Page 42 of Reckless Curves
Tom had also introduced Connor to the paddling pool, and her little boy had never been so happy. She’d been selfish not letting anyone help her. She now saw all that Connor had been missing out on before, but could have had if not for her pride.
So, she let Tom help her again.
They had hired a nanny, Jackie, who came in from 10am to 6pm Monday to Friday, so Kendra could work without scrambling for babysitters. It also meant she could suddenly drop everything and head to her music room when the lyrics of a song hit, without having to watch Connor. She’d also already picked up three more clients for music lessons. Word of mouth was amazing once she’d told her current customers where she’d moved back to Beverly Hills. It proved that the area she’d lived in had been holding her back.
Best of all, for the first week at least, Tom had kept his word. He never came over without checking with her first. He’d even stayed a few nights but left before Connor woke. She didn’t want her son seeing him living there until they knew where this new relationship was going.
Today she’d finally agreed to let Tom teach her a few things about car maintenance, so here she was at Bad Boy Autos. Although it probably was about time she bought herself a new car. She had the most important meeting of her career coming up with one of pop industries biggest female singers, a young girl who was riding a wave of success from a single #1 bestseller. If the pop princess liked her song and bought it, with the payment and royalties, she’d have more than enough for a new car. She still didn’t have the lyrics down, but she couldn’t push her muse. It would happen. She still had a month.
While she was proud of two advert jingles, she’d written the chance to write songs for a big recording artist…
“Hey, are you listening?” she heard Tom ask.
She stopped day dreaming and focused on the task at hand.
“Why won’t this damn thing move?” Kendra said through gritted teeth as she tried loosening a lug nut on the rear driver’s side wheel of her van.
Tom crouched down a short distance away. “Does the expression ‘righty tighty, lefty loosey’ ring a bell?”
Kendra let the tire iron fall to the concrete floor and stood straight while she panted. “No. Should it?”
Tom tilted his head as he looked up at her. “Have you ever used a screwdriver or a wrench at all? To put together furniture oranything?”
Kendra felt like a dumbass. “No. Marcus did all of that and anytime I need something fixed, him or Melvin from downstairs helped me.”
Tom groaned and let his head drop forward. “Okay. No problem.” He raised his eyes to hers again. “The rule of thumb when you’re dealing with lug nuts, screws, or just about any fastener like that, is this; turn it to the right to tighten it and turn it to the left to loosen it. Righty tighty, lefty loosey. Get it?”
It dawned on Kendra as she looked at him. “I was turning it the wrong way!” She picked up the tire iron. “Okay. I can do this. Lefty loosey.”
She fitted the socket of the tire iron over the lug nut until it was snug. Then she gave a mighty shove in the correct direction and screamed when the lug nut gave so easily that her momentum pitched her forward.
Tom grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her against him so she didn’t fall on her face. “Whoa! You okay?”
Kendra held onto his strong arms while her heart knocked against her ribs. The fast rhythm had more to do with being in close contact with Tom than any fear of falling.
“Yeah, sure.” She glanced at his mouth and whispered, “If I get any booboos, will you kiss them and make them better?”
One side of Tom’s mouth lifted at the corner. “Honey, I’ll kiss every inch of that luscious body if it’ll make you feel better.” He cast a wary glance around. “But for now, let’s get back to our lesson before I get wound up, okay?”
Kendra let go of him and nodded.
“Take the other four off, now,” Tom instructed.
As she bent to the task, she hoped Tom thought she looked adorable in the black overalls and steel-toed work boots that she’d borrowed from Lexie. She’d put her sleek, black hair in a ponytail, hoping for once she would not be the only one hot and bothered.
Kendra loosened the last lug nut and laid it on the floor beside the others. “I did it! Now what?”
Tom smiled at her enthusiasm. “Now we jack it up and take the tire off.”
“But I don’t have a jack.”
Tom pointed at the back of the van. “Yeah, you do. Look under the donut. I found the right model at a junkyard the other day and tested it.”
She tossed him a grateful smile. “You think of everything.”
“I don’t know about everything, but I do okay.”
Kendra lifted the hatch and opened the compartment that housed the donut. She loosened the wingnut that held it in place and put it to the side. The heavy weight of the donut surprised her as she struggled with it. She almost had it out of the well when someone nudged her aside, and it fell back down.
