truck.â
Muleâs expression turned sly. âWord around town is that youâve got her working out at White Pines.â
Harlan tilted his chair back on two legs and sipped on the icy mug of beer Rosa had set in front of him the minute he sat down. âIs that what youâre doing with your time these days, sitting around gossiping like an old woman?â he asked Mule.
âItâs about all there is to do since you dropped out of our regular poker game to play nursemaid to that brat.â
Harlan accepted the criticism without comment. Mule grumbled about everything from the weather to politics. His tart remarks about Harlanâs perceived defection were pretty much in character and harmless.
Muleâs watery hazel eyes narrowed. âI donât hear you arguing none.â
âWhat would be the point? You think you know everything there is to know about the situation.â
âMeaning, you think I donât, I suppose. Okay, so fill me in. Whyâd you hire her?â
âBecause she owes me a lot of money for repairs to my pickup,â he said simply. âYou ought to know. I had it towed to your garage.â
âAinât had time to take a look at it,â Mule said.
âWhen are you planning to end this so-called vacation of yours?â
âWho says I am? Iâm getting so I enjoy having nothing to do. Maybe Iâll just retire for good.â
Harlan nodded. âYouâre old enough, thatâs for sure. What are you now, eighty?â
Mule regarded him with obvious indignation. âSixty-seven, which you know danged well.â
âOf course,â he said. âMust be that boredom ages a person, lets his mind go weak.â
âThere ainât a thing wrong with my mind.â
âThen Iâd think youâd be itching to tackle a job like that truck of mine.â
âIâll get to it one of these days,â Mule said. âWhen Iâm of a mind to.â
âIf you donât plan on going back to work, maybe you ought to sell the garage. The town needs a good mechanic. Cody had to fix Janet Runningbearâs air-conditioning the other night, because youâre on this so-called extended vacation of yours.â
âBet he ruined it,â Mule commented with derision. âAir-conditioningâs tricky.â
âItâs been working ever since,â Harlan said, deliberately setting out to goad the old coot into going back to the job heâd loved. âYou know Cody has a way with mechanical things. Heâs probably better than you ever were and heâs not even in the business. Maybe Iâll have my truck towed out to White Pines and have him take a look at it.â
Mule set his beer down with a thump. âI told you Iâd get to it.â
âWhen?â
Mule sighed. âFirst thing on Monday.â
âFair enough.â
âJust donât start bugging me about when itâll be done. Decent work takes time and concentration.â
Which meant it might take months before he saw that pickup again, Harlan decided. Still, he couldnât regret his decision to have the truck taken to Muleâs garage, rather than someplace bigger or fancier in another town.
His friend had closed up shop almost three months ago for no reason Harlan had been able to discern. Heâd been on this strike of sorts ever since. He wasnât likely to be happy again until he had his head poked under the hood of a car.
âDonât look now, but that brat is heading this way,â Mule announced. âWith her mama. Whoo-ee, she sure is a looker, isnât she?â
Harlan tried not to gape as Janet came into Rosaâs wearing a vibrant red sundress that bared tanned shoulders and swung loosely around shapely calves. Her straight, shiny hair hung halfway down her back like a shimmering waterfall of black silk. He stood automatically at the sight of her.
âYou
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