CHAPTER II

Leo was already repairing Mr Woods' old beat up truck by the time Levon made it to the garage.

She hopped off her bike taking off her helmet before muttering a hey to the busy Leo.

"Are you done already?" Leo asked closing the hood with a sigh.

"No." she replied.

"What's wrong with it?" Levon gestured to the old car with her head.

"Flat tyre and I think there is a problem with the accelerator." he replied crossing to wash off some grease from the sink.

"Mr Woods should just throw that piece of scrap away. It is really worn out." Levon huffed.

"You might as well tell him that yourself. I am not about to hurt the old man's feelings." Liam muttered.

The tow truck arrived a few minutes later at the auto shop. Levon walked up to where the Audi had been parked. Timothy and Blair emerged out of it.

"I guess I will take on from here." Levon cleared her voice.

"Oh yeah." Timothy replied looking at Blair. "This is where you work." Timothy said. It was more of a question but it came out as a sentence.

"Yeah. My father owns this place." Levon replied gazing at him. Did he have a problem with that too?

"And him?" Blair asked motioning to Leo who was oblivious taking a bottle of water.

"He is my brother. We work here." Levon replied.

"Good to know then." he murmured staring at her. Levon stared back but broke the contact quickly.

"I guess I will see you tomorrow." she said.

"Tomorrow. Right." he muttered patting Timothy's back.

"See you then." Levon said calmly.

"Okay then."

Levon watched them disappear through the exit before she returned her gaze to his brother.

"Who are those guys?" Leo asked.

"I don't know actually. Liam told me to cover for him. Their car broke down and I went in to help." Levon explained.

"They are not from around here, are they?" he asks. She nods her head. Timothy's accent sounded fine but Blair's sounded more modern. She was sure he was not from around town.

"They have got some nice car right there though." Leo compliments.

"Tell me about it." Levon traces the hood of the car feeling the metal under her hands. She had work to do now and there was no wasting time.

By the time she reached home, she walked straight to the kitchen were her father had some afro beats blaring from the radio while he cooked.

"Do you need any help?" she asked walking closer to where her dad was preparing stew. "Von. Did you come back alone? Where are your brothers? I told you they shouldn't be late for supper." he smiled.

"They are coming father." she assured. "What can I do to help now?" she added. "Why don't you just go and take that beautiful shower? You smell like grease."

"Dad!"

He chuckled giving her a shrug. "Come on now Von. I can handle the kitchen well." Nathan smiled. Levon smiled back following her dad's instructions.  As much as she wanted to help, she felt sticky and dirty from all the repairing.

By the time she made it back downstairs, his brothers were back already.

"Mase gosh! When did you return back?" Levon furrowed her brows to Madon who was sitting next to Leo. She couldn't  hide her smile though. "I missed you today." Levon embraced him.

"I missed you too and ma says hi." Mason smiled back holding her even closer. Mason had gone to visit her mom who lives in Texas.

Their aunt Harriet, Mason's mom moved to Texas after her husband's loss. After a while, she was engaged to a gym instructor and months later they were married. Mason hated Texas hence why he decided to stay with them. He also didn't want to deal with a step father at the moment.

The boys had helped in placing the dishes on the table. When it was all set, they sat down to enjoy the meal. Liam said the prayer before they all started to dig in.

"So I heard Liam, you went to see that girl. What is her name? Stella huh?" Nathan rose his eyes to meet Liam's. Liam glanced at Levon who shook her head immediately. She couldn't do that to him and he knew that.

"Ms Jackie told me." Nathan cleared the air.

Obviously Ms Jackie had a crush on their dad. She baked him cupcakes, made frequent visits at the shop. Nathan either was too oblivious to see that the woman was hang up on him. Now she was gossiping about them.

Surely Ms Jackie wasn't a bad woman with her blonde hair and slender figure. Her face was not wrinkled at all and she was nice sometimes. She worked at a bakery near the place Stella worked so that's why she might have seen them.

"That woman likes you uncle. You are just too blind to see it." Mason teased.

"That's a false accusation Mase. She's just friendly." Nathan denied.

"Friendly?" Leo scoffed.

"Don't you boys change the subject now. Are you even serious about this girl Liam?" Nathan asked seriously.

"She's called Stella dad and I like her. Of course I am serious about her." Liam admitted.

"Is that a crime dad?" Liam asked defensive all over a sudden.

"Woah bro, relax. Dad is only making sure." Leo mutters.

"Liam is right. If you like her as you say then you should bring her to dinner sometime so we can get to know her. I don't like hearing my children's love interest from other people. " Nathan said.

"Come on dad. Do you mean to know her or interrogate her?" Liam sarcastically remarked.

"Doesn't matter brother. Serves you right after you scared the living shit out of my prom date." Levon murmured making Liam groan in return.

I swear these boys can be intimidating. The way they scared off my prom date was so annoying.

"Evan Miller, right? The man was so pale and for a minute I thought he was going to pass out." Leo chuckled obviously reminiscing once that they had done to Evan. All the others followed his chuckle.

After dinner, they decided on some action movie. Nights like this were so common in their household. Nathan fell asleep before the movie was even half way.  Giving up, he said farewell to them lecturing them not to stay late.

*********

Most bikers and racers brought their cars for service so as to prepare for their next races. The Quinns were well known around town for their good work with vehicles. This made their garage busy and helped them earn as much money as they could.

"Hello there."

Levon startled whipped her around to find the intruder. Her soft brown eyes met with the warm blue ones and a dimpled smile. She frowned. How hadn't she realised he had a dimple yesterday. Well, that was because she was busy ignoring him and hating him for a comment he apologized for.

He was dressed in a V necked grey shirt and a pair of Jean's coupled with a pair of Vans. He looked really good and she could give him that.

"Am you here to pick up your car?" Levon asked. "If you are done with it, yes." he replied.

"Your car is ready. It shouldn't be a problem now." she glanced at the car in question.

Blair moved toward it tracing a finger on its hood before turning back to her.

"Are you still angry at me for what I said yesterday?" Blair questions with a serious gaze.

Addressing the elephant in the room, weren't they? "I take it to heart when someone makes rude comments like that about me and my job." she mutters. "I thought I apologized for it." he murmurs. Like she was going to make it easy for him.

"Let me make it up to you then. Lunch perhaps?" he stared. She scrutinized him intently. "Are you trying to buy my forgiveness now Blair?" she raises a teasing brow at him.

"If I need to. Anything to make up for my stupid mouth." Levon found her gaze moving to the said mouth. Did he know how cute his lips were. Levon cleared her throat.

"I am over it Blair. I wanted to tease you a bit." she smiled.

"Are you sure you are not sating that to back out of lunch with me?" he question. No. Maybe yes. Levon knew how rumour travelled around town and being seen with Blair wasn't the rumour she wanted to start.

"I am positive." she nodded.

"Okay. So how much will it be then?" Blair asked thankfully letting go of the conversation.

"It will be three hundred and forty dollars." she replied.

Blair took out his wallet retrieving a bundle of cash and handing it to her without counting through. Levon stood astounded. Which person walked with that much money with them and why didn't he even bother counting.

"Keep the change. That is my tip."

She stared at the cash in her hand gazing at him. "And you say you are not trying to buy me." Levon raises a brow at him.

"Nope."

Recovering from the shock of the money in her hands, she took a good look at Blair. She was even more curious now at him than ever.

"It's not like I know everyone here but you don't seem all too familiar. Are you visiting someone?" Levon asked.

"Is Levon trying to get to know me? I was hoping you would never ask." Blair smirked. She rolled her eyes.

Cocky was a new found character of his. "I live at the Ford residence." Blair replied hastily.

Wait, Ford residence.

Levon managed an oh staring at him.

The Ford residence was known by everyone in town. Daniel and Lydia Ford were known around town for being filthy rich. She should have seen all the signs. The expensive car, clothes and now he was throwing away money like he had no least care in the world.

"Did I say something wrong?" Blair searched her eyes. "No actually." she denied.

"I know that look on your face. You are judging me because you found out I am a Ford, aren't you Levon?" Blair gazes at her with narrowed eyes.

Oh shit. Was he a mind reader now? And what did church say about judging others? Levon could recite so many verses about that.

"No. I am just surprised." Definitely not the truth but not a lie either.

"It's fine Levon. I have had countless people look at me like that." he mutters an undecipherable look in his eyes. When she saw his face, she regretted the judging a little.

"I still want to be your friend though." Blair said when he recovered.

"You do?" Levon asked surprised. Were they establishing relationships now? Blair Ford. He was just so out of her league friend or not. It was pretty surprising he was even suggesting that in the first place.

"I could use one while I am in town. Do you mind?" he asked. Yes.

"No. We can be friends." Levon regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. Had she weighed the pros and the cons of the friendship? Sure she was feeling guilty and all but she could refuse if she wanted.

That same charming dimpled smile made it's way to his lips.

"Thanks for everything Levon. I appreciate." he says opening the driver's door. "The pleasure is mine." she beamed a little.

"See you later friend."

The emphasis on friend made her grunt inwardly. What had she signed herself up for? The last thing she saw was Blair's car taking off from the auto shop.