Ride With Me (Paige and Jace) novel Chapter 14

CHAPTER 11-1

I stood in the middle of the workshop yard while the flashing blue lights from a passing police car disappeared around the corner.

The broken window wasn’t the worst part. Neither was the spray paint covering the Lawson Customs sign. It was the feeling.

Someone had stood exactly where I was standing now, looked at the garage Uncle Will had spent his entire life building and decided it deserved to be destroyed.

That hurt more than shattered glass ever could and I let out a slow breath before rubbing my hands over my face.

“Well, this definitely isn’t improving the property’s street appeal.” I muttered and Hunter walked

over carrying two rubbish bins.

“I don’t know. If we squint really hard, it almost looks artistic.” He said looking at the graffiti and I turned to look at him.

“If you squint any harder you’ll need an eye test.” I said and he grinned.

“Fair.” He said.

Within half an hour the quiet workshop had become surprisingly busy.

The Iron Vultures arrived one after another. Not because anyone had called them but because

news travelled quickly through the club.

Nobody asked whether I wanted help, they just simply started helping.

Derek swept up the broken glass into piles while Hunter carried damaged timber away from the front entrance.

Mason climbed a ladder and carefully removed the spray painted Lawson Customs sigh before it could be restored.

Emma arrived with coffee and bacon sandwiches for everyone before quietly disappearing into

the office to help tidy paperwork that had been scattered across the floor by the broken window.

Even the children stayed busy.

Under Emma’s watchful eye they picked up small pieces of rubbish from the garden beds while pretending they were on an important treasure hunt.

The entire scene felt strangely normal to them and to me, it felt impossible.

Growing up I’d leaned that problems belonged to whoever caused them.

Nobody volunteered to help, nobody simply turned up because they cared. If something broke, my father wrote a cheque and if something upset me, I was expected to get over it.

Watching complete strangers clean my workshop without expecting anything in return left me standing awkwardly beside the office door with absolutely no idea what to do.

“You alright?” George asked and I nodded automatically.

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