Page 22 of Nails

“One of my colleagues’ brothers.He owns a shop in town.”

“Hmmm…” Nails murmured as he gripped the wrench with both hands and gave it a good twist, putting a little more force into it.With a loud pop, the bolt finally gave way.

“There we go.”

Riley grinned.“I loosened it for you.”

“Sure, you did,” Nails said with a chuckle.

They worked together for the next twenty or so minutes in comfortable silence, draining the oil, replacing the filter, and then adding the fresh oil.

As Nails lowered the hood, he glanced over at Riley.“This is a nice Jeep.”

“Thanks,” she said, wiping her hands on a rag.“She’s my baby.”

She handed him some wipes to clean his hands.

As he wiped off the grease, he remembered the guacamole.

“Oh!My mom made this for you,” he said, picking up the container and handing it to her.

She took it from him, and he watched as her eyes lit up when she opened it.

“Yummy!She makes the best guac.”

Nails laughed, meeting her gaze.“Yeah.She does.I also wanted to thank you for keeping an eye on my mom and helping her out around the house.I really do appreciate it.”

Riley smiled and gave her shoulder a little shrug.“She’s a great woman, and I enjoy her company.”

“I wish I could visit her more often,” Nails admitted.“But my work schedule makes it difficult.”

Riley nodded.“I know she misses you.She mentioned that your job keeps you busy.”

He paused for a minute, thinking she would ask what he did.But to his surprise, it never came.But then he got an even better surprise.

“Would you like a cup of coffee?I mean, it’s the least I can offer since you helped me with the Jeep.”

Nails hesitated for half a second, surprised by how much he wanted to say yes.But then he grinned.“Yeah,” he said, his voice quieter than he intended.“I’d like that.”

The words were out before she could overthink them.And the second they were, something in her chest fluttered.Not panic.No hesitation.Hope maybe?

She never invited men over.At least not in a “get to know you” way.In fact, the only men who had ever been in her home were her boss, Russell, who was as fatherly as they came, and her partner, Ryan, who was like a brother.

But as she led Nails inside, her pulse beat a little faster.She was a nervous wreck.Thank God, she had tidied up the place earlier.

“Nice place,” he said, eyes casually scanning the space.

Her place wasn’t anything fancy.The kitchen was open, with an island she used as both a workspace and an unofficial dumping ground for case files, mail, and takeout menus.Two bedrooms at the back of the house, and a decent living room.A few cool pictures of places she had traveled to hung on the walls.The only personal items were pictures of her and her mother that she had placed throughout the house.

“How do you take your coffee?”she asked, placing the container of guacamole in the refrigerator and then pulling two mugs from the cabinet.

“Black,” he said.

She turned and raised her eyebrow.“No sugar or cream?”

“Nope.Just as it is,” he said, flashing a grin.

“Same here.”She smiled.“Guess we’ve got good taste.”