Scott's idea of me helping didn't quite pan out as I thought. A few times
I'd walked into the garage that was connected to our shack while he was
supposedly 'working' but all I ever saw was him leaning over the engine of
a car or he would be taking all the interior seating and the dash and
altering them somehow. I figured it was just another 'guy thing' he did,
but turns out it was actually a pretty decent business he had for himself.
It'd been an accident really. Some bozo in a rich suit had walked into the junkyard while Scott was repairing an old refrigerator a couple days after he got to the junkyard. Bozo looked totally doped and Scott figured he was needing a fix and looking for a dealer. Bozo had asked Scott where he was and Scott being Scott told the guy he was right in the middle of Junkyard, LA. It turned out that he was doped, but not by choice. He had picked up this chick in a bar and she suggested they go out to his car for a little fun. He didn't know that she had slipped something in his drink. What he knew was that he had passed out and woken up in an alley with no car. Luckily, she didn't know where he kept his cash but still the man looked like nothing but a big ass target in his suit in this part of LA at night. Scott, feeling sorry for the guy, offered him a car he'd gotten running so that Bozo wouldn't have to walk home in the neighbor hood at night. The car was one that Scott had just been playing with and planned on restoring totally. Scott didn't know it, but the guy was a car buff and could see where the car had been and where Scott was planning on taking it. The guy accepted and asked how Scott managed to get a beauty like that in a dump like this, Scott said he's fixed it up himself blah blah blah, the guy was impressed, thanked Scott and wished him luck and took off.
A few days later another guy in a suit showed up, Scott, thinking the guy had been scammed like the first dude that showed up, started to tell him he was in the wrong place but this suit stopped him and whipped out a card with the name T. A. Barron printed in nice gold letters. He said his boss had told him that Scott did work on cars and Mr. Barron was in the market for a decent automobile. Scott showed the suit around and they settled on a car and a pretty hefty price. Less than a week later another suit showed up and it was the same deal but a different name. Scott never asked questions and just fixed up the cars that the people picked out. When Scott told me, I was amazed. He was a 16-year-old automotive genius.
I assume you've figured out how I was supposed to help earn my keep. Now, I admit I'd never really been into cars, or anything with wheels for that matter. It'd never been a pleasantry I'd had when I was little so it's not like I even knew what or if I was missing out. When I got older my philosophy was that if it couldn't get me out of where I was, then I didn't care. What I did know was that I was a pretty quick learner and if I set my mind to it I could do it. Turns out with cars I wasn't as quick as I thought I was though.
"Kat, hurry it up!" Scott yelled at me.
I sighed and surveyed the toolbox, I knew it was one of these, just couldn't remember which one was the hatchet wrench. My brow furrowed, "Hold up, I'm working on it!" I yelled back, grabbing one I thought was it. "Here." I handed him the tool and he looked at me.
"Kat," he laughed, "This is a screw driver."
I stomped my foot. "What? I swear, you asked for that last time you said hatchet wrench!"
Scott shook his head, "No," he argued, rolling out from beneath the car that we, well rather, he was working on and got up to look in the toolbox. "This is a hatchet wrench." He held up the grimy tool.
"Oh," recognition hit me. "Woops?"
"Woops?" Scott looked at me with raised eyebrows.
"Hey, it's not like I grew up doing this stuff, and I'm sure you handed someone the wrong tools at one time too! It's only my first week on the job. So don't give me any grief, Mister Fix-it."
Scott shook his head slightly as he rolled back under the car, "Hand me a 5/8."
"A wha." I stopped short and wandered back to the toolbox, this one I knew. It was the little head for the hatchet wrench. I just had to figure out which one it was. "Uh, here." I said, handing him the piece.
"So, how'd you learn all this stuff about cars?" I asked after too many seconds of silence, "I mean, it's not like you were born with this knowledge."
Scott remained silent for a moment, "Um, from an old buddy of mine. He cleaned me up off the streets and told me I could be doing better things with my hands. So he taught me all he knew about fixing up cars, or pretty much anything with an engine, electronics, or two wheels."
"Really? So, where is this guy now?" I questioned, "And is he as good a teacher as you?" I rolled my eyes when Scott didn't respond. "Scott?"
He slid out from under the car and looked into my eyes, "He's gone now. Just a memory from the past."
I nodded slowly. That wasn't just telling me something. That was an order about off-limits topics. Apparently this buddy-guy was a soft spot and wasn't to be brought up again. "Okay." I said turning back to the toolbox, "So what do you need next?"
"Glass of water." He mumbled, checking the thing he'd called the filter.
"A what?" I automatically turned to the toolbox and started perusing the tools before it hit me what he'd said. "Oh, okay. This one I can do." I jumped off the stool and walked into our shack. Filling the glass with water and walking back towards the garage I glanced at the doorway. A man in a suit was standing, giving me a leery look.
"Can I help you?" I asked cautiously, glancing towards the garage.
The man glanced around the shack before looking directly at me again. "I'm looking for Scott."
"One second." I nodded my head towards to garage, "I'll get him."
The man gave a curt nod as I walked back to the garage. I set the glass of water on one of the numerous crates, "Someone's here to see you."
"Who is it?" He asked, looking up from the engine.
"He didn't say, just that he was looking for Scott." I answered, glancing at the water.
He nodded and grabbed the glass as he walked into the shack. He had the oddest look on his face. Curious I followed him. The second he saw who it was it almost looked like his face fell. Oh he was so not going to try and get out of telling me what was going on.
"Garrett." Scott nodded at the man in the suit.
'Garrett' stuck out his hand and smiled, "Ah, Scott. My favorite businessman. How's it going?"
Scott shook Garrett's hand then took a drink of water, "Can't complain. Business is going good and all."
"I see you got yourself a girlfriend." Garrett eyed me again. If he looked at me like I was a piece of candy one more time I was going to throw the glass of water in Scott's hand at him. Glass included. And possibly a few of the tools as well. I knew that one thing, the pry bar, would do some damage to a skull.
"I'm not his girlfriend." I snapped, dropping onto the couch, "I'm his associate." I corrected him.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Garrett apologized then glanced at Scott, "Anyway, I have another job for you if you want it."
Scott looked at me then rubbed his chin, "I dunno, man. I've already got a few jobs backed up, and with me training my."
"Barron's offering almost twenty-five grand." Garrett interrupted.
I jumped off the couch, my eyes wide. "Twenty-five thousand *dollars*?"
Garrett nodded, "Desperate times call for desperate prices."
"Can you excuse us a second, Gare?" I looked at Scott and pulled him aside, "Scott, come on. We can do this. It's twenty-five grand!"
He studied me then shook his head, "I've got my hands full and with me having to work with you so much, I don't know if I've got the energy to add another car to my stack. I know Barron; he'll want me to take a car from nothing but the frame. That means I'll have to find all the parts and all the labor. It won't be easy at all. You think what we're doing now is hard."
"Yeah," I nodded then glanced at Garrett, "But twenty-five grand? Don't tell me you aren't even tempted."
"Of course I am, but it's not logically possible. I've got customers that are waiting as it is."
"I'll work harder, Scott. I promise. Come on, we can't pass up a pay off like this. I'm not afraid to get my hands a little dirty here" I pressed.
"Okay, let me think about it." He muttered turning back to Garrett. "When does Mr. Barron want it by?"
Garrett grinned, "When can you get it done?"
Scott looked at me then back at Garrett, "Like I said, I've got a few customers already, I don't know how long it would take."
"An estimate then?" Garrett pursued.
"A month maybe?" he offered.
"A month?" Garrett questioned, his eyebrows raised.
Scott nodded, "Month and a half probably, but the price might have to go up a bit. It'll be a time crunch and getting the materials I need won't be easy."
"What if I could promise that we could get the parts and you'd just have to put them together?" Garrett offered.
"If you can get the parts here with in a week, we're talking maybe another week or two." Scott calculated.
"We can do that." Garrett confirmed, "We've got the parts on standby and we just need the right man to put them together, you know we always come to you first."
"I appreciate that, Garrett, I really do. But again, I can't make any real promises here." Scott repeated.
"Barron's not asking for promises, Scott, he's asking for a car." Garrett responded with an oily smile as he turned to leave. "The parts will be here in three days."
Scott and I both watched him walk out and I let out the breath I was holding, "Twenty-five grand?!" I squeaked, "Who the hell has twenty-five grand to spend on a car?"
Scott ran a hand through is hair, "We don't' have time to think about it," he grimaced, "I have to focus on the jobs I've got and try to finish them up as much as I can with in three days. That's impossible."
"I can help!" I offered, following him back into the garage, "I will get it, I promise."
"You better, we can't screw up here, Kat." He warned, "You don't know these people or the reputations these people have."
I stopped walking, "What do you mean?"
"Barron and all the other big shots I work for, they're not the sort of business men that you can jerk around. I don't make the deadlines, they do. And if I don't meet those deadlines..." He looked at me, "If *we* don't make those deadlines.It won't be pretty. These guys own people. People who wouldn't have the slightest problem running in here and shooting the place up."
My eyes were wide, "whoa.I.I." I dropped to my stool for a moment then hopped up, "Okay, let's do it. I'll stay up all night and all day if it takes. Tell me what you need and when you need it."
Scott glanced at me, "You're going to have to be real quick here Kat, remember, we've got roughly three days to work on the current deals. After that, it's all going to be Barron's car."
"I get it, Scott." I nodded, "Now come on, what's my first job?"
Scott looked around the garage, "I need you to find three duel exhaust mufflers, a couple steering wheels, a transmission box, and a rear and front bumper. Then I'll need you to run to the hardware store and see if you can find chrome and gold spray paint and steel wool. Then I need you to come back and prime and paint the bumpers. While that's trying, use the wool to get all of the rust off of the mufflers and then spray them with the high temp paint. Oh, and while you're looking through the junkyard for the stuff, see if you can spot any good looking seat covers or material to cover the seats and the steering wheels. Finish that and then I'll give you more to do."
"Okay," I nodded slowly taking all he said in, "Got it."
Scott walked to one of the walls and moved a muffler, revealing a hole in the wall. He pulled out a rather large wad of bills and handed it to me, "Don't worry about prices too much. For now, there's plenty more where that came from and we don't have time to try and haggle. Now go."
I saluted, and turned to go, "Yes, Mr. Fix-it." Grabbing my bag I stuffed the money inside and took off for the hardware store. "I find a place to settle down and now I find out we're three days away from it being shot or blown up. Great, just great. How do I get myself into these things?"
* * * *
Sure enough, three days later the parts showed up outside our shack. Scott and I had barely slept since Garrett's visit and we were still working as fast as we could to finish the last touch ups to the paint job of our last customer when the final box of parts fell and Garrett walked into the garage, "The stuff's all there, I'll be back in a week to check on your guys' progress."
Scott nodded and glanced at me, "We'll be here."
I nodded and smiled at Garrett, "Don't worry, Gare, we're your guys."
Garrett gave me an annoyed nod in response and turned, "A week!" he called to us as he walked out.
The moment he was out of sight I dropped onto the stool, "Scott, I'm tired and hungry, if I don't eat or sleep soon, I'm going to die."
Scott wiped the sweat off of his brow and nodded, "I know, I know, but we've got a week to put this all together. Think of it like a giant puzzle. No sweat, right?"
I glared at him and sighed, "You're going to die too, you know."
"I don't need sleep," he argued.
"Yes you do," I shot back. "It is okay to admit that you need sleep. Humans do that, you know."
Scott gazed at me and nodded, "Okay, so I might need some sleep, but that doesn't mean I've got time to do it. We've got boxes to haul and open, and now we've really got to start working."
I held up a hand, "Look, you go sleep and I'll haul all the boxes in here and open them up. Don't worry about it. As soon as I've got it all in here I'll wake you up and then I will sleep until you really need me."
Scott sighed and looked towards the shack. "You sure?"
"Positive." I answered flexing my muscles and deepening my voice, "Buff woman take care of it, Sparky." I grinned at him.
Surprisingly he smiled back and patted me on the back as he walked into the shack, "Thanks Kat."
I nodded and watched him fall onto the bed. He was so exhausted. It practically emanated from his pores. Taking a deep breath I walked to the boxes, "Okay, boys." I cracked my knuckles, "Time for you to do what mama says when she says it."
Scott was amazed when I woke him up three hours later. Not only had I brought the boxes into the garage but I'd put some of the parts together too. More importantly, I'd put them together correctly. It's not like I hadn't been paying attention the entire time he was teaching me. Either way, we worked our asses off and as promised, a week later Garrett showed up. Scott and I had come an amazingly long way in only a week. We'd even gotten some shuteye. In shifts, but still, sleep is sleep. Garrett didn't stay long, said he had some other business on the other side of town, but he did mention that we were doing a good job and he'd be back in a couple days to see how much more we'd done.
Later Scott filled me in by telling me we had two more days worth of work to finish up. It really wouldn't be that hard. We had a little more engine work to do, had to make sure it ran and that everything worked right, then we would only have the paint job left. Barron wanted the car to be a slick metallic silver and wanted a fancy interior to match. I personally thought the car rocked and mentioned more than once that Scott and I would have to recreate the car for myself one day.
We kept working steadily and the next time Garrett showed up he was able to hand us the money, we tossed him the keys, and then he drove out of our garage. The second the car was out of hearing range both Scott and I let out our breath and all the stress and rushing caught up with us. We still had a few touch ups to do on the jobs we'd stopped while we were working on Barron's car, but we both decided screw it and fell into bed.
That was the first night Scott and I actually slept on the bed together. Usually one of us took the couch as not to invade each other's personal space, but at that time, neither of us cared. We'd had a completely exhausting week and the moment our bodies hit the old mattress we were goners.
I do remember thinking, before I fell asleep, how much fun it had been working next to Scott though. I was getting the hang of this business and almost anticipated the next time we got a big job like that.
It'd been an accident really. Some bozo in a rich suit had walked into the junkyard while Scott was repairing an old refrigerator a couple days after he got to the junkyard. Bozo looked totally doped and Scott figured he was needing a fix and looking for a dealer. Bozo had asked Scott where he was and Scott being Scott told the guy he was right in the middle of Junkyard, LA. It turned out that he was doped, but not by choice. He had picked up this chick in a bar and she suggested they go out to his car for a little fun. He didn't know that she had slipped something in his drink. What he knew was that he had passed out and woken up in an alley with no car. Luckily, she didn't know where he kept his cash but still the man looked like nothing but a big ass target in his suit in this part of LA at night. Scott, feeling sorry for the guy, offered him a car he'd gotten running so that Bozo wouldn't have to walk home in the neighbor hood at night. The car was one that Scott had just been playing with and planned on restoring totally. Scott didn't know it, but the guy was a car buff and could see where the car had been and where Scott was planning on taking it. The guy accepted and asked how Scott managed to get a beauty like that in a dump like this, Scott said he's fixed it up himself blah blah blah, the guy was impressed, thanked Scott and wished him luck and took off.
A few days later another guy in a suit showed up, Scott, thinking the guy had been scammed like the first dude that showed up, started to tell him he was in the wrong place but this suit stopped him and whipped out a card with the name T. A. Barron printed in nice gold letters. He said his boss had told him that Scott did work on cars and Mr. Barron was in the market for a decent automobile. Scott showed the suit around and they settled on a car and a pretty hefty price. Less than a week later another suit showed up and it was the same deal but a different name. Scott never asked questions and just fixed up the cars that the people picked out. When Scott told me, I was amazed. He was a 16-year-old automotive genius.
I assume you've figured out how I was supposed to help earn my keep. Now, I admit I'd never really been into cars, or anything with wheels for that matter. It'd never been a pleasantry I'd had when I was little so it's not like I even knew what or if I was missing out. When I got older my philosophy was that if it couldn't get me out of where I was, then I didn't care. What I did know was that I was a pretty quick learner and if I set my mind to it I could do it. Turns out with cars I wasn't as quick as I thought I was though.
"Kat, hurry it up!" Scott yelled at me.
I sighed and surveyed the toolbox, I knew it was one of these, just couldn't remember which one was the hatchet wrench. My brow furrowed, "Hold up, I'm working on it!" I yelled back, grabbing one I thought was it. "Here." I handed him the tool and he looked at me.
"Kat," he laughed, "This is a screw driver."
I stomped my foot. "What? I swear, you asked for that last time you said hatchet wrench!"
Scott shook his head, "No," he argued, rolling out from beneath the car that we, well rather, he was working on and got up to look in the toolbox. "This is a hatchet wrench." He held up the grimy tool.
"Oh," recognition hit me. "Woops?"
"Woops?" Scott looked at me with raised eyebrows.
"Hey, it's not like I grew up doing this stuff, and I'm sure you handed someone the wrong tools at one time too! It's only my first week on the job. So don't give me any grief, Mister Fix-it."
Scott shook his head slightly as he rolled back under the car, "Hand me a 5/8."
"A wha." I stopped short and wandered back to the toolbox, this one I knew. It was the little head for the hatchet wrench. I just had to figure out which one it was. "Uh, here." I said, handing him the piece.
"So, how'd you learn all this stuff about cars?" I asked after too many seconds of silence, "I mean, it's not like you were born with this knowledge."
Scott remained silent for a moment, "Um, from an old buddy of mine. He cleaned me up off the streets and told me I could be doing better things with my hands. So he taught me all he knew about fixing up cars, or pretty much anything with an engine, electronics, or two wheels."
"Really? So, where is this guy now?" I questioned, "And is he as good a teacher as you?" I rolled my eyes when Scott didn't respond. "Scott?"
He slid out from under the car and looked into my eyes, "He's gone now. Just a memory from the past."
I nodded slowly. That wasn't just telling me something. That was an order about off-limits topics. Apparently this buddy-guy was a soft spot and wasn't to be brought up again. "Okay." I said turning back to the toolbox, "So what do you need next?"
"Glass of water." He mumbled, checking the thing he'd called the filter.
"A what?" I automatically turned to the toolbox and started perusing the tools before it hit me what he'd said. "Oh, okay. This one I can do." I jumped off the stool and walked into our shack. Filling the glass with water and walking back towards the garage I glanced at the doorway. A man in a suit was standing, giving me a leery look.
"Can I help you?" I asked cautiously, glancing towards the garage.
The man glanced around the shack before looking directly at me again. "I'm looking for Scott."
"One second." I nodded my head towards to garage, "I'll get him."
The man gave a curt nod as I walked back to the garage. I set the glass of water on one of the numerous crates, "Someone's here to see you."
"Who is it?" He asked, looking up from the engine.
"He didn't say, just that he was looking for Scott." I answered, glancing at the water.
He nodded and grabbed the glass as he walked into the shack. He had the oddest look on his face. Curious I followed him. The second he saw who it was it almost looked like his face fell. Oh he was so not going to try and get out of telling me what was going on.
"Garrett." Scott nodded at the man in the suit.
'Garrett' stuck out his hand and smiled, "Ah, Scott. My favorite businessman. How's it going?"
Scott shook Garrett's hand then took a drink of water, "Can't complain. Business is going good and all."
"I see you got yourself a girlfriend." Garrett eyed me again. If he looked at me like I was a piece of candy one more time I was going to throw the glass of water in Scott's hand at him. Glass included. And possibly a few of the tools as well. I knew that one thing, the pry bar, would do some damage to a skull.
"I'm not his girlfriend." I snapped, dropping onto the couch, "I'm his associate." I corrected him.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Garrett apologized then glanced at Scott, "Anyway, I have another job for you if you want it."
Scott looked at me then rubbed his chin, "I dunno, man. I've already got a few jobs backed up, and with me training my."
"Barron's offering almost twenty-five grand." Garrett interrupted.
I jumped off the couch, my eyes wide. "Twenty-five thousand *dollars*?"
Garrett nodded, "Desperate times call for desperate prices."
"Can you excuse us a second, Gare?" I looked at Scott and pulled him aside, "Scott, come on. We can do this. It's twenty-five grand!"
He studied me then shook his head, "I've got my hands full and with me having to work with you so much, I don't know if I've got the energy to add another car to my stack. I know Barron; he'll want me to take a car from nothing but the frame. That means I'll have to find all the parts and all the labor. It won't be easy at all. You think what we're doing now is hard."
"Yeah," I nodded then glanced at Garrett, "But twenty-five grand? Don't tell me you aren't even tempted."
"Of course I am, but it's not logically possible. I've got customers that are waiting as it is."
"I'll work harder, Scott. I promise. Come on, we can't pass up a pay off like this. I'm not afraid to get my hands a little dirty here" I pressed.
"Okay, let me think about it." He muttered turning back to Garrett. "When does Mr. Barron want it by?"
Garrett grinned, "When can you get it done?"
Scott looked at me then back at Garrett, "Like I said, I've got a few customers already, I don't know how long it would take."
"An estimate then?" Garrett pursued.
"A month maybe?" he offered.
"A month?" Garrett questioned, his eyebrows raised.
Scott nodded, "Month and a half probably, but the price might have to go up a bit. It'll be a time crunch and getting the materials I need won't be easy."
"What if I could promise that we could get the parts and you'd just have to put them together?" Garrett offered.
"If you can get the parts here with in a week, we're talking maybe another week or two." Scott calculated.
"We can do that." Garrett confirmed, "We've got the parts on standby and we just need the right man to put them together, you know we always come to you first."
"I appreciate that, Garrett, I really do. But again, I can't make any real promises here." Scott repeated.
"Barron's not asking for promises, Scott, he's asking for a car." Garrett responded with an oily smile as he turned to leave. "The parts will be here in three days."
Scott and I both watched him walk out and I let out the breath I was holding, "Twenty-five grand?!" I squeaked, "Who the hell has twenty-five grand to spend on a car?"
Scott ran a hand through is hair, "We don't' have time to think about it," he grimaced, "I have to focus on the jobs I've got and try to finish them up as much as I can with in three days. That's impossible."
"I can help!" I offered, following him back into the garage, "I will get it, I promise."
"You better, we can't screw up here, Kat." He warned, "You don't know these people or the reputations these people have."
I stopped walking, "What do you mean?"
"Barron and all the other big shots I work for, they're not the sort of business men that you can jerk around. I don't make the deadlines, they do. And if I don't meet those deadlines..." He looked at me, "If *we* don't make those deadlines.It won't be pretty. These guys own people. People who wouldn't have the slightest problem running in here and shooting the place up."
My eyes were wide, "whoa.I.I." I dropped to my stool for a moment then hopped up, "Okay, let's do it. I'll stay up all night and all day if it takes. Tell me what you need and when you need it."
Scott glanced at me, "You're going to have to be real quick here Kat, remember, we've got roughly three days to work on the current deals. After that, it's all going to be Barron's car."
"I get it, Scott." I nodded, "Now come on, what's my first job?"
Scott looked around the garage, "I need you to find three duel exhaust mufflers, a couple steering wheels, a transmission box, and a rear and front bumper. Then I'll need you to run to the hardware store and see if you can find chrome and gold spray paint and steel wool. Then I need you to come back and prime and paint the bumpers. While that's trying, use the wool to get all of the rust off of the mufflers and then spray them with the high temp paint. Oh, and while you're looking through the junkyard for the stuff, see if you can spot any good looking seat covers or material to cover the seats and the steering wheels. Finish that and then I'll give you more to do."
"Okay," I nodded slowly taking all he said in, "Got it."
Scott walked to one of the walls and moved a muffler, revealing a hole in the wall. He pulled out a rather large wad of bills and handed it to me, "Don't worry about prices too much. For now, there's plenty more where that came from and we don't have time to try and haggle. Now go."
I saluted, and turned to go, "Yes, Mr. Fix-it." Grabbing my bag I stuffed the money inside and took off for the hardware store. "I find a place to settle down and now I find out we're three days away from it being shot or blown up. Great, just great. How do I get myself into these things?"
* * * *
Sure enough, three days later the parts showed up outside our shack. Scott and I had barely slept since Garrett's visit and we were still working as fast as we could to finish the last touch ups to the paint job of our last customer when the final box of parts fell and Garrett walked into the garage, "The stuff's all there, I'll be back in a week to check on your guys' progress."
Scott nodded and glanced at me, "We'll be here."
I nodded and smiled at Garrett, "Don't worry, Gare, we're your guys."
Garrett gave me an annoyed nod in response and turned, "A week!" he called to us as he walked out.
The moment he was out of sight I dropped onto the stool, "Scott, I'm tired and hungry, if I don't eat or sleep soon, I'm going to die."
Scott wiped the sweat off of his brow and nodded, "I know, I know, but we've got a week to put this all together. Think of it like a giant puzzle. No sweat, right?"
I glared at him and sighed, "You're going to die too, you know."
"I don't need sleep," he argued.
"Yes you do," I shot back. "It is okay to admit that you need sleep. Humans do that, you know."
Scott gazed at me and nodded, "Okay, so I might need some sleep, but that doesn't mean I've got time to do it. We've got boxes to haul and open, and now we've really got to start working."
I held up a hand, "Look, you go sleep and I'll haul all the boxes in here and open them up. Don't worry about it. As soon as I've got it all in here I'll wake you up and then I will sleep until you really need me."
Scott sighed and looked towards the shack. "You sure?"
"Positive." I answered flexing my muscles and deepening my voice, "Buff woman take care of it, Sparky." I grinned at him.
Surprisingly he smiled back and patted me on the back as he walked into the shack, "Thanks Kat."
I nodded and watched him fall onto the bed. He was so exhausted. It practically emanated from his pores. Taking a deep breath I walked to the boxes, "Okay, boys." I cracked my knuckles, "Time for you to do what mama says when she says it."
Scott was amazed when I woke him up three hours later. Not only had I brought the boxes into the garage but I'd put some of the parts together too. More importantly, I'd put them together correctly. It's not like I hadn't been paying attention the entire time he was teaching me. Either way, we worked our asses off and as promised, a week later Garrett showed up. Scott and I had come an amazingly long way in only a week. We'd even gotten some shuteye. In shifts, but still, sleep is sleep. Garrett didn't stay long, said he had some other business on the other side of town, but he did mention that we were doing a good job and he'd be back in a couple days to see how much more we'd done.
Later Scott filled me in by telling me we had two more days worth of work to finish up. It really wouldn't be that hard. We had a little more engine work to do, had to make sure it ran and that everything worked right, then we would only have the paint job left. Barron wanted the car to be a slick metallic silver and wanted a fancy interior to match. I personally thought the car rocked and mentioned more than once that Scott and I would have to recreate the car for myself one day.
We kept working steadily and the next time Garrett showed up he was able to hand us the money, we tossed him the keys, and then he drove out of our garage. The second the car was out of hearing range both Scott and I let out our breath and all the stress and rushing caught up with us. We still had a few touch ups to do on the jobs we'd stopped while we were working on Barron's car, but we both decided screw it and fell into bed.
That was the first night Scott and I actually slept on the bed together. Usually one of us took the couch as not to invade each other's personal space, but at that time, neither of us cared. We'd had a completely exhausting week and the moment our bodies hit the old mattress we were goners.
I do remember thinking, before I fell asleep, how much fun it had been working next to Scott though. I was getting the hang of this business and almost anticipated the next time we got a big job like that.