Page 98 of Call it Reckless

“What do you mean?”

I walked across the room to Bristol, her eyes sweeping across my nakedness with a gleam of appreciation. “I’m just a really lucky man, that’s all.”

She accepted my kiss, then pulled away, scooping up the towel she’d dropped on the floor. “You’re going to be a late man if you don’t get back to work.”

“It’ll be worth it.”

After another kiss, she murmured against my lips. “Hey, Reid? Thanks again for believing in me and going the extra mile to track down what really happened. It means everything to me.”

“Andyoumean everything tome.”

I kissed her once again and wasn’t the slightest bit concerned that both of us ended up being a few minutes late to work.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO

Bristol

Idropped a couple of banana chunks into Sterling’s cage, who hopped down and began to nibble them.

“Rich isn’t going to be happy with how spoiled you are,” I muttered.

“Mayor Bowen.”

“Atta boy,” I praised. “A little respect from you, huh?”

I hadn’t meant for the office to become an animal shelter, but I’d been bringing Buddy in since before we opened. It started off because I wanted to keep an eye on him. Then, when he proved to be so well behaved, he kind of became a fixture. Normally, I kept him in my small office in the garage.

Sterling pitched a fit when I brought Buddy to the office and not him. But he didn’t like the loud noises that came with the tools we used. Now, he and Buddy kept June company in the lobby, much to the delight of the customers. Business was back to full strength now that the truth about Buck Tanner had come out.

Nora and Trinity had kept their heads down whenever they passed me on the street. Last I heard, Nora and Buck had broken up.

“Gotta service call for you,” June told me. I looked it over on my tablet and headed to the work bays. “We just got a call for a tow,” I announced to the guys. “Some van out on Mountain View Road.”

Griff glanced at the tablet with the information. “I’m almost finished. I’ll take it.”

I looked at my watch. It was already close to the end of the day. “I’ll finish for you. You clean up and head on out. I’ll let them know you’re on your way.”

“Thanks, boss.”

I got busy finishing the leak in the coolant system and ran the last check to make sure everything worked. Then I completed the last oil change for the day and handed the keys back to the woman, who was glowing about her new haircut.

“I swear, you ladies are amazing. Just amazing. My husband is happy because I actually ask to bring the car in for anything it needs now. He doesn’t have to bother with it, and I get a little pampered. It’s a win-win.”

“We’re so glad you think so. We’ll look forward to seeing you back again.”

By five o’clock, all the jobs that could be completed were done, but Griff wasn’t back yet. I sent everyone home, then texted Reid that I’d be late getting home. Griff could take a look at what needed to be done, but I was the one who had the final say on estimates.

I wandered over to the salon.

Paige finished spraying her client’s hair in place, then wrote up a receipt. “Thanks for coming in. Take that on over to June and she’ll take care of the rest.”

Her client beamed. “Thank you. I feel twenty years younger.”

Paige smiled as she left, then came over to where I sat in her little waiting area. “You’re here later than usual. Aren’t you usually done for the day by now?”

“Griff’s still out on a tow call. I like to stick around when I can to help unload and secure everything.”

“Griff, you said?”

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