“Yeah, terrible timing.”
“Where’s your dad in all this?” Daniel asked, then immediately wondered if he shouldn’t have.
Grace’s face changed, just slightly.
“He left a few years ago. It’s just me and my mom now. She works two jobs most weeks. I try to help out where I can, but I’m still in school, so there’s only so much I can do.”
Daniel nodded slowly, understanding more than she probably realized.
He knew what it was like to hold a family together with nothing but stubbornness and long nights.
After his wife passed away three years ago, it had been just him and Chloe, figuring out every single thing on their own.
Bedtime routines, school forms, groceries, grief, all of it, alone.
“I get that more than you’d think,” he said quietly.
Grace looked at him with curiosity now instead of fear.
“You have kids?”
“One daughter, Chloe. She’s 12.”
Daniel tightened the last clamp on the hose and reached for a rag to wipe his hands.
“Her mom passed away a few years back. It’s been the two of us ever since.”
Grace’s eyes softened.
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you,” Daniel said. “It’s been hard, but we manage.”
“That’s kind of why I’m doing this, if I’m honest. I know what it’s like to feel like the whole world is too heavy to carry by yourself, especially at night, especially when you’re scared and don’t know who to call.”
For the first time since she’d walked in, Grace looked like she might cry again, but this time it wasn’t from fear.
It was something else. Relief, maybe, or the surprise of being treated kindly by someone who didn’t have to be kind at all.
Daniel closed the hood of the car and turned the key in the ignition.
The engine started up clean.
No clunking, no smoke, just a smooth, steady hum.
“There,” he said. “Good as new.”
“The hose was loose, that’s all. I tightened it and checked everything else while I was in there. Your oil’s a little low, too, so I topped that off for you as well.”
Grace stood up from the chair, stunned.
“That’s it? It’s really fixed?”
“It’s really fixed,” Daniel confirmed, closing his toolbox. “You should be fine getting home now.”
Grace reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out a small, worn wallet.
“How much do I owe you? I only have like $15 on me, but I can bring you the rest tomorrow. I swear.”
Daniel shook his head and held up a hand.