Page 8 of Missing Pieces

“Well, that makes things easier. But I really think you should just dump that piece of crap and get a new one,” he says pointing his thumb at Blue Betty.

“Not in my budget, unfortunately.”

“Right, well like I said I am feeling nice. I can get your car running by tomorrow and you can save up money to fix the rest and then you can just pay for it all at once. No need to pay me anything today.”

I look at him in shock. “Are you kidding me?”

“’Course not darlin’.”

“But you don’t know me. I could just drive off and never pay you.”

“You wouldn’t get far, trust me. Plus, since you seem to be working at the diner, I reckon you’re actually telling the truth about being here a few weeks.”

“I can pay you for what you can do now. Maybe. How much to get it running?” I reach into my purse for my wallet.

His hands go up and he shakes his head. “Nonsense. Pay me later. You seem honest enough.” He walks behind the desk and files through some papers. “Now let’s just pull up the invoice for you to sign and you can be on your way.”

I am in complete disbelief. Never would anyone ever do this back home in Chicago.

We go over the paperwork and I am out the door within five minutes. I head back to the hotel to check out and grab my things and head over to the diner to meet up with Ivy.

“How bad is it?” she asks while locking the front door.

“Sixty-eight hundred.”

“Whewie,” she whistles. “That’s gonna be an awful lot of shifts here.”

“Tell me about it. Hopefully, something with my dad goes through. Or the divorce. Or I stumble upon an oil field. Or I win the lottery.”

“Well if you find an oil field, we are becoming partners.”

I laugh and follow her around the back of the building to her truck.

“So, when are you getting your car back cause it’s gonna be a bit of a walk to the diner every day.”

“Well, the guy at the shop is actually going to do enough so that it will run. He’s gonna give it to me tomorrow. He is actually letting me pay him for it all in the end. Don’t need to pay him a cent tomorrow.”

Ivy stops in her tracks. “Oh really? The guy in the shop. Hmm.” She continues walking and I hear her mumbling something.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean!?”

“Honey, Easton would never do that for anyone. Hell, I needed to fix my car once and he made me pay him before he did any work. He must like you.”

“I thought he was your friend, why would he do that?” I ask, ignoring the second comment she made.

“I did need my truck fixed because I accidentally rear-ended him, but that’s neither here nor there. Did he flirt with you?”

“Well, that makes sense why he would charge you upfront!” I walk up to the truck and continue to ignore her question. I try to open the door, but it’s locked. Turning around to face her she’s tapping her foot on the ground and staring me down, she obviously wants an answer.

“He could really use a new woman in his life. Heaven knows the last one drove him up the wall. Oh my! City girl falls for small-town hunk. Oh, I can just picture the love story now!”

I start laughing because that is clearly the opposite of my future. “Honestly Ivy, he was an asshole. He came into the diner in the morning and was a dick to me and things didn’t change much when I found out that he was the guy working on my car.”

Ivy unlocks the truck and walks over to her side to get in. “Well, he must like something about you if he isn’t charging you right away. And I should have told you that he comes in every morning to get coffee before headin’ to the shop. Sorry about that. He did have a bit of a rough night last night with the nutcase. That’s what I call Quinn, the ex. She’s nuttier than a bag of trail mix. You sure he didn’t flirt with you?”

I have trouble keeping up with this woman sometimes. Her conversations go everywhere. I just nod to her question because there is no way in hell I am egging her on.

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