“I’m so happy! It’s the best day of my life!”
Knox exhaled in relief. The woman was happy, not horny. Making sure she was steady on her feet, he lowered her to the ground. “Okay. You must have some great news for me to get a kiss like that.”
And as if to make a point, she grabbed his whiskered cheeks once more and gave him another one. “I just learned that my Judy gave birth last night! To a little girl! Isn’t it wonderful?”
Backtracking in his mind, he fumbled to remember what she’d told him months before about her family. It was vague, but he seemed to recall her daughter had been pregnant when her husband died, one of the reasons she’d kept going, she said. “Congratulations, Georgia. That’s very good news.” As long he didn’t have to visit or hold an infant, he could be happy for her.
Clapping her hands, she seemed to dance in front of him. “Yes, yes. A new baby, and it makes me a grandmother.” Her stunned looked turned watery. “If only her father was here to see this.”
Knox was helpless in front of a crying female, so he tried to defuse the situation as quickly as he could. “Think about your little granddaughter instead. You’ll be the best grandma ever. I’m sure you’ll spoil her rotten.”
Relief flooded him when she smiled again and nodded. “You’re right! Oh! I’ll need to take a few weeks off as soon as they leave the hospital. That will give me just enough time to plan everything and find a replacement.”
Knox rubbed his face. “We’ll survive without a replacement for now, Georgia. I’m sure I can manage.”
He could see the older woman wasn’t listening as she frowned up at him. “I can bet my last dollar you’ve never done accounting in your life, let alone done a payroll. Am I right?”
“It can’t be that difficult…”
“I’m sure you have the brains to do it, Spencer, but you have a fully booked schedule for the next few weeks, and you need someone to manage the phones, make bookings, deal with vendors, and do the orders.”
“I’ll do most of it in the evenings and I’ll carry the phone with me.”
The way she put her fists on her ample hips showed how little she believed him. “Don’t be dumb, Spencer. There aren’t enough hours in the day for you to do everything. What do you think I do around here all day? Twiddle my thumbs waiting for you to give me something to do? Why do you think everything runs so smoothly around here?”
And he’d been trapped. “Okay, find somebody for the time you’ll be away. Train him or her before you go. I’ll pay them the same rate as I give you. Happy?”
Georgia patted his arm. “I knew you would see sense. I want you to succeed here in Landston. You bought a good business from me and I want to keep it that way. I’ll take care of everything. All you’ll have to do is sign the checks. In other news, someone applied for the body shop and paint position. He should be here any minute for his interview.”
“Wait, wait! Where’s his resume? Is he even qualified? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Do you see a line of people at the door? And when I received it yesterday, I said yes. You need help and Landston is a small town. Also, he said you knew him.”
Knox didn’t like losing his footing and Georgia was pushing him right down the hill. He was about to ask for an explanation when the bell over the door sounded. When Knox turned, he couldn’t help but smile. “Well, well, well, look who it is. What are you doing here, Gage?”
Jonathan Gage wasn’t a man he’d ever thought he would see again. He was from his other life and one of the few who walked a straighter line than he had in the underworld. He was also a formidable cage fighter, and several gangs would have loved to have him on their side for illegal fights. Gage was his own master though, and while it6 had brought him glory, it also brought a lot of pain too. He was also younger and broader than he was.
Knox gave him a quick hug before clapping his shoulder. “What brings you to the backcountry? Bored of life in the city? Or are you here to ski?”
The man rolled his eyes. “Yeah, as if. Everything is fine in the city, but I wanted out for a while.”
Knox looked at him and wasn’t fooled. Gage had been very close to his friend Thomas Locke, had almost been his shadow. He knew the men shared more than just friendship too. The three of them had banded together to bring down a very dangerous man several months ago. While Locke was busy bringing down the entire network in partnership with the authorities, he knew a certain doctor by the name of Tessa had stolen Locke’s heart. Something had happened between the two friends then. It might have been related to the woman, but Knox had never asked. And he wouldn’t ask now either.
“So what are you doing here in the middle of nowhere? Are you about to start training like in Rocky three?
“I’m here for the job. You need someone who can do bodywork, so here I am.”
Knox looked at Georgia who seemed to be playing with papers at the front desk but hadn’t missed a single word, so he pulled Gage into his office before closing the door. “Stealing cars doesn’t qualify you to work on one.”
Gage tested a chair before sitting on it as Knox sat behind his desk. “I may have started with the stealing, but I quickly graduated to the chop shop. I worked on dismantling and repainting more cars than anyone else I know.”
“Quantity over quality?”
“Hell, no! Those cars were for upscale clients. They would never have paid if I’d messed up. And I’m not even talking about the shop boss.”
Gage had a point, but that didn’t make the situation less complicated. Sitting back in his chair, Knox rubbed the back of his neck. “You better not be fleeing from some shitty situation. I didn’t get out of the city for someone to bring their problems to my door.”
His friend lifted his hands to him. “I swear, man. Nothing weird. I needed out for personal reasons. New faces, new scenery. Didn’t know where to go until I remembered you’d decided to become a mountaineer.”
