In the Fast Lane
Page 17
At least the car was finally slowing. Each rise and fall of the cage was coming less frequently. But her vision was blurry, and she could no longer figure out whether she was upside down or right side up.
Vaguely, she realized that the crowd was shouting—something. What were they saying? It was a roaring wave in her ears.
Waves … like that day on the boat that she’d spent with Ranger. He’d loved her, then.
The car came to a stop, rocking back and forth.
“I love you, too, Ranger,” she finally managed to whisper.
And then the world went black.
Chapter Twenty
“I’ve never seen a man do something like that before. He practically tore the door from its hinges. It’s gonna have to be replaced.”
“Don’t be a shit-for-brains. The whole goddamn car is gonna have to be replaced.”
Kerri frowned. That was Bit’s voice. What was Bit doing in her dream? And why was he telling Grady that they were going to have to replace a car? They didn’t have enough money to replace a car. Or wait—they did now. Ranger, that asshole, had given them money.
But no. He wasn’t an asshole. Not completely. He’d said he loved her.
What I truly want … I love you … I’m sorry.
He’d come back for her. He’d come back and she’d crashed, flipping and slamming into the asphalt over and over and—
She came awake with a gasp.
“Oh, shit! Kerri! Hot damn, you’re awake! I’ll be fucked. Just goddamn fucked.” Lee was staring at her, wide eyed, spouting all kinds of nonsense from where he stood at the foot of her bed.
“Watch your language!” Mom smacked Lee in the shoulder before moving up to Kerri’s side.
Grady and Bit had been sitting on the deep ledge beneath the window, but they’d jumped up and were staring at her as though she were Lazarus raised from the dead.
She certainly felt like she’d died.
“My head hurts.” Her voice came out as a croak. How long had she been out?
“You got a concussion. One of the cage bars—” Bit’s gravelly voice broke off, wavering.
Wow. It must have been bad for even a seasoned old grouch like him to get emotional.
“One of the cage bars bent and broke through your helmet. You’re lucky to be alive. Doctor says the concussion is a small fracture on your skull and you should be fine soon enough. These things heal completely in about six weeks or so.”
Kerri was surprised to hear Grady say something like that in such a calm way. Was it really only racing that got his emotions pumping too hard, too fast?
Mom fussed over her, fluffing pillows and arranging the blankets as Kerri looked around at the faces of all the people she loved. Well, almost all.
“Where’s Ranger?”
She had to shut her eyes, just in case. What if it had all been a dream? If they told her he’d gotten on that plane after all, and he was gone, she’d cry. And she didn’t feel like crying in front of anyone else.
“He’s talking to some guy out in the hall.”
Lee said it so casually that Kerri almost asked him to repeat himself. But then Mom leaned in and whispered, “He shot out onto the track as soon as you wrecked. We tried to stop him since there were a lot of cars still out there. But he did it anyway. I don’t know what it is, baby, but you seem to be drawn to men who love putting themselves in harm’s way for you.”
He had been there. It hadn’t been a dream. That meant that the things he’d said to her …
I love you.
It made her need him. Now.
Kerri managed to huff out a laugh, and Mom smiled, her eyes shining with tears of relief, amusement, and love. “I’ll go fetch him for you.” She straightened and gestured for the others to leave. “Come on, boys. Time to get out of here.”
Lee grumbled a bit, but tramped out of the room with the others. Within seconds, Ranger practically ran in, stopping just short of her bed when he saw her eyes open.
“Kerri, you-you’re—”
“Ranger, I need to tell you something.”
They both spoke at the same time, but he stopped and gestured to her to keep going. She looked right at him and found concern in his eyes, and something else that gave her the courage to say what she needed to tell him.
“If it’s not too late, I’ve decided to take the Natural Light deal. It’s the right thing to do. Not just to be a raging success, but because it’s a good deal and a good company and I’m proud of what they do for women. Being a woman in racing means I have the privilege of being their spokesperson—something that no one else on the circuit can do.” She had to rest for a minute then, feeling exhausted from even that small amount of talking. Damn, she hated being injured. After a second, she continued. “But most importantly, I want to say that I won’t let you down, Ranger. I’m not going to stop trying for Rookie of the Year. The doctor says I can race again in a few weeks and—”
His face fell. “Oh, Kerri. Sugar, no, I—”
“And I love you.”
She cut him off with those words, and he looked so turned around that Kerri couldn’t help but grin, even though it hurt her head to do so. She winced, and he finally rushed forward to smooth a hand over her forehead.
“God, Kerri. Shit. I love you, too.” His voice was steadier now, as sure and strong as his touch. “When you crashed, I was so scared. I couldn’t believe you might be taken away from me just when I’d realized how important you are.”
“But what about your promotion?”
He smiled. “I don’t need the promotion. I’m staying with Hart Racing. I’m not going back to Colt. You were right, Kerri. All I wanted was Al’s—my dad’s—approval. I ended up getting that and more.”
He told her the story of what had happened on the plane, and then she did let her tears spill over. She didn’t mind crying in front of Ranger. He deserved it.
He took her hand and held it gently, like he was afraid it might break. “You’re the reason that Natural Light was interested in sponsoring Hart Racing in the first place. I didn’t have anything to do with that. You’re the one who deserves to get everything you want, no strings attached. You don’t have to win Rookie of the Year. I’ll let you buy back Hart Racing. Hell. I’ll give it to you. Forget about the stupid deal we made before. I was stupid and you were wonderful. You’re always wonderful.”
She’d never realized it could hurt so much but also feel so good to cry.
“It wasn’t a stupid deal. You drive a hard bargain, Ranger Colt. I love you for that as much as I love the rest of you. Including the parts of your body that are just as hard-driving and definitely just as sexy.” She tried to drop her voice a bit, to make it suggestive, but she was afraid it came out much more tired-sounding.
Ranger grinned. “As much as I love to hear you say that, you need to rest, sugar. You’ve been through a lot today.”
“But what about you? Don’t you need to talk about the Natural Light deal so you can get back to them about the terms and—”
He shook his head. “Later. That stuff can wait until later. Right now, all I need is you.”
He leaned in and dropped a quick, soft kiss on her lips, and Kerri smiled even as her eyes closed. “Now that’s what I call a raging success.”
Acknowledgements
I want to thank so many people for being a critical part of making this book happen.
First and foremost, a huge thanks to my husband and children for being supportive of my writing. For the time and the space that you all give me, thank you. I love you all so much.
To Kerri-Leigh Grady and Tahra Seplowin, I would never have written this story if it hadn’t been for the two of you. After a short conversation on Twitter resulted in my writing the first scene of this book, and further discussion via email led to a whole book, I realized just how instrumental your excitement and encouragement were in making this happen. Thank you.
I am grateful every day for my agent, Courtney Mill
er-Callihan, for being brilliant, patient, and full of good advice. No one else rocks a mullet wig like you do.
Lizzie Poteet, you did a smashing job at editing this book. I was so impressed with your insight and professionalism. You made the editing process fun, which is an accomplishment in and of itself.
Thank you to Amber Belldene and Alexandra Haughton for beta reading this book and offering critiques that made it so much better. I am so fortunate to know such smart, competent, and generous women.
Finally, thank you to my readers. You are a community of incredible people and I appreciate every one of you.
Stay tuned for
Shifting Gears
Available fall 2015
Visit AudraNorth.com for more!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Audra North fell in love with romance at age thirteen and spent the next twenty years reading as many romance novels as she could. Even now, after having read over one thousand of them, Audra still can’t resist the lure of a happily ever after, and her collection continues to grow. She lives near Boston with her husband, three young children, and a lot of books. Visit her website at audranorth.com or find her (way too frequently) on Twitter @AudraNorth. Or sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
“In the Fast Lane” Copyright © 2015 by Audra North.
All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
Cover design by Kerri Resnick Cover photographs: couple © conrado/Shutterstock; light beams © Iscatel/Shutterstock
Author Photo © Erin Hilterman
eISBN 978-1-4668-8902-6
First eBook Edition: July 2015