Page 20 of Wreck Me
As he opened the door that led to the waiting room, Wilma was leading Megan back with a smile. When she noticed him standing in the doorway, her smile grew. “Hey, Aidan. She shouldn’t be long.”
All he could do was nod and take a seat. He stretched his legs out in front of him with a sigh.
He was an asshole. What was so wrong with her thanking him, anyway? It wasn’t her fault that he couldn’t keep from thinking of her or that it took all the discipline in his arsenal to keep his hands to himself. Hopefully, she’d be cleared and she could get herself a place at the inn. He didn’t mind helping her, but at the same time, he needed to be alone.
Yep, that’s all it was.
So why did the thought of not seeing her, possibly ever again, give him chest pains? He’d have to have his uncle check on that. Maybe he needed to watch his diet better.
He rubbed his chest and dropped his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Clearing his mind of all things Megan, he began to run down the list of items he’d need to go into the office and do in spite of it being his day off. He had an interview later this afternoon and another two new deputies starting tomorrow. He’d need to get Landon going on that.
Aidan stood when Wilma opened the door and Megan walked out. She carried a folded paper in her hand and a smile.
“Megan, let us know if anything changes. Y’all have a great day.” Wilma waved before heading back down the hall.
He opened the door for Megan, his hand finding the small of her back as she brushed past him. It was an innocent gesture, one he’d done without thinking. Megan didn’t seem to notice, but the warmth of her skin radiated through her sweater and into his palm. He pulled his hand back casually, not wanting to call attention to it.
He cleared his throat and pulled out his keys. “So, off to Henderson’s?”
She nodded and slid inside when he unlocked and opened the car door.
He pursed his lips as he shut the door for her. The silent treatment. Okay, maybe he deserved that.
Henderson’s was just a street over, and with no traffic in town at that moment—he needed to mark down the date and time of that little anomaly—Aidan parked the Mustang in front of one of the four bays less than five minutes later.
Again, Megan stepped out and walked into the office before he could catch up to her. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck before joining her in the small lobby area.
The shoebox size waiting area hadn’t changed since he was a kid and had come in with his dad when it was time to service the family vehicles.
The walls were painted in a blue that made him think of a popular American carmaker logo. Pictures of former champion race car drivers hung on the walls, along with posters of old muscle cars and one discussing the importance of timely oil changes. The smell of motor oil hung permanently in the air.
Jake Henderson—the third generation of Henderson men to run the shop—walked in a side door. The sound of rock music mingled with masculine shouts and an air drill followed him in, then muffled when the door shut behind him. He wiped his hands on a rag and smiled at them.
“Ms. Gentry, how are you?”
She smiled. “Please, call me Megan.”
Jake smiled, a flirtatious gleam in his eye. “Sure, Megan.”
“Just get on with it, Henderson.” Aidan’s voice brooked no argument and bordered on a growl.
Jake looked at him and chuckled. “Sure.” He turned his focus to Megan. “Okay, so we were able to find some of the parts…”
The more Henderson talked, the paler Megan became and the more doom built in Aidan’s chest.
When they walked out of the body shop, she walked toward the car in a daze. He stepped in front of her, causing her to stop short, and took her by the shoulders. It was dangerous for him to touch her. But she looked like she needed to be brought out of her haze. “Hey, you okay?”
She nodded, but she looked around like she was lost. “Yeah. I just…wow. It’s going to take a month and be so much more expensive than I’d thought.”
“I know.” He glanced over her shoulder toward the shop before looking back at her. “I wish I could tell you that he was raking you over the coals. But Henderson is as honest as they come, and if he could move faster or give you a better price, he would.”
She looked away. “I’m sure. Well, I guess I should go by the inn and see if I can get a room for a month.” Her shoulders slumped under his palms, and he briefly wondered if her skin was as soft as her sweater.
Aidan pulled his hands off her shoulders and stuffed them in his pockets. He didn’t like where his thoughts were headed or what that weird feeling was in his chest when he thought of her leaving.
“Sure, I’ll take you by there.”
Things went further downhill from there. The burst pipe issue at the inn was taking longer than expected and the rest of the inn was booked. The news at the other inns in town wasn’t any better. October in Madison Ridge was the start of the busy season, and with all the festivals in town, the fall foliage, and nearby wineries, lodging was at a premium. The one room they’d managed to find brought tears to her eyes when she was quoted a month-long price.
