Page 31 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach
“As opposed to manual.”
“I don’t think that?—”
She held a finger to his lips. “Shh. Where are the sledgehammers?”
Jacob went downstairs to get all of the tools they would need, including masks and goggles. By the time he got back, Hazel had finished laying down a sheet of plastic, which would help them with the process of cleaning up all the pieces of drywall afterward.
“Are you ready?” he asked with a grin.
“So ready,” Hazel said, brandishing her sledgehammer as if it was a broadsword.
Laughing, they got to work on the wall, slamming their sledgehammers against it. It was hard work, but Jacob always enjoyed that sort of thing, and considering the wide grin on her face, it was clear that Hazel was enjoying it as well.
Finally, there was a pile of drywall on the floor and an empty space where the wall used to be.
“This is going to be so cute,” Hazel cooed, her voice somewhat muffled by her mask. “Samantha is going to absolutely love it.”
Jacob pulled her into a hug and rocked her back and forth. “Yes, she is. We did great.”
“How about we head over to my place and eat some leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes? Mom dropped some off yesterday. She knows I’ve been too busy with all this remodeling to cook very much, and she wanted to help us out.”
“Your mother is an angel,” Jacob said, his mouth watering at the thought of the meatloaf, which was another secret Owens family recipe. He felt pretty confident that the secret sauce was one of the ingredients, and there were definitely onions and plenty of garlicy breadcrumbs in the delicious meatloaf. “I can’t wait to eat that.”
“You got it, handsome,” Hazel said, slipping her hand in his. She took another look at the progress they’d made on the wall and smiled. “Just think, soon it’s going to be our home.”
You’re my home,he thought, and kissed her head before they headed down the stairs together.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Oscar pushed open the front door of Main Street Auto curiously. He never liked going to mechanics, but this place seemed to be cleaner than most. He took a long whiff of the smell of the lobby, noting that it still smelled like tires and various car fluids, but the smell overall was clean. He liked that. He had expected a particularly grungy place, since Rosewood Beach was a small town. He’d assumed that an auto repair shop with little to no competition would have let itself become more of a slum, but it was clear that the owner of Main Street Auto was both professional and hard-working. That made Oscar feel better about having taken his car there.
Of course, he was only going for an oil change. It would be hard for even a bad mechanic to mess something simple like that up. Oscar himself didn’t know anything about cars, but he was under the impression that changing the oil on a car was a fairly simple task.
A young man entered the lobby through an office door and stood behind the front desk. He had somewhat messy brown hair, dark blue eyes, and a crooked smile. His face reminded Oscar of someone else, but he couldn’t think of who.
“Welcome in,” the young man said, holding out his hand for a handshake. “You’re Oscar Jennings, here for an oil change, right? I’m Dean Owens, the owner.”
“Owens?” Oscar echoed, shaking his hand. “Are you related to Vivian Owens, the woman who owns The Lighthouse Grill?” As soon as he asked the question, he knew the answer. That was who Dean reminded him of, Vivian. Although their faces were very different, there was something about their noses and the shape of their eyebrows that was similar enough for him to know that there was a family resemblance.
“Yeah, that’s my mom.” Dean grinned proudly. “Have you been to The Lighthouse Grill?”
Oscar nodded. “I have.”
There was an awkward pause as Dean continued to smile at him, almost as if he expected Oscar to say something else. Oscar wondered if Dean expected him to compliment the food at The Lighthouse Grill. It had been excellent, but Oscar wasn’t one to dish out compliments freely. He was just starting to ask himself why that was when Dean held out his hand.
“Let me take your key out to my guys and they’ll get that oil change started for you. You own the black car in the corner of the parking lot?”
“Yes,” Oscar said with surprise. “How did you know that?”
“I know all the cars in town,” Dean said with a grin. “Yours is the only one out there that I haven’t seen before.”
Oscar smiled. “Impressive.” He dug in his pocket for his keys and pulled the car key off the ring. He handed it to Dean.
“Be right back,” Dean said, and disappeared through another door that presumably led into the garage.
Oscar remained standing in front of the counter, since he wasn’t sure if Dean wanted him to pay before or after his oil change. A few moments later, Dean returned to the lobby.
“Shouldn’t take long,” he assured Oscar. “That’s a nice-looking car you’ve got there. What’s the year?”
