Page 114 of Sometimes You Fall

***

Two Weeks Later

“Hold that right there.” Grady bends over the fender of the Nova while Chase holds something in place. With a wrench in his hand, Grady reaches down into the engine compartment, flicks his wrist a few times, and then stands tall again. “Perfect.”

“It’s gonna run, right?” Chase asks, wiping sweat from his brow. I watch the two of them from the doorway separating the reception area of Grady’s Garage from the garage itself.

It’s Saturday evening and Chase has been here since eight. When my son practically launched himself out of bed this morning, I thought something had to be wrong. Turns out, this was the day they planned to put the motor back in the car, and he was desperate to see if his newfound knowledge was worthwhile.

My stomach growls as my body reminds me that dinnertime is upon us, but I just don’t have the heart to interrupt the two of them yet.

This is how our life is supposed to be.

Taking a deep breath so I don’t overwhelm myself with that train of thought, I lean against the doorjamb and continue to watch my son learn from the man that has taught him more in the past few months than his father did in his entire life.

Grady pats Chase on the shoulder before wiping his hands on the rag he pulled from the back pocket of his jeans. “It better. Otherwise, we have to take the whole engine apart again.”

“Really?” Chase asks in disbelief.

Grady laughs. “Maybe. Let’s just hope we put it back together correctly the first time around.”

“I wonder what it’s like to drive a car like this.” My son steps around the front end, running his hand down the lines of the body, tracing the door handle and back fender. Grady hired someone to give the car a new coat of paint while they rebuilt the engine, so the body is now sparkling in a beautiful midnight blue, a tad lighter than it was the night I laid my body on this car.

“Wanna find out?”

Chase’s eyes pop up and lock with Grady’s. “Really?”

“Yeah. Once she’s street legal, I can teach you how to drive it. Keep in mind, this classic doesn’t have all the bells and whistles new cars have.”

Chase shakes his head. “I don’t care. I’m in.” He takes a few steps closer to Grady as they both stare down at the engine compartment. “I can’t believe we took that whole thing apart and put it back together.”

Grady places his hand on my son’s shoulder. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Chase. Thanks for your help.”

My son simply nods, and before I start bawling for the second time today—the first was when I dropped my apple fritter in the grocery store parking lot—I clear my throat, gaining their attention. “How’s it going?”

They both spin to face me simultaneously. Chase flashes me a proud grin, but Grady’s grin speaks of dirty promises as his eyes dip up and down my body, the kind of promises that I know he’s good at fulfilling.

“We got the engine in,” Chase says. “Now, we just hope it starts.”

“Can you check now?”

Chase looks back to Grady as he pulls the keys from the pocket of his jeans. “No better time than the present.” Dangling the keys in front of my son’s face, he says, “You wanna do the honors?”

“Shit. Really?”

“Chase!” I exclaim.

“Sorry.” He swipes the keys from Grady’s hands and practically jumps into the driver’s seat as Grady walks over to me, pulling me into his chest.

“Hey there.” He leans down and presses a kiss to my lips.

“Hey, yourself.”

“How was your day?” He reaches down and places his hand on my bump. “Both of you.”

“We’re doing okay. Getting hungry though.”

“Me too. As soon as we know if all our work was for nothing, we’ll go grab some food, okay?”

---