Nitro Crew Complete Series, page 34
“You were a busy lady,” I laughed. Susan was around the same age as my parents would have been if they were still alive. Maybe that was why I loved spending time with her and Christy. They let me feel like I still had my mom around.
“Yes, well, I was until they moved away. The two oldest boys joined the Army right out of high school, then the younger boy became a doctor in California. My Delaney is the only one who still lives in Leeds Square.”
“I’d love to meet her sometime.”
“She comes and visits me on the weekends. The next time you and Brooks aren’t running off to some race, we’ll have to plan something.”
“Would you two, shush,” Christy scolded. “You two are chattering like a bunch of school girls while Dexter is trying to figure his shit out.”
Susan rolled her eyes and whispered, “She doesn’t get any ice cream.”
“I heard that,” Christy mumbled.
I stacked the dirty dishes in the sink, made Brooks a plate, and cleaned up the kitchen while Christy watched Dexter and Susan worked on a blanket she was crocheting.
After we had ice cream and watched two episodes of Dexter, Brooks still wasn’t there, and I felt my eyelids get heavy. I needed to be up early to head to the Meyer Royal, and with Brooks taking forever to get home, I snuggled into the couch and closed my eyes. A little nap wouldn’t hurt.
*
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Brooks
I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was eat and fall into bed.
That all changed when I walked into the living room and saw Frankie curled up on the couch with her hands tucked under her head. She was like an angel sent into my life to help me breath, but I didn’t know what I had done to deserve her.
After sitting with Roc and my lawyer for hours, we were able to figure out just how we were going to give my dad exactly what he wanted without sacrificing what I had built. Then it was another two hours to finally get the stubborn asshole to agree.
He tried to argue the fact that he was getting the short end of the stick, but he wasn’t. He wanted his name back, and that was exactly what I had given him.
“Are you watching me sleep? Not creepy at all,” Frankie whispered.
“Are you pretending to sleep so you don’t have to see me? Not sly at all,” I countered.
“Do I get to add sly to the unfavorable words that describe me?” She stretched out her legs and arms and yawned. “Bitchy, sassy, feisty, and sly.”
“I like all of them.”
“I think there might be something wrong with you if you like my bitchiness.”
I grabbed her hand and pulled her off the couch. She fell into my arms and rested her head on my shoulder. “You just know what you want and you’re not afraid to ask for it, doll.”
She sighed and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Also known as being a bitch,” she sighed.
I pressed a kiss to her temple. “You save me dinner?”
She nodded and threaded her fingers with mine. “Come with me. I managed to make you a plate before your mom and Susan ate it all.”
I sat down at the kitchen island while she grabbed a plate out of the fridge, a couple of small containers, and set the plate in the microwave. “I was going to assemble the tacos, but then I figured the shells would get all nasty.” She opened a sandwich baggie next to the microwave and pulled out three hard taco shells. “I probably put too much thought into it, but soggy tacos sounded nasty to me.”
After the microwave dinged, she built me three tacos and set it in front of me. “Where were you?”
I picked up a taco and managed to shove half of it in my mouth in one bite. I chewed with her watching me, knowing she was dying to know what had kept me at the shop for so long. “Grab me a beer?”
She sighed heavily but walked to the fridge and pulled out a beer. She popped off the top and slammed it down. “Speak.”
I took a long pull from the bottle and finished the rest of my taco. “I was at the shop.”
She rolled her eyes. “I meant what were you doing at the shop? It’s a quarter to ten and you’re just walking through the door.
“I wouldn’t say just. I did watch you for a good five minutes before you woke up.”
“Creepy,” she mumbled under her breath.
I might as well put her out of her misery. “I don’t own Cummings Racing anymore.”
Her jaw dropped, and she held onto the counter. “I must be asleep still. I could have sworn you just said you don’t own Cummings Racing.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Brooks.”
“Frankie.”
She threw her hands up in the air. “Can you elaborate a little bit more on that? When I left the shop today, no one mentioned that I didn’t have a job anymore.”
“You did still have a job.”
She looked around the kitchen and grabbed the towel off the handle of the oven. She balled it up and chucked it at my head. “Start from the damn beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”
“Are you going to keep throwing stuff at me until I do?”
She reached behind her and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl. “Yes, and each time, it’s going to be worse. You have thirty seconds before I chuck this apple at your head.”
I grabbed another taco from the plate and slowly ate it as I explained. “You saw my dad came in.”
“Yeah. I’m sure he knew that we were doing the nasty.”
I shrugged. There wasn’t any sense in denying it. “Yeah, but it doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah, your right,” she drawled. “I’ll just never be able to look the man in the eye ever again.”
“Probably wouldn’t want to do that anyway, doll. He’d suck your soul out of your body.”
She snapped her fingers. “Okay, focus. I really doubt you were stuck at work because your dad knew what we were doing in your office before he came over.”
I finished my second taco and kept my eye on Frankie while I drained my beer. She walked to the fridge and grabbed another beer, except this time, she popped off the top and took a drink. “You’re driving me to drink, Brooks. Would you get on with the damn story before I pull out the half empty bottle of wine?”
I took mercy on her. “My dad left my mom. He wants nothing to do with her. Therefore, I told him I want nothing to do with him. Cummings Racing is more than half mine. My dad owns a smaller portion of it. I had planned on buying him out and being completely done with him.”
She nodded and leaned on the counter. “Sounds like a good plan.”
“It is. Or, at least, it was. Dad came in today to let me know he wasn’t going to let go of Cummings Racing. He built up the name Cummings to what it was, and there wasn’t any way I was going to take it away from him.”
“But you just said you own the majority. How is it possible you can’t buy him out?”
“I can, but he wasn’t going to make it easy for me to do it. He already rejected three offers, and each one was more generous than the last.”
“I’m assuming you have everything all worked out, but you have completely stressed me out just listening to this story.”
I pulled out the stool next to me and patted on it. “Come sit, and I’ll explain how this becomes a happy ending.”
She rounded the counter and sat down. “I’m not talking ‘til you finish the story.”
Like that was really going to happen. Maybe if I said it all in one go, she wouldn’t have the chance to interrupt me. “I’m not going to bend to my father’s will. At least, not the way he wants me to. His feathers are in a ruffle because he thinks I’m floating by on his name alone. I can add him to the hundreds of people who think I’m only where I am because of what he accomplished.”
“That’s fucking bullshit.” Frankie slapped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
“I know it’s not true, doll. I’m not worried about that.” I continued on. “While my dad was going on about me using the Cummings name, I had an idea. One I couldn’t do on my own, but I knew if I could make it happen, it was going to get my dad out my life.”
She leaned into me and waited with baited breath.
“I sold him the name Cummings Racing for a dollar and started a new race team with Roc.”
Her jaw dropped, and she blinked slowly.
“Before the start of this season, Wright Electronics approached me about sponsoring the car, but the catch was they wanted to be the main sponsor. You know, the one that is plastered all over the car. Maverick Tools wasn’t going to give up their name on the car, so Wright and I parted ways on the thought that if I ever needed a main sponsor that they would be the company for me.”
“Holy fuck,” Frankie gasped. “Wright Electronics ain’t no joke, Brooks. They’re the up and coming company that produces more than a third of all of the electronics on most dragsters.”
I nodded. “I know, doll. All it took was one ten minute call explaining what Roc and I were doing, and they said they were in. They immediately faxed over a proposed sketch of what they wanted the car to look like and a rather large check arrived by carrier an hour after that.”
“Jesus, Brooks. You were damn busy while all I was doing was making tacos and hanging out with your mom.” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe that you sold Cummings Racing to your dad. Now we are going to have to find a new shop, buy everything new, and try to get a car ready.”
“We don’t need to do any of that. I sold the name, Frankie, that’s all. The car, the tools, the building, they all belong to me and Roc.” I grabbed the second beer from her and took a swig. “He wanted the name, and he thought throwing a fuss about it was going to stop me from racing. He was wrong. I don’t need him or his name to race.”
“That is the most amazing story I have ever heard.” Her head snapped to look at me. “So we’re not going to the Meyer Royal?”
I shook my head. “Unfortunately, I’m going to need more than fifteen hours to completely flip a car and rebrand everything.”
“Is the season over?” She whispered.
Frankie loved racing as much as I did. I knew hanging things up for the season would kill her. I was liable to lose her to another team if I didn’t have a car to go down the track every weekend. “No. Roc and I figured we’ll need a week to get somewhat settled into King Racing.”
“King Racing? Is that who my new employer is?”
I nodded my head. “Yep. Roc came up with it. He said my dad always thought he was the king of the AC Cola circuit, and he figured it was time he showed him who really was king.”
“You,” she whispered.
“I wouldn’t go that far, but yeah. That’s the drift we’re going for.”
“I like it,” she said simply. “You don’t need something fancy to get the point across that you guys are going to be the kings. You just call it like it is. King Racing.” She leaned toward me and smiled. “I bet I know of a shop with King in the name that would love to be a sponsor. You know, you can never have to many people backing you.”
“You offering your family up to me, doll?” The fact that she was wanting to bring her family into my new venture showed that she had faith in me.
“Only if you’ll have them. I don’t want you to think I’m shoving them down your throat or anything.”
I leaned toward her and crooked my finger at her to come closer. She closed the gap between us with her lips a breath away from mine. “I’ll take you and anything that comes with you.”
“The feeling is mutual,” she whispered.
I closed the tiny distance and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Care to continue this conversation in the bedroom, Miss Jensen?”
“I thought you would never shut up,” she giggled.
I nipped her bottom lip, and she gasped. “There’s that sass,” I whispered.
*
Frankie
I laid on my side with my head in my hand just watching Brooks. He was fast asleep, and I wasn’t close to being ready to sleep.
He had all afternoon to adjust to the idea of selling Cummings Racing and forming a new racing team with Roc. I, on the other hand, still was adjusting mentally to what happened.
The thing that was really throwing me for a loop was the fact Brooks’ father was more concerned about a name than his wife and son.
I understood he had worked hard to make Cummings a common name on the circuit, but was that really all that mattered? I loved racing as much as the next person, but I would never pick it over my friends and family. Brooks acted as if it wasn’t a big deal that his father was an ass, but he had to hurt him on some level.
The path he had chosen to start his own team from scratch was going to be a tough one, but if there was anyone who could do it, it would be Brooks.
*
Chapter Thirty
Frankie
“The fucking thing is pink.”
“What the hell was Wright Electronics thinking?” Remy shook his head. “It’s not even a subtle pink.”
“I don’t think pink can ever be subtle,” I mumbled.
It was Thursday afternoon, a week after Brooks sold Cummings Racing, and the new body to the funny car had just arrived. The fiberglass body had the name Wright Electronics splashed across the side of it in black, and the rest of the body was bubble gum pink.
“Holy fuck.” Apparently Brooks didn’t know the color scheme Wright went with either.
Remy clapped him on the shoulder and laughed. “As long as it makes it down the track first, I guess it really doesn’t matter what color it is, right?”
Remy had a point. Though one had to wonder why pink.
“Grab Jay and get it on the car. I need to talk to Frankie for a second.”
Brooks grabbed my hand and pulled me into the office. “Hold my calls for a bit, Harlyn.”
Harlyn gave me a knowing look, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
Last Friday, when Brooks had told the Crew about the name change, he had also told everyone he was dating me, and if they felt the need to give me shit about it they could address all smart ass comments toward him.
So far no one had said a word to me about dating the boss. I gave it another week before one of the guys slipped and gave me shit about it.
“What’s wrong?”
Brooks shut the door and pulled me into his arms. “I just got back from the doctor with Mom.”
He had mentioned finding a specialist over an hour away he thought would be a good idea to visit. I knew with each day that went by and his mom didn’t have an episode, he got more anxious waiting for the other shoe to drop. “And?”
“He said there’s a trial study about to start for a new medicine for onset dementia, and he thinks Mom would be a good candidate for it.”
“That’s good, right?”
“It is, but he also said some other things that are worrying me.”
Oh hell. This didn’t sound good. “Spill, pretty boy.”
“I was right about her needing a routine. When she has the same schedule every day and is with the same people, it helps to keep her memory slips at bay.”
“That’s why she’s been doing so good.”
Brooks nodded, but he didn’t seem too happy. “I’m leaving again, Frankie, and the last time she had a spell was when I was away.”
“But she has Susan now. She’s been with her for three weeks now, right?” I wasn’t sure how long someone needed to be doing the same thing before it became routine, but it seemed long enough to me.
He dropped his chin to his chest and sighed. “I can’t go tomorrow, Frankie. Not when it could affect Mom.”
“Brooks, you can’t do that. We’ve all been busting our asses the past four days to get that dragster ready.”
“I know, Frankie. I’ve been there right alongside you guys the whole way.”
There had to be a way around this. Brooks needed to race, but he also needed to take care of his mom. “What if you bring her with us?” The thought popped into my head, and although I hadn’t had time to consider it, it seemed like a brilliant idea to me.
“To the track?” He looked at me like I was crazy.
It wasn’t a crazy idea. Being around the same people helped her to remember things. I knew he was going to get stuck on the fact that she would be traveling all over the country every weekend which wasn’t much of a routine.
“Yes, to the track. I’m sure when your father was driving, she went to his races. There’s no reason why she can’t come to your races.”
“I don’t know about that, Frankie.”
“What’s not to know? Bring her and Susan along, and it can be like an adventure for them. Besides, you have that huge trailer you sleep in which is more than big enough for the three of you.”
“Four of us,” he muttered absently.
I rolled my eyes. We had been arguing the past two days about whether or not I was going to sleep in his fancy ass trailer while the rest of the crew slept in the hauler. “If you bring your mom, I’ll sleep in the trailer with you.” The team was so going to give me shit about being able to sleep in luxury, but if it meant Brooks was going to at least try bringing his mom along, I would totally take the shit. “You can’t tell me it won’t work without at least trying it.”
“But what if she freaks out and forgets where she is, Frankie?”
“So what if she does, Brooks? I know I’ve never seen one of her episodes, but I’m not walking around on eggshells waiting for it to happen.”
“You don’t know what it’s like.”
I didn’t, and I wasn’t trying to tell him I did. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tilted my head back to look up at him. “What would your mom say if she knew you were skipping the race because of her?”
“That’s not fair, Frankie.”
I knew it wasn’t, but I didn’t know what else to do. Brooks was afraid of something that no one could predict would happen next. “Why don’t you call the doctor and run it by him? See what he has to say. If he doesn’t think it’s a good idea, then we’ll come up with something else.” The race was over seven hours away by car, and the team was heading out at two in the morning the next day. While it wouldn’t be ideal, Brooks could always fly home after qualifying each night then fly back in the morning, though that was going to be pure hell on him.
