Repair Me (Kin #1)(50)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Ford

She was beautiful, and even if it didn’t last forever, she was mine. I’d never felt so connected to a woman before and it scared me. Having feelings for someone after shutting myself off for so long, made those feelings even stronger. I thought about her all of the time, especially when we weren’t together. Finding her was a blessing and I wondered if my sister had something to do with it. I wasn’t normally a spiritual person, but something or someone, besides Shayne, had brought us back to each other.

My phone rang first thing in the morning. I had to laugh that I had service on my cell phone at the worst time possible. Sky and I both woke up and reached for it.

My voice was raspy. “Yeah?”

“Where the hell are ya?”

“I spent the night at Sky’s. I’ll be in later!”

“You think that you can just skip out on your responsibilities just for some new pu**y!”

“I just decided to take the day off. See you tomorrow, old man.”

Sky rolled over and leaned on my chest with her chin. I kissed the top of her head. “Go back to sleep, darlin’.”

She wrapped her arm around me and closed her eyes, while I lay awake thinking about my life. I looked around Sky’s room and had to appreciate her upbringing. She had two parents that had stayed together. They’d given her a good life and were able to offer her a top-notch education.

My dad had done his best after my mom left, but when Harley passed away, everything went to shit. He used my college money to pay for her funeral and his other bills while he was too drunk to work. The sad reality of it left me with nothing in the bank and a future fixing cars, which I didn’t want.

It was the reason that I had shut down.

That first night with Sky changed me. It made me see that I could be happy again if I just let myself. I stroked her hair and wondered if deep inside she thought I was a loser, who wasn’t going anywhere. How long was she willing to be held back by someone like me?

It made me sad thinking about losing her, which also made me realize how invested I already was in this relationship. It scared the hell out of me.

Being that I knew I couldn’t sleep, I scooted myself out of bed and quietly got dressed. After finding the bathroom and using Sky’s toothbrush to brush my teeth, I headed downstairs.

I could hear her father’s voice coming from a closed door, but got distracted by the smell of fresh coffee. Not wanting to be nosey, I headed into the kitchen to make a cup. His voice caught me off guard. “Good morning, Ford.”

“Good morning, sir. Thanks for lettin’ me crash here last night.”

He handed me a coffee cup and smiled. “My daughter thinks you’re great and I’m happy to see her smiling again.”

“I think she’s great too.”

He refilled his cup and leaned against the counter. “Not going to work today?”

“I had planned on it, but we aren’t busy enough to worry about it. It’s just me and my dad there.”

“Do you like working on cars?”

I sipped at the hot coffee and thought about how to answer. Obviously, he wanted to know about my future. “It’s alright. It ain’t my first choice, though. I was in college for business. My uncle owns an auto detail shop. I thought about doin’ somethin’ like that; being a business owner, that is.”

“Did Sky tell you what I do for a living?”

“No, sir.”

“My company manufactures the specialty parts for imported and custom vehicles. We also specialize in restoration and have a whole new division starting up for that purpose.” I could tell from the way he spoke that he was a businessman. It was impressive.

“Wow, she didn’t tell me that.”

“Do you see yourself being a mechanic forever, or would you like to do something else?”

I sighed. “It’s not really up to me. My sister died last year and my dad sort of lost it. I dropped out of college to get him back on his feet, but I can’t see things gettin’ better for him.”

He sat his cup down and pulled out his wallet, handing me a card. “It takes a real man to do something like that for his family. I’m sorry about your sister, Ford. It’s a real shame when people we love are taken too soon in life. This is my card. If you ever change your mind about doing something different, I can get your foot in the door. My company also pays for certain certifications, so you not finishing college won’t be a deal breaker.”

I looked down at the card. “I appreciate this, sir. Like I said, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to walk away, but this means a lot. My life hasn’t turned out the way I wanted it to, that’s for sure.”

He put his arm on my shoulder. “I’m not asking because you’re seeing my daughter. Her last boyfriend was a tool. He probably didn’t know the difference between a hammer and a wrench. He sure as hell couldn’t change a tire. Anyway, I’m always searching for new talent to add to my company. Someone young like you would be a good addition.”

I put his card in my own wallet and saw Sky walking into the kitchen. She was wearing a pair of long pajama pants and a tank top. As much as I liked her naked, she looked cute this way too.

Her dad started to walk out of the kitchen, but not before kissing her on the head. “You two have a good day. I need to go make some calls and pretend to own a business.”

Sky walked over and wrapped her arms around me. “Hi.”

I reciprocated her embrace and kissed her tenderly on the lips. “Good morning.”

“You should have woken me up.”

“You looked so cute sleeping.”

“Are you tired?” She looked up at my face.

“I feel more awake than I have in a long time.”

It was because, for the first time in a long time, I had hope.

Maybe I could have the life that I’d dreamed of. It was up to me to make the changes for it to actually happen.

Chapter 22

Skylar

Being with Ford was so easy and I was glad to say that after nearly three weeks, we were still going strong. Since he was only an hour away from his house, he’d sometimes stayed at my house and then he would drive in to work the next day. Some weeknights we’d meet halfway and have dinner. I didn’t care how far I had to drive as long as it led me to him.

My heart was full again and I loved looking forward to each weekend when we’d be inseparable.

As far as his family went, well his mother didn’t get to come home like they thought she would. She ended up having to stay another three weeks. The only good part about it was that it was her decision, because she wanted to make sure she was prepared to face the world.