Page 54 of To Belong Together
Sam didn’t need the money to keep his parents afloat. If she made payments, the bank might work with Mom and Dad to save the house.
She ignored Sam and pulled the car out, but when she entered the lobby to turn in the key, Uncle Nick motioned her into his office.
Sam was already inside the cramped room.
“It’s your day off, Erin.” Nick’s chair creaked under his weight.
Instead of crossing her arms, she pressed her fingertips against the surface of his desk. “Just helping out.”
“You’ve been making a habit of this.”
“I’ve been getting awful jobs.”
“You have the least seniority.”
“I made as much at my first job with no seniority, and I have six years of experience now. That’s worth something, and even the lowest person on the totem pole needs a living wage. I can’t make it when I’m stuck with only the repairs no one else wants.”
“Like John Kennedy’s car.”
She lifted her hands and let them fall. Yes, like that, though that particular task was turning out okay. He’d come for her any minute. She’d passed on her mom’s advice to wear a blouse, but she hoped to scrub most of the black off her hands. With how stubborn grease and grit from vehicles tended to be, a deep clean like that would take a good five to ten minutes.
“How are you coming on getting his business back?” Uncle Nick interlaced his fingers.
She shrugged. She was more concerned about the state of their relationship. He seemed to want to be friends. Was that the extent of what she wanted?
Not really.
John’s assurance when she’d seen him in the parking lot that week, his promise that she’d be okay, had meant more than she’d admit to anyone. In the moment, she’d believed him.
Now, she wasn’t so sure. Helping her parents financially would strain her standing here and strain her own budget. Mom might decline anything she did scrape together. Regardless, Dad wouldn’t get better. How much longer did he have?
“Respect the way we do things around here. The only jobs you’ll do are the ones assigned to you.”
At the edge of her vision, Sam seemed to lift his chin.
Erin stayed focused on Nick. “As long as the distribution of work is fair.”
“You have the least seniority, and you lost us a customer. You’ll stick to the work you’re assigned, or you won’t have any work here, period.”
The heat of the threat blistered her pride. “It’s not me John has a problem with.”
Uncle Nick leaned forward, a challenge in his eyes. “Then why did he leave?”
Well, because of her, but they were getting over that disagreement. “He sent the non-disclosure agreement after Roy helped him, so check with him. As for me, John invited me car shopping today, so I have to go.” She backed toward the hall.
Sam’s eyebrows hit his hairline, and Uncle Nick’s hands fell loose onto his lap, but she couldn’t take the statement back.
She’d done it now—dropped John’s name to save her job after he’d made it clear he didn’t want to be used for his money or his influence.
Think before you speak, Erin.
She retreated to the women’s room to change her clothes and scrub her hands. Her statement to Nick had been true. If John was willing to start over and go car shopping, he’d probably come to Hirsh Auto for service too. If he continued his boycott for some reason, she could find a new job before Nick got around to firing her.
She’d been buying herself time, not using John.
She scrubbed the gritty soap into her skin, and the suds darkened with dirt. She worked until she’d turned her skin raw, but still grease clung. After pulling her hoodie over her T-shirt, she headed to the lot to find John, both her hands and her conscience still sullied.
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