JC

"They can pick it up there, then drive it wherever and pack it so it can ship home."

"Okay. I got it," said Eric. "I'll text you and let you know when someone will be there to get the bike."

As of that afternoon, the Triumph was well enough to get back to LA and get it to a shop for some refurb and TLC. I'd offered to leave it with Tori and let her bill me for it, but she frowned and mumbled something about how it would be best to send it back to LA. I guessed I understood, seeing as how she probably had to move soon.

"And you're sure you don't want a ride to the nearest airport? I can pick you up on the way home."

"Nah, I'll find my own way home. Thanks, though."

"Is everything okay out there? I mean, tap the phone twice if you're being held hostage."

I laughed, though quietly. "Everything's fine. Just dealing with something I stumbled on out here and I'm not ready to leave yet."

"K, well... let me know when you're headed home. And don't forget you have sessions starting in a couple of weeks. I don't want to have to go to East Bumblefuck to drag your ass back to LA. Alright?"

My heart sank a little at the thought that I'd actually have to leave this place eventually. I'd become very comfortable in Cloudcroft, even with the awkward sleeping arrangement. It had issues and problems, but the town had stood on its own two feet before I got there and would do so long after I was gone.

That included Nez Motors and Tori. I wasn't there to save them. They weren't expecting me to save them. But I hated to leave without at least offering a helping hand.

"JC? You there?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here." I popped back to reality and acknowledged the countdown clock hanging over my head. "And I know about the sessions. I'll be back in LA by then, no problem."

"Okay then. Enjoy the rest of your uh... vacation."

I ended the call and tucked the phone away. Eric and the gang would be leaving Taos in the morning. The skiing had been lackluster but it sounded like they tore up downtown Taos. It was a hell of a lot more raging than downtown Cloudcroft.

The house was super quiet. There was the usual fire burning in the fireplace and the TV playing softly,  but Nasaan was out with his friends, Kaya was at work and Tori was... MIA. I didn't dare head up to her room before the kid came home and went to bed, but I knew she was up there hiding and sulking.

So I went looking for her, tip toeing up the steps and down the hall. The door was shut, but a beam of light lit up the hallway. I rapped on the door a couple of times with my knuckle, but she didn't answer.

"Tori? You okay in there?"

I heard rustling, and then feet hitting the floor. The door flew open and Tori stood there in the sweats and t-shirt from earlier that morning. A set of earbuds hung around  her neck.

"Sorry. I had my music going. Have you been standing out here long?"

"Nope." I leaned against the doorjamb, pushing my hands into my pockets. "I was just checking on you.  You've been quiet. You know, since this afternoon."

She left the door open but stepped back into the room. I took that as an invitation and followed her inside. Across the bed, she'd spread out several sketchbooks, a set of drawing pencils, a canvas bag of what looked like artists tools and an eraser. She also had an iPad, which she slipped onto her lap.

"What's uh... what's going on, here?"

"Just some stuff," she quipped, flipping the pages of the sketchbooks closed.

"No, no... wait. Can I..." I glanced up at her, reaching for the book she had just closed and shoved across the bed. "Can I see? Please?"

"Don't laugh at them," she said, which I took as permission to open it. Inside, there was nothing to laugh at. There was page after page of pencil and chalk drawings of Nasaan as a baby, a toddler, a cute kid. And a man that Nasaan seemed to resemble deeply.  

"Is this Sean?" Tori nodded.

I flipped past him to an older, bald man with a lush beard and deep set eyes. "Your dad?" Again, she nodded. I turned more pages, past light sketches of Nasaan, Kaya, animals and the town of Cloudcroft. Even a hilarious caricature of Sheriff Eloise.

"She hasn't seen this, I'm guessing," I managed to get out, while laughing. Tori actually cracked a smile.

"Actually, I did a better one for her in full color. It's framed in her house."

"These are awesome, Tori. You didn't tell me about your art."

Tori averted her eyes, flushing a pretty pink color from her chest to her forehead. "It's just some messing around."

"Honey, it's more than messing around. These are pretty cool-" Another page flip took all my words. I could only stare, slack jawed.

"You promised not to laugh," she said, her voice low and soft. "Do you hate it?"

"No. I don't, actually," I muttered, staring at a replica of myself, so realistic that it was a little scary. Who knew how long she'd had to stare to memorize certain features like the thickness of my brows and the curl of my lip and the slight cleft in my chin. It wasn't just a drawing; it was like an impersonation, an embodiment. I was... impressed.

"You can tell me if-"

"Tori." My eyes flicked up to hers, then softened. "This is amazing. Really amazing, and I'm not just saying that because it's me. You're good."

"Thanks. Uhm... so, keep flipping. I guess you can see what I've been up here doing."

I did as she asked and turned pages until I came to a loose sketch of a building. I recognized it as Chee's building, the one that held Nez Motors and a lot of empty space. Except in the drawing, the building was named Nez Custom Bikes & Repair. It was upgraded, with two floors, lots of windows  and trees and a parking lot outside.

"Just kind of dreaming," said Tori. "If I could buy the shop, it'd look like that. And the interior-"

She switched to the iPad, where the screen showed hours of painstaking design work, depicting her vision for the future of Nez Motors, from the ground up. The stone walls with built in shelving, the repair center with state of the art technology, the storage space, the work space for custom jobs, even the waiting area with high back chairs and a fancy coffee brew system... it was all there. Everything in her mind, she'd poured into this design program.

"I could build custom bikes and refresh and refurbish vintage ones, if I had the room. Repair is my bread and butter and it takes up most of my time, but if I had enough business I could hire a mechanic. Nasaan could work summers, if I actually got him out of here."

If only she had the money to buy the building and renovate it.

"Could you get a loan?" I suggested. "Buy the building outright?"

"I guess," she answered, her face clouding." But I've got Nasaan heading to school in two years. I need to think about that expenditure first. And I guess I'm afraid if I don't have the business to stay afloat now, how can I make a loan payment every month? I'd be back in the same boat."

"So... this is what you'd want? Not moving to another building, not opening up someplace else. This is it. This is your dream?"

Tori stared at the images for so long, I wasn't sure she'd heard my question. But eventually, she quietly answered. "Yeah. This is the dream."

Everyone tells you to dream. Nobody tells you how to make it come true.

I was starting to believe that I had landed in Cloudcroft for a reason- I mean, I wasn't all religious or anything but I believed in fate and destiny and divine intervention. And I knew it was unavoidable. I couldn't stand to sit there and watch her stare at that screen and feel like her dreams were slipping through her fingers.

I already knew what would happen if I offered to help- she'd turn me down. And possibly be defiantly angry about it. But she needed somebody to cut her a break.... and I knew just who I could enlist to help.