Page 53 of Sanctuary

Solo waved her away. “I’m not talking about you; I’m talking about Lori, the friend Gabe does want to have sex with.”

Gabe leaned under the hood and worked at one of the hinge bolts Shay had treated. “I think you’re missing the point, buddy. Lori doesn’t want to have sex with me, so I’ve made peace with that, and I’m accepting what she is offering. Which is friendship.” The bolt didn’t move so she popped back up and nodded for Shay to spray some more lubricant.

Solo shook her head. “So you’ve given up already?”

Gabe shared a look with Shay and clenched her jaw slightly. If she hadn’t been okay with the nickname, her second option had been Bulldog because when she locked onto something, she wouldn’t let go. Usually, Gabe could handle Solo’s persistence, encouraged it even, but today her irritation prickled under her skin. “It’s not about giving up. It’s about respecting Lori’s decision that she’s not interested in me romantically. It’s called taking no for an answer, Solo.”

“She’ll probably change her mind the more she gets to know you,” Solo said. “Will you let her have a second chance when she does?”

“There’s been no first chance.” Gabe twirled the ratchet in her hand, inwardly cursing the rusted bolts and wishing she could just get on with the job and be done with this conversation. “And she won’t change her mind.” She didn’t know that for sure, but it really didn’t matter if Lori did address her trust issues over the coming months as their friendship developed. Because if she ever found out about Gabe’s past with the Nelsons, she would never trust Gabe. And that she was sure of. Lori had said it herself: once a cheater, always a cheater. Gabe assumed that meant cheating from every angle, but she wasn’t about to ask.

“I bet she will,” Solo said. “Then it’ll be her bad luck, and she’ll be kicking herself.”

Gabe caught Shay’s eye, and Shay shook her head slightly.

“I could do with coffee,” Shay said. “Anyone else needing caffeine?”

RB made a show of checking her watch. “It’s two p.m. on a Saturday afternoon. Isn’t it beer time?”

“Coffee sounds great,” Gabe said, grateful for Shay’s artful interception before she blew a gasket at Solo. She still didn’t know why she was so irritated today though. Maybe it was the combination of too much alcohol, too little sleep, and mediocre sex that had ramped up her rage level. Shay had shown her the meditation she did every morning and suggested Gabe join her. Gabe had declined but figured she might well accept the invitation tomorrow morning before she headed out to see Max and Lori, who didn’t need a rage monster showing up at her place.

“Solo, can you grab an order from Bonnie’s just down the street?” Shay picked up her phone and tapped away on an app. “What does everyone want?” She looked at RB. “They’ve got a liquor license if you want beer.”

While Shay ordered, Gabe dipped back under the hood to attack the hinge bolts for some peace. The one she was working shifted a quarter turn, so she persisted with a slow and steady hand. “Hey, Woodchuck, RB, can you come over and take the weight? The bolts are coming off.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Woodchuck said and got into position on the opposite side.

RB slid into the driver’s side and reached through the hole where they’d already removed the delaminated windshield to help take the strain.

“I’ll be back in five,” Solo said.

“No rush,” Shay said.

Gabe chuckled quietly at her masterful redirection of Solo’s energies and continued to tug away with the wrench. After getting six of the bolts free, sweat began to seep into her eyes so she stood and pulled up her tank to wipe it away.

“You might want to put those away. We’ve got visitors,” Shay said.

Gabe dropped her top to cover her stomach and looked up to see Lori with an attractive friend beside her, both of them wide-eyed and immaculately dressed. And did Lori just bite her bottom lip? She couldn’t quite see because she hadn’t managed to wipe away all the sweat. She looked around for the giant roll of paper towels and ripped some off to finish the job.

Shay wiggled her eyebrows and smiled, making it clear she shared Gabe’s opinion on the friend.

Lori smiled brightly. “Hi, Gabe.”

“Hey, Lori, how are you?” Gabe glanced at the wall clock made from a truck tire. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize the time, or I would’ve cleaned up.” She pulled a ReadyClean wipe from the tub next to the paper towel and rubbed at the grease all over her hands.

Shay did jazz hands to show off her black latex gloves. “I keep telling you to use these.”

“I don’t have pretty nails to protect.” Gabe tossed the wipe into the trash and rubbed her hands on her jeans, but it was no use. She was in a mess only a hot bath and a damn good scrub could deal with, and that was just the way she liked it.

“This is my best friend, Rosie,” Lori said.

“It’s great to meet you, but I don’t expect you to shake hands.” Gabe saw the look of horror on Rosie’s face at that possibility and tried not to laugh. “And this is my best friend, Shay.” She gestured to Woodchuck and RB, still wrangling the hood, and introduced them. “Could you just give me a second to get these last few bolts out so we can take the hood off?”

Lori nodded. “Of course. Do you mind if I film you doing that?”

“Sure, no problem.”

After Lori had told her about the response to her TikTok comment, Gabe was happy to come on board with any and all coverage of their restoration project. That enthusiasm had only increased when she and Shay had pulled back the tarp on the Brewster back at Lori’s Sanctuary, and it became immediately clear that they were going to need all the financial help they could get to strip down and rebuild the car Shay had dubbed Cruella.

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