Always My Girl (The Shaughnessy Brothers) (7 page)

* * *

For the next week, Anna did her research. Community college courses, YouTube videos—you name it, she was using it. Of course, there were some things you couldn’t take a class for. Like the sex goddess thing.

I draw the line at taking a class on how to be like that in bed,
she told herself. More than once.

The Internet was really quite handy, and she hadn’t appreciated all you could learn on it up until now. Over the last several days, Anna had learned to change a flat tire and to do minor maintenance on her car, like changing out windshield wipers and several filters.

It was Saturday, and today’s project was learning how to change a spark plug. The first thing she was trying it on was her lawn mower. It was an old one—her father had given it to her when he’d upgraded—and she figured it was a good place to start. Five minutes later, she was done.

“Well, that was a little anticlimactic,” she muttered, sitting on the floor of her garage.

The car was a different matter. Unwilling to spend a fortune on a set of tools, Anna had had no choice but to call Bobby and ask to borrow some of his. Luckily, his timing was perfect, and when she looked over her shoulder, he was already pulling into the driveway.

“What’s going on, squirt?” he asked as he strolled her way.

“I told you,” she began, rising to her feet, “this old car is starting to show its age, and in order for me to be responsible, I need to learn how to do some basic stuff to it.”

Bobby rolled his eyes. “That’s what you pay a mechanic for.”

She rolled her eyes right back at him. “And that’s not being very responsible. Come on, Bobby, you know I’m trying to be financially responsible. Some of the stuff this car needs I can probably do myself.” Then she showed him the new wiper blades. “And…” she said, popping the hood, “new air filters! Look at me! I’m practically a mechanic!”

Bobby leaned over the engine and looked around. “Not bad. Not bad at all.” Then he straightened. “Why the sudden interest in car repair? I mean, I know what you just told me, but this car’s been a bit of a nightmare for a while.”

She shrugged. “With the new career and all, my schedule isn’t what it used to be. I’ve got student loans to pay off and I’m just trying to save money where I can.”

“Dammit, Anna, do you need money? I knew when I moved out things were going to be harder on you and…shit…I should have offered to keep helping you out with some of the bills.”

“Oh, for crying out loud,” she huffed. “No, I don’t need money. Why is it so wrong for me to just want to learn something new that will help me? I can’t keep running to you or Quinn whenever I have car trouble.”

“You certainly can keep running to Shaughnessy. With everything you do for him, he should be putting a whole new engine in this thing for you! With all the food and the running around for him and—”

“I’m not doing this with you!” she cried in exasperation. “Seriously, I am so tired of having this conversation with you over and over. Quinn is my friend! You have got to get over this…thing you have where he’s concerned! I don’t get on you about your friends!”

“That’s because my friends don’t take advantage of me like he does you!” Bobby fired back. “You keep chasing after him, hoping he’ll fall in love with you or something. You can stand here all day long and play the ‘he’s just my friend’ card, but you’re not only lying to me, you’re lying to yourself!”

It really sucked when she was so transparent.

“Look, are you going to help me or not?” Anna said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Anna, all I’m saying is—”

“Enough with the lectures, Bobby! I’m a grown woman! Jeez, I just need a little help from my brother, so I can be a little more independent. I didn’t think it was a bad thing!”

Bobby had the good sense to know when to quit arguing. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I really do think it’s a good thing for you to know how to take care of yourself and your car. I’d hate to think of you broken down someplace and not knowing what to do.”

“Believe me, if I’m broken down someplace, I’ll definitely call for help. But the maintenance stuff just seems like a smart place to start.”

He stepped closer and wrapped her in a brotherly embrace, kissing her on the forehead. “I’m proud of you, Anna. I know I don’t say it enough, but I really am proud of all you’re doing with yourself.”

She beamed at his praise. “Thank you,” she said. “Now, show me what kind of thingamajig helps me get a spark plug out of a fifteen-year-old Honda.”

* * *

Business was booming for Quinn. The new auto shop had a waiting list of people wanting their cars looked at, and the custom restoration part of the shop was finally coming together. Standing back and looking at the two cars currently sitting in the bays was almost enough to make him giggle like a schoolgirl.

Cars had always been his passion—he loved to drive them; he loved to take them apart and put them back together. His years on the racing circuit with NASCAR had been like a damn dream come true—the cars, the speed, the women. When one of his best friends was killed in a crash, Quinn had walked away from the circuit. Watching Todd’s family in the days and weeks following the accident had been a real eye-opener. There was no way he wanted his family to go through something like that—and watching footage of the crash every time they turned on the TV.

Crashes had been an everyday occurrence for so long that Quinn had thought himself desensitized to it. That had changed in the blink of an eye.

Once he retired, he was thankful for having the business sense to have invested his money during his career. True, he’d thought he’d have at least another ten years to keep putting money into it, but it was still enough for him to move on to the next phase of his life in automotive repair and restoration.

His brothers had thought he was crazy. His father had simply asked if he needed a hand getting started. And Anna? Well, she had brought him food at all hours of the day and night because he had refused to stop working in those first few months, and she had always made sure he was taken care of.

Shit.
He hadn’t allowed himself to think about her much since the wedding. The entire weekend had pretty much messed with him on multiple levels. The whole thing with his dad and Martha still made Quinn want to shudder, but he knew it wasn’t something that was going to go away. His father deserved to be happy, and if right now that meant dating Martha Tate, then who was Quinn to try and stop it?

But the whole revelation thing with Anna? It was something that was going to stick for a while. Besides the whole crazy bikini body thing, having his brother tell him Anna had been crushing on him for years? Hell, he still couldn’t wrap his brain around it.

The sound of approaching footprints had Quinn looking over his shoulder. A smile soon followed. “Hey! Wasn’t expecting to see you around so soon,” he said as Aidan walked up and gave him a hug.

“We got back last night, and I was driving through town and saw your car outside and figured I’d stop by and see the new shop. I haven’t been in here since before you opened.”

“Yeah, I know, and it was really starting to piss me off,” Quinn teased.

Aidan looked around the shop and then spotted the two cars, his eyes going wide. “Holy crap,” he said with a hint of awe. “Is that…? Are those…?”

Quinn stepped up beside him and placed an arm around his brother’s shoulder with a friendly pat. “Yup. You are looking at a 1969 Chevy Camaro and an amazing 1960 Corvette.”

Aidan simply stared at the cars for a long moment before turning toward Quinn. “Am I allowed to touch them?”

A loud laugh escaped before Quinn could help himself. “Dude, you can even sit in them.”

“Seriously? That’s allowed?” he asked even as he walked toward the Corvette. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these up close. How’d you get your hands on one?”

“They belong to a buddy of mine I used to race with. He’s a collector, and he’s had these two cars in storage for a while and finally decided he wanted to go ahead and restore them.”

Aidan gingerly opened the car door and sat down. And sighed. “Oh man…this is incredible. It almost seems a shame to do anything to it.”

Quinn chuckled. “Yeah, I used to think of it like that too, but Jake wants to be able to take them out once in a while. Personally, I’m all for it. Cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed—not just looked at.”

“So what are you going to do to them?”

Walking around each of the cars, Quinn allowed himself to get a little lost in the details. “Both of their engines are in fair condition, so we’re going to take them out, clean them, and replace whatever needs replacing. The Camaro has a fair amount of rust, so we’re going to be sanding the body down and setting it right and then repainting. New tires for each of them. Replacing the vinyl on the interior of the Corvette and the entire backseat in the Camaro.”

“Damn. That’s a lot of work, Quinn.”

“And that’s only the half of it.”

“No!” Aidan cried, climbing from the car and walking over to the other.

Quinn nodded. “There’s a lot to it. Each car will almost be completely pulled apart then and put back together to make sure everything is pristine—the wiring, the fuel system, the exhaust…everything.”

“What’s your timeline on something like this?”

“It’s not a quick turnaround if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Aidan shook his head. “No, I’m serious. You’ve never done the restoration around here, close to home, so I have no idea.”

“At minimum? You’re looking at a thousand hours per car at least. And that’s if there aren’t any surprises, complications, or mishaps. The average car collector—if he was doing it on his own—could take up to two years to complete a job like this on one car.”

“Holy crap.”

Quinn nodded again. “Exactly. I’m going to go a little in between and figure about fifteen hundred man hours per car.”

Aidan chuckled. “Good thing your friend isn’t in a rush.”

“That’s the beauty of working with a fellow car enthusiast. They know the importance of doing things right. If he gives me the time now, he’ll get all the time he wants out of the car when I’m done.”

Aidan stopped and thought for a moment. “You said this guy’s name is Jake?”

“Yeah.”

“You mean Jake Tanner?
The
Jake Tanner?”

Quinn rolled his eyes. “Yes, Jake Tanner. Why? Got a man crush on him?”

Aidan let out a bark of laughter. “Cute, but no. I just remember he was an amazing driver. I used to follow him when you were racing.”

“Oh yeah? Then you know that I ranked higher,” Quinn said a bit defensively.

“Easy there, baby girl. No one’s saying he was better than you. I was merely pointing out that I was a fan.”

“Yeah, well…you were supposed to be cheering for me. Not following and cheering other racers.”

Aidan ran a hand gently over the Camaro’s hood. “Insecure much? What’s going on in this family? First Riley, now you?”

“I’m not insecure. I just didn’t realize you followed anyone else in racing other than me. And as for Riley, who knows? I’m sure it’s hard for him. There are new bands coming out every day. There’s constant competition and he’s having to prove himself on a daily basis. Anyone would get freaked out from time to time if they had to live like that.”

“I guess.” Stepping away from the car, Aidan sighed. “Where were cars like this when we were kids?”

“Out of our price range.”

“Oh yeah. That’s right.” Aidan laughed and then straightened and looked at his brother. “So things are going well?”

“Absolutely. I didn’t think I’d enjoy sticking around town for so long, but it’s really not so bad.”

“I never understood your need to move around so much.”

“Yeah, well, you’re a homebody. No one else in the family is, other than Dad.”

A small shrug was Aidan’s only reply.

“And now that I’ve got these babies here, I’ll be around even longer,” Quinn continued. “I promised Jake I’d be the one to do the bulk of the work.”

“Is that smart for you? I mean, you have other shops to manage.”

“It’s not a big deal. I have a great team of mechanics and managers. I’ll still go and spend some time at each of them, just not the extended amount I was doing before.”

“You’ve done other restorations before. Why is this one such a big deal?”

“The other cars weren’t nearly as impressive as these—at least not to me. I’ve done cars from the thirties and onward, but the muscle cars? Those are my favorites. And to have two of them here?” He sighed dramatically. “It’s almost enough to give me a hard-on.”

“Grow up.”

Then Quinn’s teasing grin faded. “If I get these cars right, besides making a boatload of money on them, it will go a long way in cementing my name in the industry. There are still a lot of people who think this is just a hobby for me and that I don’t take it seriously. I really need to get everyone to see how I love what I do and I’m good at it.”

Aidan nodded. “I get it. And you’ll get there, Quinn. You do great work and it’s going to speak volumes.”

“I don’t know. So many things have come easily to me, and this is the first time in my life I’m having to really prove myself. Car restoration isn’t a quick turnaround. It’s not like racing or baseball, where I could have a good season and make the news. I just…I didn’t think it would be so hard.”

“It’s not a bad thing, you know. Having to work a little harder. Makes you appreciate it all the more.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not getting any younger.”

Aidan laughed. “Or prettier.”

“Shut up,” Quinn said and walked over to the cooler he kept in the corner and grabbed a couple bottles of soda, handing one to Aidan. “Anyway…what about you? How’s married life?”

Aidan broke out in a sappy grin. “Loving it.”

“Figures.” He was about to say more when his cell phone rang. He motioned to his brother to give him a minute before answering it. He listened intently and then said, “Sounds good. See you in a few minutes.”

“Everything okay?” Aidan asked.

“Yeah, but you may want to take a minute and prepare yourself.”