Page 6 of Highest Bidder
I swear she can be madder than a wet hen and the next second, sweet as a Georgia peach. I shake my head and let out a small laugh. I became pretty efficient at fixing things growing up. Picking up stuff from our neighbor, Mr. Arnold, who took me under his wing and taught me all there was to know about tools. He stepped into a grandfather role when he didn’t have to. He died when I was a teen, but I wear his hat everyday, a constant reminder to be more like him and nothing like my dad.
“I’ll be there after my lane ends, okay? Don’t touch anything.” Knowing her, she would try to fix it and break the whole damn sink.
“Okay, okay. I won’t touch it. I’ll have lasagna for you whenyou come. Gotta put some fat on those bones.” I roll my eyes. She’s always making comments that I need to fatten up. There’s no way I want that to happen. When I’m not at the auctions, I’m at the gym or out at JT’s house. He lives on a farm, and I love to ride his horses. I help him with the upkeep of the farm too. “Miney, do I hear you rolling your eyes at me?”
“Mama! There’s no such thing as you hearing that. I’ll be over later. The lasagna sounds good. I gotta get going.” This woman is my world, but she also drives me insane.
“Okay, you are welcome to bring someone along with you if you want. You know I love JT. That boy is the sweetest thing there is. Or maybe you have a lady friend you’d like to bring over. I don’t know if you already had a date lined up for tonight or something.”
I groan. She is relentless. “Mama, you know I don’t have time to date.” I pull the phone away from my ear and readjust my hat. “I’m not bringing anyone over.” As the words fall from my mouth, an arm is slung around my neck.
“Is that Mama?” JT asks, leaning in to place his mouth near the phone. “Hi, Mama. I’d love to come over, especially if you’re cooking.”
I glare at JT and shrug his arm off. He knows damn well if he comes over, she’ll flirt with him all night. I’ll practically have to carry him out over my shoulder to leave. There are no boundaries for either of them.
“JT! There’s my boy.” she screeches, and I can hear how big her smile is over the phone. “Wonderful! I’ll have plenty of lasagna for all of us! I'll see you boys once you finish your lanes. Have a good sale. Oh, and Miney, mind your manners. If you were nicer, maybe you would have a lady friend to bring over to see me.”
Oh, good god.
“Okay, Mama. Love you. Bye.” I hang up before she or JT can say anything more and fix him with a glare.
“Have I told you I love your mama?” he says with a broad grin. “She’s the best!” I have to refrain from punching him right in the jaw.
“You bother me, you know that, right?” I growl.
“Yeah. It’s great.” His smile is still firmly in place. “Oh, when I was coming in, I saw the new girl, Hunter, with Marcella. I didn’t realize she was coming over to this auction right away. Can’t say I mind. She was mesmerizing. Did you see the way her hips swayed as she moved around on the block? I’m not sure how you stayed focused this morning.” He gives me a knowing smirk. I guess he noticed how I faltered and got tripped up when she started the lane. Watching her captivated me. But there’s no way I’m going to talk about that with him. He’d eat it up and act like a damn gossiping schoolgirl.
Rubbing the sudden headache forming above my eyes, I sigh. “Let's not talk about her. We literally collided when I got here, and she had the gall to elbowmein the stomach!”
JT's lips twitch, and I can see he finds this funny. “Why would such a sweet-looking thing do that?” he asks.
I drop my hand in frustration and scoff. “The little doll claims she tripped.”
Bursting with laughter, JT wipes his hand across his mouth to try to regain his composure, then slaps a hand down on my shoulder. “Oh, my god! And I thought she couldn't get any better.” He loses it again, his loud laughter blaring in my ear.
“I need new friends,” I grumble over my shoulder as I walk toward the lane.
This auction isn’t as nice as the one this morning. While that one had just one seller on my lane, this one has many different seller’s cars on one lane, which means you have to go a lot slower. Each seller walks up and shows you the price they need to be able to sell their car. About ten lanes run every Tuesday evening. They also have a bigger sale on Wednesday mornings where they have sixteen lanes running.
I walk over to the auctioneers’ meeting. I say, “meeting,” loosely. We gather around lane one, and the GM gives us the rundown and the list of where everyone is going. I’m always on lane seven. It’s not a bad lane. I’m usually done by five. I wonder where Hunter will end up. As if my thoughts conjured her, she suddenly appears, walking up in her tight-fitted jeans, showing off all the right curves. She may only come up to my shoulder, but damn, she has great legs. She locks eyes with mine, and I can’t look away. She smirks before giving me a wink, making me think she knows something I don’t.
6
HUNTER
Of course,they would stick me with him. Why give me the chance to actually become friends with my ringman? Sure, give me the one who hates me for simply existing. When Marcella said they would let me have lane five, I could hardly believe my ears. I know it’s not common to have an opening at an auction. But the guy who was on these lanes before me retired and got the hell out of central Florida. Good for him, better for me. But then Marcella said Myles was my ringman, and I felt like I was getting punked.Of fucking course.
The auctioneers and ringmen have gathered around for the meeting. Marcella introduces me similarly to how Griffin did, although I’d rather they let me do my lane and leave. No need to bring attention to me, but of course, people will cling to any reason to bring up my dad. While walking to my lane, Jess comes running over. Even though I don’t know many people here, she’s the closest thing I have to an ally. I can picture us having one of those close friendships you see in movies.
“Hey! So Marcella gave you the job. Congrats, rockstar! Not like I’m surprised, though,” she says with a wink.
I return her smile. She is the sweetest and dang good at herjob. This morning, we were rolling. We didn’t have to stop for any problems. When I said the money, she’d get it on the screen so fast it was like she was reading my mind. It was easy to work with her.
“You’re stuck with me again,” she says, raising her arms in the air. “I hope I didn’t bother you when I was eating candy or pointing to the online bidders. I wanted to make sure you saw them, and I eat while I’m working. My brain runs on high octane. Eating helps me focus on the auctioneer, so I don’t miss anything. I know it seems weird, but it helps. If it bothers you, I’ll stop,” she says, rambling as her hands dance wildly around in front of her.
I stop walking and turn to her, placing my hands on her shoulders. “Jess! You were amazing this morning. I didn’t care what you were eating. It smelled good. It made me want some.” I smile, wanting her to feel comfortable around me. “I’m glad we’re working together again. It means I have one less thing to worry about.” With a laugh, I loop my arm through hers and continue walking toward the lane.
“So I need to find a place to rent. Do you happen to know of any places centrally located to all the auctions?” I ask. If anyone knows where to buy or rent, it would be someone who’s friends with everyone. I’ve noticed that Jess will talk to just about anyone, and people are genuinely happy to talk to her.
