Page 45

Evelyn nodded. “That’s good.”

Jo tilted her head. “You were going to say something before?” she asked, and Evelyn took a deep breath.

“Right,” she said. “I—”

A shrill ringtone cut through the garage. Jo held up a finger as she pulled her phone from her pocket. “Sorry. One second.” She stepped away, answering with a distracted, “Hey, yeah. This is Jo.”

Evelyn watched her talk, her voice growing faint as she paced toward the office. She looked so capable, so strong, even when she was juggling a dozen things at once.And she trusted me, Evelyn thought.She told me about the garage, about Mr. Diaz, about how scared she was.She swallowed hard.And I’m still hiding this. The guilt surged again, hot and heavy.I have to tell her. But not in the middle of this. I will tonight.

When Jo returned, she looked apologetic. “Sorry,” she said. “Vendor call. They finally found a replacement for the diagnostic scanner, but it’s going to cost more than I want to say out loud.”

Reaching for her hand, Evelyn threaded their fingers together. “We’ll figure it out,” she said, and suddenly an idea started to form. “Wait. What if we did something here at the shop? Something that brings people in. Raises money. Gets the community involved.”

“Like what?” Jo asked with a frown.

“A fundraiser,” Evelyn said, the idea forming as she spoke. “But not a boring one. Something fun. A block party.”

Jo’s eyebrows lifted. “A block party?”

“Yeah,” Evelyn said, warming to the idea now. “We shut down the street for a few hours. Put out tables. Music. You offer discounted oil changes or car washes for donations to the shop. Maybe Mr. Diaz will grill. You can bake. I’ll make flyers. We invite everyone. Neighbors, customers, friends of customers.”

Rocking back on her heels, Jo looked like she was considering the option. “That’s actually not a bad idea,” she said. “A block party.”

Evelyn smiled. “Thanks,” she said. “I have a few good ones, but it will take some planning. Permits. Supplies. Volunteers.”

Her face falling, Jo shook her head. “I don’t know how to do any of that,” she said, and Evelyn took Jo’s face in her hands to look her in the eyes.

“I can help with that,” Evelyn said. “I know people in city planning. I can ask around. And if we do it on a Saturday, you could have live music. You must know somebody from the bar with a band.” Her whole body started to warm up to the idea. “Maybe a raffle. We could even have a ‘Selfie with Your Mechanic’ photo booth.”

Jo laughed. “That sounds terrifying.”

“It’ll be charming,” Evelyn said. “Trust me.”

Looking at her for a long moment, Jo finally nodded slowly and took Evelyn’s hands. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

Evelyn laughed with excitement and felt some of her worries slip away for the moment. “Really?” she asked. “You’ll do it.”

“I’ll do it,” Jo said. “You’re right. It’s time I stopped trying to fix everything alone.”

A lump rose in Evelyn’s throat. She leaned in and kissed Jo softly, her hand resting against her cheek. When they pulled apart, Jo rested her forehead against hers. “Thank you,” she whispered.

With a heavy sigh, Evelyn closed her eyes. “Don’t thank me yet,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.” She pulled back and met Jo’s gaze again. “But there’s something I think you need to do before we do anything.”

“Yeah?”

Evelyn hesitated, then squeezed Jo’s hand. “You should tell Mr. Diaz,” she said, and Jo blinked.

“Tell him what? About the fundraiser?”

“No,” Evelyn said gently. “About the expenses. The insurance problem. Everything.”

With her smile fading slightly, Jo’s jaw tightened. “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t want him to think I can’t handle it.”

“He won’t,” Evelyn said. “He trusted you enough to give you the garage. Don’t you think he’d want to help you keep it?” Jo looked away, silent. Evelyn touched her face. “You don’t have toask for money. Simply let him know what’s going on. Invite him and Rosa to help with the block party. Let him be part of it.”

Jo stared at the floor for a long moment. Then she nodded once, slowly. “Yeah,” she said softly. “Okay. I’ll talk to him.” Suddenly, Evelyn felt like a hypocrite telling Jo to reveal her secret when she still held her own.

She couldn’t wait any longer. “Jo,” she said, letting go of her lover’s hands and stepping back. “There’s something I need to tell you.”