“I’ll take what I can get,” Matteo said quickly, as if afraid Holden might send him packing. “I’m not the most experienced with auto repair, but I’m decent with my hands and a fast learner. I need an employer to sign off on my hours for parole, and if it’s not you, it’s my father. He pays me nothing, so…”
“Shit, don’t make it too easy on them,” Axel said. “You deserve a fair wage for your work.”
Matteo bit his bottom lip. “Right, yeah. I know. I just really want this to work out. It’s been tough finding anyone who will give me a chance, and I swear, I’ll work really hard.”
I glanced at Holden and raised an eyebrow while Bailey gave a very enthusiasticyesnod behind Matteo’s back.
“Matteo, why don’t you grab yourself a drink out of the minifridge in the corner there and talk to Bailey and Axel for a bit,” Holden said. “They can give you the rundown on what the job entails while Gray and I have a quick word in private.”
I expected Bailey to protest since he did the lion’s share of the mechanic work, but he was too enamored with Matteo to complain. Cartoon heart eyes practically exploded from his face every time he looked at the guy.
“What would you like to know?” he said eagerly. “Ask me anything.”
Axel snorted. “Puppy love is so cute, isn’t it?”
Matteo looked confused, and then his eyes landed on Sugar. “Is she still a puppy? She’s so big.”
“No, but she sure acts like it,” Axel said, covering up his comment about Bailey’s behavior. Behind Matteo’s back, Bailey flipped him the bird.
Well, forget puppy love. I hoped Matteo was ready for all the brotherly love—which often looked a lot like trash talk and rude gestures.
I followed Holden into his office and closed the door. “Well, that’s good timing. If we hire Matteo, we can take on all the extra work we want, right?”
Holden looked pensive. “It’s a calculated risk to take on another expense, but I don’t see how we can keep growing the business otherwise.”
I nodded. “Jose isn’t keeping up like he used to either.”
“Yeah, he’s ready to retire. He just comes in because he loves us like family.”
“Sounds like an easy decision, then.”
He nodded. “Once Bailey goes to college, we’d need to hire someone to fill his shoes, anyway. It would be easier if Matteo started learning from him now.”
“Bailey’s going to college in the fall?” I said in surprise.
My little brother hadn’t once said anything to indicate he’d be leaving soon.
Holden snorted. “No, I wish. He took a gap year. But he’s going the next year if I have to hog-tie him and hand-deliver him on the first day of classes.”
I smirked. “That sounds real healthy.”
“Come on, Gray. You know he’s the best of us. He deserves to make something more of his life. This business is the best option you, me, and Axel will ever get, you know? But he’s different.”
I nodded slowly. “You could have been different too, if I hadn’t screwed it all up. You dropped out of college because of me.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Holden said. “It was the old man who ran you off.”
“I could have fought to stay,” I said in a low voice. “I regret that I didn’t at least talk to you first.”
“I appreciate that, but…” Holden dropped into his office chair with a sigh and ran his hands through his hair. “I never told you this, but I was struggling with school, anyway.”
“You were?”
“So many people, and they didn’t understand boundaries. Even a walk across campus gave me anxiety. People bumping into me, girls reaching out to touch my arm, guys pushing and shoving and horsing around. It was tough to avoid touch.”
“I didn’t think about that,” I said.
“In high school, we were such loners it wasn’t an issue. Then I got to college, where no one knew me. And at first, it was great, you know? Beingseenas normal. Average, even. Everyone was friendly. Maybe a little too friendly.” Holden blew out a breath. “I had too much fucking baggage to make it work. That’s the sad truth. But Bailey is good, you know? He’s smart, and he’s good with people. Kid got straight A’s his senior year. I wanted to kick his ass when he told me he’d missed the application deadline. I blame myself. He saw how hard I was working to bring back the business, and he wanted to be there for me. But I just want him to be free to live his life the way we never were.”