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grudge… or Marie for putting her up to it….
    He was still casting about for a scapegoat when he was stopped
    short by the sight of the wide-open garage door. It wasn‘t even two-
    forty-five, and there was no sign of Norah‘s car, so Logan guessed it
    must be the owner come to check on his shop. However, when he
    entered the garage, he found none other than Nick Zales. He was
    wearing dress pants, Logan noticed, topped by a coarse weave, off-
    white shirt; his sleeves were rolled up, displaying muscular arms.
    Nick had one hand on his hip while the other was carding through
    his thick brown hair as he stood staring at the red convertible. He
    started ever so slightly at Logan‘s approach and straightened up,
    saying, ―Oh, hey, Logan. You‘re early.‖
    46
    Felicia Watson

    ―Yeah. Where‘re the girls and the car?‖
    ―Norah‘s picking Tish and Cheryl up; I had a court appearance
    today.‖ Logan cocked his head, wondering what the man had done to
    necessitate that. The unspoken question must have been evident, since
    Nick immediately clarified, ―A client of mine needed to get a
    restraining order.‖
    Logan wanted that subject taken off the table immediately, so he
    gestured at the Thunderbird, saying, ―Still thinking about that car,
    huh?‖
    ―Thinking I maybe just made a huge mistake, yes.‖
    ―A mistake. You mean… you went ahead and bought it?‖
    ―Yep. After Dave dropped the price a bit, I took the plunge.‖ Nick
    added with a laugh, ―Because apparently insanity really does run in my
    family.‖ Abruptly the smile left his face, and he cleared his throat while
    plainly attempting to reassemble his genial face into something sterner.
    Logan wondered why the sensation of a cloud covering the sun
    swept over him even though they were standing inside. He shook it off,
    asking, ―That Dave guy gonna restore it for you?‖
    ―No, he‘s still not up to coming back to work. Besides I don‘t
    have the money for that on top of what I just spent. He threw in use of
    the shop as part of the deal, so I‘m gonna try an‘ do most of it myself.‖
    ―You ever done anything like that?‖
    ―Nope, but I do a lot of work on my Jeep, and I downloaded a
    bunch of stuff off the Internet. I figure if I take it slow, I can‘t mess it
    up too badly. What have I got to lose? Besides six thousand dollars,
    that is.‖
    Without thinking, Logan blurted out, ―I could help.‖
    Nick‘s head jerked towards him as he answered warily, ―Thanks,
    but… I really couldn‘t afford to pay you….‖
    Wishing he could either take his words back or disappear right
    through the concrete floor, Logan mumbled, ―I didn‘t mean….‖ He let
    the annoyance he felt at himself creep into his voice as he said, ―Look,
    I just like workin‘ on cars, okay? I wasn‘t lookin‘ to make a bunch of
    money—‖

    Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela
    47

    Nick cut off Logan‘s mounting anger with a raised palm. ―Hey, I
    couldn‘t let you do it for free.‖ Logan had no intention of repeating his
    offer, but Nick added uncertainly, ―But I really could use your help….‖
    He made a quick calculation, and before he lost his nerve, Logan
    offered, ―Let me get the parts. I can get ‘em a whole lot cheaper than
    you could. Then, when we‘re all done, you could just give me a quarter
    of what ya spent on parts. That way you won‘t spend no more‘an you
    were gonna, and I‘ll get somethin‘ for my work. How‘s that sound?‖
    The smile came back with no attempt to hide it. ―Sounds good.‖
    Logan tried to disguise his answering smile behind a gruff, ―So
    when did ya wanta start?‖
    ―I really hadn‘t given it much thought. Do you have time on
    Saturday mornings… or afternoons?‖
    ―Nope. I work most Saturdays.‖ Logan didn‘t feel it necessary to
    add that he also saw his girls every other Saturday afternoon, instead
    suggesting, ―How ‘bout Sunday—that‘s my other day off.‖
    ―Yeah, sure,