Lucky Baby by Taryn Quinn

Six

I’d playedthe coward card without remorse after Lucky brought me back to his worksite. It had been a damn long day, and I just needed a little time to myself. I’d hopped on my bike and headed to the shop.

The Phantom Rolls Royce at the top of my list was waiting for me in the back bay. I’d been working up the parts I needed to fabricate for weeks now. My client was a tech giant with more money than sense, but I didn’t mind taking some of that green off his hands.

Gage was helping me with the remodel. He had a light hand with welding that I’d never quite managed to match. We often worked as a team on the bigger projects. This one was slated for a November finish, and I needed to score some hours on Hilda, my fabricator, to get some pieces done for him.

It was end of the workday for most of our crew. A few new mechanics were doing end of shift paperwork. Gage and Dare were holed up in the office. Dare had his feet kicked up on the desk as he laughed at something his brother said.

I wasn’t ready to talk to humans, so I bypassed that side of the garage and sneaked into the locker room to change into my coveralls. Hilda used a large water bath for the cuts I was doing, and no matter how hard I tried, shit got messy.

I snagged my headphones off the charger and headed into my section. It took a few minutes to boot up Hilda and go through my digital drawings. The Phantom was built like a tank, but the base model my client wanted updated was an older model with pristine guts. Too bad the shell was beat to hell from a hailstorm in Texas.

That was where I came in.

I smoothed my hand over the dented hood. Gage had been busy stripping the car back, which left me wide open to start building her back up.

The precise work of measurements and picking out the right sheets of metal took all my focus and evened out my rough edges. The new Billie Eilish album thundered in my ears as I tore apart metal sheets. My muscles sang with the labor as I created the puzzle pieces that would make up a new and improved vision of the Phantom.

The world and all my problems faded as I fell into the work.

My partners knew not to bother me when I was in this space. The guys had families to go home to anyway. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d been left to my own devices at the garage.

And I liked it that way. Most of the time.

I shook off the twinge. My job kept me busy and fulfilled. Families and sticky fingers and having to cater to a male weren’t what I was about.

Arching my back to work out the kinks, I turned my head and a photo of Gage with Rylee and their little girl caught my attention.

The girl’s dark hair was in pigtails and her face was covered in white and pink frosting. Gage had one half of his face covered and Rylee the other as their daughter smushed between their cheeks.

They were a pretty cute family.

I shifted away from the wall of photos. Still wasn’t in my plans. Someday I wanted a family—maybe. I still wasn’t too keen on the idea of it. It seemed like a damn lot of juggling based on the conversations I heard in the garage.

A glance at the time on my phone made me wince. If I wanted to get some work done the next day before the wrecking crew of guys showed up at my place, I needed to get home and faceplant for a bit.

I locked up and sighed when I saw it was raining. I really didn’t want to put my bike away for the season yet, but it was getting dicey weather-wise. I supposed I’d need to put the beater on the road sooner rather than later.

Swapping a ponytail for a quick French braid gave me a few minutes to look around the dark town. The streetlights had that vintage feel with LED lights for extra energy savings. In our last election, that had been one of the items we’d voted on. We’d even ended up with cool flickering lights for the holidays.

Crescent Cove took their seasonal decorating seriously. From Halloween—thanks to Macy’s influence—to Christmas and the Fourth of July, the Cove did it up big. There was no shortage of community when it came to this lakeside town.

The diner was the only place open at this hour. The Rusty Spoon didn’t bend to the nine o’clock town shutdown, and I was forever grateful. I walked across the street and found the booths mostly empty, save for Luna and Caleb bent over a stack of notebooks and binders at the back of the room.

Before I could turn around and escape, Luna waved. “Well, hey there, stranger. Haven’t seen you at Brewed Awakening in a few days.”

I smiled and nodded to Polly on my way by. The waitress was a staple here in the evenings since Gina Ramos had shacked up with the sheriff. Call me contrary, but I enjoyed the crabby Polly. We understood each other.

“Yeah, it’s been a crazy week.”

“I heard.” Caleb scooted over. “Want to sit with us?”

I glanced down at the paper explosion on the table. “Think it’s a bit crowded.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “We’re still fighting over the seating charts. You’d be surprised how many teachers have hooked up at the Academy. And swapped partners. Downright scandalous over there for a Catholic school.”

“You know the Catholic girls are truly the bad girls, Lu.”

“What about me?”

“You’re a Luna—individual in every way.”

“You think you’re clever.”

Caleb laughed. “Just lucky.”

I tried to ignore the itch along my spine. Eating with them was looking more and more like a bad idea with every second that ticked by. How was I supposed to deal with all this drippy love stuff?

He stacked up the binders in a ridiculously quick fashion. Must have been the teacher gene. “Come on, sit with us.”

I swallowed a sigh and sat down. “Sure. That’d be nice.”

Being polite was balls.

Luna smiled and perked up in her seat. “Yay.”

Her wild lemon blond curls rioted around her stunning face. A ripped white sweatshirt had slid off one shoulder, revealing a lacy tank in eye-searing pink. She had something shimmery on her eyes and her lashes were tipped in pink even at this late hour.

I felt like a wet dog next to all her cuteness.

Polly saved me from making conversation. “Hey, T. What can I get you?”

I should’ve said the salad after all the pizza I’d ingested with Thor, but I really wanted gravy fries. “Silver dollars and gravy fries.”

Polly shook her head. “You always have the craziest combos. Butter and syrup?”

“Just butter and lots of it.”

“Gotcha.” She glanced at Luna and Caleb. “Refills? Anything to eat?”

Luna rubbed her still flat belly. She was another one who’d fallen victim to the Cove baby water. “I think the baby might like those gravy fries.”

Caleb grinned. “The baby, huh?”

Luna shrugged. “If you’re good, you can have one.”

“Gee thanks. I’ll have another Coke and a spinach and egg white omelet.”

Polly hiked up an eyebrow, then shrugged. “You got it.” She shoved her order pad in her apron and headed for the counter.

I was pretty sure my face matched Polly’s. “You’re friends with Lucky, right?”

The edges of Caleb’s ears went pink. “Trying to get in shape for the wedding. I’ve been enjoying too many of Lu’s cravings.”

Luna stretched her arms across the table to snag his hand. “Aww, I love your little belly.”

He lifted her hand to his mouth for a quick kiss. “See? No belly for this guy, thanks.”

“Dad bod a little early?” I quipped.

Luna giggled and sat back. “Not too many dad bods in this town.”

“You women keep us running ragged with kids.” Caleb reclined in the booth and stretched his arm along the back. “Viv is running around like a lunatic at August’s house. We babysat the other night, and I’m still tired.”

“She’s just the cutest. We had a tea party and tried on about eleven outfits from her closet. You should see the little wardrobe August built for her. I put in an order for our baby’s room.” Luna gripped Caleb’s fingers. “I can’t believe we’re having a kid.”

His smile was quick and almost misty. “Now we just gotta get hitched.”

“You know I don’t need us to get married.”

“Says the girl who proposed from my car,” I muttered.

Luna laughed, then transferred her grip from Caleb to me. Her eyes went wide before her grip tightened.

I frowned at her. “What?”

Luna tilted her head. “Been a rough few days indeed.”

I slid my hand out from under hers. The warmth from her touch was seriously intense. “Yeah.”

“Sorry, the baby makes me even more rude these days. Empath, auras, the whole shebang is whoa—hello, merry go round. I’ve been working at my shields, but the baby is like nope!”

“Shields?”

Luna pressed her lips together and her gaze shifted to Caleb.

Had I asked something I shouldn’t? Since I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, it was hard to tell when I’d gone too far.

This peopling thing was too complicated for me when all I wanted was something to eat.

Polly came back just in time to dispel the awkwardness that had suddenly descended on the table. Maybe I needed to take my food to go.

She set down a round of waters and a soda for Caleb. I grabbed mine and drank deeply. Right now, I wouldn’t have turned down something stronger.

Luna waited for Polly to leave before leaning forward. “It’s okay. You don’t need to talk about it. I’m around if you need to though.”

I looked down at my hands. They were still red and rough from working. Even with gloves, hauling around all that heavy metal did a number on them.

The polar opposite of the woman across from me. Her skin was softly fragranced with something probably natural and herbal.

What the hell was my problem? I didn’t visit Comparisonitisville often. Then again, I also wasn’t used to people trying to get into my sphere.

The bell jangled over the door.

We all looked over, and Luna popped to her feet. “Lucky!” She practically ran over to him. “You made it!” She leaped at him, and he caught her around the waist.

“What’s popping, Blondie?” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Her Converse-clad feet dangled as he carried her back to the table.

Luna laughed and batted at him, but she didn’t demand that he put her down. When you were the size of Lucky, carting women around was probably just part of everyday life.

“Wedding plans aplenty.” She wiped her brow as if she was exhausted.

If that was an attempt to sound put out by said plans, it didn’t work. She sounded entirely too content.

Just as I was when I was working on Hilda. Men were an optional accessory package I usually didn’t shell out for.

“You’ve always got wedding plans on the brain.” Lucky’s voice was gruff but obviously filled with affection. Evidently, he was all talk when it came to complaining on the wedding stuff.

He set Luna down gently beside the booth. “Fancy seeing you here, Ruby.”

“I was just going to get going.” I swung my feet out of the booth.

“Aww, no. We just ordered.” Luna pouted.

“Oh, here it comes.” Caleb nudged my arm. “It’s no use when she bats those bluebells.”

Lucky took my hand and dragged me to my feet. “Nah. She’ll stay.” He swapped me with Luna and hip-checked me into the booth.

I landed on the bench with a bounce. “Hey.”

“Hush. Did you order?”

I folded my arms and stared up at him. “Yes.”

“Move over.”

“Go sit somewhere else, Thor.”

Lucky crowded into me until I had no choice but to slide out of the way or he’d be on my lap. He’d obviously showered. The scent of…soap hit me. But not the spicy male kind of soap I expected from him.

His hair was down and still damp. The same soap scent came from that too. I couldn’t put my finger on what it reminded me of.

“Hey, Pol.” The waitress looked up from her magazine on the counter at Lucky’s voice. “Can you add a Big Breakfast to their order?”

“Got it,” she hollered back.

Luna slid in next to Caleb, who draped an arm around her. “So, this is cozy.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “I didn’t know you two were…talking.”

How could he make the word talking sound so salacious?

“He works for me,” I muttered.

“I’m helping her remodel the old barn at the Slide farmhouse. You guys should come out and take a look. She’s got a great view of the lake.”

I turned to him. “It’s my place. Hello?”

“What? Just being neighborly. You have the perfect spot for a bonfire. You probably need a good s’mores.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Ass.”

“Is there a better scent in the world? I love bonfires.” Luna sighed.

“We’ve been looking at houses near there. We can’t afford lakeside property obviously, but there’s a new development going up a few miles from there.” Caleb reached into the pile of binders on the windowsill and snatched a pamphlet. He pushed it over between us.

Lucky pulled it closer to him. “Oh, yeah. This is right behind where I was working today. Nice to see another name other than Maitland around town.”

“Jackass,” I said under my breath.

Caleb arched his brow. “FHK?”

“No, Maitland.” I shifted closer to the window. Lucky was like a freaking furnace. “He was not happy about me buying my house. It was a private sale, and Gary Slide didn’t want to sell to just anyone.” I shrugged. “I got lucky.”

Lucky sat up straighter and slid me a devilish smile.

I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, he keeps trying to throw money at me to buy me out.”

Lucky stole my water and took a sip. “Maitland owns half of the Cove at this point. Almost every new build we see come through seems to have his name on it. I know they wanted to expand the condos around the lake.”

“Yeah, well, not on my damn property.” I took my water back, then thought better of it and pushed it back toward him. I didn’t want to drink from it now.

He folded his massive paws around the tiny glass. “By the time I’m done with it, you’ll never want to sell anyway.”

“Sure of yourself, huh?”

“Definitely. Just wait until you see the plans I started drawing up.”

I pulled out my phone to check the time. “It’s been four hours.”

“What can I say? I’m a slave to my craft.”

Caleb chuckled. “Is that so? Since when?”

Lucky’s brows drew down. “I don’t really have much else to do, so this will keep me busy.”

Caleb locked his hands behind his neck and blew out a breath.

Hello again, awkward silence. It’s been several minutes since we’ve seen you.

Luna bridged the gap between them by gripping both their hands. “Well, let’s do the bonfire thing. That way everyone can relax. I know we could use it. It’s been all wedding, all the time.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Lucky muttered. But he softened it by patting Luna’s hand. “It’s up to Ruby. It’s her property.”

Oh, now it was up to me? He was making plans for everyone five seconds ago. My palms tingled. I didn’t really want to have a bunch of people at my place. It wasn’t suited for human consumption at the moment.

And sure, that was the only reason I didn’t want to roll out the frigging welcome wagon.

Just this morning—somehow it was still the same damn day—all I could think about was how amazing it was to have my own property. Now, after looking at all the things I needed to fix…

Well, overwhelmed was an understatement.

Luna sat back and absently nuzzled Caleb’s hand as he draped it over her shoulder. “It’s supposed to be beautiful tomorrow night. Almost a full moon, so it should be nice and bright. We don’t even have to go in the house.”

I met Luna’s gaze. I was eight levels of uncomfortable from the natural affection between her and her fiancé and hell, just from the buzz of happy love vibes in the room. She was so open and friendly, but it wasn’t the cloying fake kind. She seemed to be genuinely happy about having an impromptu get together.

Some part of me was ready to dive in and say yes. That wasn’t me. I was itchy and tempted to leap over Lucky to escape. That would be the smart, sensible idea.

I didn’t want to be part of some friendship circle. Not when I wasn’t sure I could keep up my end of the deal. Better for me just to jet.

Too bad Polly picked that moment to bring over our food.

“Here we go.” She passed out the plates stacked along her arm.

The scent of gravy fries made me moan out loud.

Lucky glanced at me, his green eyes unreadable as he shifted in his seat. Neither of us behemoths were exactly built for a booth, especially when we were sharing one together. Our feet kept bumping and his shoulders were a damn wall, blasting out heat.

He didn’t even have on a coat, just one of those thermal shirts with three buttons. The white seemed even brighter against his tanned skin. He pushed up the sleeves and again, that scent of soap wafted my way. It even overpowered the gravy, dammit.

“Where’s Butch?” I asked as Polly finished passing out the plates.

“We stopped at the pet store and loaded up on dog stuff. She was passed out in my bed, even though I bought her a bed of her own.”

“Typical. My cat is the same.”

“Butch?” Luna paused with a fry halfway to her mouth.

Popping a sausage in his mouth, Lucky pulled out his phone and showed it to her. “We had some excitement today at my job site.” He finished chewing with a sheepish smile. “Ruby here brought me to get my new girl situated.”

Luna dropped her fry and took the phone. “Oh, look at her.” She looked up at him. “Butch?”

“She’s feisty.”

I dragged a perfectly golden potato wedge through my gravy. “He thought she was a boy.”

“Girls can be butch.”

“Without or without a capital B?”

Luna’s laugh was musical. “Both. She’s beautiful. What’s wrong with her nose?”

“Some piece of shit tied her around her mouth to a bush.”

The phone clattered to the table, sending a fork sailing into the air. With ridiculously fast reflexes, Lucky snatched the utensil out of the air before it connected with my forehead and returned it to Luna.

“Yeah, I was angry too.” Lucky’s tone was even, but his muscles had locked. I could practically feel the tension radiating from his big frame.

Luna tucked the fork back under the lip of her plate. “Sorry.” Her big blue eyes went shimmery.

“Oh, don’t cry,” I said automatically. I didn’t do well with all that messy emotion.

Luna sniffed. “Sorry. It’s the baby. I swear, the baby’s empath powers are even more intense than mine.” She reached over to Lucky and patted his arm. “You’re doing an amazing thing for her, and I know she appreciates it.”

Lucky relaxed. “Thanks, Lu.”

“You can meet her tomorrow.” Lucky glanced at me. “Hey, maybe Butch and your cat will get along.”

Yeah, that was going to be interesting. I shrugged. “He’s afraid of his own shadow.”

“We’ll win him over.” Lucky dug into his big breakfast.

I plucked up the cup of butter for my pancakes and slathered it on. I definitely deserved all the carbs today.

“No syrup?” he asked.

“Nope.” I folded the pancake in half and lifted it like a piece of toast.

“You’re fascinatingly weird.”

Caleb laughed around his fry. “Way to win a lady over, buddy.”

“No one is winning anyone over.” I resisted the urge to cross my arms. Not that I had any room.

Luna tipped her head and said nothing.

Lucky kept glancing at my plate and finally did the butter thing on one of his large pancakes. He folded it in half and took a bite, then wrinkled his nose and dropped it back on the plate with a splat. Clearly displeased with my culinary choices, he reached across me and grabbed the syrup that had been jammed against the wall with all the plates.

“You could have asked.”

“Eat your dry pancakes, Ruby.”

I rolled my eyes. “Rude.”

Caleb laughed. “You get used to it.”

“Yay me.”

Luna laughed. “You guys are so cute.”

“We’re not anything,” I said firmly and huffed.

“Need something?” Lucky looked down at his plate. “You can have some of my bacon.”

From rude to sweet in the space of thirty seconds. Probably a new world record for him.

What I wanted was a water, but he’d probably backwashed half the glass with that big mouth of his.

As if she was psychic, Polly returned to the table with a round of waters a moment later.

“Thanks.” I reached for one and drank greedily, then filched a piece of his damn bacon.

Lucky didn’t say anything, just kept grinning like the lunatic he was.

“So, let’s make a quick list.” Luna reached around Caleb for the sparkly notebook on the windowsill. She opened it and pulled a pen out of her curls. I wondered what else was in there. “S’mores, beer, some virgin daiquiris for the pregnant lady.”

“You mean a smoothie?” Caleb asked and dropped a kiss on her neck.

“Shut up. Daiquiri sounds way more posh and not so boring.” She elbowed him. “Oh, we should ask Gage and Rylee to come. They live right near you. Rylee has been poking at me about doing something. She’s bored since Macy is in her Halloween zone.”

“That’s no joke. I ran into her current obsession.”

Luna gave me a blinding smile. “Bats, right? She keeps trying to get everyone to put them over their door.” She shook her head. “Living over the café has been eye opening.”

I folded another silver dollar pancake slathered in butter. “She hung one at the garage. Dare threatened to put a boot on her truck.”

Lucky snickered. “He likes his coffee too much to do that.”

“Truth.” I pointed at Luna with the rapidly cooling bit of perfection. “I found it over his office door instead. His kid hates it. Wes jumps every time he sees it.”

Lucky nudged me. “You have a twisted side.”

I shrugged and took another bite. Wes, Dare’s eldest boy, had gotten in trouble for picking on his little brother and had to sweep up at the shop every day after school. If anyone was twisted in this situation, it was Dare. Wes used his new task to avoid doing homework for as long as humanly possible, as well as an opportunity to drive his father nuts every chance he got.

Some days it was a shorter trip than others.

Luna made some scribbles with her pink pen, the fluff on top furiously twitching. “You’re friends with Gage, so you can ask him. My bestie actually lives pretty close by. I’ll ask her too. You don’t mind, right?”

Is she human? If so, yes. If’s she feline or canine or any other species, that works.

I opened my mouth to reply and swiftly gave up. Luna was already rattling off a bunch of things, and the little bonfire get-together was turning into an event.

Apparently, that was that. I was having lots of people over at my damn house tomorrow. Yippee.

I aimed a sidelong glance at Lucky, happily crunching on his bacon. He sensed my gaze and turned his head to innocently lift his eyebrows.

“Jackass,” I mouthed as he grinned.