Page 2 of Skid
“I’m working. You gotta be a little messy when you’re working.”
“Momma makes me clean up my mess.”
“Well, lucky for me, this is my garage, and I can have it as messy as I want to.” I gave her pigtail a quick tug, then sat her down on the tool counter. “I’ve got some work to do and could use Pop’s help. Why don’t you pop a squat right here and help supervise?”
“I wanna help, too.”
“You are helping.” I gave her a wink. “You’re supervising.”
She gave me a little pout, and I worried she was about to fuss when Pop took out his phone, and her pout disappeared the second he said, “How ‘bout you supervise while you play that game you like.”
“Okay.”
She started playing, and I shook my head. “You'd better watch it, or you’ll end up spoiling her.”
“Spoiled you, too, but you still ended up okay.”
“You spoiled me?” I scoffed. “Were we living in the same house?”
“You had a warm bed and a roof over your head, didn’t ya?”
I knew better than to argue, so I nodded and said, “Yeah, I did. Also had food on my plate.”
“That’s right. You sure did.” He gave me a fatherly slap on the shoulder. “Now, what are you working on today?”
“I was thinking about welding the gas tank and getting it prepped for sandblasting.” I crossed my arms as I looked around at all the parts scattered about. “Might check the rocker box, too.”
He grunted, which was his version of approval, and without asking, he picked up a wrench and got to work. “You got the media loaded?”
“I did.”
“Good.” He started removing the gas tank as he asked, “What about Larry? You get with him about painting?”
“Got it set up for next Friday.”
He nodded, and after that, the conversation faded away, and we just worked in the kind of silence that only comes when you trust the man working next to you. It was a good day. Rain on the roof, tools clinking, and an old country song playing on the radio. It didn’t get better than that.
We’d just finished welding the gas tank when Luna held up Pop’s phone and announced, “Momma’s calling.”
“You can answer.”
Pop and I stilled as we listened to her say, “Hey, Momma.”
She swung her little feet back and forth as she nodded and said, “Yes, we’re still here.”
There was a brief pause before she answered, “I’m playing on Pop’s phone.”
She um-hmm’ed and yeah’ed a few more times before she held out the phone and said, “Momma wants to talk to you.”
Dad reached over and took the phone from her hand, and there was a softness in his voice as he said, “Hey, babe.”
It had been almost a year since my dad and Jenna hooked up, and I was still surprised by the whole thing. He was such a hard ass and never gave an inch, especially when it came to the club. I didn’t think he had it in him to actually have an ol’ lady and love her the way he loved Jenna. But he’d surprised me. Hell, he’d surprised us all.
I didn’t have anything close to what they had, and I wasn’t sure if I ever would. I didn’t date much. I didn’t really have the time, or maybe I just didn’t have the patience for it. Every now and then, I’d let a hang around warm my bed or spend a night with one of the girls from the Vault, but nothing ever came of it.
The brothers gave me a hard time about it. They’d say I was too young to be acting like an old man, and I should be with a woman instead of spending my nights alone working. Maybe they were right. But the truth was, I liked the quiet. I liked the ease of doing what I wanted when I wanted, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to give that up.
“We’ve gotta get going,” Pop announced, pulling me from my thoughts.
