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  “You’re kidding?”

  “I never—ever—kid about business.”

  No, he knew that to be true.

  Jake stood and pulled her into his arms. “I could kiss you.”

  “You could. Might have wanted you to once upon a time, but your girlfriend will kick my ass. And I’m not interested in messing with that.”

  He hugged her tightly, and kissed her cheek. “I’d never let her touch you,” he promised as he eased back.

  Lydia moved back around to the other side of her desk. “There will be contracts and things to sign. I’ll talk to him and we’ll get that all set up with the lawyers. For now,” she pushed the check back toward him, “keep this. You’re going to need it.”

  Jake took the check and put it back in his pocket. “You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

  “Sure I do. I work hard to have all this. I didn’t do it alone, and I appreciate that. I understand partnerships.”

  “Speaking of that, I see the lease sign is down in the vacant shopfront.”

  “And because you sent her my way, I know you know what’s going in there.”

  “Audrey is going to open a salon?”

  “She is. It’s exactly what we need. It’s exactly what she needs too.”

  “She’s in good hands.” Jake blew a kiss toward Lydia and headed back to his truck. Waking up with Missy by his side had proved to be a great good luck charm.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  There had been some serious consideration to not going into the dealership that morning. A day spent in her pajamas in front of the big screen TV at Jake’s house seemed much more appealing.

  The racing garage was already abuzz with work. It certainly didn’t sit well with her that the car was primer gray, meaning it was getting a change in color for her brother.

  Deep inside, she tried to push up the excitement for him. She wanted him to have the same joy in racing as she did. However, it stirred the resentment in her belly and he’d know any smile she gave him would be forced.

  Damnit, she wanted to be okay with it.

  Her brother was behind the wheel of the car making adjustments inside the cab with another mechanic. Screw it. She didn’t have to be happy about it.

  Just the aura surrounding her must have been giving off vibes of ill will. Nearly the entire crew lifted their heads when she got closer to the car, and the murmur of voices ceased.

  Sam raised his head and looked toward her. That was when she knew there was something wrong. He was an absolute open book, when it came to her.

  Quickly, he moved out of the car and to her, gripping her by the arm and shoving her into the small, private office in the garage which was mostly used as a break room with a table and a microwave.

  He shut the door, pulled the blinds, and then turned to her all in a matter of seconds.

  “What in the hell is wrong with you?” She lunged at him only to have his hands at her shoulders pushing her back.

  “Shut up.” He ran his hands over his hair as he paced a little circle. “I got here early. Much earlier than normal. Dad was already here and in his office before anyone arrived. I thought I’d go up and see him, say good morning. Ya know, wanted to get on his good side before I wasn’t.”

  He chuckled, but she certainly understood his meaning.

  Sam stopped pacing. Resting his hands on the back of a metal chair, he leaned there.

  “It wasn’t until I was almost to the door that I realized he had people in his office with him. They were talking about racing, big circuit racing. I didn’t recognize the other voices, and I certainly wasn’t going to go into his office at that point.”

  Missy pulled out one of the chairs from around the table and sat down. Sam did the same, but he didn’t look up at her. He kept his hands clasped together in his lap.

  “Sam, who was in there?”

  He moved his hands to the table and leaned in. “You know that finance office they used to use which is right next to Dad’s office?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you can see into his office from that one because there’s a bend in the metal slat on the blinds?”

  She knew it well. They’d often been holed up in that office as kids when there was no one to take care of them. The office was walled with windows, even ones that looked into their father’s office. But there were metal blinds on those windows, as a means of privacy.

  She nodded. “I know right where you’re talking about.”

  “I looked like a little kid sneaking up on his parents. I’m not proud of that,” he offered. “But I snaked my way in there and looked in. Byron Walker and that guy that owns Stout Farms, Jasper something.”

  “Ethan Jasper,” she growled through her teeth.

  “Yeah, him. Anyway, they were all together talking about their race team.”

  “Their race team?”

  “Yeah.”

  She felt the hair on her arms rise. “So Byron Walker is part of the Stout Farms race team?”

  He chuckled. “Is that all you heard?” She stared at him, hoping he’d verify then. “Dad was part of that, Mis’.”

  She felt the lump in her throat and it choked her. “Dad and Byron Walker are part owners of the racing team?”

  He nodded slowly. “Yeah. Sucker punch, huh?”

  It squeezed at her heart. He was so sure to give their opinion of Jake because of his father, but their father was currently doing business with the man?

  “Wait. Wait.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why would he buy into a different team? That doesn’t make any sense.”

  He leaned in further. “It does when you bet on one team and not the other.” He raised his brows. “When your driver crashes or gets pushed out of a race, and you bet on the winner, the money goes directly to the betting party, not the team to share.”

  She felt the blood drain from her head now, and she must have gone pale. Sam stood, moved to the water dispenser, and poured her a cup of water. He handed it to her and stood behind her as she drank it with his hand on her back.

  “I’m sick,” she said.

  “More so now that you’re sleeping with Walker I assume.”

  She fisted her hands on the table. “That’s a nasty way of putting it, Sam.”

  “Are you going to tell me it’s more?”

  “It is more. I’m fairly sure I’m in love with him. It’s so much more than sex.”

  She didn’t expect the smile that crept across his lips. “He’s good to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I’d kill him if he wasn’t.”

  She knew he’d always have her back. “I just don’t understand Dad’s part in this. He’s never told me to lose. He never told me to push Walker out of the races either.”

  “I think they all have their own motives. Walker’s is a punch in the balls though. To have your own dad in on the team that kicked you out. Damn.”

  “Jake’s not like his dad. Not at all.”

  “I didn’t peg him to be.” He scratched at the scruff on his chin and rubbed his finger under his nose as if it itched. “I’m scared Mis’. I’m afraid he’s putting me in harm’s way now with Justice driving for Stout Farms, and now me. I get it. If he’s part owner of both teams, then he’s guaranteed some purses.”

  “Or a purse from the winning team and a write off from the losing.” She ran her hand over the cast on her wrist. “And to what cost? Damn, Jake almost died in that crash a few years ago. Was that all part of it? The payout was that great if he didn’t finish?”

  “What if they push me out? I mean getting caught up in a wreck is one thing. Having them wreck me out because they want the driver hurt…”

  “It’s not going to happen,” she promised as she stood and moved to the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To talk to Dad. Mom can only pray for us so much before someone kills us, Sam. I’m done, and I’d suggest maybe you be too.”

  “Done?” He sto
od. “You’re this team. You can’t just leave.”

  “I’ve already been replaced. He doesn’t need me. I’d be more beneficial working for another team. One that’s true to its team.” She pressed her fingers to her eyes. “Jesus, I used to pity Walker for having such a crap deal when it came to his dad. And I know Dad isn’t as honest and up and up as he portrays, but this…this disappoints me on a level I can’t even explain.”

  The showroom at the dealership was full. Missy thought that was a good sign. Usually that made her father’s mood lighter.

  Actually, she didn’t even care.

  “Missy,” her father’s voice boomed at her from across the showroom. He nodded toward his office when she looked his way. “Shut the door,” he said when she walked into his office.

  He walked behind his desk, unbuttoned the suit coat he wore, and sat down. Motioning to the chair, he urged her to sit. “Got your head in the clouds this morning? I called out to you twice out there.”

  “Sorry. Didn’t hear you.”

  “Where were you last night?” he asked as he thumbed through papers on his desk.

  “I stayed out,” she said. He wasn’t going to make her feel like a little kid.

  “Where?”

  “Stayed with a friend.”

  “Which one?” His eyes finally lifted and met hers.

  “I’m twenty-eight years old. It certainly doesn’t matter which one.”

  “You represent this company. It most certainly does matter which one.”

  “I was very much under the impression you asked me not to race in the next race,” she clearly spat out the words.

  “You’re injured.” He motioned to her hand.

  “Sure am.” She dropped her arm on the desk so it made a loud noise. “I’m rather surprised you even noticed.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “You replaced me right away. Fine, I get that. And you picked Sam. That too makes a lot of sense,” she said easing forward until she had both arms on the desk and was leaning over. “But my question to you is why you’re partnering up with Stout Farm.”

  She saw the quick widening of her father’s eyes, and then the quick recovery. “I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.”

  “I’m talking about you being in on a rival racing team, and with Byron Walker.”

  “My business ventures have nothing to do with you.”

  “Oh, and you think you should worry about how I represent this company?” She sat back in her chair. “Byron Walker bets against his own son in races. And he’s part owner of the very company that dropped Jake’s sponsorship?”

  “Jake? First name basis?”

  “Oh, Dad, you have no idea.”

  He stood, and she wasn’t going to let that intimidate her, so she stood too. His six-foot-three towered a full foot over her, but she wasn’t going to back down.

  “He’s who you’ve been with lately? Not coming home. Not calling?”

  “I’m not going to apologize. I’ve been looking for my own place. I think I’ve stayed under your roof much too long.”

  His cheeks grew red, and she braced for anything he might say.

  “Is that what you think? Well then consider yourself homeless. You can damn well find your own place to live.”

  “Fine.”

  “And consider yourself fully replaced. I think your racing days are over.”

  The surprise in his words only shook her because she had been expecting that. “Oh, I think they’ve just begun. I don’t have to race under your name.”

  “You’d race against me?”

  “And you’d bank against me.” She turned to leave the office when he called after her.

  “Missy, if you leave my team and you leave my house, that’s it. You’re all on your own. You will have no financial backing from me. You can guarantee it.”

  “That is exactly how I want it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  There was a whistle on his lips when he walked through the door and toward his office when Jackie jumped in front of him to stop him.

  “You got company,” she said. “That lady racer, Sheridan, she’s in your office. She was mighty pissed when she walked in and locked herself in there.”

  He raised his eyes to see that the door was closed. “How long has she been in there?”

  Jackie shrugged. “Half hour, maybe. I offered her a drink and she said she just wanted to be alone until you got here.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” he said as he passed by her and to his office.

  He gripped the doorknob and turned it slowly. If Jackie said she was pissed, he wanted to take it slowly. He couldn’t guarantee that just because he’d woken up with her that morning, skin to skin, that she wasn’t going to throw something at his head. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that it had happened, even under those waking circumstances.

  She was seated in his office chair, her back turned to the door. “Hey, you okay?” he asked softly as he entered and shut the door behind him.

  When she did turn, he could see she’d been crying. He didn’t much care for this part of a relationship, mostly because he wasn’t good at it.

  With the same amount of caution as he’d used when he opened the door, he moved to her.

  “What happened?”

  She batted her eyes. “I’ve been replaced.”

  He reached for her hand to pull her to her feet. When she stood, she instantly fell against him, which told him more than her words could.

  Jake wrapped his arms around her and held her until it felt as though she’d eased. He ran his hand over her hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

  “Let’s sit and talk,” he offered, but she shook her head against his chest.

  “Can we go to your place?”

  He winced. So far his entire morning had been spent away from work, and this proved to be keeping him from it further.

  “You don’t want to tell me now?”

  Missy eased back to look up at him. “Nevermind. I’ll meet you there when you’re done. I know you have a lot to do. I shouldn’t have come here. I should have waited. I just caused drama walking in here. That gal that works your front counter thinks I’m a lunatic. They’re all going to lose a day of work just gossiping.” She wiped her eyes, and he gripped her free wrist.

  “We’re not going to wait. Tell me.”

  “No, I don’t want to be where anyone will be around.” She pulled her hand free. “I should have waited until tonight. This was a bad idea to come here.”

  She pulled her keys from her pocket.

  “Missy, wait.” He moved to the door and blocked it. “We’ll go home. And I’m driving.”

  “You have work to do.”

  “And you need me right now.” He touched her cheek, and then ran his fingers into her hair. “You’re more important.”

  He saw the surprise flash on her face. Perhaps she didn’t understand how much she meant to him. Pulling her to him, he pressed his lips to hers.

  Taking his keys from his pocket, he handed them to her. “We’re leaving your truck here. Go get into my truck. I just have to tell Bud I’m out for the day.”

  “Oh, Jake.”

  “Go. I’ll be there in three minutes.”

  Missy sat in Jake’s truck and watched the normal happenings around her. The bays were full of cars and men working on them. She could hear the music above the tools and some banter.

  She caught sight of Jake talking to Bud, then as he walked out of the garage he talked to a few other mechanics as he passed through. A lot of business had been done in those few minutes, she knew.

  Turning her head, she saw the racing garage behind her. It was locked up tight. She understood that now. Racing came after work. Surely having her in his life was going to be a burden to his every day. He wasn’t going to tolerate that for long.

  Missy squeezed her eyes closed tightly. She’d spent so many years being so strong and pushing away the feminin
e pettiness she’d seen around her. It helped working in a field dominated by men. But now that she had a man in her life that would hold her while she sulked, she felt herself becoming something she didn’t care for—nor understood.

  To Jake’s credit, she noticed that as he moved to the truck, no other eyes followed him. He’d eased through the bays without drawing attention to the fact that he was leaving. Her father would have made a scene of epic proportions to make sure they all knew he was in charge and he could leave and do what he wished. And if there were any kind of drama in his life, such as a woman waiting in his car, there would have been attention drawn to it.

  Then again, that’s what attracted her to Jake. He was nothing like her father. He was nothing like his father either. Oh, they were a pair. Neither them were like their parents and that’s what made them compatible.

  Or so she thought.

  What kind of relationship was started through resentment and anger and made it through the elimination of sexual attraction?

  The tears were back and she wanted to jump from the truck and run to her own. She had nowhere to go if she did so, and she supposed it was lucky for her that Jake pulled open the door at that moment.

  “You’re crying again,” he said as he looked at her and climbed in, then started the engine.

  “This isn’t like me. I promise.”

  “It wouldn’t matter if it was like you. Tears are normal,” he assured her, as he backed out of the lot and headed toward home. “I’m just not used to seeing you cry.”

  “When you think about it, you haven’t even seen me be civil all that often.”

  He reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers. “So we started off a bit different than most. Most people have stars in their eyes first. They become intimate, fall in love, and then fall out of it. So, we did it backward.”

  She felt her fingers tighten with his. Did he even hear what he said? Did she hear it right?

  Now wasn’t the time to think about that. They were being duped and it wasn’t fair. She had to tell him what their fathers were doing.

  Resting her head back against the seat she thought about the fact that it was more than the end of her racing career. Officially, she was homeless and unemployed.