Birch Please: Mountain Man Romantic Suspense (Black Timber Peak Mountain Men) by Carly Keene

Author:Carly Keene [Keene, Carly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Last Chapter Press LLC
Published: 2023-10-12T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

EIGHT

ACE

Miz Vivian and her sisters have gotten Lila all set up by now, according to what she told me on the phone. “You might want to stop by Sadie Lou’s after you leave work,” Miz Vivian says, like she’s not a master manipulator. “Sadie Lou could use some groceries, I’m sure, with another person in the house, and Murphy’s Grocery is right on your way up Hard Fall Road.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Maybe some coffee. And eggs.”

“Yes, ma’am.” And I’ll get some cream and sugar for Lila.

Lila. The thought of her makes my chest hurt. I have never felt this way about a woman, and I don’t trust the way I keep wanting her. It might be good for a little while, but sooner or later I’d find out that I couldn’t trust her— just like my grandfather. Just like my Junkyard Dog buddies, who weren’t really buddies at all.

Around noon, Billy is still in Sunset Canyon, picking up the part I’ll need to fix Lila’s car. I’m around back, checking it over to see if there’s anything else to repair besides the torque converter. I’ve already done some basic maintenance, while I wait on the converter part.

When I hear footsteps, I ask Billy to bring me some chips when he goes to lunch.

A deep, hoarse, familiar chuckle has me jerking my head up. Surely that’s not—

“Well, boy. You got yourself a nice little business here, don’tcha?”

Fuck. It is. “Wheels,” I say, wiping my hands on a grease rag. “I haven’t seen you in a long time.” I concentrate on keeping my voice level.

“That’s right.” He looks older. Well, he is older, but he looks more worn than I would have expected. Heavier around the middle, too. “Been a long time since you ditched the JDs, ain’t it?”

“Fourteen years,” I say coolly. “That’s assuming that by ‘ditched the JDs,’ you mean ‘got sold down the river by the JDs.’ Am I right?”

Another hoarse chuckle. He wipes his mouth. “Naw. Jigsaw just panicked. He had a record then, and you didn’t. He figured you could take the fall, and we’d make it up to you later.”

That’s a load of bullshit. My skepticism must show because he spreads his hands. “Only you never came back to the Lucky Horse, didja?”

“I went straight.”

“I heard.” He shrugs his meaty shoulders. “You owe me, you know. I showed you a lot of shit about cars, back when you were a little-dick teenager. But when you got released, you never even stopped by to say hello on your way out of town.”

Damn, I’m thirsty. I walk over to the shop fridge and pull out a can of soda. “Want one?” I show Wheels the red can.

“Naw. Not unless you got something stronger to dose it with, boy.”

I shake my head, popping open the cold can and letting the fizz die down a little before sucking down some of it. “Not at work.”

“Heard this place was yours.”

“It is. Pops died and left me enough to buy it.”

Wheels looks around, nodding.

“What do you want, man?”

He shrugs, squinting at me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.