by Stark, Cindy
He twisted his head and found that she hadn’t made it far before another car had barreled into her side.
He had two choices. He could run from her or run her down. And he sure as hell wasn’t running.
He maneuvered his car away from the Caprice and avoided another hit by the green station wagon. On the overhead speakers, he could hear the announcer talking smack about who would take out who…the Smashmaster or the Crashmaster. The townsfolk would eat it up, especially if they knew about his past relationship with Kimber. In his estimation, that would be about everybody in his small town.
Whatever. Ex-fiancée or not, he wasn’t about to be beaten by a woman.
His engine growled as he made a beeline straight for her tail end.
His back bumper slammed into hers with a jolt. He cranked his head to find her looking back at him.
A smile crept across his lips.
Instead of frowning, she raised a challenging brow, a satisfied grin on her face. The hell. She was enjoying this. And definitely holding her own. The woman who’d always been a little hesitant before had turned into something of a firecracker. Shit.
She’d turned into a sexier, more powerful version of the woman he’d left, and damn if that didn’t turn him on. He looked away before she could read his expression.
He shifted into drive and tried to pull away from her. She did the same, but neither of them moved. His bumper had tangled with hers, tying them together.
He pressed harder on the accelerator, his tires spinning in the soft dirt, generating a fair amount of dust. He was going nowhere.
From across the way, he spied the black Caprice barreling toward his engine.
“Damn it.” He was a sitting duck if he couldn’t disengage from Kimber’s car. He floored it, but it was to no avail. The Caprice hit him, crushing the passenger side of his front end, killing his engine.
Jerry glared at the driver, finally taking the time to get a good look at him. Hell if it wasn’t Eric, the asshole who’d stolen Kimber from him while he’d been away serving their country.
He wanted blood. He cranked his engine a few times, but it refused to start. The jolt had broken him and Kimber apart. She sped away, but he was still an easy target.
Eric pulled far enough away from Jerry to get another running start in his direction. As the Caprice began backing toward him again, Jerry gave the starter one more try, and this time it engaged. He floored it, barely escaping another attack.
As luck would have it, the owner of the green station wagon seemed to want another shot at Eric as well. He hit the front end of the Caprice with a jarring blow. Jerry took the opportunity and threw his transmission into reverse. He watched over his shoulder as he headed toward the two cars, aiming for Eric’s Caprice. The station wagon moved out of the way at the perfect moment, allowing Jerry to show the power of the Smashmaster.
Smoke coursed from the crushed engine, and Jerry smiled as he heard Eric repeatedly try to crank his engine. One man down. One woman to beat.
Jerry smiled, happy that he’d annihilated the enemy this go round.
He glanced across the arena, surprised to find there were only three cars still moving. Kimber, him and a white New Yorker that was dragging a back bumper. The green station wagon sat nearby, its engine refusing to turn over.
He watched as Kimber headed across the arena, making it look like she was running from the white car. She stopped on top of a dirt hill, and he could see the fans in the bleachers cheering for her. It was as though she was declaring herself the king of the hill.
Crazy, arrogant thing to do.
Pride or something similar welled up inside him. He’d taught her that move.
Then she backed off the hill, heading toward the white New Yorker with all the speed she could muster. The white car started to move out of her way until it sputtered. Sounds of an engine trying to turn over mixed with the loud, muffler-less rumbles of Kimber’s car.
The rear end of her Grand Prix collided with the New Yorker’s hood, making a tent out of the metal, and leaving the car a smoking pile of worthless parts.
“Looks like the Smash and Crash are all we have left today, ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer’s voice boomed over the crowd. “Who will take home the trophy?”
Jerry sat on one side of the ring while Kimber faced him on the other.
Time for a showdown.
The rumble of her engine filled the air as she backed toward him. No fear there. For some reason, he found that kind of sexy.
Not meaning Kimber.
Just overall in a woman.
He positioned his car so his rear end faced hers.
She wanted it? He’d give it to her.
He crushed his accelerator to the floor, the sound of his engine roaring in response. His car bumped as he cruised over some small dirt hills, aiming directly for her.
He wondered if she’d chicken out at the last second and swerve, not wanting to take a direct hit. He wouldn’t, though. He would see this through to the end. He growled as he prepared for impact.
They met with a roaring crunch of stressed metal. The force would have sent his head through the windshield if the car still had one.
He sat for a second, clearing the ringing from his head, then looked back over his shoulder. She grinned as she pulled away, taking his rear bumper with her.
Smoke rose into the air, giving the crowd a visual of the damage his car had sustained. “Shit.” He turned the key, but knew he wouldn’t get a response.
“Looks like the Crashmaster has taken down the Smashmaster,” the announcer said and a wild round of clapping and yells came from the stands.
Wasn’t that the truth, he thought. And it wasn’t the first time.
Kimber’s car let out a loud roar of victory as she revved the engine.
With the race over, the drivers began climbing out of their mangled vehicles, in order to complete the customary handshakes. He could refuse and walk away, but his self-respect wouldn’t allow it.
Chapter Seven
Kimber swallowed around her dry, dust-covered throat as Jerry walk toward her. Her heart stumbled. Damn. He looked good in his worn jeans and tight blue t-shirt. Every few steps, she caught sight of a tiny limp, but otherwise, there was no outward appearance of his injury. He sauntered the same way he always did, looking like he was hunting prey, making her wish he’d hunt her.
She slipped the helmet from her head just as he reached her, her dark hair tumbling down her shoulders.
He studied her for a moment with his sexy, bedroom eyes, and she wished she’d could throw herself into his arms and welcome him home.
“Nice driving.” He held out a hand for her to shake.
She took it, allowing him to wrap his warm fingers around hers for the briefest second. “Thanks.”
“Better than when I left.”
“Only in some ways.” Her head, her heart, the rest of her had missed him like crazy. He’d never know how sorry she was that she’d let him down. “Jerry, I—”
“Congratulations, Kimber,” Eric interrupted. “You get better every time.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks at the sexual innuendo. And of course, it was in front of Jerry.
The two men exchanged dark glances before Jerry met her gaze again. The traces of civility and a touch of warmth were gone. Eric had crushed the tiniest bit of a chance that Jerry had given her.
“Gotta go,” he said before he turned and walked away.
“What the hell was that?” she said when Jerry was out of hearing range.
“What? I was just congratulating you.” Eric shrugged, trying to look innocent, but they both knew he hated that she was still in love with Jerry. He’d weaseled his way into her life during a very dark and lonely time and had taken advantage of her weakness, convincing her the life of a soldier’s wife would be misery. She’d since set him straight.
“Just…stay away from me.”
He lifted his hands into the air. “What did
I do?”
She didn’t bother with a response as she walked away.
* * *
Heated blood pulsed through Jerry’s veins as he stomped toward Milo and Luke. The two of them leaned against the fence that surrounded the ring. They’d had the perfect spot to view the entire travesty.
He never should have gone over to congratulate Kimber. It might have been the courteous thing to do, but she’s the one who muddied the waters first. It had been a less than tactical move to make, leaving his heart exposed like he had. The moment she’d locked her sexy green eyes on his, she’d had him.
Until Eric had shown up. He should probably thank the jackass for reminding him of Kimber’s viper heart. Instead, he wanted to beat the shit out of him.
“Why didn’t you tell me she would be out there?” He focused his question and a killer glare on his supposed buddies.
“You didn’t want to talk about her,” Luke tossed back at him.
“The hell.” This wasn’t funny anymore.
“You didn’t,” Milo responded. “You said you were done, said you didn’t care.”
He shook his head, not understanding at all where they were coming from. “You guys are supposed to have my back. If I would have known she’d be here, I would have stayed home.”
“You said you didn’t care,” Milo reminded him.
That was all it took to set him off. “What the hell do you want me to say? That her email was like a grenade that blasted shrapnel into my heart, tearing it to pieces?” The look he gave them was blacker than a moonless night out in the nearby hills. “Fine. She dumped me, and it still hurts like hell. Okay?”
The baring of his soul generated an awkward silence between the group, and his friends looked away, obviously uncomfortable with his frank admission. He turned with disgust and started walking toward the truck and trailer.
“Where are you going?” Luke asked.
“I’m going to load that piece of shit on the trailer and get the hell out of here.”
“But you qualified for the final round,” Milo said as he caught up with Jerry. “You’re not going to let her scare you off, are you?”
“I know my limits. I saw the way Eric looked at Kimber. You might say it’s over between them, but that’s not what he thinks. I sure as hell am not going to put myself anywhere near the two of them.”
“You’re going to let him win, then?” Luke taunted.
He knew what his buddies were trying to do, but it wasn’t going to work. “In case you don’t remember, she dropped me faster than a steaming pile of shit. He may or may not win her, but I’ve already lost.”
“But you still want her,” Milo said. “Maybe you should fight for her.”
“I told you, I’m done. I know when to cut my losses.”
* * *
Jerry didn’t look in the direction of Kimber’s car as Luke and Milo helped him load the beat up New Yorker on his trailer. Tyler joined them and convinced the others to stay for the rest of the derby. That was fine with him. He’d had enough of everyone’s shit to last a lifetime. He needed to go home and lick his wounds, and figure out where he wanted to go from there.
The family home was quiet when he parked his trailer to the side of the garage. Everyone would still be at the derby until much later.
He left his truck and headed toward the creek that ran alongside their property. Crickets chirped as he walked, the warm evening air like a sweet balm to his lungs.
Even in the darkness, he found the large, flat rock at the edge of the creek where he’d spent many summers fishing. He folded himself down on it, listening to the inky water gurgle its way downstream. Pent up tension eased out of his lungs.
Damn.
When had his life become uncontrolled chaos?
It seemed everyone around him got to decide what his days would be like. The army had controlled his existence while he’d been overseas. Now that he was at home, he’d let his friends, Kimber, hell even Eric control his mood. He was damn sick of it.
Starting now, he owned his life.
As soon as he finished his last two months in the army, he’d go back to work for Luke’s family on the oil rigs. It was a tough job, but it paid well, and he wasn’t afraid of hard work. He’d see if old lady Johnson’s farm was still for sale and get his own place.
To hell with Kimber. She’d had her chance. Another woman would come along—the right woman this time—and he’d settle down and make the family he’d always wanted. At some point, Kimber would realize what she’d lost, and he hoped to hell she regretted it every day of her life.
He filled his lungs with more of the sultry air and closed his eyes. The only person keeping him from getting what he wanted was him. And now that he’d figured that out, the world was back to good.
He hoped.
Chapter Eight
The next morning, Jerry was up early enough to help his dad drive some of his horses into town for the livestock show and auction that would be held later in the afternoon. They went for breakfast at Sparrow’s and hung out with a bunch of guys from town. Jerry took a moment to enjoy the excitement of a small town celebration. Sure, they didn’t have the fancy stuff people might find at bigger town fairs, but it gave the townsfolk a chance to come together and celebrate their way of life along with their country’s independence day.
After spending most of the last four years out of the state or overseas, Jerry could appreciate that.
He met up with his buddies to watch the annual parade, and of course, they cat-called the reigning queen like they did every year. At the end of the parade, they got in line and followed the procession to the usually empty lot at the south end of town where the car show and the rest of the activities would take place.
Jerry found now that he’d taken that first step toward the rest of his life, things seemed a little easier. Hot July sun beat down on him as he and the other guys sauntered through the old cars that had been restored and detailed with loving hands. The thick, sweet scent of cotton candy hovered in the air along with the sound of children’s laughter.
A cherry red ‘67 Camaro caught his eye, and he wandered toward it.
“Like what you see?” a female voice said from behind.
He turned to find Kelsie Wayne looking as beautiful and blond as she had in high school. “Hey, Kelsie.” His smile came easy, and it was nice to talk to a woman that didn’t flip his heart on the ground and stomp on it. He glanced at the car. “This yours?”
She matched his smile. “I wish. It’s beautiful.”
He eyed her soft blond curls, thinking she was pretty as well as nice. He preferred brunettes to blondes, but look where that had gotten him. Maybe it was time to start looking beyond his usual preferences.
“I heard you were back in town.” She hooked her thumbs in her front belt loops in a flirty gesture.
“I got back a couple of days ago.”
“Too bad you couldn’t get your car fixed for the last round of the derby.”
Is that what people were saying? “Yeah. Maybe next year.”
“You and Kimber still broke up?”
He narrowed his gaze. Aspen was notorious for gossip spreading like wildfire, but he didn’t like it when his personal life was the topic of conversation. “Why do you ask?”
She shrugged, still smiling. “Half the town thinks she’s been waiting for you to come home. The other half says she’s still seeing Eric.”
The dagger sliced deeper into his heart, and suddenly, the little blonde in front of him didn’t seem so sweet. “I guess if you want to know what she thinks, you should ask her.”
The mood turned awkward, Kelsie’s smile slipping a bit. “Okay.” Her smile faded completely as she focused on something beyond his shoulder. He turned to find Kimber several hundred yards away, obviously watching them. She quickly turned, and then Jerry spied Eric standing only a few feet from her.
Perhaps the rumors were true.
“I’ll ask her later. I gotta
go now.” He turned back to see Kelsie’s curls bouncing as she headed in the opposite direction.
What? Did she think he was going to make her go ask Kimber right now?
Hell. Women. Maybe he should just go celibate. He did take the slightest bit of satisfaction though, that Kimber had seen him with Kelsie. No time like the present to make her start regretting her choices.
He turned and followed Kelsie. He had no idea if Kimber watched him go after her, but he sure as hell hoped she did.
* * *
Kimber watched Jerry walk away, her heart crumbling. He was never going to give her a chance to explain. She couldn’t tear her gaze from him, even as he drew farther apart. The love she held for him crushed against her lungs, making it hard to breathe. She had to find a way to get him to listen. She only needed a few minutes alone with him. If she could have that, she’d know for certain if she still had a chance or not.
She turned, catching a glimpse of Eric hovering not too far away, and she groaned. When would he get a clue?
Then thankfully, she spied Noelle amongst the crowd of milling people. She was headed her way with the oddest grin on her face. Kimber didn’t spare Eric another glance as she took off to meet her friend. She linked arms with her and tugged her toward the row of trees that grew along the lot’s edge.
“You have a wicked grin on your face. Spill,” Kimber said as they reached the shade.
“I found you some allies.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ian is pretty good friends with Milo Sykes, and Milo just happened to mention to Ian last night at the derby that he thinks Jerry is still in love with you.”
Her heart stopped. “Seriously?”
“It gets better.” Noelle beamed, spiking the pounding in Kimber’s chest. “I just happened to run into Milo a few moments ago. So, of course, I had to ask him.” She gripped her hand. “He confirmed it.”
Kimber tried to breathe. “This is good.” It was what she’d prayed for. “It means I still have a chance.”
“More than that. You have allies. During my little conversation with Milo, he agreed that you and Jerry need a chance to figure this thing out before you actually call it quits.”
