She didn’t have enough money to repair it.
She also couldn’t afford to lose the only vehicle that allowed her to get to work.
Will fixed it.
For free.
“You don’t have to keep bringing me pie every Sunday,” he told her months later.
“You don’t have to keep fixing my car for free,” she replied.
He looked at her.
She shrugged.
“So I guess we’re both doing things we don’t have to do.”
Will laughed.
Real laughter.
The kind that softened the deep lines around his eyes.
Emily liked making him laugh.
It didn’t happen often.
But there were other things she noticed.
The way Will always chose a seat with his back against a wall.
The way his eyes automatically found every entrance and exit.
The way a car backfiring on Main Street once caused him to freeze completely.
Two seconds.
Maybe less.
Then he calmly continued eating his breakfast.
Once, Emily had asked him about it.
“Old habits?” she said.
Will stared down at his coffee.
“Something like that.”
She didn’t ask again.
Some doors, she believed, should only be opened by the person standing behind them.
Derek Vaughn Comes to Town
That Tuesday began like every other day.
Will was underneath a Ford pickup when he heard an engine.
It was low.
Heavy.
Unfamiliar.
He slid out from beneath the truck.
Even before he saw the vehicle, he knew something was wrong.
A black SUV rolled to a stop outside the garage.
Three young men stepped out.
Then a fourth.
The man in front wore a leather jacket so clean it looked as if it had never seen actual work.
A gold chain rested against his chest.
His smile had the practiced confidence of someone who had spent his entire life discovering that intimidation worked.
Derek Vaughn.
Twenty-six years old.
Son of a wealthy construction contractor.
When Derek’s father died, he left behind money, property, and a reputation Derek had done absolutely nothing to earn.
But Derek wanted more than inheritance.
He wanted control.
Over the previous eight months, three businesses in Silver Creek had quietly changed ownership.
The owners claimed they had decided to leave town.
Nobody believed them.
Derek stepped inside.
“Mr. Carter.”
Will placed his wrench on a workbench.
“Yes?”
“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Can’t say the same.”
Derek smiled.
“That’s all right. You’ll know plenty about me soon enough.”
He walked slowly around the garage.
His fingers ran along the hood of a truck.
Then he turned.
“I’ve been talking to business owners.”
“Congratulations.”
Derek’s smile tightened.
“Explaining how things work now.”
“And how do they work?”
“Simple. You pay for protection.”
Will said nothing.
Derek continued.
“I make sure nothing unfortunate happens.”
“What kind of unfortunate?”
“Fire. Vandalism. Permit problems.”
He spread his hands.
“Things a small business like this can’t survive.”
Will looked around his garage.
Thirty years of tools.
Fifteen years of his life.
A building that had survived blizzards, floods, recessions, and one particularly memorable incident involving a moose and a delivery truck.
“And if I say no?” Will asked.
The tallest of Derek’s men stepped forward.
He kicked over the toolbox.
Metal scattered across the concrete.
“That,” the man said, “is what happens when you say no.”
Will looked at the tools.