Page 47 of Healing Hearts
On Saturdays, we are only open until noon—mostly last-minute bookings and emergencies—so it’s a small crew that rotates out each week. I’m glad Brett’s the one who discovered the break-in. Some of my greener employees might not have known to call the police right away.
“I’ll send Judy on her way,” Brett says. “But I’ll stay until the police are done. After the other day, I wouldn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea about you.”
“Thanks, man,” I say. “I appreciate that.”
Brett’s working on a car, and I’m matching inventory to our records when Emily arrives.
“Maggie called and said you’d had a break-in?” she says, coming straight into the shop where Brett and I are both working.
“I always forget how fast gossip tracks in this town,” I say, checking off another item on my list. So far, I’m only missing two tools, and I can’t even be sure if they’re missing or someone didn’t put them away where they belong. That’ll be the next step.
“Maggie is the mayor,” she says, looking around. “Other than the front door, was anything else taken or broken?”
“Not one hundred percent sure yet,” I say. “Where’s Amir?”
“Tyler’s house. I dropped him off before coming here. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to help, and I wasn’t sure either of us would have the patience for Amir’s questions about what happened. Not to mention the fact that I’d rather not freak him out about a break-in.”
“My money is on Dan trying to send a message,” Brett says from under the car.
“Dan?” Emily says.
“Dan Ramouli,” I say.
“The guy who helped send you to jail? Maggie was pissed when he came back to town, but she couldn’t block his purchase of the gas station,” Emily says.
“Mayor Maggie has good instincts,” Brett says, stepping out from under the raised vehicle. “Are you telling Emily?” he asks me.
“I am now,” I say, though I probably should have told her the other day when it happened. I just hate any reminders of who I used to be. “Dan stopped by to see whether I’d have an interest in working with him. When I said I did not, he said I might get hit with a ‘stray ball.’”
“What does that mean?” Em asks.
“Trying to intimidate him,” Brett says. “I was here, so I already told the cops about what happened. Said they should be monitoring Dan’s gas station and people he’s associating with.”
“Why would Dan even come talk to you? That seems reckless,” Emily says. “There’s no love there after what he did.”
“He heard the shop isn’t doing well,” I say, staring at the wrench in my hand before putting it back in its place. “And he knows what I’m like. How laser focused I can get.”
“On doing well?” she asks.
“On doing whatever it takes to do well,” I say, sparing her a quick glance before going back to my checklist. “But I don’t do that anymore. I’ve taught myself to cut my losses.”
“Almost,” Brett says with a chuckle. “I’d wager that laser focus is just better applied now. When something is broken and there should be a fix, you’re relentless.”
“That’s different,” I say. “The only thing I’m losing is time, and people are helped, not hurt, when I fix those problems. You don’t know what I used to be like—neither of you do.”
“You’re really hard on yourself sometimes,” Emily says quietly. “Maggie wouldn’t have gone to bat for you when you got out, wouldn’t have maintained such a close friendship with you if she thought you weren’t a good guy at heart, Trent.”
“You and Maggie both have the same problem,” I say, “you see more of the good in people than the reality.”
“Trent,” she says, and I hate the tone in her voice, scolding and disappointed.
“This is my mess to clean up,” I say. “You should go spend time with Amir.”
She stands there for a beat, and I can almost feel her censoring herself, coming up with replies and then casting them aside. If I look at her, she’ll continue the conversation, probably wear me down to the point where she’ll be trying to help me fix this mess, and it’s not hers to fix. She’s got enough to worry about in her own life.
So I keep focused on the tools until I feel her walk away, until I hear her car pull out of the lot.
“Nothing wrong with letting people who care help,” Brett says as he tightens a bolt in the car he’s working on.
