small tantrum.
I walked over to grab my cell phone from the table.
Barrett glanced down at it as I reached for it. “What happened to your hand?”
“It had an argument with a wall.”
“We all make bad choices. By the way, someone’s been trying to call you. Your phone has been doing the cha-cha across the table for a half hour.”
I glanced at the screen. “It was Jason.” I was glad he’d left a message. I really didn’t want to talk to the guy.
“Hey, Clutch, we’ve got a lead on a sixty-five Shelby GT350. It’s a wreck and has to be remodeled from the chassis up, but it could be a great investment. The guy is going to the classic car meet-up tonight. I can’t make it, but you’re better at striking deals anyhow. Call me and I’ll give you all the info.”
“Why did you argue with a wall?” Barrett asked as I lowered the phone. “I’m figuring after the weights I heard being shifted around in the garage and having you pancake me against the wall that something has you really tense.”
“None of your business, Rett, and this place better sparkle. I want to see my reflection in that coffee table.” Seconds before, he’d looked terrified enough to swallow his own tongue, but my brother had the unbelievable confidence that allowed him to recuperate quickly. Growing up with four older brothers had given him amazing survival skills. He flipped on the stereo and then folded the comforters.
“Those need to go into the washer,” I said. “You’ve been sweating, barfing and doing other things I don’t want to think about in those blankets for a week.”
He nodded and gathered them up under his arm. “I’m thinking it’s all about a girl.”
I waved him toward the laundry room. “Stop trying to psychoanalyze me. Don’t turn on the washer yet. I’m taking a shower. I’ve got to see a guy about a car.” I walked into the hallway.
“And I’ll bet the girl’s initials are T. F.,” he called to me. I had to admit, the kid had a steel pair of balls. “Because everyone knows that Taylor was meant for you. Everyone but you, that is.”
I shut the bathroom door behind me.
Chapter 8
Taylor
I woke to the sound of voices. I’d fallen asleep long enough for the bright sunlight of the day to fade to the faint pink light of dusk. The dim glow of the dying sun seeped beneath my bedroom blinds. The day came back to me in slivers, but one fragment was lodged painfully in my mind and my heart— I’d stood in the same room with Clutch, and I was still crazy about him.
There had been so many times in the past few years that I’d tried to figure out why I was so nuts about him considering that he’d always treated me like shit. I’d been convinced that if I thought about it logically then I could just as easily talk myself out of the crush. But this had never been a crush, this had never been a school girl’s obsession with a monstrously built, good-looking guy who drove fast cars. James Mason had a soul that sometimes I was sure only I could see. He was a guy who would do anything for his friends and family even if it meant putting himself in danger, and somewhere deep in my bones, I was sure that he would risk everything for me too. Even though he’d always been irritated at my very presence, I’d kept that hope inside of me. Something deep within drove me to the guy as if there was only one person in the world for me, and if Clutch didn’t want me I was sure I’d spend the rest of my life alone.
Mom’s harsh knock startled me out of my thoughts. “Dinner is ready, Taylor. Jason and Sarah are here.” She stuck her head inside. She’d put on a dress and pearls as if Jason and Sarah were important dinner guests. Her lips pulled tight, and it was obvious there was something she needed to confess. “I called Adam.”
I sat straight up. “You what?”
She put up her hand. “He’s not coming. He had to work.”
I took a deep breath to keep my cool, but she was making it
I walked over to grab my cell phone from the table.
Barrett glanced down at it as I reached for it. “What happened to your hand?”
“It had an argument with a wall.”
“We all make bad choices. By the way, someone’s been trying to call you. Your phone has been doing the cha-cha across the table for a half hour.”
I glanced at the screen. “It was Jason.” I was glad he’d left a message. I really didn’t want to talk to the guy.
“Hey, Clutch, we’ve got a lead on a sixty-five Shelby GT350. It’s a wreck and has to be remodeled from the chassis up, but it could be a great investment. The guy is going to the classic car meet-up tonight. I can’t make it, but you’re better at striking deals anyhow. Call me and I’ll give you all the info.”
“Why did you argue with a wall?” Barrett asked as I lowered the phone. “I’m figuring after the weights I heard being shifted around in the garage and having you pancake me against the wall that something has you really tense.”
“None of your business, Rett, and this place better sparkle. I want to see my reflection in that coffee table.” Seconds before, he’d looked terrified enough to swallow his own tongue, but my brother had the unbelievable confidence that allowed him to recuperate quickly. Growing up with four older brothers had given him amazing survival skills. He flipped on the stereo and then folded the comforters.
“Those need to go into the washer,” I said. “You’ve been sweating, barfing and doing other things I don’t want to think about in those blankets for a week.”
He nodded and gathered them up under his arm. “I’m thinking it’s all about a girl.”
I waved him toward the laundry room. “Stop trying to psychoanalyze me. Don’t turn on the washer yet. I’m taking a shower. I’ve got to see a guy about a car.” I walked into the hallway.
“And I’ll bet the girl’s initials are T. F.,” he called to me. I had to admit, the kid had a steel pair of balls. “Because everyone knows that Taylor was meant for you. Everyone but you, that is.”
I shut the bathroom door behind me.
Chapter 8
Taylor
I woke to the sound of voices. I’d fallen asleep long enough for the bright sunlight of the day to fade to the faint pink light of dusk. The dim glow of the dying sun seeped beneath my bedroom blinds. The day came back to me in slivers, but one fragment was lodged painfully in my mind and my heart— I’d stood in the same room with Clutch, and I was still crazy about him.
There had been so many times in the past few years that I’d tried to figure out why I was so nuts about him considering that he’d always treated me like shit. I’d been convinced that if I thought about it logically then I could just as easily talk myself out of the crush. But this had never been a crush, this had never been a school girl’s obsession with a monstrously built, good-looking guy who drove fast cars. James Mason had a soul that sometimes I was sure only I could see. He was a guy who would do anything for his friends and family even if it meant putting himself in danger, and somewhere deep in my bones, I was sure that he would risk everything for me too. Even though he’d always been irritated at my very presence, I’d kept that hope inside of me. Something deep within drove me to the guy as if there was only one person in the world for me, and if Clutch didn’t want me I was sure I’d spend the rest of my life alone.
Mom’s harsh knock startled me out of my thoughts. “Dinner is ready, Taylor. Jason and Sarah are here.” She stuck her head inside. She’d put on a dress and pearls as if Jason and Sarah were important dinner guests. Her lips pulled tight, and it was obvious there was something she needed to confess. “I called Adam.”
I sat straight up. “You what?”
She put up her hand. “He’s not coming. He had to work.”
I took a deep breath to keep my cool, but she was making it
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