Page 18 of Love in Overdrive

Chapter 7

“It’s been a while. Are you ready for some ice time?” Nash asked as he pulled into the arena Monday night.

“I’m a little rusty, but I can still skate circles around you.” Cade picked up the enormous duffle bag that held his hockey gear. He couldn’t believe his parents still had it.

Tonight, he could really use some physical activity to burn off a little stress. He’d spent his morning at the phone store. No surprise, they couldn’t retrieve any of his information from his old phone. Cade learned his lesson. He would be backing this one up.

But back at the shop, his day took a turn for the worse. He’d spent his afternoon working on a rust-bucket of a vehicle while he tried to convince himself losing Laney’s number was for the best.

“Ha. You couldn’t out skate me back in high school, but it doesn’t matter. We need you. One of the guys broke his foot putting up his Christmas lights this year, and we’ve been playing a man down ever since.”

In the locker room, Cade pulled on his breezers and laced up his skates. It had been years, but felt like yesterday. God, he hoped the muscle memory kicked in and it was like riding a bike. He’d played a little when stationed near a rink, but that was a few years ago. They didn’t have hockey as an option for rec time in prison.

“Hey, remember Jamilee?” Nash cut a quick glance his way before continuing to tape his stick.

“Yeah. How could I forget? We dated for a year back in high school.”

“Well, I ran into her last week. She just got divorced.”

“And?” His right eye twitched.

“I mentioned you were coming home. She might be here tonight.”

“Fuck. I’m lucky I lived through dating her. Her father wanted to kill me, and it didn’t help she was unhinged. Remember how she stalked me when we broke up?”

“Sorry, man. I forgot that.”

Cade never had, and he sure as shit wasn’t looking to be husband number two.

A tall, redheaded guy slapped Nash on the shoulder. “Just the man I’m looking for. I have a car question.”

“Hey Sawyer, this is my buddy, Cade. He’s filling in for Wally.”

“Nice to meet you. Are you the one who just got out of prison?” He reached out a hand.

Cade shook it. “I see my reputation preceded me.”

“Sorry. Small town. News like that buzzes around here pretty fast. If you’re a friend of Nash, I’m sure you’re good people.”

Cade couldn’t fault the guy for the town gossip. At least he hadn’t shied away from shaking his hand. He’d been in town for a week, and he’d already gotten a few stares.

“What’s your car question?” Nash asked.

“I tinker with cars, but I’m an IT guy. I’ve run into something that might be above my pay grade, so to speak. A twelve-year-old Taurus with no heat,” Sawyer frowned. “I wonder if you can point me in the right direction.”

“Well, if the fan doesn’t work, it could be a fuse or the fan itself,” Nash said.

“But if it works, could be something easy like a thermostat or hard like a head gasket.” Cade pulled on his jersey. “Taurus cars were known for blowing head gaskets. You could bring it in, and I could check it out for you.”

“You a mechanic too?” Sawyer asked.

“Sort of. I was in the Army, but my dad owns the shop. I grew up under cars.”

“Cade knows his stuff. He’s working at Busted Knuckle now. And he’s right. It could be a head gasket.”

“It’s my sister’s car. I’ll check it out this weekend, and if I don’t think it’s one of the easy fixes, I’ll have her bring it in.” Sawyer shut his locker. “Thanks, guys. See you out there. Prepare to get whooped.”

“We’ll see about that.” Nash grabbed his stick and turned to Cade. “You ready?”