Racing Hearts

by Dena Blake

  “Absolutely. And the tomato?” Drew asked curiously.

  “The tomato,” she took the knife and cut the petite, shiny-red globe in half, “is the kicker.” She slid half into Drew’s mouth, then held her half up in front of her. “On the outside you have the smooth skin to glide around in your mouth.” She slid it down her tongue. “And on the inside you have all these different shapes and textures to explore.” She turned it upside down and raked it across her teeth, capturing the pulp just inside her mouth. “If you mixed all these things together, you’d never get to experience all that.” She smiled mischievously and chewed the remaining piece of tomato.

  “Are you sure you’re just a technician?” Drew relaxed, letting herself feel everything she’d just heard. She smiled, strangely contented to sit across from this woman who could totally turn her on with one look, and who might also be a cold-blooded killer.

  Bobbie came running back to the table. “I got three hundred thousand on Space Invaders.”

  “Wow! That’s great,” Sam said. “Why don’t you sit down and have some more pizza.” She scooted over, letting her slide into the booth next to her.

  “There you are.” A straggly-looking teenager approached the table. “I’ve been searching all over for you.”

  “You just went off and left me. I could’ve been killed. Wait ’til I tell Mom.” Bobbie squeezed her lips together tightly.

  Drew noted the sudden flash of panic on the boy’s face. He wasn’t sure if it was because his sister could’ve been hurt or because she was going to make sure he got in deep trouble when he got home. “We had a little accident on the go-carts, but she’s fine now.”

  “I only left for a minute,” the boy grumbled, his voice filling with concern.

  Drew frowned. “She’s ten. You shouldn’t have left her at all.”

  He dropped his shoulders. “My girlfriend wanted a soda.”

  Drew held her temper. “Next time take her with you.”

  “I know, I should’ve, but my girl doesn’t like having her tag along.”

  “Where is the old crab anyway?” Bobbie spoke up before jamming another slice of pizza into her mouth.

  He glanced back over his shoulder. “She got mad and took off with some friends.”

  Drew’s demeanor softened. “Want some pizza?”

  “Sure.” He sat down, grabbed a plate, and pulled half the pizza onto it.

  * * *

  Sam slid back in her seat, and Drew could see her watching as she gave the teenager a lengthy lecture on the responsibilities of being an older brother. The boy nodded and continued to wolf down piece after piece of pizza, staring mindlessly at her through the gel-stiffened strands of hair hanging across his eyes.

  After finishing off the pizza, Sam and Bobbie hit the ladies’ room before they all walked to the parking lot. Bobbie’s brother pulled opened the car door and slid into the driver’s seat. “Thanks for taking care of my sister,” he said, glancing up at Drew.

  “No problem.” Drew pushed the car door closed. “Just remember what I said.”

  Bobbie rolled her window down and waved wildly as they drove off.

  “The boy looks pitiful.” Sam threw her arm up, returning her wave with just as much enthusiasm. “What did you say to him?”

  “I told him he would have many girlfriends, but only one sister.” She spoke in a rhythm as though she were Confucius.

  “Ah, the philosophic racer.”

  “That’s me.” Drew took her hand and pulled her toward the Jeep. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

  Sam glanced over her shoulder. “The kid can’t be too bad. He drives a sixty-nine Chevelle.”

  “I’m sure when it comes to women, he’ll make his mistakes just like every other teenager.” Or adult, Drew thought as she tugged Sam close, slipping her arm around her waist.

  Sam seemed to hesitate, then let her arm curl around Drew’s waist. This reaction, coming from any other woman, might lead Drew to believe she didn’t want to be this close. And she shouldn’t. Drew shouldn’t, but God help her, she wanted it. She wanted it more than anything else she’d ever wanted before, and something about the way Sam touched her told Drew she wanted it too.

  When they reached the Jeep, Drew caught the steamy, impassioned glint in Sam’s eyes and tingled, and she urgently wanted to explore it. Drew hadn’t been with a woman who could make her want to do that in a very long time.

  “Where are we going—” A fleeting touch of Drew’s lips to her mouth interrupted Sam’s question.

  Drew opened the Jeep door for her. “To get some real food. I’m starving.”

  Sam hopped up onto the seat. “You should’ve stolen that last slice before that malnourished teen got it.”

  “Malnourished.” Drew let out a short grunt and slammed the door. “Bottomless pit is more like it,” she said, rounding the Jeep to the other side.

  Chapter Ten

  “I’ll have the New York strip, medium-rare, baked potato, and a side of mushrooms.” Drew handed the leather-bound menu back to the waitress before glancing over at Sam “Aren’t you going to have something?”

  “No. I enjoyed my salad earlier.”

  “You certainly did.”

  “Anything to drink?” the waitress asked.

  “Wine?” Drew glanced back to Sam.

  “Red, please.”

  “Two glasses of the house red.”

  Sam tore off a piece of sourdough bread and jabbed at a pad of butter with her knife.

  “I thought you weren’t hungry?”

  “I’m a sucker for fresh-baked sourdough.” She popped a piece into her mouth before ripping off another. “Word around the track is you come from a pretty wealthy family?”

  “I guess you could say that.”

  “So why don’t you have your own racing team?”

  “Someday I will.” Drew smiled. “But I’m going to do it on my own terms.”

  “If my father was willing to give me a team, I’d take it in a minute.”

  “No, you wouldn’t.” Drew shook her head. “Too many strings.”

  “I wish there were more strings. Paddy’s given me plenty of,” she raised her fingers in air quotes, “stuff. It’d be nice to get a little of his time instead.” Sam shifted uncomfortably. “I guess it just goes to show that every family’s different.”

  The waitress appeared with the wine and disappeared again in silence.

  “Aren’t you with him at the track all the time?”

  “Me and twenty or thirty other people.”

  “I didn’t realize.”

  “Of course you didn’t. Things aren’t always as they seem.” She tapped the table nervously with the butter knife.

  Drew reached for her hand, and Sam picked up her glass and took a long, slow drink of wine. Definitely time to change the subject.

  The waitress reappeared and slid a plate of food in front of Drew. Sam watched her jab at the steak, cut a piece off, and stuff it into her mouth.

  “The wine’s good. How’s the steak?”

  “Great. Want a bite?”

  “No, thanks. But I will take a mushroom.” Sam speared one with her fork.

  Drew picked up the bowl and let a few tumble out onto her steak, then set the rest in front of her. “Help yourself.”

  “Yesterday in the garage, I noticed you and Jade seemed pretty friendly. Do you know her?” Sam swirled the wine in her glass, then watched the fingers of liquid slowly trickle back into the small pool at the bottom. “I mean from somewhere else.” It was none of her business, but she had to ask.

  Drew hesitated, put down her fork, and picked up her wine. “I married her sister.”

  “Married?” I almost went to bed with you.

  “I lost her a few years ago.” She took a drink of wine.

  Sam thought for a minute. A few years. Was that long enough to have found someone else? “She couldn’t take life in the fast lane?”

  “She died.”

 
; Sam’s heart dropped. She hadn’t expected those words and didn’t know what to say. She sank back into her chair as her mind spun with questions she shouldn’t ask.

  Drew flattened her lips, and Sam knew her reaction had been obvious.

  “What happened?” Did I actually ask that?

  Drew pulled her brows together and cocked her head.

  “I’m sorry. That’s none of my business. I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “No. It’s okay. She was pregnant and started hemorrhaging.”

  “The baby?”

  Drew shook her head slowly.

  “Oh, God, Drew. I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled slightly.

  “How long were you married?”

  “Five years. I met her at a fund-raising event.” Drew smiled as though remembering the moment. “We both ended up outside, avoiding the crowd. We talked all night and into the early morning hours.”

  “Sounds like a fairy-tale meeting.” Something Sam had always wanted.

  “Yeah. I guess so.” Drew rolled her lips together. “I’ve never been able to talk to another woman about her before.”

  “It’s hard to get over something like that.” She was speaking from her own experience now. “And getting involved again—have you done that? I mean, is that even possible for you?” It wasn’t easy for Sam.

  Drew smiled. “Not until you.”

  Sam rolled her eyes. “We’re not involved.”

  Drew let out a deep, rolling chuckle. “Oh, but I think we are.” She grinned, flashing those gorgeous dimples. “Dangerously involved.”

  Drew was obviously avoiding what had to be a painful subject, but she couldn’t hold her laughter. The bouncing eyebrows, humorous tone, and looming stare hit her right in the heart. Now her cheeks were heated and she was embarrassed. As they say, timing is everything, and Drew seemed to be an expert at it.

  “Stop it,” Sam said, shaking her head.

  Drew pushed her plate to the side, then took Sam’s hand and thumbed her naked ring finger. “How ’bout you? Are you involved with anyone, besides me?”

  She pulled her hand from Drew’s and pressed it to her chest, searching for the ring that hung on the chain around her neck. “You know I am.” Her voice was low and soft. She didn’t feel like laughing now.

  “You can’t honestly tell me you’re serious about that jackass Wilkerson.”

  “He wasn’t always an ass,” she mumbled, and gave her a thin smile. “He was my first love.”

  “Was?”

  Sam stared at table and let her finger follow the weave of the white, cotton tablecloth back and forth in front of her.

  “Things between us have changed over the years.” She blew out the words in a sigh. “His ambition has replaced any affection he ever had for me.” Glancing up into Drew’s soft brown eyes, she hesitated.

  Of all people, why was she telling this woman her innermost secrets? A woman from whom she should be keeping her distance. She was desperately trying to stay aloof, but after what Drew had just told her about her wife and seeing her today with Bobbie, Sam’s resolve was weakening. Drew had punched a huge hole in her guardrail and quickly slipped through it. With no effort of her own, the perfectly defined road Sam had paved for herself seemed to be crumbling right in front of her, and she had no idea where it was leading.

  She shrugged and picked up her glass. “But you really don’t want to hear about my deprived love life, do you?”

  “First loves are always special, but sometimes you have to let them go for your own good.”

  Sam wondered if Drew’s wife was her first love. “It’s not a perfect relationship.” Sam sipped her wine. “We stray from time to time, but somehow we always seem to end up back together.”

  “I’ve heard.” Drew threw her arm up for the check.

  “What do you mean, you’ve heard?”

  “I’m not one for rumors, but there’s been talk around the track about you and Frank—”

  “Frank MacNamara?” She felt the blood drain from her face. The pain seared through her as though it had happened only yesterday.

  She’d loved Frank, at least she’d thought so. When he was killed, Sam didn’t think she could go on. She’d never expected it, but Brad was there to help her through the loss.

  “Whatever happened between Frank and me is my business.” Sam could hardly speak. Drew was way out of bounds.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Drew reached for her hand, and Sam moved it back into her lap.

  “No, you shouldn’t have.” With tears threatening to spill out at any moment, she slid out of the booth and stood up. “I’d like to go back to the hotel now.”

  * * *

  Sam didn’t speak on the ride back and barely mumbled a short good-night when Drew walked her to the door. She didn’t know what was worse, almost blowing the case or having Sam hate her for being such an unfeeling bitch.

  Drew hadn’t intended to hurt her, but she’d needed a reaction. She had to know if Sam was a woman with deep, dark secrets, a woman with an improbable but not impossible past, a woman with a temper hot enough to kill. Sam had a temper all right, but her reaction wasn’t what Drew had expected. Her face had paled when she’d mentioned MacNamara. The happy glimmer in her eyes had suddenly vanished into a murky pool of sadness.

  The question had flown out of Drew’s mouth before she’d known what she was saying. She’d been so wrapped up in Sam, she’d forgotten she was working. And then, for lack of a better story, she’d lied to cover her ass. Drew hadn’t heard anything around the track about them. Everything she’d learned was from the case file.

  The mere mention of Frank’s name had seemed to flatten Sam like a freight train. When Drew heard the torment in her voice, it had thrown her off her game because she’d seen pain like that before. On more than one occasion, she’d told victims’ families of their premature deaths. With strangers it wasn’t as difficult to put up a wall, to ignore what they were feeling, but she’d never understood the full extent of their pain until she’d lost Kimberly. Sam was a strong woman, but Drew could see the anguish clearly in her eyes.

  Drew opened the door and tossed her keys onto the small, round table in front of the window. If Sam killed him, why would she be so upset? Maybe she didn’t mean to. Maybe she was just trying to prevent him from racing. But why? Drew couldn’t figure her out. Sam was getting in her head big-time, and her cover was on the verge of being blown.

  Drew had hoped Sam wouldn’t pick up on her familiarity with Jade, but she should’ve known better. The woman didn’t miss much. She hadn’t meant to go into the particulars of Kimberly’s death. Sam didn’t need to hear her sad stories any more than Drew needed to hear hers. Sam’s relationship with Brad reminded Drew too much of her own life, of how she’d neglected Kimberly. Her determination to show everyone that the rich kid could actually work for a living had left Kimberly alone and vulnerable. Drew had realized too late what she’d had, and now she was gone.

  She flopped down onto the bed and opened the case file. Tapping her pen on each piece of her full name, she recited the initials out loud. “S.L.K.” Why hadn’t she noticed that? She calls her father by his first name. Is that out of convenience or disrespect? She jotted down a few notes. Maybe it was just plain self-preservation. Everyone Sam got involved with seemed to have their own agenda. The woman had absolutely no support in her life, romantically or otherwise.

  Drew raked her hand down her face. That should have been her first clue. She was missing a lot lately. Too much. She moved her head from side to side, listening to the joints in her neck crack, before leaning back against the headboard and closing her eyes.

  Who was she trying to kid? She knew what the problem was or, more specifically, who it was. She had fiery red curls, beautiful emerald-green eyes, and a boldness that made Drew’s insides burn. Not to mention, when they’d first met, Sam had impressed her with a heated kiss that had lingered on her lips for
hours. Drew opened her eyes and bolted off the bed in a panic. This had to stop.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Jade, stop it.”

  “Why?” She continued nipping at Tommy’s lower lip.

  He grabbed her shoulders and held her at arm’s length. “I mean it. Stop!”

  With her legs tucked beside his thighs in the wheelchair, she sat back onto his knees, facing him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Why are you here?” His voice was strong but rang with a tinge of insecurity. “With me.”

  “What kind of a crazy question is that?”

  He let out a heavy breath. “I mean, with all the other men around here, why would you want to stay with a man who can’t,” he let his gaze drop, “even dance with you, for God’s sake?” She could see he was serious. “There are certain things I’ll never be able to do.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” She blew out a short breath. She couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Have I ever made you feel like you were any less of a man?”

  “No, but—”

  She pressed her fingers to his mouth. “Have I ever led you to believe you haven’t satisfied my every need?”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head as if clearing the visions from his mind. “I see how other men look at you, and I know you see it too.”

  She let out an irritated breath and pushed herself up, out of his lap. “I’m with you, dummy! Not them!”

  “For now.” His voice was filled with an odd sound of acceptance.

  Jade grabbed her sweatshirt and let out a loud growl. “I’m getting really tired of having this same conversation, Tommy.” She stopped just short of the door and turned slightly. “Just because a man has a working penis doesn’t make him whole.”

  After pulling the door closed behind her, Jade threw herself up against the wall and slapped her open palm against the pale-blue stucco. Sure, she knew other men found her attractive, but she’d had her fill of those jerks long before she’d met Tommy. She’d been with plenty of men that were lacking in other areas—areas of the heart, areas Jade found she couldn’t live without, didn’t want to. Finding a man who loved her, not just for her body, was a never-ending search. Then she’d come across Tommy, a kind, loving man who shared long conversations and actually seemed interested in what she had to say. Now he was trying to push her away. Job or not, this was where she belonged, and she wasn’t about to give him up.