“It is when you’re a pain in the ass. And you’re my only sister, so try not to give yourself too much credit.”
She rolled her eyes and patted Chief on the head as she passed him by. “The Chevelle’s really coming along. Looks great.”
“Thanks,” I grunted as I gave the bolt that was making my life so damn difficult one last crank. It finally loosened and unscrewed the rest of the way. “So what brings you by? And where’s the little monster?”
“Your sweet, precious nephew is spending some quality time with his daddy so Mommy can have a break. And as for your other question, can’t a sister just come by to visit her big bro she hasn’t seen in a while?”
I stood to my full height and grabbed the shop rag out of the waistband of my jeans to wipe the grease and dirt off my hands. “Since when do you come by just to hang? You always have an ulterior motive, so spit it out. As you can see, I’m busy,” I said, pointing to the car that still needed a ton of work.
Partnering with Cannon had been a great move business-wise, but it hadn’t left me with a whole lot of free time to work on my own projects, so when I had the rare day off, I spent hours out here, getting as much done as I could.
Moving to the ’36 Harley Knucklehead I was also trying to restore, she hopped up on the seat and made herself comfortable, and I knew by the smug grin on her face that she was most definitely here to annoy the shit out of me.
“Busted. You know me so well, Gavin,” she teased, using my real name just to mess with me. No one had called me Gavin since I was fourteen and discovered that my life was basically going to be shit until I was old enough to get the hell away from my mom and build a life for myself. “I am here for a reason.”
Leaning against the side of the car, I crossed my arms and ankles, settling in for whatever was to come. “All right, then get to it.”
“Scoot and Caroline are planning a family dinner this Sunday,” she said, speaking about our aunt and uncle. They’d been the ones to take us in when our mom bailed for good. I’d basically been old enough to go off on my own at the time, but Shane was still just a kid, six years old, and I didn’t have the first clue what it took to take care of her, so I’d gone to live with my aunt and uncle too, so I could watch what they did and try to copy, giving my baby sister a better shot at a good life than I’d had when I was her age.
She’d stayed with them until she was old enough to go out on her own, but as ashamed as I was to admit it, I hadn’t lasted nearly as long. Only a few years after Mom bailed, I’d taken off as well, needing to get the hell out of this town and away from the memories.
I owed those two people more than I could ever pay back for helping both of us when we needed them, but I was sad to say that I’d seriously dropped the ball since coming back.
“And before you try to make some excuse, attendance is mandatory,” she added, her tone leaving no room for argument. She was dead serious. “They miss you, big bro. The least you can do is grace them with your presence for one evening. Not to mention, Brantley’s been talking my ear off, asking when he’s gonna get to see Uncle Stone.”
A smile pulled at my lips and pinched my cheeks. Christ, I loved that kid. I missed him too, and I really needed to step up and do a better job of being there for him. “All right. I’ll be at the dinner. Happy?”
She shrugged casually. “I’ve got a great life, so I’m always happy.”
It was nice to hear her say that and to know from the expression on her face that it was true. Shane hadn’t always had it so easy. It had been a bumpy road to get to that happy, for her and Jensen both. There was a point when I hated the man for breaking her heart when they were younger. But he’d come back. He worked his ass off to win her trust, took his lumps, and more than made up for the hurt he caused. I was glad that they’d worked everything out and were a family again.
“Well, since that’s done, you can go. Like I said, I got shit to do.”
Shit that did not include jerking off to the memory of a certain awkward wallflower turned bombshell. I’d taken care of that particular issue this morning—twice—before heading out here.
Fuck, I was a mess.
“Not just yet. There’s one more thing,” Shane said way too fucking gleefully as I groaned and dropped my head back.
“Jesus, you really are a pain in the ass. What is it?”
“I noticed your helmet was on Willow Thorne’s desk at work a few days back, and when I asked about it, she said you gave her a ride into work.”
I had a feeling I knew where she was going with this, but I tried not to let show the sudden tension locking up the muscles in my shoulder. “Don’t make a thing out of this, Shane. It was hot as hell outside that morning, and she was walking to work because her car’s a piece of shit. It’s not that big a deal.”
“Maybe,” she said calmly. Too calmly. Suspiciously calmly. “But you see,” she started again, and I knew she was about to lower the boom. “I already know that you and Jensen talked once, and you told him that you’d never had a woman on the back of your bike and had no intention of ever putting one there. So I know that you giving Willow a ride on the back of your bike, when I know for a fact that you’ve told other women there’s no way you’d take them for a ride when they asked, is a very big deal. Whether you’re willing to admit it or not.”
Fuck. I’d have to remember in the future to never drink with my piece of shit brother-in-law again. It made us both too goddamn chatty, and apparently he ran back and told his wife everything we talked about. The gossipy little bitch.
“Shane. It’s not—”
“And before you tell me it’s not what I think it is, I’ll also mention that I saw Big Red in the parking lot of Hot Java the other morning, and you’ll never guess who climbed out of the driver side just as I drove past.” She arched her brow like a villain in an action movie who was just about to reveal that he’d hidden the last bomb in the basement of a school building. “Or maybe you do.”
“Shane,” I said in warning.
But of course, my sister didn’t listen for shit. “I’m sure you can imagine my surprise at seeing someone driving your baby like that. Especially when you threatened bodily harm to your entire family if any of us so much as touched that truck without your permission.”
I dropped my arms and clenched my fists, feeling the muscle in my jaw begin to tick. “She couldn’t afford a rental and the garage was out of loaners. She needed a ride while her car was being fixed.”
“Uh huh. I’m sure that’s all it is.”
“You wanna stop tap dancing around your point and fucking get to it already?”
“I’d love to, thanks.” She lifted her index finger in the air. “First, you give her a ride on your bike when you’ve sworn never to have another woman on the back of it.” Her middle finger joined the first. “Then you let her drive your precious Big Red all by herself. There’s only one conclusion I can draw from all of that.”
“Don’t say it.”
Again, she didn’t listen. “You like her,” she singsonged. “You like her like her.”