Page 109 of Lemon Crush

“I suppose we can give it a try—” His lips were on mine again, and I pulled him close, giving as good as I got.

I’d written an exhibitionism scene in my book, but I’d never tried it before in real life. If he didn’t stop what he was doing, I might have to take the plunge.

“Boss, Patty told me you were back—” Frank screeched to a halt in the doorway as we broke apart. “Shit, okay, I’m leaving. Didn’t see a thing. All good. Great.”

He was still muttering to himself as he closed the door behind him, but the spell had been broken.

When I shook with laughter, Wade frowned. “Why are you laughing? That kid is packed up in that kitchen like a veal every shift, but from what Phoebe says, he likes to talk to whoever will listen.”

I shrugged. “Let him. I’m not on the payroll. Bernie knows, which means Phoebe does. Chick knows. Morgan was really the only person I was trying to be circumspect around, and you told her, so...”

He was studying me closely. “You upset with me for letting it slip?”

“I don’t want to discuss it with her or anyone in detail, but it’s not like I’m worried about my reputation. Besides, slightly slutty beer-tender is a step up from slightly insane hermit who never wears a bra.”

His lips twitched at that. “Is that why you were laughing?”

“No. I was laughing because I was imagining you offering to give Frank one of those puppies to keep him quiet.”

“That’s not the worst idea.” He lowered me to my feet, his hands caressing my arms. “We have an agreement, then? I stay and we share a bed. Until and unless.”

“Until and unless,” I repeated dutifully, ignoring the twinge in my chest. I started to walk around him. “You said you had a few things rub you the wrong way, but then you distracted me. What was the other?”

“A text from my father.” I turned to face him, but he was already shaking his head. “I don’t want to talk about it right now, okay, Gus? Not yet. Let’s get back out there before they send out a search party or Frank spills the beans.”

23

WADE

The Saturday morningwe gutted the bug didn’t go the way I thought it would. August had planned to keep me company for it, but while we were getting dressed, Gene called and told her he and Lucy were dropping by to pick her up. A friend of his with a track membership had volunteered to take her and Bernie out in his racecar. A step up from the go-karts she’d finally been getting the hang of.

She’d been torn, but I convinced her it was a good idea, and that I wanted her getting as much experience in her gear and at the track as she could before the race. What I left out was that I didn’t want her to see this part. She might be fine with the end results, but getting there would be messy and the car still meant something to her. I wasn’t looking forward to it either, or spending the day with no one but silent Rick beside me as we tore the VW apart, but I’d manage.

Two words: If. Only.

The minute I walked in the door, Kingston was waiting with his camera and an endless supply of questions. Five minutes later, Chick showed up with Rick to “help,” in a pair of white pants Ihighly doubted would survive the day. At least Dalton was on hand to balance things out, while getting his first taste of what being the mechanic for the team would require.

If I had to title this day? I might call it The Gut Punch. It felt appropriate.

“Why are you removing the driver’s seat?” Kingston asked, his hand cam aimed over the open door to get footage of us disconnecting the seat heaters I’d installed. “Won’t you need it for the race?”

I pulled the seat out and hauled it over to the floor space we’d designated for salvage parts. “One, we need the room to work in here, and two, it’ll have to be replaced with a lightweight racing seat with the proper openings for the harness.”

“What’ll you do with everything you take out?”

“Sell it, if it’s worth anything. We can’t sell spare parts to recoup the cost of the car or mission-critical parts to upgrade them, but we can sell whatever we want to pay for safety gear and other equipment.”

When I popped out the backseat bench, Chick was there to grab it out of my hands. I glanced at him in surprise, then nodded before ducking back in to unbolt the backrest.

“Won’t taking out the backseat make it really loud in there?” Kingston asked. “And hot? I mean, won’t the engine be right there in the passenger compartment?”

I shook my head. “There’s a firewall built in. Plus, the drivers will be wearing helmets with mics, so hopefully engine noise won’t be an issue. And they’ll use a cooling suit system to keep from getting overheated.”

I handed the backrest to Chick and then grabbed a plastic bag. Sitting on the yellow frame, I unscrewed the window crank, door handle bowl and armrest while Rick did the same on the passenger side.

Kingston crouched to get a closer shot of my hands. “If youtold me about everything you’re doing as you do it, I wouldn’t have to ask a bunch of stupid questions.”

“I’m a mechanic, not a narrator.”

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