He chuckles.

"I promise it is REALLY good."

He says after pulling her up. He walks out with her heading towards his van. He says.

"Watch this, I'm magic."

He runs his finger across the door and it pops out suddenly. He pulls it out for her and walks around doing the same thing on the other side. He sits down and buckles up, only using the standard seat belt. He waits for her to get seated and buckled in before hitting a button and airing up the suspension and taking off to his house.

"The look on your face is gonna be awesome, I just know it."

He drives for a little while, finally getting home. He drives up the driveway and parks behind the trailer with the project miata.

In the car, Ele was very confused by Tyler's behavior. He was nice, and a great guy, but he was more excited than usual. When they pulled up behind the car, Ele studied the back and her eyes went wide,

"Is that a Miata?"

She asked, unbuckling herself quickly and getting out of the car. It was indeed a Miata, it was in rough condition, but Ele's mouth dropped open in surprise,

"You got a Miata?"

He shuts off the van and walks up.

"I got a Miata. Without an engine."

He smiles big.

"Trailer and all 5 Benjamin's."

He climbs up on the trailer on the opposite side of her and stands by the car. He leans over and puts his arms on the top of the car.

"Lot smaller than you would even expect huh?"

"It's super small! I kind of love it!"

Ele laughed as she walked around the car, examining it. She had no idea what she was looking at or for, but seeing a car life sized versus as a tiny model was a strange feeling,

"I mean, it's bigger than the one in the store, of course, but this is so cute!"

"The aftermarket for visual upgrades is insane. I have seen these things lifted for offroad use, slammed to the ground like my van, fitted with body kits that either completely alter the look or just slightly change it but make it pop."

He walks to the front and begins unchaining it. He completely removes the chains and ropes holding it in place and smirks.

"Here is the exact reason why just a basic V8 can make this car fly."

He kneels down at the front of the car, grabbing the front end. He stands up and lifts the front tires completely off the trailer with some effort but holds it there before setting it back down.

Eyes going wide when Tyler picked up the front end of the Miata, Ele shook her head,

"Is it made out of tinfoil?! Freaking heck!"

She gasped, stepping onto the trailer and looking into the car, it was just the bare bones basics inside, but it still looked nice.

"For five hundred dollars this plus the trailer is a steal."

"Fiberglass I believe, with the 1.6 that these things came with, they only weigh about 2,100 pounds at best. With the whole drivetrain gone maybe 1700 pounds. The engine itself is about 250 pounds."

He smiles and nods.

"Yeah, when I saw 500 before I even knew the trailer came with it I was set to make the deal without trying to haggle."

"So what are you planning on doing with it? Fix it up and race it?"

Ele asked, stepping off the trailer and looking up at Tyler. She had to crane her neck back quite far to see him,

"Or is it just going to be a regular driving car?"

"Well, the drag races up here require the vehicle to be street legal. I will probably set it up to be a cruiser that can hit the strip."

He hops down.

"Maybe if you came back for the races this could be your entry to it. Give you something that fits you and you could run, see who you could beat."

"Wait, wait, wait..."

Ele said, shaking her head and holding up her hand to stop Tyler,

"Are you suggesting I race? As in, a real race with actual results? I don't know the first thing about racing!"

"This car will be automatic so that will be ready. But yes, I am offering to let you race, it is not as hard as you would think."

He smiles.

"If you are interested, I will show you the ropes."

At a loss for words, Ele stared dumbly at Tyler in a state of shock. It had never even crossed Ele's mind to race, even though she had joked about racing Tyler, but that was completely different. What Tyler was suggesting was scary, crazy, and slightly tempting all at the same time.

"Uhh...."

Ele blinked quickly and tried to gather her thoughts into a coherent sentence,

"Tyler... I'm leaving in a week and a half and there is no guarantee that I'll come back here. Life has been amazing here, and you're amazing, but it's not real life for me."

Shaking her head and putting a hand to her forehead, Ele took a step back from Tyler, trying to put distance between the two of them,

"I'm really confused."

"The races only run twice a year. Even if you only show up once a year wouldn't it be worth it?"

He sits down on the edge of the trailer.

"Even if the life isn't for you out here, it would be nice to wind down, wouldn't it? Whether you decide to run this or not, it would be a fun little project for me."

"Yes, for you. This is your life and your thing, and I have a completely different life thousands of miles away!"

Feeling like she was hyperventilating, Ele turned away from Tyler and walked a few yards away with her back to him, taking in deep breaths and trying to calm herself down. Somehow, in the few days Ele had been in Michigan, she had somehow become attached to Tyler. Wrapping her arms around herself, Ele closed her eyes,

"I came here to do a job, I don't know how that changed..."

"Well, it changed cuz you got into a car accident, but, maybe it also changed cuz you needed it. Call it fate, divine intervention or just plain luck. Incredible things happen to bring on something else. Years ago when my mom and I lived together we raised turkeys and chickens. The shed we had the turkeys in caught fire, it was a total loss, soon after my sisters house caught fire and burned to the ground. While those are harsh happenings we ended up able to have this garage built. It is 3 times the size of the shed that burned. My sister got 200 grand from insurance on her place and was able to get an even bigger home with less land that has ponds and a creek running through it, still had money left over."

He stands back up.

"The weekend the fire happened at my sisters, 2 of my nieces came here to stay for the weekend, my other niece and my nephew ended up staying at my other sisters. It was horrible to have their century old farmhouse burn but we lost nobody. Every single time something bad happens, something good happens, may not have happened yet for you but just wait, it will."

Shaking her head, Ele turned to face Tyler. Just like he had promised at the resort, tears were falling down Ele's cheeks, she was crying,

"Something good did happen! I met you and for the first time in my entire life I realized that a man could be something other than horrible and abusive! The car accident may have brought me here, but its left me feeling like I don't know who I am anymore!"

Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, Ele sniffed and looked at the ground,

"I met you and you've turned my world upside down, and it scares me. I don't know how to feel because when I'm with you I'm happy, nervous, excited, scared... All at the same time."

He walks over to her, pulling out a kleenex and starts wiping her face. He raises her head, gently wiping her nose.

"Maybe you are finding yourself?"

He hugs her, saying.

"Maybe you found where you belong? And it all scares the hell out of you."

Letting Tyler take care of her, almost like a child, Ele let him pull her into a hug. Crying softly in his arms, Ele let her head rest on Tyler's chest as she cried out her emotions that had built up since the accident. When she could talk again, Ele sniffled,

"How can I belong here though?"

"That is for you to decide."

He looks down at her.

"You said it yourself, if you could have your own business and travel anywhere to do it you would. You don't need to be in a big city to hauk your wears. You can have a cabin in the woods that gets a wifi signal and work out of that. If you feel cooped up you can hop in a car or truck, anything really and change your horizon. Just as long as you have an internet connection. There is a thriving art Community in Traverse City. There are lots of art museums and galleries in the state, lots of them close by."

He rubs her back and loosely holds onto her letting her decide when to break the hug.

"Even if you don't want to stick with the art thing, you have lots of experience in business. You can do anything you want and probably have a place that you can call your own."

Leaning back, Ele wiped her eyes again, still confused but feeling lighter with having a good cry. She took a step back from Tyler and collected herself once more,

"I would be leaving my job, friends, apartment... I would be uprooting my entire life to chase a dream that may not come true."

Shaking her head, Ele looked up at Tyler, her eyes confused and scared,

"Everything I have and know is in the city, all of my security is there. Moving here to maybe be able to sell some art isn't a good enough reason to drop everything, no matter how much I may like the only person I know out here."