Turn & Burn (8 page)

I stared in horror, recalling how close I’d come to fucking this guy earlier today.

Jonny’s face lit with a smile. “Actually, Shelby and I have met. I just had no idea she was related to my teammate and pit crew chief.”

My temperature soared. Surely, the friend he wanted to share me with wasn’t...
Colt?

No. He said he’d call his boyfriend.

Unlike my brothers, Jonny wore a tailored suit, also black. His white shirt appeared identical to the one he’d worn earlier in the day. His tie was a fashionably narrow strip of solid red silk and I wanted to grab it and pull him closer.

If he was Colt’s friend—and roommate, for fuck’s sake—I needed to shove him away and run like hell.

But... how long had he been friends with Colt? Was the hail-fellow-well-met routine just an act?

One way to find out
.

“Well, well, look who’s here. Now it’s a party.” I gave Jonny my warmest smile. “Since you’re still not holding a doughnut, wanna buy me a drink?”

“I want to buy you a tiara and a pair of glass slippers. But I bet you have a closet full of both already. So, a drink will have to do.” He extended an elbow.

I slid my hand through his arm. “I think you’ve confused me with my roommate.”

“Wait.” Caine shoved a hand into Jonny’s chest before we could walk away. “How do
you
know
her
?” I didn’t care one little bit for Caine’s aggressive tone—much less the avid way Mom and Dale were taking in the scene he was making—but Jonny seemed unperturbed.

“Spartanburg’s a small town.” Jonny clearly had decided we weren’t getting away from my family without an explanation. I was just as curious. “My cousin’s a freshman at Converse this year.” The twinkle in his eyes made me tense in fear of what he might say next, but he looked toward Dale. “Saw Shelby’s car the day we hauled Minh Li’s crap into the dorm. Been stalking her ever since. Woman’s hard to meet, but that’s typical of famous folk, so I hear.”

“Shelby’s famous? How?” Mom cut me a puzzled glance.

“He’ll tell you all about it later.”  

Mom gave me a knowing smile and yanked on Dale’s sleeve. “Oh, Look, Dale. I see Bliss and Jamie.” Dale ignored Mom and turned his head to study Jonny through narrowed eyes as we walked past.

Let’s not take this Dad stuff too seriously, Dale.

“Bar’s out in the garage, I’m told.” Jonny didn’t seem perturbed by Dale’s scrutiny.

My cell phone buzzed as he escorted me down the passage Caine had taken earlier. I jerked the phone from my purse and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the message.

“The boyfriend?” He gave me a quizzical look as I tapped out a reply.

“No. Actually, it’s from my boss. Dale’s big surprise is in the parking lot.” I blew out a deep breath. “Now, I can almost relax.”

The bar had indeed been set up in the massive garage area. I wondered if Doris thought putting the alcohol back here would stop people from spilling their drinks on the fancy carpet that seemed so out of place.

“What’s your pleasure?” When I tucked my phone away, I replaced my hand on his arm.
Oh, yeah. Tingles.

“Better stick with water,” I admitted. “I have to make a speech.”

I feared he’d think I was boring, but he shouldered his way through the wall of men crowding the folding tables set up as a bar and came back holding two bottles of water. “I’m not gonna drink much, either. Gotta drive home tonight. So, you’re making a speech? Here?”

I nodded and bent my head to open my bottle, but peered through my lashes. “Just pray Dale doesn’t kill me for doing it.”

“He could beat me black and blue as long as he gave me the keys to that car.” Laughing, he wrenched his own cap free.

Heat raced over my skin. I hadn’t felt this strongly attracted to a man since... Colt.
So, how will this go wrong?

“Shelby, between what you do with that ‘Cuda, what you said to Kolby, and learning you’re Colt’s little sister, that’s the trifecta of awesome. I hope we’ll be friends.”

Friends? Where’s all the heated talk from this morning?

Maybe he’d decided not to mess with me because of Colt. “We, uh, don’t take that that whole brother-sister thing too seriously.” I glanced around the big garage. Unlike the cars out front, the ones back here were all shrouded in gray canvas. “Tell me more about this fight that turned Colt into a neat freak.”

“Shelby, didn’t you get the memo?” I suppressed a groan when Kolby sauntered toward us. Would no one else talk to the jackass? I scanned the partygoers in the big space, but didn’t see his date.

Kolby gave his red tie a yank, undoing the bow. “NASCAR’s all about diversity these days. Rick went out and got a little team I like to call pink and the chink. Can’t wait to see which one gets shoved into the wall the most.”

Under my hand, Jonny’s arm went rigid, but he didn’t retort.

“Can I ask you something?” I batted my lashes at the arrogant driver and busted out my fake smile again. He took the bait, giving me another heated once over and a grin while he popped the button on his shirt collar loose
. Seriously, is your shoe size bigger than your IQ?

“Ask me anything, hot stuff. Better show me some ID first, so I can make sure you’re old enough to hear the answer. But then, you’re the one who brought my balls into the conversation.”

I ached to slap the smirk off his face. Figuring he’d get off on the attention that would bring, I dug my nails into Jonny’s arm to help resist the urge and batted my lashes.

“You’re so totally amazing at what you do.” I couldn’t believe he actually puffed up like a peacock. Didn’t he see it coming? “I just have to ask. Were you born an irredeemable imbecile, or did you have to practice?”

Kolby looked like he was trying to figure out if I’d complimented or insulted him. Jonny took another sip of water, then pointed the rim of his bottle toward Kolby.

“And FYI, when addressing a lady who’s about to graduate from an all-women’s college, bragging about being a misogynist is never the way to go.”

I spied Mom in the doorway, searching the crowd. “Excuse me, I still haven’t gotten to speak to my mother.” I hurried away before I sat on Jonny’s lap and told him every little thing he’d never want to know about me. The last thing I needed was to get involved with anyone in NASCAR. It didn’t matter if the guy swept the garage or swept to victory in every damn race. I wasn’t about to do anything to entangle my life with Colt and Caine’s.

The red-jacketed catering crew busied themselves setting out stacks of dishes and covered steam trays while Mom worked her way around the gathering, introducing me to her friends. Glancing around, I noted that glasses and silverware had been set out at each place at the round tables. Two female servers moved around the room, filling glasses with ice water.

With any luck, I’d soon be able to give my speech and get the hell out of here.

I tuned into the latest introduction. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Roark.”

“Oh, just call me Bliss.” She beamed and waved in that beauty queen manner I knew from the girls at school. “So nice meeting you, dear. Macy, what’s the status on your furniture?”

Mom groaned. “That damn store manager has lied to me yet again. Now, they’re not coming until after Christmas. We have plenty of end tables and upholstered chairs, but no beds, so we’re spending Christmas in the old house.”

“Sounds like I need to give them a call.” Bliss tossed her head. “This is an outrage. They might need to hear how many of us are thinking of redecorating.”

Fuck me, can this trip get any worse?
All along, I’d thought I’d have refuge from my stepbrothers in the new house, at least some of the time.

“We’re sitting with the Ridenhours,” Mom whispered fifteen minutes later, steering me around the huge tree.

Colt, Caine, and Dale were already at the table, along with Jonny. Caine jumped to his feet to slide my chair from under the table. I sank into the chair between him and Jonny. Talk about awkward.

“Did you go in for the kill, Shelby? Is Kolby bleeding out in the garage?” Jonny whispered, gesturing to an empty spot beside the blonde at the next table.

She had her arms crossed under those massive tits, making me wish I’d started a pool on how long it would take those puppies to burst free. Not even the women at her table were talking to her.

“I think he’s waiting for FedEx to bring him a dictionary and a life preserver.” Jonny’s shoulders shook with silent laughter. I gripped my silverware roll to keep from reaching for his hand. “Why bring a date if he’s just going to ignore her?”

A minute later, Richard strolled in with Kolby at his side. The pair stopped in the aisle, glaring at Jonny. Kolby’s neck turned that ugly, mottled red shade again. I realized, to my horror, that Mom had evicted Barnes and his date from the owner’s table. I caught her smirk and wondered if she’d found Doris’s private stash of crazy Kool-Aid.

Rick went on tiptoe to whisper in Kolby’s ear. The cocky driver jerked out the chair next to the blonde and flopped down with a dark look that boded Jonny no good.

I sent Harry another text, then turned off my cell phone.

Richard strode to his place, but didn’t take a seat. Grabbing his roll of silverware, he selected a spoon and used it to bang his water glass.

The ringing tone silenced the buzz of alcohol-fueled conversation. “All right, folks. Gather ‘round. Time to kick this thing off.” Richard pressed on, even though stragglers still congregated near the hall that led to the bar, chatting amongst themselves. “Now, I know last season wasn’t the best we ever had, but tonight, we do have somethin’ more’n Christmas to celebrate.”

“Doris, they make a pill to prevent that shit!” someone cried, to the crowd’s amusement.

When the laughter died down, Richard plowed ahead. “I see two or three faces in the crowd who might know what I’m fixin’ to tell y’all, but most of you signed on later, so it might surprise you to hear that Dale Hannah just finished up his twenty-fifth year with Ridenhour Racing. I’d kinda lost track of it myself, to be honest. When it hit me, I knew damn well Dale wouldn’t want me to make a big deal of it. In fact, he just about dared me to.”

I darted a look at Dale. Sure enough, his expression turned to a glower.

Richard waved the spoon like a scepter. “So, I was just about to let go of the idea of markin’ it some way, when I got me an unexpected partner in crime. Her name’s Shelby Roberts. Let’s all give Dale’s little girl our attention.”

“And to think, I was gonna buy you a new car.” Dale raised his chin to glare as I got to my feet, but he turned on Mom. “And Macy, I swear to God, if you had a hand in this, I’m gonna spank your ass.”

“Oh, in that case, I take full credit.” Mom’s giggle and schoolgirl blush made the entire table burst into laughter.

I
got to my feet and moved to Richard’s side, thanking God for my public speaking classes. I gave the room a bright smile. Fastening my eyes on Dale, I took a deep breath and began the speech I’d rehearsed for weeks.

“The night my mother introduced us, Dale, I’ll admit, I gave the whole we-got-married-at-lunchtime thing six months to implode.” Abruptly, Dale shoved his chair to the side and crossed his arms over his chest. I saw no hint of a smile. Combined with his defensive posture, I realized he was pissed. Maybe no one knew he and Mom made such a hasty decision.

Maybe my brilliant plan to make Colt pay was about to crash and burn on takeoff. No choice now, I had to go through with this. I looked away from him to scan other faces around the tables, noting the surprised looks.

“Anyway, if y’all know Dale, you know he loves vintage muscle cars. The day he put the keys to a 1971 Barracuda Hemi in my hand, all I knew about the car was that it was purple and the top went down, so I decided I could make do without power windows and cruise control.”

The men laughed at the stupid little girl who didn’t appreciate what she’d been given. I needed them to buy into that mindset, but my cheeks began to heat.

“Then, when I went away to college, I figured he’d hang onto the ‘Cuda, but he brought it down to Spartanburg where I go to school, and once again, he put the keys in my hand. Now, I know this will be hard for most of you to believe, but that car became my cross to bear.”

Dale’s expression was truly thunderous now, but I had the room’s complete attention, so I relaxed into my story. “See, my roommate can take her new BMW and run out for doughnuts and be back in five minutes, ready to study. Takes me a minimum of forty minutes to make that same trip, because someone always wants to talk about that car.”

A few chuckles pinged around the room. I stared right at Dale, but was aware I had Colt and Caine’s full attention.

“Then, one Sunday before a huge test on Monday, I lost the coin flip with my roommate and had to make the Krispy Kreme run. Let me tell you, everyone in Spartanburg’s at that place on the weekends, so I almost packed an overnight bag.”

More laughter rippled around the room, but I spied more than one person peeking at watches and cell phones.

“This older couple approached me before I even opened the car door. The man said, ‘Honey, can I just sit behind the wheel?’”