Dray by Tess Oliver Page A

together in laughter.
    Nix looked over the side at Pete who had not given up on his quest for ankle skin. “Did you hear that Pete? He called you a sonavabitch.” Nix turned back to Clutch. “Pete says, ‘yeah I am and what of it?’”
    Scotlyn wiped tears from her eyes as she tried to compose herself. Barely able to catch her breath, she motioned for me to hold out my hand. She fingered the back of it. “My gosh, Dray, you should really see a doctor.”
    “I’d rather have very hot Nurse Scottie tend to it.”
    “I’m not a nurse yet,” she corrected.
    “Just wrap it really tight. It helps keep the bones from slipping past each other. It hurts like hell when that happens.”
    She bit her bottom lip as she gently tossed the fabric around my hand. “I’m scared I’m going to hurt you.”
    Nix looked over my shoulder. “Don’t think you can hurt it much more than it already is. Seriously, Dude, if you need some money to see a doctor—”
    “The wrap will be fine. I’ve just got to stop using the hand so much.”
    The bow dipped forward slightly as Clutch sat down on the deck chair.
    I glanced around. “Hey, wait a second, where’s that pretty blond you always drag along as my date.”
    Clutch laughed. “That pretty blond skulked into the house just before dawn. I should have woken his ass up and made him come along, but he’s no fun when he’s a grump.”
    “Just before dawn? That’s a record, isn’t it?” Nix asked.
    The chair squeaked beneath Clutch’s weight. “Yeah, he usually slithers out of the girl’s bed well before the break of day.”
    A small groan of annoyance bubbled out from between Scotlyn’s lips. She shook her head. “That guy” she shook her head again. “One day he’s going to make a pass at the wrong girl, and she’s going to haul off and slap him and then—”
    “He’ll stop whoring around?” Clutch laughed. “I don’t think that’ll stop him.”
    Scotlyn sighed. “You didn’t let me finish.”
    “And then he’ll fall in love with her,” Taylor quipped.
    “Exactly,” Scotlyn said. “Girls throw themselves at Rett. If they would just wise up and act uninterested, he’d be hooked.”
    “Nice theory, Scottie,” Clutch said, “but I doubt it. I’m just glad he landed a job with the construction company that’s rebuilding my garage. It means he’ll be out of my shop soon.”
    “How’d he land that?” Nix asked.
    “He’s been out there working on the garage in his spare time,” Clutch sighed, “which he has a lot of, and the guy thought he had some real potential. Which means he’ll be out of my shop soon.”
    “You already said that,” I said.
    “Did I?”
    I winced along with Scotlyn as she pulled the cloth tighter. “Now, I’m moving to fifth wheel status. I hate fifth wheel status. At least with Barrett along, I’m one of two fifth wheels. Maybe I’ll just get something to eat and then head over to the gym. I need a workout.”
    Scotlyn’s lower lip dropped open. “With this hand?”
    “Sure. There’s a lot of stuff I can do without using this hand.” I thought about what I’d just said. “Sort of.”
    Nix put a hand on my shoulder. “If Clutch and I have to go then—”
    Scotlyn’s face popped up. “Oh, did you hear that Taylor? They have to go.”
    Taylor leaned up against the railing and crossed her arms. “We could just leave them here to fight off all the big, mean doggies and then we could shop around for some new, better guys.” She looked pointedly at Clutch.
    Clutch leaned back and crossed his massive arms over his chest. “All right. Just be sure to bring me back one of those pies.”
    “Oh yeah, the pie, I forgot about the pie.” I held up my hand to check out Scotlyn’s handiwork. “I think you’ll be a pretty awesome nurse, Scottie.”
    “Well, thank you, Dray.”
    We walked along the cement path that would eventually lead right through the center of the street fair. People were already dragging their