“See you guys tomorrow,” Carter says as he walks out of the shop quickly. It seems that he’s bothered by it too but he’s not good at hiding his emotions so he just makes a run for it when he can.
Sariah finally gets to her feet and grabs her shawl off the back of her chair, purse strapped over her shoulder and inches around me so that she can lead the way out of the shop.
There are certain things in life that really aren’t the business of others, Snow being mine, yet I’m dying to know what kind of man her brother is and what exactly happened with Hazel to land him at Irongate.
Sariah waits patiently by the front door as I step into the cool, night air and lock up. She’s not going to be an easy one to break, but I have every confidence that I can at least put a crack into her tough girl armor.
Even if it’s a small one.
All cracks eventually spider into bigger ones, breaking down the foundations they’re meant to hold together, and maybe then she’ll tell me what the fucking deal is.
We walk across the street to the parking lot that’s empty of all cars but mine, and I unlock the passenger side door, holding it open, then closing it behind her once she’s comfortably inside.
“Nice car, Kenji,” she says after I’ve slid into the passenger seat and I cast her a grin.
I’m quite proud of my Dodge Charger SXT, and it’s nice that someone else seems to be as well. It’s got a shine to its black paint, an extremely comfortable leather seat interior, and faster than a most cop cars on the road today.
I don’t use this one to drag race, though I do like to show it off when those come together.
“Thanks, kid,” I say as I put the key in the ignition and the engine roars to life.
She shakes her head fondly and lets out a sigh as she straps her seatbelt across her body, and I chuckle.
“I’ll go slow, Grandma,” I tease her as I look both ways then pull out of the parking lot.
Sariah reaches over and swats my arm and I grin at her before I turn my eyes back toward the road.
“Where do you live?” I ask as I roll my window down and reach for a cigarette.
“Crenshaw.”
“Cool, I know where that is, just tell me when to stop,” I tell her before I slip the smoke between my teeth. I push the lighter button on the console as I ease up at the red light we’ve rolled up to.
For now, the car is silent and I’m only aware of her again when she nudges me and nods toward the lighter. Apparently, it popped already but I was too lost wherever the hell my mind wandered off to, to notice.
“Thanks,” I say as I retrieve it and hold it to the end of my cigarette. I puff a couple of times until it’s lit then replace the lighter and rub my forehead with my thumb.
“So, have you talked to your brother about applying at the shop?” I ask. It’ll be an easy segue into what I really want to know and I’m sure she’ll let her guard down a little if she assumes this is a business discussion as opposed to the interrogation I feel building inside of me.
“Yeah,” she replies. I can see her nod out of the corner of my eye and chuckle when she waves away the billow of smoke that’s drifted toward her.
“And?” I ask as I use the button on my door console to open her window slightly.
“Thanks, Kenji,” she says as she stifles a cough, “He said he’s pumped that someone is willing to give him a chance to learn.”
I take a drag of my smoke.
I like to teach.
Snow learns discipline from me and…
“What’s his name?” I ask Sariah curiously.
“Hudson.”
And Hudson will learn how to hone his craft from me,I reason as I blow a stream of smoke out of the corner of my mouth.
“It’ll be cool to have another artist at the shop,” I say conversationally. “Besides, I don’t judge people on what they’ve done or where they’ve been. Everyone deserves a fair shake if you ask me.”