Mechanics of Love

By Sheri L. Williams

Mechanics of Love is a friends to lovers story about Nora and Olly. Best friends for a long time, they are trying to keep Nora's dad's business afloat but she feels like she is failing the whole time. When a guy comes around about a job Olly realizes that he and Nora might loose the bubble they've been in. It doesn't goes easy at first, but Nora and Olly find their way from friends to lovers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Shorts
• Release date: Dec 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781094415703

Sheri L. Williams

N/A

Book preview

Chapter One

For the love of all that’s holy, Olly, could you get your feet off my desk? The only mechanic I employed, my best friend (though I sometimes wondered why), it’s-Oliver-but-call-me-Olly- please, had his Justins resting on the edge of my desk. This was just what I needed. The accountant was coming today and I knew it wasn’t going to be a fun time, so of course I could count on Olly to add to my misery. He’d been doing it since we were kids.

"Come on, Nora. It can’t be that bad. He’ll come, he’ll spout some numbers and then he’ll leave. After that, we’ll have some beer, and maybe make out." He raised one eyebrow, which he thought made him look like The Rock but actually made him look like a fool, and grinned as I knocked his boots off my desk.

"It’s bad this time, Olly. I don’t know what I’m messing up, but it’s bad. And as fun as making out with you sounds, now’s really not the time."

There had been a time, once. I couldn’t help but think back to high school, back when I was having dreams about his shoulders and the long line of muscles down his back. Back then, I would have loved an offer to make out with Olly. We’d been friendly at first, and then almost rivals on the baseball team, before our small town had started a softball team for the girls. Once I wasn’t beating him for the title of top scorer, we’d gotten to be better friends. And now he was my best friend. It was weird how I’d grown these impossible feelings for him back then. But now? Now it would be really weird.

"Git, now. There’s a car out there needs new brakes and calipers. Plus Mrs. Donner’s car is getting that oil change today, remember?" I swatted the back of his head. I would’ve liked to pull his hair instead, which would’ve been tricky, since he kept it long and up in a silly bun. I’d gotten my fingers tangled in it once. There’d been an embarrassing few minutes of getting unstuck.

Yeah, boss lady. Whatever you need. He left, but not before winking and blowing me a kiss. Goofy Olly, the one person who always stood by me, even if he picked on me the entire time.

He was a joker by nature, whereas I was a worrier, and always had been. When he’d been getting into trouble for a truly epic senior prank involving the principal’s car, a pond, and a small army of ducks, I’d been busy trying to be sure that I could get into the college business program I wanted. He’d paid me to do his math work for years, starting out by doing my chores and then with actual cash when he got his first job. He was all right-brained and I was all left, my dad used to say. Small details were my thing; it’s probably part of why my dad thought I was the right person to take over his shop when he died. I might not’ve been trained in the actual mechanical work, but I knew the ins and outs of the business side. Or at least I’d thought I did. But I couldn’t figure out why the shop was failing. The past five years had gone by fast, with mostly black in my ledgers, but now it was red. Too red. Now I had Ian the evil accountant on his way to lay it all out for me.

The urge to scrape my fingers through my hair was strong, but I’d tried to dress nicely for the appointment. I tended to stick to ripped jeans and band tees; throw in some flip-flops and I was good. Not today. My hair was actually brushed; rather than braiding it atop my head the way my mom had taught me years ago, in what Olly called my Heidi hairdo when he was trying to tug the braids out, I’d left it down to flow about my shoulders. I had on clean, non-ripped jeans and the dressiest shirt I owned— not that my appearance would sway Evil Ian; he knew me too well. He understood that my normal wardrobe was a sort of armor for me, but that I’d made an effort for him.

The sounds of the shop washed over me as I paced in my tiny office. Olly had the music turned up; it was classic country, Hank Williams, singing about love. You’d think growing up in the South I would like country, but I didn’t. He knew that and played it anyway. It had become a game of trying to annoy me into sparring with him, I knew. Some days I played along for my own amusement. But other days, the annoyance overtook the enjoyment. Sometimes I would shut off the radio from my office, or, even better and guaranteed to piss him off, I would switch it from his stupid country to my lovely rock. Or— and this was the fastest way to annoy my best friend— I would turn on the pop-folk stuff he loathed. We’d had many an argument about how the Avett Brothers and The Lumineers were just country-lite.

I was almost ready to open the door and shout at him when Evil Ian showed up. He bustled in all nervous energy, carrying the same brown leather briefcase he’d used when my dad had run the shop.

Morning, Nora, how are you?

I’m good, Ian. Ready to hear what you have for me. Now that was a bald-faced lie, but it wouldn’t do to start out sarcastic with him. He was mighty sensitive and he’d been a part of my life for years. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. I was just angry about the situation.

Well then, let’s get down to it. It’s not great, Nora. The numbers have been going down for a few months now. You have a great credit line, so you could pull from the bank if you needed to. But then you’d have to be absolutely on point with your payments, otherwise your credit would tank.

"Is there a way to tell where we are hemorrhaging funds? I’ve not changed anything— our suppliers, the pay to Olly, our insurance, nothing has changed." Something had to’ve changed, right? It couldn’t be that I was just awful with money; my dad would be spinning in his grave.

You’ve not done a single thing different, except you’ve not had as much business. You lost Jonah a year back, and it’s just been Olly. So some of your customers have been going somewhere else. Maybe if you bring someone else on, you might could get your customers to come back.

His words were not what I had expected to hear. Not at all. A new mechanic? Where was I going to find a new mechanic? I knew just about everyone in town, and there weren’t many good mechanics who needed a job.

So that’s it? Hire someone new, pay them, and I’ll be back in the black? That just didn’t sound right to me. What it sounded like was too easy, and I knew nothing was ever easy.

If you can get your customers back with just Olly out there, then you can ignore me, but how often are you turning away work because it’s just him?

I wanted to curse him for being right, but I wasn’t raised that way. It all boiled down to not wanting to let my dad down. Thirty-one years now, the last five and a half without him, and I still was a daddy’s girl.

Okay, okay, I’ll look for someone new. You don’t know anyone looking for a job do you?

Not a mechanic, no. Sorry, Nora, love, I wish I was more help.

No, Ian, you’ve done more than enough. It’ll work out. Heck, I can just give myself a pay cut.

Now, young lady, you barely take home anything as it is. He was right, but the house was paid for. So was the truck I drove. All I really needed cash for was to feed my seriously pampered dog, Darcy. She was accustomed to a certain type of lifestyle, and she made her displeasure known if I tried to change her food. I, of course, had to feed myself but other than that, I didn’t spend much. I could absolutely wear my clothes till they were threadbare. It wasn’t like fashion was ever my forté. The most important thing in my life was the shop; I had to keep it going.

Don’t make me pull out the nickname, buddy. I do okay, you know that.

He patted my hand as he made for the door. Don’t think I don’t know you call me evil behind my back. I’ve been called much worse. But you’re like the daughter I never had. You can call me evil if it makes you feel better.

Aw, Ian, I didn’t know you cared so much. You and Brian can be my new dads. Y’all were some of Dad’s closest friends. The pair of them were all but town royalty. Ian did the accounting for most of the local businesses and his partner Brian ran the

Reviews for Mechanics of Love

[judy griffin · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Dnf Have been trying to delete this for months