Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
“Want to bet it still squeals?” Avery asked.
“I just got the oil changed last month. It didn’t need their attention.”
“I’ll give you a deep discount for the oil change. My employee must have misunderstood your request when you brought the car in. An early oil change won’t hurt anything and as a bonus, you won’t need to bring it in for a long time,” Ed said quickly.
“I’m calling my shop and we’re going to drive the car over there to have them look at it,” Wyatt said, ignoring the man’s interruption. “You had synthetic oil before?”
“I did.”
“Then they should find it again,” Avery suggested, with a knowing look.
“Oh, I missed that note from the mechanic. He used regular oil.” Ed moved as quickly as he could to keep up with all the items they were discovering.
Avery turned to walk to the car. She tried the door and opened it to lean down. Shouting back, she reported, “The new mileage is set for ten thousand miles in advance.”
“Your engine would have been cooked by then with regular oil. It would appear that Trusty Motors would have guaranteed you’d be back for a new transmission.”
“A simple mistake, Officer. We’re all human here.” Ed spread his arms helplessly.
“It appears that you’ve made a ton of mistakes today and that Riley here will need to take her car to another repair shop to make sure you haven’t damaged her car. Would you like to check the oil level in the engine before she drives it to another garage to make sure you didn’t make another error?” Wyatt asked pointedly.
With a nod, Ed sent a mechanic out with a quart of oil and transmission fluid. As he leaned over the engine compartment blocking their view, Avery moved to the side to watch.
“You’ll need to ask them to check everything under the hood. He’s busy tightening up all sorts of things,” she reported.
Shaking his head, Wyatt pulled up a phone number and connected. “I’ve got a business for you to check into. Yeah, predatory practices, inventing charges, doing actual damage to a vehicle.”
“Now, look! We didn’t do any damage,” Ed blustered.
Wyatt ignored him. “Trusty Motors. I have a feeling there’s a bevy of complaints.”
He finished the call and shared with Riley, “The district attorney’s office already has an investigation started.”
“How much does she owe you?” Avery asked the stupefied Ed who looked like his world had just exploded around him.
“No charge,” he answered softly and held out her keys.
“Good plan.” Avery took the keys and handed them to Riley. “We’ll follow you to the shop Wyatt and I use to make sure you get there.”
“Thank you both.”
“I’m glad you called,” Wyatt assured her. “Want me to call Bear to pick you up after we get your car checked in?”
“I have someone to call,” Riley answered.
Chapter Nine
“Did you think about calling me first?” Milo asked when he had Riley tucked in his car.
“I didn’t want to bother you and those guys were so crooked,” Riley answered, leaning her head back on the padded seat.
She was almost asleep by the time he climbed in behind the steering wheel. Milo looked at his watch before starting the car. Silence filled the interior as he drove away from the garage, interrupted only by Riley’s soft breathing and her whispered comments that were unintelligible. He really wanted to know what she said. The only word he caught sounded like freckle.
Milo shook his head. Leave it to his Little girl to talk about freckles. Maybe there was a new cupcake coming out with speckles? No, that’s not it.
He hadn’t liked it that he hadn’t been the one she called. It turned out well that she’d contacted Wyatt but still… Milo wanted to be her protector. He had to remember that Riley had a tough exterior and was used to taking care of herself.
Pushing away his disappointment, Milo vowed to support his Little girl as much as she would let him—and push her a bit more. She wasn’t alone anymore.
As he parked in his garage, Riley roused.
“Where are we?”
“My place, baby. You need to rest for a bit. I’ll make sure you get to Blaze on time,” he reassured her as he rubbed her thigh before getting out of the car to go to her side.
“I can wake up.” She struggled to sit up when he opened her door.
“Shh! Let Daddy take care of you,” Milo said softly as he scooped her out of the car.
She relaxed against his shoulder and looped her arms around his neck. “Daddy.”
He loved the contentment in her voice as she said that word so easily in her sleep. Carrying her to his bed, Milo removed both their shoes and stretched out with her draped over him. He hadn’t meant to nap with Riley but didn’t want to leave her. Before he closed his eyes as well, Milo set the alarm on his watch for a couple of hours.