took my car in for an oil change this morning.”

“Was there an issue?”

“I don’t know. I just got a call from the garage telling me there’s a bunch of work that needs to be done on it.”

Lee frowned. “What garage did you take it to?”

When she told him, he shook his head. “I wish I’d known you needed to take your car in. Blake is a mechanic at a garage here in town, but not that one.”

Rori’s shoulders slumped. “I chose it because it was the closest one for me to walk to work after I dropped my car off. The reviews online weren’t bad.”

“Apparently they have a history of taking advantage of women.” Lee pulled out his cell phone. “What did you tell them?”

“They just left a message because I was on the phone with someone wanting an appointment. I need to call them back.”

“Okay. Hold off for a minute.” He brought up Blake’s contact information and tapped the screen to call him. When Blake answered, Lee greeted him, then said, “Do you think you could spare an hour or so this afternoon?”

“Probably,” Blake said. “Why?”

“Rori took her car to your competition for an oil change, and now they’re telling her there’s a bunch of other stuff wrong with the vehicle.”

Blake groaned. “That’s likely not true. Let me talk to Stan, and I’ll call you back. I assume you’re wanting me to go to the garage to pick up her car?”

“Yes. I think that might be better than her going.”

“Ask her if that’s what she wants,” Blake told him. “I don’t want to force her to do something she isn’t comfortable with.”

“Will do.” After he hung up, Lee turned back to Rori. “Blake is willing to go get your car, if you’d like. He’ll get them to tell him what’s wrong with it.”

“I hate to inconvenience him.” Rori wrapped her arms across her waist.

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