Page 10 of Minor Trouble
Spinning on my heel, I went to the car and grabbed my overnight bag from the trunk. God only knew when I’d see the car again. Without saying goodbye to the mechanic, I sank down into the backseat of the Uber and confirmed the school’s location. I watched in the rearview mirror as my car, the garage’s truck, and the mechanic disappeared into the distance.
It turned out I’d been less than ten minutes away from school. In all the time I’d wasted, I could probably have walked there.
I rushed to reception, where Lyla waited.
“What took you so long?” she asked. “I told Principal Collins what had happened, and she’s totally fine about it. She’s gone into another meeting now but will catch up with you when she’s finished.”
My shoulders sagged, a weight lifted. “Thank fuck for that. Ooops!” I clapped a hand over my mouth. It wouldn’t make the best first impression for the school counselor to be swearing in front of the kids.
“Did the mechanic get to you okay?” Lyla poured me a glass of water and placed it on the desk.
“He sure did.” I sipped the water, relishing its refreshing coolness. “Pretty hot too.”
“Really? You think?” Lyla raised her eyebrows. “Depending on who came out to you, he may be off limits.”
“Blond hair, cheekbones to die for, gorgeous deep blue eyes.” I almost swooned just telling Lyla about him.
Lyla let out a whistle. “Thank God you didn’t just describemyboyfriend, or our friendship would be over before its even begun. But you did just describe Seth Hudson,” she announced. “He’s off limits for totally different reasons. His ex just died in a car crash, and his teenage son, who he hasn’t seen in years, has come to live with him. He’s a mess right now.”
My chest contracted. “Are you serious?”
“Deadly. Wouldn’t joke about something like that.”
Shame crept over me. I’d been so awful and snappy to him when Seth had mostly been nice to me. But how could I have known? He was only coming to fix my car, not for me to find out his life story.
Well, it was official. This day certainly could get shittier.
Five
Seth
Watching Ainsley Coren’s endless shapely legs, clad in tight black jeans and leading to a peach of an ass, walk away from me to get into the Uber stirred something in my groin I hadn’t felt in a long time. Her snappy, waspish attitude had gotten under my skin. I stared at her phone number and address on the customer information sheet. Nice car, nice apartment, nice clothes. Way out of my league. I snorted, pushing down the thoughts which had started when I’d checked her out, and got busy getting the car onto the truck.
When I got back to the garage, Maddox was taking a break, drinking coffee, and eating a donut. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of the orange Fiat 500. “Who the heck in Cali Cross owns one of those?”
“Some chick from the school. Probably just needs an oil change.”
Shit. School.
Noah had some kind of orientation thing later that morning to register and choose his classes, and I had to go with him. Some father I was if I couldn’t remember that.
“Maddox, do you mind if I take an early lunch? Gotta do some stuff at school with Noah.” I raked a hand through my hair. “I’ll sort out the Fiat when I get back, work late if I have to.” I don’t know why I said that. It wasn’t as if I wanted to give Ainsley Coren any special attention, despite my physical reaction to her earlier.
“Sure, buddy, take what time you need. We’re all adjusting to this new way of life.” He let out a chuckle.
Since Noah had arrived a little over a week ago, he’d barely left the apartment. I’d encouraged him to go out, check out the town, maybe even make some friends. So far, he’d refused every single time, choosing instead to clamp his headphones over his ears and play video games. Even with my limited parenting skills, I knew it couldn’t be healthy for him to stay indoors all the time. On one occasion, I’d invited him down to watch Maddox and me work, trying to see if he had any interest in cars and fixing things like me. He only lasted about fifteen minutes until Lyla showed up. Maddox’s girlfriend was hot. And for a thirteen-year-old boy, seeing her coming here wearing her Daisy Dukes and a shirt knotted up under her breasts must have created all sorts of embarrassment. Hell, sometimes she did for me. He’d scuttled off upstairs, beet red, mumbling something about needing the bathroom.
“Thanks. I’ll make it up to you. I know you didn’t expect a whole family moving in when you offered me the apartment.”
“Maybe you need to think about getting a new place.” Maddox held up his hands. “Not that I’m trying to get rid of you, but something to think about. When Noah starts school again, he’ll need somewhere to concentrate on his studies.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. How did Maddox think of all this stuff? I was Noah’s father, and I hadn’t even thought about either of those things. Not that I could afford a new apartment right now.
“Yeah, definitely something to think about,” I muttered.
“What time’s your appointment at the school?” Maddox drained the last of his coffee, then wiped his sugar-coated fingers on a dish cloth.
“Not sure. Half past eleven, I think?”
