Loves Second Chance

Chapter Five

"Well look at you coming into work looking all GQ." Hank said the next day when Parker walked into the garage clean shaven. "And on time And hold on…" Hank leaned close to Parker and took a deep breath.

"Well I'll be damned.. First time in two damn years you've come into work not smelling like a bottle of liquor." he said. Parker shoved him away from him with a snort and walked over to the truck that Hank already had up on the ramps.

"What am I doing with this damn hunk of junk?" Parker asked. Hank smiled. He knew why Parker was clean shaven and sober this morning. He had talked to his brother Ed the night before.

"The works." he replied. Parker sighed. That meant brake change, oil change and transmission fluid change and it also met that he would be filthy by the time he got lunch and could go to the diner to see Emily. Last night had been the first night in years that Parker had not felt a single urge to numb himself with alcohol.

"Great." he said and then got to work.

888

The lunch rush was just starting to clear out of the diner and Emily was run ragged. She had finally gotten her first payday but when she had mentioned moving out, Ed had really seemed upset. He had asked her to at least stay with him until she and John had the divorce finalized and she had reluctantly agreed…

She really didn't want to live out on her own with Wyatt anyway. Not when she still had no idea where John was.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she was finally able to sit down at a booth and rest her feet for a moment. It was then that the bell on the door rang and Emily bit back a curse at having her rest interrupted but found herself smiling when she realized it was Parker.

He looked different than he had yesterday. He had shaved off his thick beard and his face was now hair free and she could see several small scars that the beard had kept hidden. She wondered if he had gotten them while in Iraq.

He was greasy and dirty from working at the garage and she had a flashback to him when he'd been eighteen walking into this same diner covered in grease to eat lunch with her. Back then, however, his muscles hadn't been quite so filled out she noticed as he took off his thick flannel coat and she saw his muscular arms and chest perfectly outlined by his grease and sweat covered t-shirt.

"Hi Parker." she said smoothing out her apron and pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Parker smiled and she saw that his skin still crinkled around his mouth when he smiled. She had always loved that.

"Hi, Em." he said sitting down across from her at the booth.

"What can I get you?" she asked. He frowned. You with me for the rest of my life was what he wanted to say but instead he said,

"You sit where you are." Emily frowned but Parker grinned.

"Hey Paula!" he yelled his deep voice booming in the empty diner. Paula, a middle aged, thin woman with graying red hair and dark red lipstick poked her head out the door from the kitchen.

"What?" she asked.

"Why don't you use those great chef skills of yours and make a greasy burger and some more of those rock hard fries you're so good at making."

"Why don't you kiss my ass." Paula shot back but she was laughing as she went back into the kitchen.

"How's work going?" Emily asked Parker. He sat both of his greasy hand on the table and shrugged.

"As good as it ever goes I guess." he replied. Emily looked down at his right hand and saw the jagged scar that ran from the knuckle of his middle finger to about an inch below his wrist. Without thinking she traced the scar with her own finger and felt him stiffen.