Page 41 of Debts and Desires
“If you don’t want the job, just say that.”
“No, I do.”
“Good. Finish up so we can get there.”
“Aren’t you the boss?”
“Yeah. Don’t mean I can’t be on time.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I laughed and shoveled more food in my mouth.
“Yeah. I know.” Carter grinned at me and I almost choked again. He was beautiful when he smiled like that. My heart…fluttered? I looked away as fast as I could and pushed away the feeling. He was an asshole. An egotistical, arrogant bag of dicks. And yet… I let out a deep sigh.
Don’t fall for him, Emmy. You’re only going to get hurt in the end.
We ate quietly until we finished and cleaned up. As I was grabbing some snacks, Carter gave Mac a few pats. Just as Ithought about going and grabbing my notebook, he began walking out the door.
“Let’s go.”
“I need to go grab?—”
“Nuh-uh. I already gave you a little extra. It’s a Monday and I want to get there before a handful of customers come.” I ignored him and started up the stair.
“It’s going to take me a minute, Carter, geez.”
“Don’t care,” he said, walking out. “If you aren’t out the door in thirty seconds, I’m leavin’ you here,” he said, just as he closed the door.
“Okay! Okay!” I said, running to my room.
On my way out of the house, I stopped at the couch. Mac looked at me with the saddest eyes. “I’m sorry, baby, we’ll be back, I promise!” I kissed his snout before running out. Carter started to pull away the moment my feet hit the porch.
“Carter! Wait!” I yelled, running toward his Blazer. The brake lights came on and I hauled ass to the passenger door, climbing in. I sagged in the seat and dared a glance at him. He was smirking, looking like he was trying not to laugh.
“You’re such an asshole,” I panted, trying not to die from the burning in my lungs. He shook his head and continued down the long driveway.
Everything looked different in the daylight. I realized that even though his house felt like it was in the middle of nowhere, I could easily walk into town if I needed to. I mean, it would still take a little while, but not days like I thought. It also dawned on me that this was the first time in over two weeks that I’d left his house.
The ride to his shop was silent. It was surprisingly a comfortable quiet. The familiarity of Carter’s presence was oddly soothing, even though the man himself was a puzzle. Carter pulled in and parked his truck off to the side. There were a lot more cars parked here than I remembered.
“Wait here,” he said, hopping out. He walked to my door, opening it for me. I remembered he’d done the same the nightwe met. Ever the gentleman, he offered his hand and helped me down.
The building was a one story. It looked like it was made of brick or concrete blocks that had been painted white at some point and was now chipping.
After he unlocked the door, a bell above rang as we entered. I didn’t remember hearing it that fateful night, but I guessed it was from the adrenaline I still had. I followed Carter inside, pausing when he turned the reception area light on. I followed just a few steps as he went to the office, turning on that light, too. My eyes landed on the desk for a moment and my face felt hot. I had to look away. Then we went into the garage. As the lights flickered on, I noticed that other than a few things lying around; it was spotless. Just like I remembered it was.
He walked to the side of the garage, where a stacked washer and dryer were. He pulled out a blue jumpsuit and shimmied into it. When he noticed me watching, he smiled.
“Got tired of draggin’ ‘em all home and back or forgettin’ ‘em,” he said, zipping it, then bending over to snap the buttons at his feet. When he stood back up, he pulled the rest out of the dryer and hung the four of them on a hook to the left. Then he opened the washer part and threw the wet jumpsuits in the dryer and started it.
“It’s pretty smart,” I offered.
“I have a few good ideas now and then.” Carter took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair before putting it on backwards. Then he started toward the counter in the back, grabbing a clipboard and looking it over before he started getting tools out. Seeing him in his element did something to me, something I didn’t want to think about.
“What do you need me to do?” I asked.
“You any good at paper shit?”
“What do you mean?”
