Page 106 of Structure of Love

“Logan, there’s this car I want to take a better look at.”

I mean, I had told her to hunt around online, so this wasn’t unexpected. “Now?”

“It’s actually sitting outside the Goodyear store, and I’ve gone past it twice now, and the price dropped since I last saw it. And it’s a Volvo. The exact model I want, too.”

Erin had interesting taste in cars. Basically, she wanted something super reliable, comfortable, and with enough room todrive her friends around. Or do crazy things like road trips. It was her car. I didn’t care, so long as she wasn’t picking a lemon. Still, I found it funny, ’cause at her age I would have immediately gone for a sports car or a truck.

Well, just proved she had good sense, I guessed.

Shrugging, I grabbed my wallet and keys, and we loaded into the Jeep to take a look. It wasn’t far of a drive, like five minutes, but Plymouth also wasn’t a big town. You could cross the whole thing in ten minutes.

Anyway, we pulled up to the Goodyear store and sure enough, a Volvo sat at the front of the lot, a For Sale sign on the windshield. Two other prices had been crossed out, with a new price listed underneath. Holy shit, this car had dropped six thousand dollars?

“Okay, what’s wrong with it,” I muttered, staring at the car.

“That’s my question. From the outside looking in, it seems fine?”

Yeah, I didn’t trust that.

Still, I was curious. I was no mechanic, but I’d worked on my own vehicles a time or three, so I knew something about them. If the issue was fixable, then this car was a steal of a deal. The owner only wanted four thousand.

I pulled up Kelley Blue Book and entered in what I knew of the car—there was a handwritten info sheet taped to the side window. The website claimed the car could sell for eight thousand, assuming it was in great condition. I didn’t see anything wrong, really. A scuff mark on the paint here, a small ding there, all tiny cosmetic things. Interior seemed fine, too, with leather seats that looked a bit faded from the sun but nothing bad.

I waved Erin in closer. “Walk with me, let me show you what to look for.”

We walked the car, me showing her to watch the seams of the vehicle, ’cause if they were a little off, that was a good indication the car had been worked on or had been in an accident. We didn’t see any indications of work done. I peeked under the car to check for rust, and I didn’t spot any, which was a rare thing on a used vehicle in Michigan, let me tell ya.

This was just getting weirder.

“Sus,” Erin said.

“Very sus.” I tapped my finger on the hood of the car and then decided. “Call the owner.”

Erin tapped in the number from the info sheet, and the call connected pretty quickly.

“Hello?”

“Hi, my name is Erin.” Erin kept the call on speaker. “I’m calling about the Volvo?”

The woman sighed wearily. “Let me answer the question you’re wondering about. No, nothing is mechanically wrong with the car. It runs great. The problem is, something happened on the inside, and now it smells rank. I’ve had it professionally cleaned—twice—and I can’t get the smell out. That’s the reason for the price.”

Okay, the price made a lot more sense. Also, I had a viable solution to the problem. “Ma’am? I’m Logan, Erin’s brother. Can you meet us here to look at the car?”

“Oh!” Her tone changed to excitement. “You’re still interested?”

“Yes, I’ve got an idea on how to fix the smell. Can you meet us here?”

“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in three minutes.”

“See you soon, then.”

Erin disconnected the call, lips pursed as she stared up at me. “I know what my possible solution is, but what’s yours?”

“Got a buddy who does upholstery work on cars. He can completely redo this interior. Also, car seats are not as expensive as people think they are. We can replace the interior for maybe a thousand or two, and you’ll have an amazingly good car for a great price. What’s your solution?”

“I follow professional cleaners on TikTok, and they handle stuff like vomit, pee, et cetera. They all use the same cleaning product to get the smell out. Depending on what she tells us, I think I can get the smell gone. They sell the stuff at local hardware stores.”

“Oh-ho. Then let’s use your plan as first option. I’m backup option.”