by Day Leclaire
She opened her mouth to argue, then lifted a shoulder in grudging acceptance of the truth. “I know.” To his dismay, tears pricked her eyes, though she managed to smile through them. “It was my first race, too. Give me time. I’ll do better.”
“It was a nasty wreck. Anyone would have had a rough time dealing with it.”
“Thanks for understanding.” And then she covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.
Without a word, Lucas maneuvered her down the corridor before Jamie caught wind of his mother’s distress. Pulling her into his arms, he simply held her until the storm passed. It didn’t take her long to recover. He had the distinct impression that she wasn’t the crying sort. No doubt she saw it as a weakness.
“I’m sorry,” she said, looking everywhere but at him.
“No problem.” He cupped her face and forced her to meet his eyes. “He’s going to be all right.”
Her chin trembled. “I just keep thinking—”
“There’s your first mistake. No thinking. And maybe this will help.” He lowered his head until their mouths were a mere whisper apart. “I seem to remember our getting interrupted earlier. I think this might be an excellent time to finish what we started.”
He didn’t sample her lips this time. There were no teasing preliminaries. Instead, he kissed her with a sweeping demand that took them both from zero to one eighty in three seconds flat. He heard that tiny moan again, a moan that had haunted his dreams. A moan that spoke of sultry nights of endless lovemaking. It drove him to deepen the kiss, slipping between her lips to find the honeyed sweetness within.
She tasted amazing. He had faded recollections of how good, but they were mere shadows of the real thing. How could he have forgotten? How could he have dismissed something this unique? The callowness of youth, no doubt. Well, he wouldn’t make that mistake again. This time he’d brand the next few moments on both of their memories.
He turned, maneuvering her the few steps it took until her back hit the wall. He wasn’t sure they’d be able to stand, otherwise. He filled his arms with her, every soft rounded inch. He wanted to explore it all. He wanted to put his stamp on her, one that she’d never forget, anymore than he’d been able to forget her.
She pulled away ever so slightly. “We need to stop.” Her tongue crept out to probe the swollen contours of her mouth. “This is wrong.”
He regarded her with lazy amusement. “Wrong that we kissed? Or wrong because we’re in a public place?”
“Either. Both.” The breath shuddered from her lungs. “Jinx has only been gone a few months.”
“He wouldn’t have wanted you to stop living.”
“That doesn’t mean…” He caught the hint of despair in her words. “That doesn’t excuse what I’m doing.”
“It’s just a kiss, meant to comfort and distract.” He smiled down at her, his thumbs tracing the bold sweep of her cheekbones. “Did it work?”
She relaxed into his hold and returned his smile. “What do you think?”
“You do look distracted. As for comforted…” He tilted his head to one side to assess. “Hmm.”
“Not there?”
“Close.” He lowered his head. “But definitely not there.”
COLE STOOD AT THE END of the hospital corridor and stared at the embracing couple. His hands clenched into fists and the cocky pleasure he’d felt at edging Boyce out of his way to finish a nose ahead was swallowed in a white-hot rage.
Boyce. Again.
It was always Boyce. He’d stolen the NASCAR Championship last year on the last lap of the last race. Somehow he’d gotten the press to consider him HRI’s “premier” driver. And now, when Kellie was finally available, he’d swept in and taken her, as well.
Cole shook his head. No. No way would he let that happen. In all the years he’d been with Hammond Racing, he’d never once made a move on Kellie. He’d had too much respect for Jinx. He’d also known how that sort of mistake guaranteed a career implosion. As inconvenient as it was on occasion, he’d always been careful to ensure that his southern hemisphere never outraced his northern. But from the minute Jinx had been diagnosed with cancer, Cole had marked Kellie as his.
And no one was going to take that away from him. He’d worked too long and too hard not to reap the ultimate benefits—a starring position in Kellie’s life and in HRI’s corporate hierarchy.
He watched as the kiss finally ended and the two drew apart. She’d been crying, he noted. No doubt over Jamie. Understandable, all things considered. The kid had taken a bad hit.
Maybe if he’d gotten here a few minutes sooner instead of pushing for extra airtime, he could have been the one to comfort her. Maybe he’d have been the one kissing Kellie right now. Well, one thing was an absolute certainty. He might not have been the first to get his hands on the delectable Mrs. Hammond. But he’d sure as hell be the last.
JAMIE EXITED the hospital. His mother had promised to meet him, but instead he was stunned to find a crowd of reporters and camera crew waiting for him.
“Was it the Hammond Jinx?” one reporter asked, shoving a microphone in his face. “Has it been passed from father to son?”
The pack surrounded him, pressing in. “Are you going to be looking for payback against Davy Ellis when you get to Fontana?”
“Were you hurt, Jamie? Are you okay?”
“Are you at all concerned about making it into next week’s race without any driver points to secure you a starting spot?”
“Jamie, did your parents make a mistake? Should they have started you off in the NASCAR Busch Series first? Are you too inexperienced to be racing in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup?”
The questions bombarded him and he knew he must look foolish standing there gaping at them all. Finally, his brain kicked in and he offered a wide grin, hoping it didn’t look as phony as it felt. “First, I’m just fine. I’ve had worse bumps and bruises playing with my dog. Second, I’d like to thank the best team sponsor out there yesterday, Food Basket. I’d also like to thank my outstanding team. We’re still knocking out a few of the kinks, but you’ll see a big improvement next week.”
“Will there be payback for Davy having bumped you?”
Were they kidding? “You know that’s part of racing. Davy’s a great guy. He was just trying to do a bit of bump drafting. Guess we were too close to the corner for it to work.”
Another reporter sidled in. “Was it your inexperience that caused the wreck?”
Jamie swallowed, struggling to find an answer that was honest, while remaining politic. “Experience can only help me become a better driver. I wish this race could have ended under better circumstances. But I wouldn’t be here if HRI didn’t feel I deserved to be.” He held up his hands at the flood of responses. “Granted, my parents started the company. But they’ve been in the business a long time. If my dad hadn’t felt I was ready, he’d never have agreed to put me in the Number 56 car. In case you never noticed, he was sort of protective of that number. I’m just sorry he wasn’t there for my first race.”
“Do you think your father would have been disappointed in your performance?”
He tried to keep from flinching at the question, hoping he hadn’t just given them more ammunition to use against him. “Come on, guys. Give me a chance.” He smiled with as much good humor as he could summon, but some of the comments had hit hard, scraping along a few of his deepest held insecurities. “See what I do next week before writing me off, okay?”
The questions continued, questions Jamie answered as diplomatically as possible. But a part of him remained detached from the proceedings, a part that couldn’t help but wonder if they were right. Had he been started too soon? Would his father have been disappointed or had second thoughts about his son’s talent? Granted he’d had unbelievable success in all of the other venues he’d ever attempted, garnering championships in every single arena he’d raced in to date. But that didn’t guarantee the same sort of success here and now, in one of the most compe
titive motor sports out there.
One question above all others worried him the most.
Had he inherited the Hammond Jinx? He didn’t believe in such things. At least, he’d tried not to. But this wasn’t the best start to his racing career. And he couldn’t help but wonder…what sort of luck would next week bring?
Cole Whaling approached just then and threw a com panionable arm around him. He deflected the rest of the reporters’ questions, easing the moment with his usual humorous quips and droll comments.
“How you feeling, kid?” Cole asked, once the report ers had left and they were alone.
“Bruised and battered,” Jamie muttered. “And not just from the wreck.”
“Ah. Your first run-in with the press. Yeah, that can get dicey if you’re not careful. Tell you what. Why don’t we go out and do some medicinal healing. I’ll even give you some pointers on how to handle the press. What do you say?”
“I don’t know.” He scanned the approaching cars.
“Mom said she was coming to pick me up.”
“I offered to come and get you. She’s got a lot on her plate right now considering we’re out in California next weekend. I thought picking you up might make things easier for her.”
“Really?” Jamie asked, secretly impressed. The offer made him feel like a “real” stock car driver. One of the guys. “I wouldn’t object to a bit of medicinal healing.
But I’m only eighteen, so…”
“I’m not talking about alcohol. I know better than that.” He winked. “But there’s plenty of other hell we can raise that’ll do the job almost as well. You up for it?”
Was he kidding? “Do your worst.”
CHAPTER SIX
“SHOCKING NEWS OUT of the HRI camp. Police were called in the early hours of the morning to respond to an incident involving NASCAR’s youngest rookie, Jamie ‘Jinx Junior’ Hammond, and teammate Cole Whaling.
“The pair were reportedly mixed up in an early-morning wrestling match with two women in the parking lot of Daytona’s infamous Bar None. ‘You should have seen Jamie blush when I kissed him,’ said Penny Plithton. ‘It was so cute.’
“Though it is believed that alcohol was not a factor, the antics have caused problems with the 56 team’s sponsor, Food Basket. Owner Leo Farmer is quoted as saying, ‘We expect the driver we sponsor to demonstrate the best in family values, just as our company does. This incident has us very concerned. We intend to look into it very carefully in order to determine whether Mr. Hammond is the right match for Food Basket.’
“Reaction continues to ripple throughout the NASCAR community. Stay tuned for more information after HRI’s press conference, scheduled for 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.”
“WHAT THE HELL were you thinking?” Kellie paced in front of Cole and Jamie, slapping a rolled up newspaper against her palm. “Have you totally lost your collective minds?”
“Mom, I can explain,” Jamie began.
Cole offered his most appealing smile. “It’s all my fault, Kellie.”
“I don’t doubt that for a minute.”
His smile faltered, then faded altogether, and he released a sigh. “Okay, you’re right. I shouldn’t have taken him out. I was just trying to cheer him up. It was his first race and he crashed. You must have seen the news clips when the press jumped him on his way out of the hospital. He needed to get away from the crazi ness and put things in perspective.”
Fury skyrocketed through her. “By playing pool with a pair of barflies? Have you lost your mind?” she repeated, though at a slightly higher decibel level. If there weren’t the full width of the conference table sep arating them, she would have strangled him. “You took an eighteen-year-old boy to a bar. A bar, Cole!”
“I didn’t drink,” Jamie hastened to say.
“And it’s a good thing you didn’t,” Kellie snapped.
“Or it would have brought a short career to a fast end. NASCAR takes a very dim view of underage drinking.” Her gaze switched to Cole. “As I’m sure you’re well aware.”
He winced. “No one was supposed to find out.”
“Which brings us back to those women. If no one was supposed to find out, then maybe you shouldn’t have bragged about who you were.”
“It might have been a mistake to tell Penny the truth,” Cole conceded.
“Why not, when your fame guaranteed you their full attention?” Her sarcasm left him wincing.
“I’m sorry, Kellie,” he repeated.
There was no mistaking his sincerity. She’d known Cole a long time and had learned over the years to distinguish between his trying-to-get-out-of-it song-and-dance and those few times when he allowed his playboy facade to drop and reveal the “real” Cole. He’d always had a soft spot for Jamie, and she couldn’t see him deliberately harming the boy.
“It wouldn’t have been so bad if that had been the end of it.” She thrust a hand through her hair. “Though I can’t even believe I’m even admitting that much. But then you had to compound the problem by—” She checked the paper. “Piggyback wrestling in the parking lot. Whatever that is.”
“See, the girls get on our shoulders and they wrestle while we try and hold them,” Jamie offered helpfully.
“Enough!” It took every ounce of self-control to keep from utterly losing it. “That’s not the point, Jamie. You have a morals clause in your contract, and though this didn’t breach it, you’re bumping up against it. Leo Farmer has already called three times so far this morning. I could hear Stephanie crying in the background.”
Jamie went dead white. “Stephanie heard about last night?”
“Haven’t you been listening to a word I’ve been saying?” There were times when her son seemed so mature. And then the next instant, he’d revert to being a typical teenager. She closed her eyes. Well, how could she blame him? He was a teenager. She reined in her temper and spoke as gently as possible. “Honey, you’ve been around this business all your life, certainly long enough to know that the entire world hears about something this…harebrained. You’re under a microscope now. We explained that to you when we first starting talking about moving you to NASCAR.”
She might as well have saved her breath. He’d switched off the instant she’d mentioned Stephanie’s name. “I need to talk to her,” he insisted. He would have raced from the room if Kellie hadn’t stopped him.
“First you need to talk to Leo Farmer and offer an apology so he doesn’t pull his sponsorship. And then you’re going to work with our PR people drafting a statement that properly reflects the depth of your remorse. Once that’s done, and if Leo gives his permission, and if Stephanie even wants to speak to you, you may get in touch with her. Are we clear?”
“But Stephanie—”
She hardened herself against his pleading, inserting a steely note in her voice. “Assuming Leo lets you anywhere near his daughter again, which is highly doubtful, you can grovel to your heart’s content. In the meantime, I’ve explained what you’re to do.”
Jamie nodded. “Yes, Mrs. Hammond. I’ll take care of it right away.”
If Kellie hadn’t understood that he was using the title as a way to acknowledge that their current role was employer/employee versus mother/son, she’d have found a way to ground him until he turned twenty-one. “Mistakes happen,” she acknowledged. “Drivers who last in this business learn from them and work very hard not to make the same one twice.”
He gave her a stiff nod. “Is that it?”
A bone-deep weariness gripped her. “You can go now.”
“Me, too?” Cole asked as Jamie made a beeline for the door. “Or do you want to shout at me for a while longer?”
“I’d like to take a stick to that thick head of yours,” she snapped.
He nodded. “I don’t blame you.” He circled the table and edged a hip on the heavy oak surface in front of where she stood. “This won’t happen again, Kellie, I promise. I was trying to take him under my wing.” He spared her a teasing smile. “Unfortunat
ely, I forgot that I don’t have wings. Just horns.”
Her mouth twitched. “I know you meant well. But even so—”
To her surprise, he reached out and swept a lock of hair behind her ear. “I don’t mean to add to your stress. I know how rough it’s been without Jinx. I’d like to help, not make matters worse.”
“Thanks, Cole. I appreciate that.” She started to take a step backward. Before she could, he caught her hand in his, anchoring her in place.
“I just want you to know I’m here for you. If you need anything, anything at all, you only have to ask.”
She tugged her hand free, softening the rejection with a smile. “Again, I appreciate that. We’ve worked together for a long time. You’re like family.”
“Kissing cousins?” he offered lightly.
She regarded him warily. “What’s going on, Cole?”
He tipped his head to one side and flashed his dimples at her. “You want me to be frank?”
“Please.”
“I’ve always been attracted to you, Kellie,” he shocked her by saying. “It’s been growing for years now.”
Oh, no. No, no, no. “I never—”
He held up his hand, cutting her off. “You never once looked sideways at me. It was always Jinx and I respect that. I just need you to know how I feel.”
She bit her lip. How had they gone from a reprimand to this? He’d caught her totally off guard. “Cole, I’m at a loss for words. It’s only been a couple of months since Jinx died.”
Something altered his easygoing expression, a hardness that startled her, almost a bitterness. He took her hand in his again. “You’re still a young woman. A woman who hasn’t had the sort of marital relationship she might have wished for.”
She snatched her hand from his hold. “That’s enough. My marriage to Jinx is none of your business.”
“Fine. I didn’t mean to offend you.” He grew more serious than she’d ever seen him. “But I want more, Kellie.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I’m coming up on contract negotiations and I want more than to be your driver. I want you, as well.” He eyed her with open speculation. “I’ll give you anything you ask, sweetheart. Anything and everything your heart desires. A ring. Marriage. More children, if you want.”
