Page 24 of Jaxson

He partly believed Carl did this on purpose, just to have someone come and visit him at his old mechanic yard. His son had taken over from the main garage in town and had built it up. Unfortunately, Carl Senior never got fully qualified to do any of the jobs on the cars. Now, he handled the scrap end of the business, where people took their old cars. From what he knew, Carl wasn’t even allowed to take the cars apart anymore. Again, it was just a rumor, but Carl was a good guy. It had taken him some time to realize the only way to get any respect from Carl was to talk bluntly to him. Carl actually preferred it and respected you more for doing so.

Climbing into his truck, he turned over the ignition and gave him a wave before pulling out and starting the short journey back to town. There were still a couple of stops he had to make before the lunch date he had with his woman.

They were not going to keep their relationship private. He refused to sneak around with Tillie, and he wouldn’t have anyone saying shit behind their backs about her. They were not teenagers banned from seeing each other.

He had no choice but to go to the school, as it was the annual check. The Headmaster Dean liked to keep his school perfectly safe, and for some reason, he liked to get it checked between the main terms.

Jaxson didn’t think he was going to hit any trouble, seeing as he was the one that completed the rewiring job less than two years ago. Unless someone had been touching the school, everything should be more than fine.

He got through the main job at the school within a couple of hours, and he checked the time to see that he could stop by Kate’s Fabric Shop and be ready in time for lunch.

Tillie had a busy filming morning, and even though he didn’t want to leave her, he also didn’t want her followers assuming the worst of him. Besides, he still intended to watch her content. A lot went into her sewing videos.

Arriving at the fabric shop, he saw there were several vehicles in the main parking lot.

Kate was busy as he arrived, but he knew where she needed him to go, and immediately went into the shop extension where she’d organized a place for sewing meet-ups. He was aware of these, as Tillie had helped on several occasions by sewing up and filming the experience.

There were quite a few sewers in Higher Ridge, as well as across the state. He knew the beautiful weather was going to attract more people. He checked over each socket, did his usual safety checks, and then wrote out the necessary forms to state everything was safe. He also did this with the sewing machines.

Usually, he was not a fan of doing things like this, but seeing as he was the only electrician around, and he happened to like Kate, as well as Tillie, he made sure to get it done.

“I’m so sorry. It has been a very busy morning,” she said. “Is everything okay?”

He turned to look at Kate and nodded. “Yeah, everything is sound. You’re all good.”

“Excellent. I know you’re not a fan of this work, but I do appreciate you fitting me in.”

Jaxson nodded. Where he usually ignored appreciation, he tried to be considerate to Kate, seeing as she was one of the few friends Tillie spent time with.

“Is there anything else you’d like me to check while I’m here?” he asked.

“No, thank you. That’s everything. I’ve got a sewing meet-up on Sunday. Tillie has agreed to come, and there are several other people wanting to be in attendance as well. It should be good.”

That scrapped plans he had for Sunday then. He hoped to invite her to his parents’ for dinner. He would not come between her business, though.

“Fine.”

Kate was one of the few women who didn’t flirt with him, or hope for anything extra.

“I’ll be gone then. See you soon,” he said.

Kate saw him out of the shop, and she gave him a wave, not lingering too long. She was a lovely woman, and unfortunately inherited a shop that started out in debt. When she first took it over, he knew she was floundering, and rather than take payment, he’d offered to do the work for free. Kate had paid him in cups of coffee and sandwiches.

Climbing into his truck once again, he pulled out of the fabric shop, drove into town, and of course, with how lovely the weather was, there was absolutely nowhere to park. He had no choice but to head back to the fabric shop, and he quickly popped his head in to ask Kate if it was all right for him to park his truck. Kate was busy with a customer but nodded her head and gave him a wave.

After that, he quickly jogged into town, finding Tillie outside the main diner, a drink of water in front of her, and looking down at the menu.

“I did text you to let you know parking was a nightmare,” she said, wincing. “Belle and I walked.”

“Belle actually walked.”

As for Belle, she was sitting across Tillie’s lap, and at her name being mentioned, lifted her head. The look on her face was priceless, like she had been dealt the worst punishment in the world.

He stroked her head, and Belle snuggled against his hand, only to drop her head back onto Tillie’s lap.

“Where did you park?” she asked.

“Kate’s place. I had some work to do there before I came, but I did circle a couple of times.”