Page 25 of Finding Jeremy
Laughing, Jeremy followed him and Haven back around to the front, where he could see the machine shed doors wide open, light spilling out.
“Text me when you get home?” Haven requested as he pulled River into a one-armed hug. “Some of the trucks have been running fast on these roads lately.”
“Tell me about it,” River grumbled. “Some asshat tailgated us through the hairpin, then gunned it past as soon as we hit the straightaway, even with headlights coming in the opposite lane. You best believe I slowed way down and gave him plenty of room to whip in front of me since he was in such a goddamned hurry.”
“Good,” Haven grumbled, “You don’t need to get caught up in that stupid shit. That little beetle you drive won’t offer shit for protection if you wind up in a wreck with one of those big beasts.”
“No shit. I’ll text as soon as I’m at the apartment. Is Maddox meeting up with you here or at home?”
“He’s coming here and wants to see the car, which I need to unload off the flatbed. Jeremy’s gonna drive it in tomorrow so Loki-Bear and I can ride home with Maddox.”
“Ohhh, I wanna see it too.”
“I’ll take pictures; you get moving,” Haven chided.
“Yeah, yeah, at least tell me what kind it is,” River protested as he slid behind the wheel.
“Ford LTD,” Haven explained. “We looked at a Crown Vic, but it was too new a model. I was hoping for one of the older, square-bodied ones. When I told the guy that, he sent us to a buddy of his who had the LTD stuck in a rotting old shed. It took the winch to haul it out of there, and the best part was it didn’t cost us a dime. He was just happy to have it out of the way so he could bulldoze the shed and put up a new one.”
“Sweet!”
“Yup. Now get your ass in gear, and don’t forget to text.”
“I won’t.”
“You better not. I know how you get when you see Lux. You forget everything else but climbing him like a stripper pole.”
“Like you’re any better.”
“Never said I was, which is why I’m reminding you to text,” Haven replied before closing the door and stepping back from his brother’s vehicle.
If Jeremy had ever been lucky enough to have an older brother, he’d have wanted him to be just like Haven was with River, teasing, protective, but the best of friends too.
“Come on,” Jeremy said as Haven stood watching River turn the VW bug around. “Let’s get the car situated and the shed locked up, then see what we can find in the fridge. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
“No reason to hunt anything up,” Haven explained as they headed to the shed. “Gray and I picked up pizza and wings when he stopped back in town for his bike, since your old man said he’d had a long day and wasn’t up for cooking tonight. With Maddox buried in those new meat rubs he’s been working on, we decided to just grab enough for everyone and enjoy it out here, maybe light the bonfire and chill for a bit. It’s been a long day.”
“No bull.”
Inside the shed, Jeremy helped Haven set up a couple railroad ties to keep the car from hitting the back wall once they pushed it off the flatbed, the car jolting to a stop when it hit them.
“Looks to be in good condition,” Jeremy said as he walked around it. “Did he say why he’d stopped using it?”
“Was his daughter’s first car,” Haven explained. “When she got a new one, she parked it in the shed for her younger sister to use, only the younger girl couldn’t get the hang of driving something that big and wrecked a few lawn ornaments and the garden fence before he decided to give in and just get her a moped. Sounds like someone else we know.”
“Ha, fuckin’ ha-ha,” Jeremy grumbled, cutting his friend a scathing look. “It wasn’t as bad as all that.”
Of course, Haven completely missed it as he was busy opening the passenger door of the flatbed and retrieving the food.
“Dude, the driver’s ed teacher literally resigned after one afternoon on the road with you,” Haven reminded him.
“Fucker was a nervous bastard anyway,” Jeremy groused as they headed for one of the picnic tables around the back of the house.
Gray had already grabbed plastic plates and a roll of paper towels and was seated across from Chaos, waiting for them.
“So, a Ford LTD, huh,” Chaos said as Haven slid onto the bench beside him. “That’ll be a good one once you get it up and running.”
“I hope so,” Haven said. “I was thinking that we’d put all the logos on it, including yours, and put you and Gray in charge of the pit crew.”
