Page 36 of For the Record
Sloane playfully arched a brow. “You know I’m all about routine.”
By the time they were parked off the side of the In n Out Burger trail, enjoying Squamish’s best scenic views, Coy’s asthma was acting up. Biking at such high elevations always triggered it, but she was calm as she dug out her puffer and shook it. “So,” she started, taking a deep inhale before continuing with a sly grin, “you ready for the big race? Will your nemesis be racing this year?”
Sloane rolled her eyes. “Hopefully not. Hopefully, she had an accident and had to drop out.”
“Harsh.”
“A broken leg or something. Nothing serious.” Sloane shrugged, taking a swig of her water. “I’m not the villain in this story, trust me. She’s crazy. Remember when she sideswiped me two years ago racing around that steep bend during the Okanagan race?”
“You told the organizers she tried to kill you,” Coy laughed, uncapping her bottle and dumping some of the water over herhead. Then she opened her mouth, letting the cool liquid gush down her throat.
“Because it was true. I’m glad I’m teaming up with J.D. this year. He can watch my back.”
“I’m sorry I can’t race with you.” Her asthma simply wouldn’t allow it. Racing all day for a week straight had always been too much for Coy, but she’d gotten over the disappointment years ago. The smaller races the association put on throughout the summer and fall were good enough for her.
“It’s okay. Maybe you’ll have time to cheer me on one of the nights. Come have a beer with us?”
“That’d be nice, but the island is kind of far for a day trip.” Coy leaned back on her elbows, gazing at the stretch of mountains beyond them. It was a beautiful Saturday, the air clear and mild after days of rain. She hadn’t had the pleasure of traveling around the world, but she honestly didn’t think anywhere else held a candle to B.C. Coy always felt at peace when she was outdoors. It was a nice distraction from her Sawyer confusion.
“You’re quiet.”
Coy tilted her head in Sloane’s direction, her brow raised in confusion. “Am I? Guess I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
Sloane tore open a bag of trail mix, taking a handful before offering the bag to Coy. “Does it have anything to do with the pretty woman home from the hospital? You’re going there tonight, right?”
“I am,” she began, helping herself to the trail mix. She examined the handful, picking out all the cashews and eating them first. She could feel Sloane watching her but didn’t particularly want to rehash whatever was or wasn’t happening between her and the chef. “She got home yesterday. Her daughter’s staying with her, I think, for the summer.” Meeting Bree at the hospital had been a surprise. Not necessarily a bad one—Coy just hadn’t expected her to be so grown. Which wasridiculous, considering she lived away from home. Of course she’d be an adult.But she’s seven years younger than you, dude.Could that be why Sawyer was so hesitant to admit she liked Coy?
“Oof, that’s gonna be a buzzkill.” Sloane laughed, snatching the trail mix. “How are you gonna work your magic and walk away after with a kid in the house? You don’t even like kids.”
“If you’re gonna keep up with those smart-ass remarks, then I’ll stop telling you shit,” Coy warned, scrubbing a hand over her face. She didn’t bother to correct her sister about Bree’s age. “I know you don’t believe me, but there’s nothing going on between us.” Just a kiss neither of them would talk about last week when Coy visited. The kiss Coy couldn’t stop thinking about, no matter how hard she tried. Thinking back on it, Coy was pretty sure the kiss hadn’t been thought out. When she’d noticed Sawyer standing under the car she was working on, she thought for sure the woman was about to tear Coy a new one. And then,bam! The sexiest lips in the whole world assaulted her mouth in a state of sheer recklessness.
“But you want there to be. So what’s your plan? You even switched your schedule around again.” Sloane rolled her eyes, but one edge of her mouth curled up. “No doubt so you can ogle her in the evening now that she’ll be home.”
“Stuff it. That’s not why at all.” Coy rolled her eyes. “It’s ‘cause she’ll be waking up later now, and rebuilds can get loud. And, to answer your question, for once, I don’t have a plan.”
As she was packing up her things at Sawyer’s late that evening, Coy noticed a beautiful curvy woman leaving the house, carkeys in hand as she walked down the short pathway. Her gaze landed on Coy, still inside the truck bed, a grin spreading across her face. “You’re the one who hit on Sawyer at the warehouse, right?”
Coy pinched her brows together, studying the other woman. She looked vaguely familiar, but before Coy could say anything, the woman was patting Coy’s back. “Yup. I’d remember that handsome face anywhere. I’m Lori, doll, Sawyer’s friend.”
Coy opened her mouth and then closed it, not quite knowing what to say. She turned back to her task, lifting the subframe for the McLaren gently out of the truck before a reply came. “So she does have friends.”It’s just me she doesn’t want to get to know. Figures.The first woman to catch her eye longer than just a night, and she had absolutely no inclination to get to know Coy.
Lori laughed. “Sawyer said she didn’t? My wife met her during their time in the culinary, and they’ve been friends since. Chef Lavoie isn’t the easiest woman to befriend, but I’d hazard a guess that you’ve already figured that out about her.”
Coy nodded, realizing she hadn’t properly introduced herself, so she held out her hand. “I’m McCoy, by the way, Sawyer’s mechanic. Of thenon-friend variety.”
Lori must have picked up on Coy’s sarcasm because she laughed again, shaking her waiting hand. “Oof. Is it sad that I can almost picture how that conversation would have gone down?”
“It ended before it really got started,” Coy admitted, her tone wistful. She slipped her hand away, lifting the subframe and carrying it into the garage. When she returned, Lori was leaning against her Prius, watching her.
“She likes you, you know,” Lori offered, jingling her car keys. “It’s just hard for Sawyer to let people in, especially ones she could potentially love.”
Potentially what now? Coy’s lips parted, her heart skipping a beat at the implication. Butterflies erupted in her stomach like they’d shot from a cannonball, and the pit of her stomach dipped. Thinking Sawyer’s feelings may have been mutual was a helluva lot different than hearing the admittance come from someone’s mouth.
“H-how is she tonight?”
Coy cringed at her breathless stammer, swiveling away from Lori’s perceptive gaze. She set her air compressor in the bed of the truck and closed the tailgate.
“Oh, you know,” Lori drawled out. “If a grizzly and a cobra had babies, Sawyer would be the result. She’s more ornery than usual, and her glares are so frigid they could bring big burly men to their knees, but I read that irritability and depression are common after a heart attack.”