The Set Up
The Set Up
Copyright © 2016 by Kim Karr
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
Set the Pace
Copyright © 2016 by Kim Karr
Editor:
Mary-Theresa Hussey,
Good Stories Told Well
Interior design and formatting:
Christine Borgford,
Perfectly Publishable
Cover model:
Matt Poeschl
Photographer:
Scott Hoover,
Scott Hoover Photography
Cover designer:
Hang Le,
By Hang Le
* * *
Turn it Up
Copyright © 2016 by Kim Karr
Editor:
Nichole Strauss,
Perfectly Publishable
Interior design and formatting:
Christine Borgford,
Perfectly Publishable
Cover model:
Matt Poeschl
Photographer:
Scott Hoover,
Scott Hoover Photography
Cover designer:
Hang Le,
By Hang Le
Table of Contents
Also by New York Times bestselling author Kim Karr
The heart of this novel is based on the age-old nursery rhyme:
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails—that’s what little boys are made of.
Sugar and spice and all things nice—that’s what little girls are made of.
Dedicated to little girls who like to play with little boys . . .
and mothers who let them.
This is me when I was three years old and my best friend—Chrissy (Christopher),
who is the inspiration behind the friendship in this story.
A TEST DRIVE
Jasper
NO WORDS CAN
properly describe the feeling.
Adrenaline races through my veins. My heart thumps in my chest. My pulse is out of control. The anticipation is almost as good as the experience.
Almost.
I pump a little harder. Align my body. Move my hips. Steady my gaze. Take a deep breath. And then plunge.
My foot slams down on the clutch and my hand grips the gearshift. Just like that, the engine screams to life. I stomp on the gas and my tires start to spin. Immediately, the car takes off and the speedometer reads 10, 20, 30, 40.
Not fast enough.
I engage the clutch again and put her in second gear.
The speedometer reads 50, 60, 70.
Easing around the first turn, the throaty horsepower comes alive from under the hood and the tires squeal as if on the edge of adhesion.
Still not fast enough.
Clutch.
Third gear.
The speedometer reads 80, 90.
Clutch.
