The Chance (Thunder Point #4)(41)

“I’ll take care of that for you. And I’ve got a place for you to stay.”

“Ah, appreciate it, Eric, but I’m not real big on roommates....”

Eric shook his head. “No roommates. I’ve been slowly moving out of my room at the Coastline Inn. I holed up there when I got to town and didn’t bother looking for anything permanent because I was busy working on updating the station and pouring a slab for a body shop. Keeping this place open seven days a week at the same time—I never had time to think about moving. I bought a little refrigerator and toaster. The motel has coffee in the morning and there are plenty of places to eat around town. I still have a few things to take out of that room—it’s a good weekly rate. Use it as long as you want.”

“Where are you hanging your hat these days?”

“I moved in with a woman,” he said.

Al whistled. “You move fast.”

Eric chuckled. “No, I don’t. I’ve been with her since January and I’ve been taking one shirt at a time to her house, giving her plenty of time to realize she’s lost her mind. But she’s crazy, I guess. I can clear the rest of my stuff out of that room in ten minutes and leave you the little appliances.”

“Can’t wait to meet this mentally challenged woman,” Al said with a big smile.

“I’ll give her a call...ask her what her plans are for dinner. If she’s busy, I’ll take you to the restaurant at the marina.” Eric couldn’t stop grinning. “Damn, I’m glad to see you, Al. I’m not real well fixed here. Got two old boys who pumped gas here before I bought the place, Manny came with me and there’s Justin—seventeen and full of attitude.”

Al smirked. “Sounds like hats and horns all day long.”

Eric was thinking, No way you can make me not love my life right now. “I’ll take you over to the motel. Let you settle in. If you have too much stuff, there’s storage space in the garage.”

“I never carry more than I can lift, Eric.”

Eric cocked his head. “You ever put down any roots? Even for a little while?”

“What constitutes roots? I had a few years here, a few there. I wasn’t too impressed with roots. Any of our old customers head this way with the classics?”

“A few. I haven’t been looking for them or advertising yet. I’ve been busy just running the station and the wrench end of things. I guess it’s about time for me to get on that. Let me get Manny. He’s going to want to say hello. Then I’ll take you over to the Coastline Inn.”

* * *

Eric walked into Laine’s house at five-thirty, early for him. He was met with delicious smells and the sound of faint music coming from upstairs. In the kitchen he found a pot simmering. He lifted the lid and just inhaled greedily—his favorite meal, steak soup. Then he climbed the stairs.

Laine was humming to the music; she had her iPod attached to the speakers in the bathroom. There was also the sound of water sloshing around. Eric sat on the bed and took off his boots, smiling to himself. Then on a whim, he took off his shirt and pants.

The soaker tub was large enough for two, but he didn’t want to presume too much so he wrapped a towel around his na**d body and made a little noise in the bedroom.

“Eric?”

“It’s me,” he said. He moved into the bathroom.

“You’re early,” she said.

“And so happy to be early.” He dropped the towel and stepped into the tub with her. “Come on, make some room here.”

She pulled up her knees for him. “Why are you early?”

“Why are you making steak soup? The sun is shining. You never make big soups or stews when the sun is shining.”

“I had an overwhelming day. Nothing I can’t handle, but Jesus, does everyone have skeletons in their closets? I was looking for one of my deadbeat dads for the sheriff’s department. He was supposed to have left the state and I found him right in North Bend. Working in a garage that, unless I don’t know anything, is a chop shop!” She sighed. “Now it’s going over to auto theft. The police thought they were just dealing with unpaid child support and alimony but when they lock this guy up, he’s never going to pay a dime to his family. I wanted to slug him.”

“Did you arrest him?” Eric asked.

“No, I told him he’d won the lottery and asked for his address so I can send him the check. He’s so stupid, he doesn’t have a clue I figured out what was going on in that garage. Why’d it have to be a garage? You have a garage!”

“Not that kind of garage. How’d you find him?”

“It was too easy. He has a shiny new credit card and he likes to pay his cell phone bill with it. And a few other things like sexy lingerie, clubs, booze. No car insurance, rent or doctor’s bills, but his cell phone bill goes to an address for some woman’s apartment. His last known address was in California and he’s used a bunch of different names, but he always pays the cell phone bill. He’s very attached to his phone. And of course the imbecile is on Facebook.” She shook her head. “He probably has some very valuable pictures on his phone. I’ll bet he does Facebook from the phone. And he has to use his real name so all his buds and girls know it’s him. The dumb-ass.”

Eric frowned. “Wait a minute here. You found him from a cell phone number? And Facebook? How’d you do that?”