Page 69 of Truck Off

“Don’t you already have an asshole boss?” I ask. “You don’t really want another one, do you?”

She smiles broadly. “You mean Linden? He ain’t so bad.”

“Ain’t so bad?” I raise a brow. “Surely, you’re not talking about the same Linden Koch that’s been at odds with my family since before he was born.”

“The one and only.”

“Then you need to get your head checked. He is definitely that bad.” While she finishes up with the spark plug, I grab the oil pan to prep draining whatever oil might remain in the bus. “Linden is the worst of the Koch brothers. He goes out of his way to start shit with us.”

She shrugs. “Yeah, he’s intense, but …” her brow wrinkles like she’s thinking about how to explain. “He’s different at work than he is when he’s out. I’ll admit, he’s pretty bad when I see him at Posey’s. But at school, he seems almost … happy.”

I snort. “Linden? Happy? I don’t think I’ve ever seen the man smile. Ever!”

Karla chuckles. “He smiles all the time at work. And believe it or not, he’s really good with the kids.”

I stare at her like she’s telling me state’s secrets. Then I shake my head. “Nope, I don’t believe it. Hell will freeze over before I ever see that man smile or show any kind of emotion other than being perpetually pissed off.”

Karla’s shoulders shake with laughter. “You’ll just have to take my word for it.”

We work in silence for several minutes while I slide under the bus to open the drain on the oil pan. When I stand back up, I catch a glimpse of Lina. She and Clara are standing by the picnic table looking at what Lina drew.

Lina is explaining something to her, and Clara is listening with rapt attention. I glance around, looking for Trevor, but I don’t see him. Then he steps from behind the bus with a poster sized board in one hand and a can of spray paint in the other.

“How’s this?” He holds it up to show it to Lina.

There’s a large block letter E in the middle. It’s mostly white with a black outline.

Lina squints at it and nods. “Much better. See how the faint shading makes it pop?”

Trevor beams at her like she just told him that he won first prize. She’s been teaching them how to do graffiti paint, and from the looks of it, they’re catching on.

She’s a good teacher. I was impressed with how well she did with the kids at the street fair. She’s patient and knowledgeable. Teaching is definitely a strength of hers, and it’s something she should do more often.

“She’s still standing there, Romeo.” Karla teases.

“Huh?” I pull my eyes off Lina and look back at Karla.

She chuckles and shakes her head. “You two are disgusting. I catch her looking at you just as much as you look at her. She may act like she hates you, but she doesn’t.”

“Yeah, I know.” I look back at Lina. I know she doesn’t hate me. She wants me just as much as I want her. I can feel it every time she’s near me. Okay, maybe she doesn’t want me as much as I want her, but she does want me.

She’s stubborn and hangs onto her values like they’re the only thing she has. I can’t fault her for that. Especially since I’m the one in the wrong. It just means I have to work harder to prove myself to her if I want a chance at her heart.

“Does she look pale to you?” I ask as I wipe my hands on a towel. It doesn’t get all the grease, but it gets the worst of it off. I’m not nearly as dirty as I was before lunch.

Karla steps up beside me and watches Lina carefully. “Yeah, maybe. Watch her hands.” Karla points in Lina’s direction. “They’re shaky.”

“I noticed that too.” I rest my hands on my hips with my eyes focused on Lina’s expression. “She keeps wincing and rubbing her head.”

Lina says something to Clara and Trevor, and then they grab a few cans of paint and their boards. They disappear behind the bus. I assume to practice whatever technique Lina just taught them.

Lina brings both hands to her face, and her body sways.

“Hey, Lina,” Karla calls out. “You feeling okay?”

Lina’s eyes snap to us in surprise. Almost as if she forgot we were here. “Yeah, fine. Just getting a headache. It happens.”

I start walking toward her before she even finishes speaking. “What do you mean, it happens?”

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