Forever Kind of Love (3 page)

Blinking she groaned and rubbed a hand to her
forehead. Of course, it would be something that’ll cost an arm and a leg. “Do
what you need to, Taylor. But let me know what it’s going to cost me before you
do anything. I may just decide to take her out and shoot her, put her out of my
misery for this stunt.”

He was looking at her over his shoulder, laughter
in his eyes. “Oh, don’t say that about old Dolly. Poor girl’s gotten you
through a lot of shit,
Roni
. No need to kill her off
just yet.”

That surprised her, but it shouldn’t. Taylor had
been the one to help her buy Dolly, her ‘69 Mustang Fastback. He’d also helped
her negotiate the price way down, given he knew his cars and engines, and she’d
needed work despite the lot owner’s claims.
Roni
had
gotten Dolly cheap, and Taylor had fixed her up for the price of the parts and
the occasional pizza.

“I’d hate to, but she’s been giving me attitude of
late, even though I treat her like a fucking queen. I
dunno
,
Taylor, might be time to put the old girl through the glue factory.” She put a
frown on her face, even though her lips were twitching.

Chuckling, deep and pussy-wetting, Taylor
straightened up. “Look,
lemme
give her the once over.
I’ll give you a shout once I know what she’s playing at.”

Chewing her lip
Roni
nodded. “My number’s on the form, so call when you have an idea. And,
Taylor,
thanks.” She whispered the last. “I really don’t
want to give her up.” For way more reasons than he’d ever know.

He nodded, understanding in his eyes as he leaned
his toned butt up on Dolly’s side panel.
Lucky fucking car.
Holy hell, now she was jealous of her car? Fuck, yeah. Dolly was going to have
Taylor-fucking-Granger’s hands all over her, when that’d been
Roni’s
fantasy since grade ten.
And more,
always more.

“Why don’t you take my car instead of putting out
for a cab or a rental?” he suggested. “I’m here all day and then will have some
paperwork to do after shift, so there’s no rush to get back. Enjoy your day and
I’ll give you a report when you return. We can decide then what to do with the
old girl.”

Blinking at him she felt her eyes go wide.
“Seriously?”
Then she frowned. “Wait, you own the place?”
she asked, more curious than anything else.

His crooked grin did wicked, wicked things to her
body.
“Yup, this one and four others in town.
I guess
my affinity for all things motor vehicle came in handy for once.”

“More than once, if I recall,” she pointed out
softly.

“Okay, you have a point there. But seriously,” he
dug in his pocket and held out his keys to her. “It could be nothing but a
little ‘
tude
from the old girl. Or it could be
serious. Until we know for sure, it’s better not to get stuck with a rental
that you may not need.
Right?”

Staring at the keys dangling from his fingers,
Roni
chewed her lip. Lifting a hesitant hand, she put her
fingers on the dangling end. “Are you sure? I know how you were about your car
and bike back in the day, Taylor.”

“Hey, I’ve grown up,” he said, dropping the keys
into her hand. When she shot him what she was sure was a dubious look he
grinned, full out grinned. “Okay, a little anyway.” He chuckled. “Come on, I’ll
show you where she’s at and we’ll get the seat adjusted for you.”

Letting him lead the way, not just because she had
no clue where she was going and because she could stare at his broad back and
remember his tight ass under the coveralls, she followed. Right outside to a
sweet piece of muscle car. One of the many things they had in common was their
love of the old muscle cars.

Stopping she gaped and swallowed hard.
“Holy mother of God.
A ‘71 440 6/4-speed
Plymouth Barracuda.”
She breathed out slowly in reverence. “When did you
get her?” she asked stepping closer and running a light finger down the side.

“Got her when I moved into town.
She was my first project as I tried to figure out what I wanted to do
with my life after getting out.”

Right.
He’d been in the
Marines for a couple of tours after high school. How the fuck had she forgotten
that? “She’s gorgeous,”
Roni
whispered, biting her
lip on a sigh.

“She definitely wasn’t this pretty when I got her.
Took a lot of blood, sweat, and swearing to get her back into prime
shape.
And don’t even ask about the money involved.” He chuckled again.
“I did upgrade the engine though, to a full Hemi on board with a few—”

Roni
shot him a look to
see his kid-like expression.

“Extra horses under the hood.”

“A few, huh?” she asked, grinning. “How many would
be a few?”

“Well, let’s just say she’s right on the edge of
being street legal.
Barely.”

Well, hell, that’s serious power. “And you are
actually, one hundred percent sure you want to let me borrow her?”
Roni
was nervous now. She’d been driving Dolly for years
and this was a fucking panther in comparison to her kitten.

“I taught you to drive,
Roni
.
And, since I just looked at Dolly, I also know that you’ve been taking care of
her and keeping her safe. So yes, you may borrow her.”

“Well, I think you should introduce us first. You
know, just to be polite and all,” she teased him.

Rolling his eyes he shot her a look that went
straight to her core. Holy
hell,
was she a throbbing,
hot and wet mess down there. “Veronica Malone this is Tabitha, Tabby this is
Roni
, be good for her, Tabby, or else.”

Staring at him in surprise she smiled. “You named
her after your grandmother?”

“Well, yeah,” a faint tinge of red highlighted his
strong cheekbones. “They have the same temperament. They can both be as sweet
as could be or as cranky as can be. Seemed fitting, but don’t tell nana I call
my car that. She’ll box my fucking ears.”

Laughing she nodded.
“Right, no
telling nana that you named your beast after her.
Unless
you give me bad news about Dolly.”
She wasn’t above out-and-out
blackmail. He glared at her, but the laughter in his eyes said he knew what she
was doing. “Okay, so anything I need to know about her?”

“Nope, she’s a great ride and smooth as silk. But
you will need to watch the speedometer. You’ll find yourself creeping on the
speed without even realizing it. And with the power she’s got, that can lead to
trouble. Clutch and gears are smooth and
so’s
the
handling. Remember, like Dolly, no power steering in her. The only thing you
occasionally have to watch for is she can pull a little to the left at slower
speeds. Not a clue why and I’ve tried everything I know how to get that to stop,
but it’s subtle so I don’t usually worry about it much.”

Nodding,
Roni
chewed her
lip and stared at the car. Then she shot him a look. “I feel terrible taking
your ride.”

“Don’t. I offered and I know you and trust you. But
if she’s being a bitch, which she can be, give me a call and I’ll tell you
where to place a size eight to get her back in line.”

Roni
looked down at her
feet and then to him, narrowing her eyes. He had that innocent look he’d
perfected in high school on his face. Uh-huh, right. Shaking her head, she
opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat. And found
herself
surrounded by the scent of warm leather and Taylor.

Clenching her thighs together, she had to fight not
to let the shiver building rip through her body. Clearing her throat she leaned
over and grabbed the handle for the seat release. Tugging she heaved the seat
forward until she could reach the pedals. “Thanks, Taylor,” she said before
shutting the door.

Adjusting the mirrors, she then turned on the
engine. And her eyes went wide as her lips opened in surprise. Shooting him a
look, she laughed at his proud expression. He should be proud. Tabitha
definitely was a beast and that growl proved it. Buckling in, she lifted a hand
and very carefully pulled out of the parking spot and headed for the street.

“All right Tabby, we can handle this.” She hoped.

Chapter Two

February 14, 1995

Dear Diary,

Oh my God, I just about died today!
In a good way, totally in a good way.
Eeee
!

Today is Valentine’s Day, as if you didn’t know.
And everyone at school was of course all going off about who was with who and
what they’d gotten whom, and so forth. Yes, we’re gossipy little shits, we’re
teenagers—our lives revolve around high school.
Yeesh
!

Now, as I do not have a boyfriend, nor intend to
get one anytime soon, I was not expecting anything beyond the cards that me and
the girls had agreed to share, so it looked like we had people looking out for
us. But I got to my locker right before lunch, pop open that stubborn son of a
bitch of a lock and, what do I see? A single red rose.

Oh my God, I nearly died!

Under the rose is a card. So, all stealthy ninja
like I ease the door closed a little to give me some privacy and tear into it.
Carefully of course.
And it’s from Taylor.
Awwwww
! He’d given me the sweetest card and the rose.
I just about burst into tears on the spot.

After carefully tucking both the card and rose away,
I grabbed a book to read over lunch and shut the door to my locker. And there
he is, standing right there, leaning on my neighbor’s locker waiting for me. I
had no clue what to say! Then he smiles, not that little one I usually get and
the one he usually gives everyone, but a full blown smile with dimples.

I, of course, stare at him like a boob and he nods.
And says...you’ll never believe this! He says “Glad you like it, see you around,
my little valentine.”
Eeeee
!

I need ice cream now to round out this perfect day,

Floating around in a sea of love I am, blissfully
happy teenager.

****

Now - Taylor

Wiping his hands on a rag, Taylor straightened up
from Dolly’s engine compartment and turned to lean on the chassis. He’d found
the problem, thankfully a super easy fix, but one that could have caused more
issues down the road. Not a cracked engine block but just a hose that had split
and leaked fluid onto the hot engine block, creating the steam.

And since it had been such a quick and easy fix,
he’d just done it. Though he still had to call
Roni
about it and let her know, which he would. When he could stand to have her
voice in his ear and not come in his damn jeans like a teenager.

Veronica
Roni
Malone, the
girl of his dreams.
A lot of dreams, actually.
Fuck,
she’d starred in his teenage imaginings and it had been better than anything in
his old man’s porn collection. She’d made high school enjoyable for him.

But he’d never pushed her for more, though he’d had
an inkling that she would have been all right with that. But he’d never had a
girl that was just a friend. Usually, all the girls around him had wanted was
his body. Or his class notes, which had been meticulous, thank you very much.

Roni
had known him better
than he had known himself, not that he’d have admitted that at the time. Hell
no. But he could see it now, and she’d stood by him through a few rough patches
in their senior year.
Including Tiffany
Selorski
and her lies.

Hell,
Roni
had given him
an alibi and, thankfully, the one that had actually gotten Tiffany pregnant had
been
outed
. Again, all thanks to his best girl,
Roni
.

She really hadn’t changed much from back in the
day. Oh, she was a little taller and a little softer in all the right places
and, holy shit. She had a rack on her. Yes, he’d noticed, so sue him.

Shaking his head, he pushed off the car and shut
the hood. Giving it a quick wipe, he patted the side panel and went to his
office, the dreaded paperwork waiting for him. The only part of owning five
shops that killed him?
All the fucking paperwork that seemed
to try to drown him on a regular basis.

After checking with his receptionist, seventeen-year-old
Daniella, he took his messages and shut himself in his office. Sitting down
behind his desk, he thumbed through the pile but they didn’t hold his attention,
so he tossed them on the desk. Spinning his chair around he stared out over the
wooded lot behind his shop, but all he saw was
Roni
.

She’d looked amazing. When he’d first spotted her,
he’d nearly tripped over himself to get to her as fast as he could. Fucking
girl had grown into one hell of a sexy woman. Curves to make a man beg and a
pouty little look about her lips that made him want to give her the world.