“What the hell are you yelling about?” Luke stood in my doorway and leaned against the doorframe. He crossed his arms over his chest with a smug look on his face.
“Nothing.”
“Really? Sounded like you’re going on a trip.”
“Nope, you must be hearing things. I’m not going anywhere.”
Luke walked into the room and sat down on the bed next to me. “Well, you may not, but your car is.”
“Uh, what?” I drawled.
“Your car got picked up about twenty minutes ago on a car hauler.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?” I demanded. “You better be joking right now, Lucas Jensen.” I ran out of my room and to the living room window.
My car was gone.
I had gone to the gas station today to stock up on energy drinks and parked it on the side of the shop. I had even locked it because I knew being home anything was fair game when it came to my brothers. “Get it back here,” I yelled.
Luke strutted into the living room and plopped down on the couch. “No can do seeing as I’m not the one who paid to have it picked up.”
“Well, where did it go?” This had to be the work of Kurt. He knew the one thing that would absolutely piss me off would be messing with my car.
“No clue. I bet it says on this piece of paper though.” Luke pulled a yellow piece of paper out and unfolded it.
I dove the six feet between us and snatched it out of his hand. I rolled onto the floor, and held the paper in front of my face. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I whispered.
“I have to admit, the guy is pretty good. I mean, he took your car, and the only way you are going to be able to get it back is if you go there.” Luke tsked. “The guy could go up against Kurt and possibly win.”
“Win what? Being the biggest asswipe?” I could not believe he had done this. His signature was scrawled at the bottom of the sheet, and it was dated yesterday.
“Yeah, that sounds about right. I have to admit, I really didn’t think the guy had it in him. He must really need you back.”
I balled up the paper and tossed it in the direction of Luke. “I can’t believe you actually just let the guy take the car.”
“How could I not let him? It was fucking brilliant.”
“You know you’re my brother, right? You’re supposed to be on my side with this.”
“But your side is wrong,” Luke insisted.
“Says the guy who didn’t have to put up with the shit I did.”
Luke stood up and looked down at me. “Was it really that bad there, Frank? You were working on a NHRA pit crew. Living the life you dreamed of the past eight years.”
“I wasn’t getting credit for any of the work I was doing, and he didn’t even know my name.”
Luke shook his head. “And now you don’t have a job, and before you know it, he’ll hire some other car chief. You’ll just be a memory of the chick who couldn’t get along with everyone.”
“I got along with everyone except for Brooks. He can’t act like his car magically fixes itself after every race.” I shot up off the floor and stood toe-to-toe with Luke. “I don’t need my name in lights, but a damn thank you now and then would be nice.”
“Did you tell him that?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “In a way.”
“You mean in the way you tossed a wrench at his head?” Luke chuckled and shook his head. “I know you think Mitch, Kurt, and I don’t have your back in this, Frankie, but we do. We get this guy was a dick for not recognizing you, but you need to give him a second chance.”
“Why?”
“Because the guy flew here. Hung out with you. Worked side by side with you. He told you he made a mistake with the way he treated you. He can’t say anything else. Now it’s time he shows you that he’s changed, but he can’t do that with you living in your old room and working here.”
“Some people don’t deserve second chances,” I growled.
“But some of them do,” Violet called.
Just great. Now she was going to be a part of this. “I need to get my own place.”
“You have a place in Leeds Square,” Luke pointed out.
Violet walked into the living room holding two cups of coffee. She handed me one and sat down on the couch. “You remember that day I picked you up in the pouring rain and took you home?”
“Yeah, I looked like a drowned rat and was frozen.”
She nodded. “Yep, that is true, but do you also remember how Luke treated me?”
“He was an ass.”
“Yep, he sure was. I vowed I would never see him again because he didn’t talk to me nicely and he treated me like an ass.”
It was hard not to remember that day. My life changed after that day. Once Violet began hanging around, Luke started to realize he needed to be more present in my life instead of just throwing money at me and hoping I would leave him alone. It was a hard time for all of us when Mom and Dad died. Violet came in and made things better. “Yeah, but you did.”
“Yep, I did after he showed me that he wasn’t an ass.”
“I might disagree with that,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Well, he’s not always an ass,” Violet amended.
“Hey,” Luke scoffed. “I’m in the damn room.”
“We know, honey, but hush for a second. I’m trying to make a point, and you letting your ass tendencies come out isn’t going to give me a leg to stand on.” She took a sip of her coffee and patted the couch next to her. “Sit.”
“Is she talking to you or me?” I whispered to Luke.
“I’m not sure, but I think one of us should sit just to be safe.”
“Rock, paper, scissors?”
Luke nodded, and we both shook out fists at each other.
“Woo, I win! You always pick paper, sucker.”
Luke hung his head and went to sit down next to his wife. “Yeah, well, you always used to pick rock, and I kicked your ass every time.” He put his arm around Violet and pressed a kiss to the side of her head.
“Funny how the student becomes the master,” I smirked.
“Can we get back to moral of my story?” Violet butted in.
I waved my hand. “Yes, though I know where you’re going with it.”
She sighed and looked at Luke. “Why must you always do that when I’m trying to make a point? You do the same damn thing with the kids. I try to teach Ash a lesson, then you completely blow it out of the water and end up watching racing with him.”
Luke looked at me. “You wanna watch the qualifiers from last weekend?”
Watching Brooks get his ass beat last weekend was not how I wanted to spend my day. “Raincheck.”
“For Pete’s sake,” Violet grumbled. “Moral of the story,” she yelled. “Some people are worth second chances. Brooks didn’t know your name; he didn’t kill your dog. Give the man a second chance before you completely write him off.” She slugged Luke in the gut and stood up. “I’m going to make dinner. You two can watch racing or whatever.”
“Babe,” Luke called after her. “Don’t be mad at me.” Violet didn’t answer, and Luke hung his head. “I hate when she’s mad at me. It makes shit so much harder.”