"You're kidding me right?" Hector asked as he stared at the coffee cup. "They got a spot here called Beezlebrew Coffee Company....and they let you check the temp you want your coffee?" He just started to laugh as Kenny took a sip from his cup and watched out the back door. "Hotter than Hell, Dante's Inferno, Kilauea, Fevered, Stuffy," Hector was nearly in tears. "I can see all the skinny white girls going in for a Stuffy Pumpkin Spice Latte this time of year." Kenny just snorted as he looked at his watch, then back outside. "I thought it was funny," Hector said as he straightened up in his chair and looked outside. "You're waiting for something."

"Huh?" Kenny looked at his friend. "Oh. Yeah, I am actually."

"Come on man, the Camaro's gone, we got a nice stack of cash. Lets shut down early and get some beers and burgers."

"Dude, you just said it. I'm waiting for something." Kenny shook his head. "Another car."

"What' Man, come on! All you do is keep your head under a hood." Hector said as he leaned back. "You ain't happy unless you're up to your pits in grease."

"It's what we do here, Hec. Restoration, wrench turnin', mechanic work. It's how we make money."

"Like yo ass needs money. We just made bank on the Chevy, and you're hauling in another scrap?" Hector stood and started for the coat rack. "I'm going for the burger." He turned and looked at Kenny who only shrugged his shoulders. "Come on, it ain't money. I think you're hiding from someone or something."

"I enjoy what we do, or I wouldn't have opened this shop," Kenny said with a frown. "This is our dream, remember?"

Hector walked over to two tarp-covered cars and pulled the tarps back, revealing his own Honda and Kenny's Mustang. "I remember these dreams. Racing, winning, loving life." Hector sighed, "Your dreams changed, Bro."

Kenny was about to respond, but a horn sounded outside the door. He turned and saw the flatbed with his new purchase on the back. Instead of arguing with Hector any longer, he made his way outside to speak to the driver. After a few words, Kenny moved to the gate, unlocked it, and watched as the flatbed driver expertly swung the rig around to unload the newest ride into the yard.

Hector saw the Charger and hoped it would be an easy fix. It looked well cared for, but he knew there could have been rats in the wiring, the interior trashed, or the panels full of body filler and rust. "What's that?" He asked as he walked outside and saw the flatbed driver opening the Charger's door and sliding inside.

"It's a 1969 Charger," Kenny said with a smile which grew when he heard the engine start.

"I know what kinda car it is, Smartass. What's it for" Does someone want a resto' Maybe just a polish?"

"It's mine. It's a new advertisement for the shop. Something to shine up and not worry about, like Hombre or Mystang." Kenny moved to get the keys as the driver finished parking the car next to a 1967 GT 500. "Thanks," He said as he signed the papers from the driver and took delivery. "It's going to the store up front. We have all of that space where the wheels and tires are, well a new display moves most of that to a narrow wall display, and she's gonna sit there unless there are more shows and things."

The driver looked confused, but then realized he was in on half of a conversation. He took his pen and walked back to the flatbed to leave.

"So, there's no rush on this?" Hector sounded relieved.

"No rush. Just something for us to work on, or me to work on when you're out for burgers with your chick." Kenny said as he turned and walked back out of the large, razor wire-topped gate.

"You're jealous of my chick," Hector looked smug and watched Kenny lock up.

"You remember Annalise?" Kenny asked.

"Yeah, and you need to forget her," Hector was shaking his head. "She was nine kinds of loco. Slashing all those tires and nearly breaking all that glass with the break over.

"She was fun," Kenny chuckled. "She was just a little volatile."

"Yeah, catching your man with your cousin would do that to a girl," Hector said. "I still think, like your darlin' Annalise, that there was more going on than an oil change."

"That was the only thing going on. She wanted me to show her how to do it, so she didn't have to rely on a man." Kenny shook his head. Same story, different paragraph.

"You had your shirt off," Hector pointed out.

"Yeah, I didn't wanna get oil all over that nice button down."

"Uh huh," Hector wagged his brows. "You wanted to show her your tattoos and six-pack. Come on, tell a brother the truth. You were gettin' freaky under her Alpha."

"Dude, come on." Kenny stepped into the shop and pulled the overhead down with a slam, barely missing Hector as he stepped through.

"Fine. But, on your deathbed, you tell me the truth?" Hector wasn't letting it go. "So that I can say that I knew it all along."

Kenny grabbed the rope for the second bay door and pulled it down with a clatter, and locked it securely. "You already know the truth. Get out of here and leave me alone, you jerk. I wanted a burger, but you've done worn me out. I'm going home."

Hector started to laugh and locked the shop door behind them as they walked toward their daily drivers. He had no doubt Kenny would be a man of his word and go home. He knew no matter how hard he tried; he wouldn't be able to change the man's mind.

Gone were the days in November where Summer showed up and smiled for pictures capturing warmth and memories. It was early afternoon and despite the bright glow of the sun shining down on the city, it wasn't enough to cut the chill from the air. Spencer walked to the beat of the music pulsing from the buds rooted in her ears, her breath making opaque shapes that hung in the air. Pausing at the corner of an intersection, she gazed across rather than left and right down the street. The conversation around her went unnoticed, her attention focused elsewhere. When the crossing sign flipped from orange to white, she mingle moved with the small crowd, reaching to pull the edges of her hood over her hair.

Falling behind the lunchtime go getters, she turned down a side street, deterring closer to the chain linked fence that shot out from the back side of an automotive store. Razor wire coiled in loose loops across the top casting a sharp, warning shadow on the sidewalk below. She swept in so close that the fabric of her coat wicked over plastic coated metal, wooshing noise every other step. She scowled at the ill drawn graffiti that marred the side wall. It surely was no representation of the stage that the cars parked outside there deserved to be on. She traced the outline of the building slowly, each fence post, the street lights, and the buildings across and around. Finding no video surveillance in the immediate area, she hooked her fingers through the fence, and paused to lean into it.

A minute perhaps two later, Spencer pulled her phone from her pocket, thumb quick across the screen.

"Hey. Do you have any open bays?"

The pause was hardly a thing. Her smile was something else.

"Perfect."