Unfriending the Dr by Piper Sullivan
Ryan
My mind whirled with images of Persephone and our time together this weekend, instead of the open hood that should have taken up my complete attention. I couldn’t help it. Being with her was better than I had imagined it to be—hell, it was better than I even knew to imagine it could be between us. I should have known; we were compatible in just about everything else, why would bedroom activities be any different?
I was so distracted by my thoughts that the sound of the bell, of an incoming customer, barely registered until a vaguely familiar voice yanked me from thoughts of my woman. “Ryan, my man, tell me you have good news for me?”
I blew out a breath and let my shoulders fall. “I wish I did.”
Parts for old cars weren’t easy to come by and when you did find them, it took forever to negotiate a price and get them shipped to wherever you were in the world.
“Got something else on your mind?” Gavin’s tone was teasing and his satisfied smirk said he knew exactly what was on my mind. “You look like a man in love.”
“It’s too soon for love.” It was too soon to tell Persephone that I loved her as more than a friend, anyway. “We’re taking it slow, feeling each other out so we don’t ruin our friendship.”
“Yeah.” He nodded and crossed his arms. “That is the tricky part, isn’t it?’
“Not for me, but Persephone hasn’t had the best luck with romance and she’s convinced it will all end horribly and she’ll lose me forever.”
“At least she’s worried about losing you. That has to be a good sign.”
That was what I told myself, too.
“What brings you to town, Gavin? Recording a new album?”
No one in town knew for sure why he’d come to Jackson’s Ridge, but everyone had their own ideas.
Gavin shrugged and raked a hand through his hair. “I’m just here to enjoy some downtime and a routine vocal checkup. The studio bigwigs like to know their prize horse is in excellent shape.”
His words were spoken casually, as if it didn’t matter, but the visible signs of tension all over his body said otherwise.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine. Rock stars are tough—at least, that’s what I hear. Constantly.”
That pulled a laugh from Gavin. “Yeah? I’m starting to like your girl more every day. She got a sister?”
He barked out another laugh when I glared at him.
Gavin raised his hands in the air in a defensive gesture. “Hey man, I’m no poacher, especially not from the man who’s fixing my car. How’s that going, by the way?”
“Slowly,” I told him on a sigh. “The good news is that I’ve found the parts, the bad news is that now we have to wait for them to get here.”
“To the far-flung jungles of Oregon? Good think I’ve no place to be.”
“Hardly far-flung jungles, rock star. I have a few loaner cars I let people use on occasion, if you’re interested. None of them are luxury vehicles and they don’t come with a chauffeur, but they run well.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I like being driven around. I’m used to it,” he laughed and settled his gaze on the still mostly untouched Speedster. “Besides, I like surprising the teenagers in town who offer up taxi services. It helps out young entrepreneurs and I have to find ways to amuse myself while I’m here, don’t I?”
“I have no problems with it, and I doubt the kids do, either.” I could just about imagine the looks on their faces when they pulled up and found Gavin Ross waiting.
“But if I need to borrow a car, I know where to go. Thanks.” Gavin glanced down at the sparkling gold watch on his wrist and sighed. “I need to get going. Important things to do.”
“I’ll call you when the parts arrive and I have an idea of how long everything will take.”
“Sounds good.” He nodded absently and I knew I spent too much time with women because I was desperate to know what he was doing in town.
“I’ll walk you out,” I told him after a quick glance at the clock on the wall. “It’s just about time to pick Titus up from the bus stop.” The stop was the closest to my shop and the walk back was part of our afternoon routine.
Gavin clapped me on the back and smiled. “You’re halfway there, Ryan, just don’t screw it up.” With that last piece of advice, Gavin Ross, rock star and relationship expert, apparently, walked toward the town square, hands shoved in his pockets while he hummed one of his biggest hits.
I turned in the opposite direction and made the short walk, arriving at the corner just as Titus hopped off the bus. “Hey, Ryan!”
“Hey, buddy. How was school today?”
“I could meet you at the shop,” he offered up with hope shining in his violet eyes.
The kid was desperate to make the trip on his own and I felt for him. I really did. “You could, but your mother would skin me alive if I let you do it without her permission and something happened to you.”
I was too close to getting everything I wanted to mess it up by letting Titus do something he was too young to do alone.
Titus let out an annoyed sigh and pouted up at me even while he put his little hand in mine. “You and Mom used to walk home from school, and all around town. You told me so.”
He was right about that. “Times are different, kid. Too many boogeymen out here and not enough of me to keep an eye on you. Now, do you wanna argue to tell me about your day?”
He let out another sigh, knowing the conversation was closed until his mother said otherwise. “I get to be a hall monitor next week, and the week after, I get to look after the class bunny, Flapper.” Titus took a breath and it was the last one he took for the next fifteen minutes. “And guess what else, Ryan?”
I took a moment. “You’re getting bumped up to high school the week after you get Flapper?”
“No, silly. I’m not that smart,” he giggled.
“You’re going to become the school mascot?”
He giggled again and the sound brought a smile to my face. “Nope. Wait, is that a thing I can do?”
It was my turn to laugh. “Who do you think is inside the costume, a robot?”
“I wanna do that,” he said, jumping up and down excitedly as if he already had the job. “But no, not that either.”
“Okay, tell me.”
“There’s a father-son camping trip in a few weeks and since you’re kind of like my dad, will you do it with me?” He was so adorably nervous, like there was a chance in hell that I would turn him down. “Will you?”
“I’d love to go with you, kiddo. But I have to warn you that I know next to nothing about camping.” The last time I went camping, I was a teenager, and it was just a pretense to have a few uninterrupted hours with beer and girls.
“I can teach you!”
I laughed. “Yeah? You became a camping expert when I wasn’t looking?”
“No, but I’ve seen lots of videos on setting up a tent and starting a fire, ’cause I’m gonna be a Firefly next year and I’ll already know everything.”
Titus was smarter than the average kid, so I had no doubt that was true. “Then let’s set up a time where you can teach me the basics of camping, kid. I think you might be too short to get the tent set up all the way.”
“Maybe,” he conceded with a laugh. “I’m hungry?”
“Me too. Burgers or fried chicken?” One of the best parts of spending afternoons with a hungry kid was that I got to eat like a hungry kid. And I did. Often.
Titus tapped his chin as he thought about his answer and then smiled. “Fried chicken sandwiches?”
“With onion rings?”
“And curly fries?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. We’ll have to get broccoli or spinach if we get both.”
Titus practically bounced back toward the exit. “I vote broccoli. It’s not as gross as other veggies.”
Was there any doubt why I loved this kid so much?
