“Her suspension ended over a week ago.”
“See, even she knows she should be fired for pulling a stunt like that.”
I slid open my dresser and pulled out three pairs of socks. “I repeat, I don’t have time to discuss this with you. Even Roc agrees we need her back. I’ve never driven a car like this one before.”
“Fucking bullshit. It’s you driving the car that is making it great, not what you think this chick did to your car.”
I shook my head. This was what my father’s problem was and how he felt I should be. He thought he was the only one who mattered. The countless number of people who worked on the car were nothing.
That was a lie.
I wouldn’t be anywhere without the eight people on the pit crew, my crew chief, the new office chick, (I really needed to learn her name), my sponsors, and definitely the fans. “Why aren’t you at home with Mom?”
He waved his hand. “She’s in physical therapy right now. Her legs have been giving her a hassle all week. The quack doctor recommended she get some PT in.” He splayed his hands in front of him. “That gave me enough time to come here and talk you out of running after someone who doesn’t matter.”
I was done with this. My flight took off in less than an hour, and I still had a twenty-minute drive to the airport. I was going to make this flight by the skin of my teeth if I was lucky. “Nice try, but I’m still leaving. Say hi to Mom for me and let her know I will see her on Monday.”
“No point in telling her that. She’ll forget by tomorrow.”
I quickly shoved my clothes into the bag, zipped it shut, and slung it over my shoulder. “Tell her. I’ll see you when I get back.” I loved my dad, but he was such a dick. Mom had early onset dementia and bad arthritis. He acted like she was a burden to him and not his wife anymore. I couldn’t count how many times I had wanted to punch him in the face and move my mom to live with me.
The only thing that held me back from doing that was I wasn’t home much. Between practicing and racing, I was maybe home two days a week. My mother needed more than I was able to give her. She had her good days where you couldn’t even tell she had dementia, and then there were days she didn’t remember my name and constantly asked when she could go home.
It was hard.
There wasn’t any other way to put it.
But that didn’t give my dad the right to be a world-class jackass to her.
“We’ll discuss this more on Friday.”
I looked down at him. “Great, something to look forward to.” I walked out of my bedroom without a bye and stormed out the front door.
He could show his cranky ass out by himself. He may think what I was doing was pointless, and he might be right, but I couldn’t start looking for a new car chief until I knew for sure Frankie wasn’t going to come back. I had taken her for granted before, but now, I knew I couldn’t run the damn car without her.
I just needed to convince her of that.
*
Chapter Three
Frankie
“The prodigal daughter sister has returned.”
I glanced up from the alternator I was working on and glared at Kurt. “You’ve seen me a handful of times since I’ve been back. Do you really think you need to say that every time you see me?”
Kurt shrugged and set down a paper bag on the bench by my tools. “Once I get used to seeing you here, I’ll stop saying it.”
If I were to count the amount of times I rolled my eyes since I had been home, I’m sure the number would be astronomical. Be it Luke, Mitch, or Kurt, they always seemed to say at least one thing when they were talking to me that enticed me to send my eyes up. It normally took Kurt five seconds from opening his mouth for me to do it. “I won’t be around here much longer.”
“That why you’re under the hood of this old Nissan right now? To me, it looks like you work for SRK right now?”
SRK Motors was the name of Luke’s shop, and yes, I was working on one of his customer’s cars right now, but it wasn’t because I was going to stay. It was ‘cause I was bored as hell waiting for people to call me back about possible jobs. I figured fiddling with a couple of cars while I waited couldn’t hurt. “I put out a few phone calls. I’m just waiting to hear back.” I didn’t want to have to explain myself to Kurt. I didn’t want to explain myself to anyone. I was pissed off and annoyed at the fact that I thought I had my life together, and now, I was back in Illinois trying to figure out my next move.
“Any of those calls coming from Cummings Racing?”
I glared at him again and turned back to the alternator I had been tightening down. “That is one phone call I don’t want. Brooks Cummings can sit on a cactus for all I care.”
Kurt choked and leaned against the fender of the car I was working on. “Cactus, huh? This guy must have really pissed you off.”
Obviously, Luke hadn’t had a chance to talk to Kurt about what we had talked about at breakfast. “If we could not talk about him, that would be great.”
“But what else is there to talk about, Frank? You really expected to blow back in here without even a little bit of an explanation and we were all just going to lay down and take it? You really forgot who your brothers were.”
I hadn’t forgotten how Luke, Mitch, and Kurt were. They had to have their noses in my business no matter what it was. “Can I just give you the condensed version about Brooks?” I glanced up at him.
“For now, it will do.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers, right?” I finished tightening the last bolt and stood up. I wiped my hands on my towel and tossed it at Kurt. “I’m a woman. Brooks couldn’t care less about me. Everyone else gets credit for the work I do. I got fed up, threw a wrench at him, and got suspended.”
“You got suspended for more than a couple of days?”
I had been here for over two weeks. “I got suspended for a week.”
Kurt stroked his chin. “I know I’m not the sharpest crayon in the box, Frankie, but your math is a little off. If you only got suspended for a week, your ass should have been back to the pit crew last Monday.”
“It’s brightest crayon, dumbass, and I quit after Roc told me I was suspended.”
He splayed his hands out in front of him. “I’m lost on why you would quit. You did something wrong, Frank. Do the time for the crime and then get back to work.”
“You mean go back to carrying that race team on my back and getting absolutely no recognition for it?” I shook my head. “No fucking way. That’s not the type of shit I can put up with.”
“Such a potty mouth,” Kurt tsked.
I stepped back and slammed down the hood to the car. “Learned that shit from you, Luke, and Mitch.”
He scoffed and shook his head. “Now that is a lie. You know that we are saints.”
“Saint dumbasses,” I mumbled. “There isn’t a person in town that you could try to sell that load of bullshit to. That’s why you guys found chicks that weren’t from here, or were like Leelee who could kick your ass if you decided to step out.”
Kurt pushed off the car and grabbed the bag he had dropped on the bench before. “I am highly offended, so I am not going to share my Miguel’s tacos with you.”
I took two huge steps toward Kurt, ducked to the side, and snatched the bag from his hand. “That’s fine, cause I’ll just take them.” I dodged around the car and glanced over my shoulder to see Kurt’s jaw dropped with a glare on his face.
“You tell me Leelee can kick my ass and then you steal my tacos. What happened to the sweet little girl who used to be my favorite sister?”
“Used to be?” I laughed. “Last I checked, I’m your only sister unless you just discovered a kid Mom and Dad had been hiding in the closet for the past twenty years.” I pulled out one of the still warm wrapped up tacos and held it to my nose. I had missed Miguel’s. I inhaled deeply and sighed. “This is going to be the most delicious lunch ever.”
The shop door shut, and my head snapped that
direction. Kurt had left. “Well, that didn’t take much to get rid of him,” I mumbled. I unwrapped the taco and took a huge bite.
Something wasn’t right about this, though. Kurt never gave up that easily. I could count on one hand the amount of times I was able to get the upper hand over him. I took another bite and leisurely strolled over to the door he had walked out of. It didn’t hurt to check on Kurt to see what he was up to.
I set the bag of tacos on the bench by the door, grabbed one more taco, and pushed open the door. “Ugh, totally should have grabbed my sunglasses,” I groaned. I shielded my eyes from the blinding sun with the extra taco and spotted Kurt crouched next to my pearl white Challenger. “Mind telling me what the hell you are doing?” I called.
Kurt looked over at me and smiled. “You take my food, I let the air out of your tires.”
My jaw dropped, and my eyes scanned my tires which were slowly sinking to the ground. “Hey, you can’t fucking do that!” Kurt walked behind the car and crouched down again. “Stop!” I screeched. That fucker was taking the damn valve core out of my tires.
I darted across the short distance to my car, but not before I heard the loud telltale hiss of air leaving my left rear tire. I heard the crunch of tires as someone pulled into the parking lot of the shop, but I was too occupied with thoughts of murdering Kurt. I knocked him down before he could stand up, and he sprawled out on the gravel parking lot with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Steal my fucking tacos, and I’ll flatten all of your tires.” He tossed the valve tool at me.
I snatched the tool out of the air, knowing he had snagged it from my own tool box. “You’re gonna put the damn air back in my tires, Kurt.”
He shook his head. “No can do. I need to get out of here soon to grab Noah from school. You’re on your own, Frank.” He laughed and hoisted himself off the ground.
“Excuse me.”
Kurt and I turned around to see who was talking.
“Can we help you?” Kurt called.
“I’m looking for Frankie.”
The blood drained from my face right about the same time the words “holy shit” fell from Kurt’s mouth.
Brooks Cummings was here.
*
Brooks
I was tired.
I was pissed.
I was hungry.
Not exactly the mood I wanted to be in when I first saw Frankie.
I left my wallet at the house when I was packing. Thankfully, my passport had been tucked into the side pocket of my carry-on so I was able to fly to Illinois, but eating hadn’t been an option. I had called the office at Cummings Racing and had money transferred to a nearby bank, but the funds weren’t going to be available until after three. It was only two.
“Shit, it’s Brooks fucking Cummings.”
When the cab pulled up, I had spotted Frankie sprinting across the parking lot and knock over the guy who had just spoken. “Uh, yeah. That’s me.”
He turned to Frankie. “Your asshole boss is here,” he taunted her.
Frankie elbowed him in the side and hissed for him to shut the hell up.
The cab honked it’s horn, and I knew I was going to have to do the thing that I had been dreading since I had gotten into the smelly, yellow car. I slid my sunglasses on top of my head and sighed. Asking for money was always a good way to start a conversation. “Would either of you happen have money on you to cover the cab? It’s been a long day, and the story of me not having money on me is one I’d rather tell over a burger and a cold beer.”
The guy instantly grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and walked over to the cab.
Frankie crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. From the vibes she was throwing my way, I knew I should feel lucky this guy was here because I’m positive she wouldn't have given me a penny. “Not even a hi for me, Frankie?” I had barely spoken five words to her before she chucked a wrench at my head two weeks ago, so I was really starting from square one with her.
“Why are you here? I notified Harlyn I wasn’t an employee of Cummings Racing anymore.”
And she officially wasn’t going to make this easy on me. “I got that memo.”
She cocked her hip out and took a large bite of the taco in her hand. “Then I guess I’m just a little bit confused on why you’re here,” she mumbled. Lettuce hung from her mouth, and there was a smear of sour cream on the corner of her lips. My stomach growled, and I had to talk myself down from grabbing the food from her hand.
“I don’t accept it.”
“You don’t accept it?” she repeated slowly.
I nodded and dropped my duffel bag on the ground at my feet. “You think maybe we can have this conversation after I’ve had some food and a shower?”
She looked around and shrugged. “I don’t think anyone is keeping you here. You are more than welcome to leave.”
“You gonna introduce me?”
I glanced over my shoulder at the guy who had just paid for my cab. “Brooks Cummings.”
He walked up to me and held out his hand. “Frankie’s brother. Kurt Jensen.” His handshake was firm, and he eyed me up. “Didn’t know you were coming by. You’re a long way from Kentucky.”
Yep, Frankie had already spun her tale of me being a ginormous dick, and Kurt, being her brother, was going to protect her from me. Not that Frankie needed protecting from anyone. From what I had seen of her throwing arm and the wrench that had sailed over my head, she really didn’t need protecting. “Had some business to take care of.”
Kurt leaned to the side and smirked at Frankie. “You hear that? You’re business, Frank.”
“You hear that?” she called. I looked over my shoulder to see her hand cupped to her ear. “Nobody gives a fuck.”
Kurt tsked. “Such language in front of your boss.” Kurt winked at me. “If I would have known you were coming, I would have hidden all the wrenches,” he whispered.
I chuckled and watched a pissed off look come over Frankie’s face. “You know what? Why don’t I leave you two alone? Two jackasses like yourselves deserve to have time together.”
“She’s totally not going to invite you, man. And my wife likes me having my balls so I’m really not prepared to invite you in.” Kurt took a step away from me. “You really can’t hear what the guy has to say, Frank?”
Frankie tapped her foot and glared at me. “I’m sure I know what he has to say, and frankly, I’m not interested in hearing it right now.”
Here was my opening. “Then how about you have some mercy on a guy with no money and who hasn’t eaten since last night?”
Frankie kept staring at me, but Kurt’s jaw dropped and he sputtered, “Frankie quits Cummings Racing and then you go broke. Holy fuck. You need to show some mercy to this guy, Frank.”
“I’m not sure I really care,” she muttered. The icy edge she had on her voice melted away a millimeter, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Look, I’m not broke. Well, at the moment I’m broke, but not in the sense you are talking about, Kurt. I somehow managed to leave home today without my wallet so I’m a bit hungry since I planned to grab something to eat at the airport but couldn’t do that since as much as I hate to admit, I can’t buy things off my name. If one of you could just give me a ride to the nearest Midwest Bank, I had Harlyn wire some money there for me.”
“I’m busy,” Frankie replied instantly. She pointed to the car behind her. “Some asshole flattened my tires, so I don’t have a way to give you a ride even if I wanted to.”
“I can give you a ride, man. I’m the one to blame for her flat tires since she stole my tacos,” Kurt sighed.
Frankie held up a wrapped taco in her hand. “I’ll accept flat tires if it means I get tacos from Miguel’s.” A sly smile spread across Frankie’s lips. “I guess I should be thanking you for being such a dick, Kurt.”
“Let me grab my keys. I dropped them on the bench before.”
Kurt walked into the shop, and I to
ok a step back to look up at SRK Motors. “So this is where you grew up?” I asked Frankie.
It was nice. Super nice. The building was dark gray with three lighter gray large bay doors, and to the right of the large doors was what must have been an office. SRK Motors was scrawled out in large letter above the doors, and there were quite a few nice, fast cars sitting out front.
“Can we skip this part?”
I looked over at Frankie. “Uh, which part?”
“The part where you pretend to actually care about me and my family. Just say what you came to say, and then leave, Brooks.”
“Who said I was pretending?”
“Well, if your past is anything to go by, I really doubt you care about someone whose name you figured out after they quit.”
“I knew your name before you tried to maim me with a wrench.” It might have only been a couple of seconds before that incident that I learned her name, but I still knew it before she tried to behead me.
She rolled her eyes. “You do know if I wanted to hit you with that wrench, I would have, right?”
I had no doubt about that. “And you should know that I knew your name.”
“It doesn’t really matter. You’re not my boss anymore, and I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about you knowing my name.”
If she really didn’t care about whether or not I knew her name, then she wouldn’t be so pissed off at me. I’m sure there was more to her being irritated with me than not knowing her name, but that obviously bugged the hell out of her. “Why did you quit? Roc only suspended you for a week.”
“It was bullshit that I was suspended.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “You don’t think throwing a wrench at someone warrants being suspended?”
“If the person who does the throwing is provoked, then no, I don’t think they should have been suspended.”
“And who is to decide if the person was provoked?”
“The person who was provoked, obviously.” She rolled her eyes and shoved the last bite of her taco into her mouth. “I really don’t have time to go over this with you. I have to get air back in my tires and then I promised Luke I would look at two more cars today.”
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