Behind the Wheel (Hearts & Horsepower Book 2)

by A. K. Evans

  Already on the verge of tears, that sent me over the edge.

  As a single tear rolled down my cheek, Knox assured me, “I want to be that man for you, Avery. I want you to know you can depend on me. You can rely on me. And you can trust me with your heart, baby. I know I fucked up on Saturday, but I have a mind to your needs now. I won’t screw it up again. I’ll never allow you to feel like you’re alone ever again.”

  Unable to stop myself, I flew across the couch and buried my face in his chest. Knox engulfed me in a hug and held on tight.

  I hadn’t been wrong earlier in the bathroom. Knox wasn’t ever going to walk away from me again.

  After some time passed and I managed to get myself together, I pulled my face back from his chest and promised, “I’m going to work on my anger.”

  “Avery, it’s okay,” he assured me.

  Shaking my head, I insisted, “No, it’s not. If you’re going to make the effort to be mindful of what I need, I have to give the same to you. I was wrong for blowing up on you. But for too long, it’s been my way to deal with pain. If I get angry, I can’t hurt as much. Or, at least, that’s what I tell myself. The truth is, as soon as you walked out, I fell to the floor and everything I was feeling leaked out of my eyes.”

  “I know,” he said. “Ryker told me he only ever saw one other person break like that once before.”

  I gave him a small smile remembering how Ryker had tried to comfort me. Then I asked, “What’s Ryker’s story?”

  Knox shook his head. “I don’t know. But from what I learned today, he’s been through something pretty trying… at least enough that he’s convinced he’s missed his chance at finding happiness with someone.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. He said there was no way he could fix it, but that it wasn’t too late for me to fix what I have with you.”

  That saddened me. I always liked Ryker. Sure, everyone thought he was broody, but I was suddenly beginning to think it wasn’t just about his work or his nature. I think Ryker was hurting.

  “Well, I’m glad he talked to you,” I said. “Though, if he hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have sat outside your place for as long as I did.”

  “What?”

  “I left the shop earlier, got home, and was only here for a few minutes before I decided to go wait for you at yours,” I explained. “I figured if it was over between us, I was going to apologize to you first and then make you tell me to my face that we were officially over.”

  Knox’s hand came up to cup my cheek. He searched my face as he stroked his thumb gently over the skin there. Then he asked, “You love me?”

  Nodding, I whispered, “Yes.”

  His thumb moved toward my mouth and ran along my bottom lip. “Are we good now?” he questioned me.

  I nodded again. Then I added, “I’m sorry we fought, but Kendall was right.”

  Knox tipped his head to the side. “Right about what?” he wondered.

  “I told her that I didn’t think you’d ever speak to me again,” I shared. “But she promised me you would and that when you did, we’d have make-up sex. She also told me that make-up sex would be the best sex of my life.”

  Knox’s thumb stopped moving. He stared at me intently for a few seconds without saying anything. I started to wonder if I’d shared too much when the corners of his mouth started twitching.

  “Baby, that was nothing,” he advised.

  I cocked an eyebrow and challenged, “You got more for me?”

  Knox didn’t answer with words.

  What he did do was lower his mouth to mine and kiss me. Then he showed me just how amazing make-up sex could really be.

  “I told you it would be spectacular.”

  I looked away from the men standing over by the cars and turned my attention to Kendall. The two of us were sitting inside in my trailer.

  It was Sunday, the last day of the biggest and final race of the season, Rocky Mountain Madness. This was the race that all drivers and teams looked forward to all year long.

  And Logan and I had both just gotten through semi-finals in our respective classes and were heading into finals. Typically, that would have meant that we’d end up getting back to our pit after the semi-final pass and have just enough time to check the tires, add some fuel, and repack our parachutes. But during the semi-finals runs in one of the other classes, there had been a pretty bad crash and oil down. There was easily going to be an hour of cleanup time.

  So, Kendall and I decided to take advantage of the break.

  The truth was, this moment was the first opportunity that the two of us had to be able to sit down and catch up with each other since the day we went out to lunch following my near breakup with Knox. Even though I had reached out to her the next day and sent a text to let her know that we were back on good terms, I hadn’t had a chance to fill her in on everything.

  But I’d just done that.

  And I confirmed what she already knew.

  Make-up sex was some of the best sex I’d ever had.

  In fact, Knox’s second round was even better than the first.

  “You did,” I confirmed. “And you weren’t wrong.”

  Grinning at me, she said, “I’m so, so happy for the both of you. I knew you two would work it out, and I think it’s simply hysterical that you were waiting at his house while he was waiting at yours. If that doesn’t tell you how much you two are meant for each other, I don’t know what else would.”

  “It’s crazy, right?” I replied. “I don’t know how to thank you for being there for me.”

  Shaking her head, Kendall insisted, “It was nothing. I’m sure one day you’ll be able to do something to help me out. Besides, it’s been so exciting for me to watch you and Knox navigate through all your obstacles to this point.”

  “Well, I’m just glad I had you, and Knox had Ryker,” I declared.

  “Ryker? What do you mean?” she asked.

  I looked outside the trailer to make sure none of the guys were standing close by and would be able to hear us. Once I established that we were safe to talk, I explained, “That same day you and I met for lunch, Ryker talked to Knox. I’d seen them talking to one another right before I left for the day, but I had assumed they were just discussing the project they were working on since it was one that was going to require both of their talents. Anyway, I ended up finding out well after the fact that they hadn’t been discussing the car at all.”

  “They were discussing you,” Kendall guessed.

  Nodding, I confirmed, “Yes. And from what Knox told me, Ryker experienced something awful. He told Knox that he not only made the biggest mistake of his life years ago, but also that he wished he had someone who would have been able to get him to see what he was doing.”

  Kendall looked away a moment, and I could see she was thinking about something. “You know,” she started when she returned her attention to me. “Logan told me how Ryker was the one who insisted Logan continue to pursue me if I was the woman he wanted. It was in the beginning of our whole thing, but Ryker was the one who pushed him to go after me.”

  “The man is a big ball of love,” I declared.

  “Yep. He’s also not the moody guy they keep claiming he is,” she added.

  “He’s heartbroken,” I deadpanned.

  Kendall and I sat there in silence a moment. And it was good that we did.

  Because the next thing I knew, we heard a disgruntled, “Excuse me.”

  Tipping our chins up, we saw Ryker there, looking as moody as ever.

  It always caught me off guard to see him go from hot to cold. When things were rocky between Knox and me, Ryker was much friendlier toward me. Now that it was all good between us, he was back to his usual self.

  Kendall and I separated ourselves a bit to allow Ryker to pass through. He walked toward the front of my trailer, opened the cooler, and grabbed a drink. Then he walked back out without another word.

  The second Kendall and I locked eyes again, I
had a feeling we were both thinking the same thing. It was confirmed when she said, “He’s next.”

  Grinning at her, I replied, “We have to figure out what happened.”

  “It’s not going to be easy,” she warned me.

  “That’s okay,” I assured her. “The season is over for us. I’ll have some spare time on my hands now. I can start making the effort to talk to him more while we’re at the shop. Maybe I can get him to share.”

  Kendall looked out to where all the guys were standing. Everyone was laughing and joking around. Everyone except Ryker. When she returned her gaze to me, she said, “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

  “It’s a good thing I’m such a determined girl,” I told her. “And I don’t care what the rest of the guys say. Ryker might be grumpy, but he doesn’t scare me. We’re going to find a way to heal that man’s heart. It’s the least we can do.”

  “I’m so excited!” Kendall bubbled.

  “Excited for what?” Logan interrupted us.

  Kendall and I had been so involved in our conversation that we never saw him approach. And we should have because he didn’t come over alone. Knox was there, too. While the guys each grabbed a chair beside us, I gave a nervous glance to Kendall.

  She looked at Logan and said, “It’s nothing.”

  One look at his face told me he did not believe her. She knew it, too.

  Considering she was a labor and delivery nurse, I had assumed Kendall would do well under pressure. But after a few seconds under the intense scrutiny of his gaze, she sighed, “Fine. Avery and I have joined forces.”

  “To do what?” Knox chimed in.

  I looked at him and instantly understood the reason Kendall caved so quickly. I was getting a stare from Knox very similar to the one she’d gotten from Logan. My eyes drifted away from Knox toward Kendall, over to Logan, and back to Knox. And it was only then when I shared, “We’ve decided Ryker is going to be the next guy in the group.”

  “Next guy for what?”

  Beaming at him, I answered, “To find love.”

  “Something tells me he already did,” Knox noted.

  “Yes, but something happened,” Kendall pointed out.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea,” Logan claimed. “Ryker can be really moody.”

  “Really moody being an understatement,” Knox added.

  That’s when I cocked an eyebrow and questioned him, “What would you say you were when I started working at LT Motorsports? What about just the other weekend?”

  Knox didn’t say anything because he knew I had a point. He had been just as moody.

  “Yeah,” Kendall interjected, her eyes pinned on Logan. “Don’t forget I saw the look on your face that day at the café. Moody would have been too tame of a word to describe you. And let’s not forget about all the arguing we did in the beginning. You can hold a mean grudge, Logan.”

  “And you can’t?” he countered.

  “I can,” she confirmed. “But I’m not the one thinking that Ryker doesn’t deserve to be happy because he’s a grump sometimes. He’s that way because he found love and lost it. There’s no doubt in my mind about that. Avery and I think he deserves to be happy.”

  There was a moment of silence in the trailer before Logan advised, “Okay, fine. Do whatever you want to do. But if it gets to a point that you two have stuck your noses into something that causes a bunch of drama and Ryker gets pissed, you need to pull back. I’m his boss, Kendall. My woman can’t be starting trouble for him.” Logan’s eyes drifted across the trailer to me, and he reminded me, “Don’t forget that I refused to allow Knox to treat you like shit when you first started. I believed you deserved to work without feeling uncomfortable. If Ryker starts getting uncomfortable, you need to give me your word you’ll back off.”

  I held my hands up in surrender and promised, “Absolutely.”

  Returning his attention to Kendall, his voice dipped low and he asked, “What about you, kitten?”

  “I promise.”

  Satisfied with her response, he reached out and took her hand in his.

  A moment later, the announcement was made that we were finally ready to get back to racing. Logan’s class and my class got called back up to the staging lanes.

  Logan stood with Kendall, and they both walked out of the trailer.

  Knox and I stood, but he stood in front of me, blocking my way out to the car.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  His hand came up and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Nothing,” he answered softly. “I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you.”

  “Thank you,” I murmured. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

  “You would have,” he assured me. “It just might have taken you a little longer.”

  Slipping my arms around his waist, I pressed my body tight to his. “But it was much more fun this way,” I noted.

  Knox chuckled before he pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Yeah, it was,” he agreed. “You’re not feeling nervous, are you?”

  “About finals?” I asked.

  He dipped his chin in confirmation.

  I shook my head. “No. Why would I be?” I wondered.

  “The last time you made it to finals in a race, it didn’t go so well,” he reminded me. “I just want to make sure that’s not messing with your head, especially considering who you’ve got to race against.”

  He was worried about me. I loved knowing he cared so much, but I hated thinking he was feeling so much anxiety.

  “Knox, I’m going to be fine,” I insisted. “Nobody was tampering with anything on my car. It’s built solid. I don’t care that I’m running against one of Ricky’s goons. I highly doubt he’s going to do anything stupid that would jeopardize his own car. I’ve got this covered. In fact, I’m a little hurt that you’d doubt me.”

  “I don’t doubt you, babe,” he replied firmly. “I don’t trust them.”

  “What do you think they’re going to do?” I asked.

  Knox’s body grew tense. I had a feeling I knew what he was thinking, and for whatever reason, he just couldn’t bring himself to say it.

  So, I decided to let him off the hook and said, “Knox, listen to me. Even if Ricky could have convinced Tom to take one for the team and wreck his own car just so he could take me out, you’re forgetting one crucial piece of information.”

  “What’s that?” he wondered.

  “Tom couldn’t cut a light if his life depended on it,” I started. “The only reason he made it this far was dumb luck. His opponent in first round of eliminations was the slower car by a large enough margin that he could fall asleep at the tree and still make up the difference. In quarterfinals, his opponent’s car broke. And in semis, he had a bye run.”

  “Okay,” Knox replied as though he still didn’t seem to understand what that had to do with anything.

  “I’ll be focused on my lane, Knox,” I began again. “And while Tom does whatever he might have planned to mess with my head, I’ll be ignoring him. When those lights drop, I’ll be gone, and he’ll still be sitting there. I might not yet be the queen of the drag strip, but nobody here can cut a light like I can.”

  Knox’s body relaxed against mine. He smiled at me and said, “I love your confidence, baby. Whether you win the race or not, you’ll always be my queen.”

  “Don’t do that!” I scolded him.

  “What?” he asked, clearly confused.

  “Say something that makes me want to strip out of this fire suit so I can have my way with you,” I explained.

  Knox laughed and lamented, “Sorry.”

  I knew he didn’t mean it.

  Quite frankly, I didn’t care.

  I mean, I was his queen. What was there to be angry about?

  “Ready?” I asked.

  Knox touched his mouth to mine before he ordered, “Let’s go.”

  Not quite fifteen minutes later, I was suited up and sitting behind the wheel waiting
to be called forward into the burnout box. Logan was ahead of me. He’d just finished his burnout and pulled ahead to stage.

  The track official waved me forward. My eyes drifted to Kieran, who was standing there waiting to line me up in the burnout box. I got there and waited.

  Keeping my eyes focused ahead, I watched as Logan fully staged his car. Once the lights dropped and he launched the car, I found myself holding my breath. He’d been chasing that six-second pass all season. While he’d gotten really close all weekend and had nothing to feel bad about, I knew how badly he wanted it.

  Watching intently, I decided when he reached the thousand-foot mark that this had to be it. Sure enough, three-hundred-and-twenty feet later, it happened.

  6.92 at 184mph.

  The crowd went crazy.

  The team went crazy.

  Hell, I was strapped in, and I went crazy.

  And when I finally focused my eyes ahead, I saw that Knox was standing up by the staging area waiting for me.

  The official gave me the thumbs up to do my burnout. I did it.

  A few seconds later, I was pulling myself forward toward Knox. He worked with Nash to make sure I was straight and lined up in the groove. And just before I pulled into that first beam, he looked me dead in the eyes and gave me a wink.

  I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

  Knox stepped back, and I took a minute to regain my composure before I pre-staged. He’d thrown me a bit off balance with his wink.

  After I took a deep breath, I pulled ahead and lit up the first light. Once Tom had lit up his, I focused on nothing but my lane. Inching forward, I fully staged. Then everything faded away.

  I was in my zone.

  And it was time to do what I did best.

  I needed to guess.

  Taking a huge leap of faith, I lifted my foot off the clutch and dropped the emergency brake. Half a second later, I gave a quick glance to the boards at the end of the track where the times would be posted to see if I’d left too soon and a win light was already showing over Tom’s board. If I red lit by leaving before the lights dropped on the tree, the win lights would automatically be showing up for him.