Page 33 of Three Rules I'd Never Break

“Boingo?”

“The goat. He likes to hang around when I’m working on the car.”

“I don’t see him.” I glanced around. “Why? Did you expect him to hand you the tool?”

Eli laughed. “He can’t tell a wrench from a hammer. But I figured you’d give me what I needed.”

“How’d you know... never mind. Is this yours or are you helping a friend?”

“It’s mine.”

Snapping a picture was oh so tempting. This view would make a great background image for my phone. Or a poster for my wall. The muscles in his arms were visible where his t-shirt stretched over his biceps. And those jeans.

He cursed as metal clanked, and a small piece skittered across the floor.

“I’ll get it.” I kept my focus on the bolt—or was that part the nut—as I walked around the car. Leaning down, I had to stretch to reach it. “Got it.”

He opened his hand.

Standing beside him, I made sure my fingers touched his skin when I placed the nut—pretty sure that was what this was called—in his palm.

He grunted, which I assumed was another version of thank you.

For a full minute the only sounds in the garage were his tools clinking in the engine and my heart thumping. I stayed beside him, looking into the engine.

I couldn’t tell one part from the other. Collectively, it was an engine. I’d never bothered to learn about the different parts.

If this was how he spent his off hours, I wanted to learn more about cars. Hopefully, the internet had easy to understand training videos I could watch. Of course it did. The internet had everything.

I inched closer to him. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to get it to run.” He bumped me with his hip.

“Oh, sorry. I’ll get out of your way.” I moved away.

He chuckled but didn’t stand up. “You weren’t in my way.”

I eased up beside him again. “So, is that other car yours too?”

“The classic Mustang?” He pulled his head out of the engine and smiled down at me. “That’s Joji’s.”

“There you are! I thought I saw you on my porch.” Joji materialized out of nowhere as if her name had beckoned her, and behind her, a goat came running up.

It wasn’t that I was unhappy to see Joji, but well, I had forgotten she existed. “Sorry. I saw Eli working and thought I’d say hi.”

“Oh! You know each other? That’s perfect. I hate to be rude, but I need to run over to the ranch. Out here there is never a dull moment. I shouldn’t be too long.” She turned her focus to Eli. “Will you look after my guest? There are snacks on the counter. Help yourself.” She petted a dog that trotted up beside her. “Bones, you listen to Eli. Boingo”—she waggled a finger at the goat—“you better behave. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Eli nodded. “Sure thing.”

Pulling keys out of her pocket, she winked. “Have fun!”

Once her truck was out of view, I turned back toward Eli. “I didn’t know you lived here.”

“Now you do.” Looking down at his hands, he gave a small shrug. “Let me get cleaned up a bit, then we can go inside.”

I was liking this cozy little scene in the garage with the radio playing, a welcome breeze keeping the temps in check, and Eli showing off some of his talent.

Trailing a finger down his arm, I stepped closer to him. “Don’t stop working on my account. I can be quiet while you work or... I can be helpful maybe.”

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