Slow Ride (10 page)

“Yeah okay, Chuck. I’ll get right on it when you bring it in. I’m swamped though,
and Phil had to head to Portland, so with everything going on, you’re looking at a
couple days. You cool with that?”

After a few more minutes he hung up, tossing the receiver on the cluttered desk. And
then picked it up as it rang again. And then two more times after that.

Kyla was biting her lip by the time Cooper hung up the phone for the final time.

“If I work here, instead of paying me, why don’t I just work off the labor you put
into the car? And then I will figure out another way, a second job or something, to
pay for the parts. I could work mornings to early afternoons, and then get another
job working nights.”

Cooper’s face softened as he considered her offer. He moved closer and placed his
hands on either side of her waist. “Intriguing offer. That would be a lot of hours
though at minimum wage. It could take a while.”

Kyla turned her head toward him a fraction of an inch, her lips just a touch away
from his. “Well, it’ll take me a while to get money for the parts. So if we do this
piece by piece, I can keep track of the parts and your hours on a spreadsheet or something.”
Her eyes hit the fairly new computer, which was the only thing that wasn’t covered
in grease and dirt. “And I’m here until I’m not, ya know? I mean, I can’t go anywhere
until Lola is fixed and it’s not like I’m on a schedule or have anywhere to go anyway.”

She watched, fascinated, as he tilted his head to the side and then brushed his lips
against hers. He nipped her lower lip before pushing back. “How ‘bout a few days a
week, like six to four?” He looked over her shoulder, his eyes falling on the chaos
around him. “I’ll pay you for anything over five hours. The five hours every week
I don’t pay for you will go toward the labor cost for the car.”

“Six, as in the morning? Seriously? How about eight?”

Cooper snorted. “We get started at six. . . how about seven-thirty to five? Can you
handle that?”

She sighed. “Fine. Seven-thirty to five, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday?”

“And Saturday at nine, but we usually close by one those days. Though maybe once you
get this place straightened out, you can migrate over to the music store. Seeing as
you sing, I’m assuming you like music.” At her nod he continued. “That place is mostly
dead, like your car, but I have to figure out what the hell I’m going to do with it.
It’s languishing.” His thumb traced her cheek. “Oh by the way, I don’t require uniforms,
but when you’re here, I’ll expect you to deal with the customers when they come in.
Make sure to wear something that will keep ‘em from freaking out over the bill.” He
grinned as his eyes drifted to her cleavage. “We don’t have any tanks, but I’ll be
ordering some. Tight fit.”

Kyla rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “When do you want me to
start? It’s a Tuesday.”

He shrugged. “I’m just being honest. I’m a man, so I know what distracts my fellow
men, and your rack . . . well it’s more than distracting.” He hooked a finger in her
tank top where her ample cleavage was on display, chuckling as she swatted at his
hand. “As for a start date, if you want to you can start today. I got some things
to do next door. If anyone comes looking for me, holler out the door or call my cell.”

Kyla watched Cooper saunter out the door and then turned her attention to the stacks
around her. She rolled up her sleeves, hunted down some cleaning supplies and boxes,
and then set to work.

• • •

Several hours and a very sore back later, Kyla stood up to survey her work. She had
piles of papers and mail she still had to go through and put into folders on the desk,
but she’d at least been able to give the place a good cleaning, including mopping
the floor and removing the cobwebs in the corners. The room smelled citrusy and the
windows were open to let in the soft, June breeze. She could now take a breath and
not choke on dust and grease. The computer gleamed and Kyla had put a protective cover
she found, unopened, on the keyboard and screen to keep them that way should any greasy
mechanic ever touch the thing. A stack of cash and coins sat on top of the desk. She
had come across the random money as she went through the papers, sorting them into
various piles: bills, personal, invoices, junk mail. She’d go through the rest of
the piles later and organize them by date and subject.

Wiping her brow, she headed out the front door, put some change into the soda machine,
and grabbed a cold drink. She had found a brand new Keurig machine, also unopened,
and set that up, and even placed an order for a delivery of K-cups. She probably should
have checked with Cooper first, but given the state of his office, he probably wouldn’t
know the difference.

After taking a drink and going back into the office, she lifted her shirt, tying the
bottom in a knot just above her belly button. She was about to tackle one of the piles
of invoices when the bell above the door rang. She had expected it to be Cooper, but
instead it was a cop. She froze when she saw him and her stomach flipped painfully.
The man was a few inches shorter than Cooper and had blonde hair and dark eyes. He
was staring at her and after a beat she cleared her throat and pasted a smile on her
face.

“Hi. Can I help you?”

“Where’s Cooper? I brought in one of the cruisers for him to look at.”

Kyla reached for a clipboard and invoice, “He had to run out for a minute. He should
be back soon. Are you dropping off a vehicle for repair?”

“Yeah. One of the department’s cruiser’s was in a fender bender.” Kyla shifted as
the man’s eyes moved down her body, “You must be the new girl in town, the one he
found on the side of the road with the Mustang? He’s a lucky bastard.”

“Yeah, my car broke down and Cooper’s helping me out with a deal on the repairs.”

“Yeah sure, I bet he’s helping you with the repairs.” He smirked and tossed the keys
to the cop car at her. “I’m Jackson Murphy, by the way. You got a name?”

Kyla crouched down and lifted the keys, handing him a clipboard with a form on it
for him to fill out, not responding to his comment. Heading back behind the desk she
covered the cash with a nearby stack of papers. Given her conversation with Cooper
by the pier the other night, she didn’t know if this cop was one of the chief’s lackeys
or not, and she wasn’t going to take any chances.

“I’m Kyla.” She glanced over the form, not having any clue what the complaints about
the car meant, but she figured Cooper could call him if he had questions. “Want us
to call before we fix it or just go ahead with the repairs?” She remembered when she
was living at home in Pennsylvania, her mechanic always asked her that so she figured
it was the right thing to do.

“Just go ahead. Cooper and the town have that contract, so he just fixes it and they
do whatever. Politics.” He grinned at her as he tried a softer approach. “So, Kyla,
when did you get into town, and is this an extended stay?”

She nodded, sliding the form next to the door to the garage for Cooper before turning
back to Jackson. “No. I mean, I don’t know. No long-term plans.” She was thrown off
by his question, unsure of the answer herself.

“Sounds like you might need some convincing to stay. Maybe I could take you to dinner,
and introduce you to the finer aspects of life in Ashten Falls.” His eyes twinkled
as he leaned over the counter toward her.

She felt her shoulders tense and shook her head slowly just as she caught movement
at the door. Cooper.

“I don’t . . . I don’t have much free time. I’m pretty busy here and um. . .”

“That’s Kyla’s nice way of telling you there ain’t no way in hell she’d go anywhere
with you,” Cooper finally spoke up from just inside the doorway. Jackson straightened,
his face hardening.

“Picking up women on the side of the road now to get your fix, huh? You already go
through the women around here and need to branch out?”

OK, this was not going to end well, and she didn’t have the mental energy to watch
two bulls lock horns. Going into retreat mode, she stepped back . . . straight into
the bookshelf behind her. She threw her hands up to protect her head from the avalanche.
“Such a klutz,” she muttered as she bent down to retrieve the books, her way of avoiding
whatever man-measuring was going on between Cooper and Jackson.

Cooper headed around the counter to pull her up, holding her close to his body. His
hand moved down to her lower back, his fingers skimming along the exposed skin there
before resting on her ass.

“So, Jackson, thanks for dropping off the car, but if you’ll excuse us, I brought
lunch for the two of us to enjoy before I get back to it.” He said, dropping a bag
with the logo of the sandwich shop on the table.

Kyla should have been mortified at what was happening, but instead she leaned into
him and hooked a hand around his waist. She moved her hands under the back of his
shirt, desperate for warmth as the stress began to set in. But as her fingers ran
over his smooth, muscled skin, reality slammed back into her. There had to be a rule
against groping the boss on the first day of work, especially in front of other people,
and on that thought she started to push away, until his hand tightened on her ass.
Her breath hitched. Cooper caught it, which she knew by the way he folded her into
his front and she
felt
his reaction.

Kyla turned her face in Jackson’s direction. “Like I said, officer, I’ve got things
to take care of, so. . .” she trailed off, shrugging and trying to let him down easy.
“It was nice meeting you, and I will be calling you as soon as the car is ready.”
She smiled brightly at him, her tone friendly.

Jackson’s jaw clenched. “Well, thank you, Kyla. I’ll be seeing you around soon enough
then. And I look forward to it.” He let his eyes linger on her chest longer than was
polite before banging out the door.

“What the hell was that?” she asked, trying to push out of Cooper’s grasp. Her attempt
was unsuccessful as Cooper kept her tightly to his front. “I don’t need you putting
me in the middle of a dick-measuring contest with a cop—a freaking
cop
of all people!”

He canted his head to the side as he watched her with concern. “I was making a point,
so he’d stay away from you. I was staking my claim—letting him know should keep him
at bay.” He sighed when he saw her eyes flash. “What I’m saying is that the cops around
here can be bad news, like I told you. Can you promise me you’ll stay away from him?
Please?”

“Staking your claim? Could you be more of a Neanderthal? I am not a piece of property
that you can just ‘stake your claim’ to, Cooper.” Cooper opened his mouth to speak
but she continued her tirade. “Besides, I can take care of myself, thank you very
much. I didn’t ask for some white knight to rescue me.” She was annoyed, that was
for sure. But a part of Kyla had to admit that no matter what Cooper said about claiming
here, he wasn’t treating her like a piece of property. Not like Frank had. Instead,
it was like Cooper wanted to take care of her, to protect her, not possess her.

A flicker of amusement crossed Cooper’s face as he leaned down, whispering in her
ear, “I ain’t no Prince Charming, I can guarantee you that. But that guy has done
things that make me look like I am. Stay away from him. And you might want to untie
your shirt so the whole place doesn’t get hard looking at your midriff and imagining
what’s underneath your top.” He nipped her earlobe and then met her eyes, the muscle
in his jaw jumping. “Eat your lunch. I have work to do. We’ll talk about this later.”

Kyla was left standing there, wondering what the hell happened. She glanced down at
the counter and remembered the cash sitting there. She grabbed it along with the order
form Jackson had filled out and followed Cooper.

“Hey! Are you pissed off at me?”

Cooper stopped short, his eyes flashing with anger. “Not at you, no. But am I pissed?
Hell yeah. I walk into the office to find that douche hitting on you, his eyes all
over your chest falling out of your top and your bare stomach.”

She shook her head. “Men,” she muttered as she stalked toward him. He was pissed because
she attracted the attention of a customer who he didn’t like? “Could you be more confusing?
You told me to look nice and distract your customers when I was working for you. So
I do and then you get mad when a guy looks at me. And yeah, I had to tie my shirt,
but that’s because it’s hotter than Hades in the office and I was . . . hot!” Kyla
planted on a hand on her hip, her foot tapping on the cement floor. She didn’t care
that some of the other guys were staring at the two of them. She didn’t care if they
could overhear their conversation, which they likely could, given the way they were
all avidly watching the show. She pointed a finger at Cooper’s chest. “So make up
your damn mind. And fix the air conditioning!”

“Looks like I might have to rethink my directive,” Cooper muttered. “I don’t want
you looking like that and giving him a show. Or anyone for that matter. Now, do I
have your permission to get to fixing this car so that hemorrhoid can get the hell
off of my ass as soon as possible?”

“You’re a smartass. And a jerk. I only came in here to give you this.” She held out
the order form for him to take. “And I wasn’t sure what you wanted me to do with this
money, either. I found it all over the desk and drawers. You really need to keep better
track of your cash.” She held out the open envelope so he could see it.

Cooper glanced at the form, placing it on a nearby workbench before taking the envelope
from her. He flipped through it, counting it before taking out a good chunk and handing
the rest back to her. “Put it in the safe, combination is in the fridge, just inside
the door. This way if ever I’m not here and you need change or need to order something,
you can.” He stuffed the money he’d taken in the pocket of his jeans. “And thanks.”