Lilies and Lies Read Online Free Page B

five-year-old all over again.
    “Wyatt, it’s Gunnar over at the garage. I need you to head this way. There’s been an accident. Yes, Maddie’s fine…just a bump on her head that looks like it might play into a concussion. The paramedics have just arrived, and I’m sure they’ll want to take her in for a look-see. Yes, they’re just walking in now. The truck? It’s…well, I’m sorry to say it’s going to need more than a brake job now.”
    A slight pause, then Maddie heard Wyatt’s response as his muddled voice spilled over the line. The words were unintelligible from where she sat, but his tone spoke volumes.
    Sure, she’d had a set of keys copied at the hardware shop, but it didn’t matter now. She’d never drive another delivery truck again. God sure had an ironic sense of humor.
    ****
     
    “Wow, this is a mess.” Kyle loped through the door of Gunnar’s office, a slice of pepperoni pizza in one hand. It wasn’t exactly the dinner at Pappy’s that Gunnar had promised, but Anthony Moretto had been kind enough to deliver the pizza himself when he heard about the accident. The extra-large stuffed crust coupled with two slices of cheesecake ought to tide Kyle over until they made it home. “What are we gonna do now, Uncle Gunnar?”
    “Is your homework finished?”
    “Yes, sir. Mrs. Johnson helped me while you talked to the insurance adjuster. She said it kept her mind off the calamity. That’s a cool word, isn’t it? Mrs. Johnson always uses those kinds of words. She says a brain is only as large as its vocabulary, and you have to stretch things to stay smart.”
    “Good point.” Gunnar rummaged through the tool box on the back counter for a hammer. “Now that Sam has moved the delivery truck to the last bay, next to the Mustang, we can get to work on the damage tomorrow. And Mrs. Johnson’s car has been towed away, too. You can take this broom and sweep up while I hang a tarp along the bay entrance. We won’t be able to shut the doors for these two units until the frame is fixed, so a tarp will at least keep the moisture out if it rains tonight like the forecast predicts.”
    “What happened to Mrs. Johnson’s car?”
    Gunnar sighed. The poor sedan had been hauled to the junk yard. As Mrs. Johnson watched it disappear over the horizon, her eyes flooded with tears. Apparently, it had belonged to her husband, who’d passed away nearly a decade ago, and its sentimental value was greater than anything she’d garner from the insurance company. Gunnar would make things right with her in replacing the car, though, even if it meant digging into his own pockets to get the job done.
    Not that his pockets were endlessly deep. He was sure to lose a bit of business over this fiasco; estimates determined it would take at least two weeks to set things to right again, and he had a ton of red tape to wade through with the insurance company. But at least everything could be fixed. Things could be a whole lot worse.
    Maddie Cutler could be lying in the morgue instead of a hospital bed. The thought raced chills up Gunnar’s spine, bringing front and center the fact that he cared about her more than he ought to. Why, he wasn’t sure. Beside the work he’d done on her car and the fact that they’d seen each other only in passing at church the past Sunday or two, they really had no connection.
    So, what was the deal?
    Gunnar sighed and tried to make sense of it all. For a fleeting moment, he wished he was canine, like Axle, instead of human. Life would sure be a lot simpler. The mutt had settled back onto his blanket beneath the work bench, and he gnawed lazily on the crust of pizza Kyle had tossed his way. Talk about a dog’s life.
    Bristles rustled in a short, steady cadence as Kyle swept debris from the oil-stained concrete into a pile. Hair spilled across his eyes, hiding them, and Gunnar made a mental note to head to the barber with him as soon as things settled down.
    Kyle glanced up mid-stroke.