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  “You’re a driver, Wayne. You, along with the rest of this town, know I don’t date drivers. My parents don’t allow it.”

  Looking down at her, he could sense that she wanted to let loose. Clementine Lewis wanted to know exactly what it was that everyone talked about behind closed doors. In high school she had never been one of the girls to giggle at her locker on Monday morning about what guy she parked with out at the lake. She never even acted like she was interested. Wayne was sure though that she was. He was sure there was enough wild child hiding just deep enough that he could pull it out of her. It might take a while to yank it out, but he was bound and determined to try.

  “Who say’s I’m talking about dating? Maybe I’m just talking about having a good time.” He grinned, running a hand through his hair.

  “You know that I’m not like those girls either. I will not be the girl you brag to your buddies about at the shop. I refuse to be,” she said, setting her jaw.

  Abruptly he came to a stop. “Now, you know that’s not what I mean, Clem. I would never in this world force you to do something that you don’t wanna do. I see it though, I see that girl inside of you longing to get out. You don’t want to be the girl on Saturday nights who cheers for anybody that’s winning at the track. You want to be able to look out on the track and admit that you care about someone and you want that special person to win. I know there’s a little part of you that just wants to let go and have a good time. What’s so wrong with that?”

  “Nothing, because it’s not going to happen, Wayne. I think you’re talented and I enjoy rooting for you. I might even admit that I have a little crush on you, but that’s all it can be. I go back to school in the fall, and like I said, my parents would never allow me to do it,” she argued, placing her hand on his shoulder.

  He bit his lip, putting a hand under her chin, forcing their eyes to meet. “Clem, we got plans just like everybody else in this world. We all know that they don’t always go the way we want them to. The only way we’re going to find out if this can’t be finished is if we don’t give it a shot. Dale Earnhardt taught us all on dirt and on asphalt that tomorrow is never promised. Why take what you think is going to happen for granted?”

  An inner turmoil raged inside her. He was right on many issues that she’d always had within herself. The town always looked at her as the “good little girl”. She could do no wrong. However, the woman inside her longed to be free. It longed to say, “Look at me, I can be a little mischievous. I can do something that’s not expected of me.” A part of her soul wanted to bust loose. The other part knew better and that’s where her dilemma always left her….listening to the other part. Wayne was right though, tomorrow wasn’t promised. What would it hurt for one summer to do something for her that didn’t involve worrying about what everyone else thought? What would it hurt for one moment in time for her to do something for herself? She looked at the hand Wayne had offered and slowly slipped her smaller hand into his larger one.

  “You know, you’re right. You’re right about everything. I do so much for everyone else that I never worry about me. I never worry about what I could be doing and how much I could be missing by being good. Besides, having fun doesn’t mean I have to be bad,” she reasoned with herself.

  “You got that right. There’s so much that passes us all by if we don’t take five seconds to stop and smell the roses. There are so many things that will be here and you won’t even know it because you haven’t thought to look. That has to stop now or you’re gonna miss out on a ton of opportunities, Clem.”

  Smiling brightly and inhaling deeply, she glanced up at his strong profile. He’d always looked so much older than the other guys their age, but she understood now that it was maturity – it was the pressure he had on his shoulders. Instead of looking like a boy, he’d always looked like a man. “So how does one start living for themselves?”

  “They start by going out on a date with me Tuesday night. Think you can handle that?”

  “Just what are you gonna do with me? Parade me around town in your muscle car?” she joked, bringing up his classic Chevy Chevelle.

  “Ain’t nobody prettier been in the front seat of her, I’ll tell you that. I figured we could go to dinner and a movie. Then I’ll parade ya around town. How’s that sound?”

  Blushing, she looked down at the ground, her feet automatically shuffling. This was the Wayne Harper she’d known her whole life, but something in this instant changed them. They were crossing a line and she knew it. She just wasn’t sure if she would be able to cross back when the time came.

  “Sounds like a perfect way to have my coming-out party.”

  Wayne couldn’t help but glance into her eyes once more. “You know that I’m not playing…right, Clem? I’d never mess with your feelings. You know that?” He’d also never mess with the amount of money he’d be spending on her. It was tight, tighter than he let the crew believe most weeks, but for her, he would do whatever he had to.

  “I know. All our lives you’ve had my best interest at heart. That ain’t somethin’ I’m worried about. To hell with what this town thinks.” She giggled after she said it.

  A bright smile showed white against his tan skin. “Yeah, to hell with what this town thinks,” he echoed, grinning when she clasped their hands together again.

  The two of them took off walking down the sidewalk. Their destination was nowhere in particular, but neither of them noticed Kevin Grimes had witnessed the entire thing.

  Chapter Three

  ‡

  “Well, well, well, little brother. Mighty nice of you to join us,” Lee cajoled as Wayne made his way into their makeshift shop late the next afternoon.

  It was amazing he could be heard over the loud noises that reverberated from every part of their small barn. All the men on his team had gotten off of their day jobs and had descended upon their garage to get some work done on the car.

  “What can I say? Daddy kept me longer than I thought he would. Now that you’re no longer free farm labor, I do the work of two, smartass,” Wayne argued back. “What are we doing?” He was beat, working from sunup to sundown and then coming here every night took a toll, but he knew what he wanted and that required hard work. Walking to the left, he opened a door that lead to a small apartment. For now, this was home. Quickly, he went about changing his clothes and getting some of the dirt and grime from the day off him.

  Lee came over, knocking softly before pushing the door open. He waited for Wayne to finish changing before clapping a hand on his brother’s back and slinging his arm loosely around his neck. “You did a pretty good job last week keeping it all clean. I’m actually really fuckin’ proud of ya, little man. All we’re going to do is drain out all the fluids, refill it, and fix some minor damage. We already got started. Shouldn’t take more than a few hours. JD brought some of his dad’s tools, though he’s gonna try to get some more power out of that engine.”

  JD was their resident computer whiz. He was forever hooking something up to a computer and running diagnostics on it. Having a father that owned the premiere repair shop in the county worked to his advantage. He passed that advantage right on to Wayne. It was no secret they were running more horsepower than half the cars on the track, but they weren’t cheating. They’d just found a little extra juice with all the equipment JD provided. His knowledge would serve him well in the fall when he attended the local technical college.

  “You find anything we can fix?” Wayne asked setting down a stool next to where JD had all his stuff spread out.

  A sucker stuck out of the left side of JD’s mouth, a baseball hat sat tipped to the side on his head, and a Dale Earnhardt Jr. shirt covered his lanky frame. Unless he had all three signature items, it seemed he couldn’t work effectively. He rolled the sucker around in his mouth, and Wayne was almost positive he caught a whiff of watermelon before he grinned.

  “Fuck yeah. There’s always somethin’ we can fix, brother. When I get done with you, you’ll look
like you’re driving a rice rocket instead of a stock car. All we do every week is fine-tune you. One of these days, my friend, you’re going to be damn near perfect.”

  Wayne laughed at the enthusiasm. JD was a little quirky, but they had come to appreciate his quirks, and they had even been able to begin to understand them. The quirks were what made him such an invaluable part of the team.

  “So, I heard from a little birdie that you have a date Tuesday night with one Ms. Clementine Lewis,” TJ, another member of their crew, teased as he came over to where the two guys sat.

  Upon hearing this, the shop ceased work, and it seemed everyone crowded around.

  “You have a date with Clementine? How’d you manage to swing that?” Lee asked, resting his forearms on a toolbox.

  “Hey, when ya got it, ya got it.”

  TJ laughed. “Bull fucking shit. She don’t date drivers, everybody in this town knows that. How did you get her to give you a shot, and don’t say it’s cause you got it. You haven’t had a date in three months, buddy.”

  It had been hard to get her to agree to go out with him. He didn’t want to ruin it by word getting back to her that he had been talking it up. Wayne didn’t want to give off the wrong impression. Didn’t matter that it may only be a fling, he still cared about her feelings.

  “How the hell did you hear about it?” he asked, confusion on his face.

  “Heard one of Grimes’ team members talkin’ about it at Sadie’s Restaurant this morning while I was waiting to get my breakfast. By the way, I thought it was pretty shitty that one of Grimes team members knew about it before we did. I see where we rank on your priority list.”

  “What? Grimes’ team member knew about it? I don’t know how he did, because as far as I know Clem and I were alone when it happened. Granted, we were standing on the street and someone could have heard it, but I didn’t think it’d be through the town grapevine this fast.”

  “Depends on who heard it. Ten bucks says Kevin was near. You know how he follows her around like white on rice,” TJ bet, holding out his hand.

  Wayne slapped his hand away. “Man, I ain’t betting you that Kevin was around. You’re crazy. He could have been, but what good is it going to do him if he spreads it all over town.”

  “I hate being the brains of this family,” Lee mumbled. “Because, you idiot. Then it looks like you’ve been going around saying you’re gonna hit it with the town Princess. Which I wonder if it’s such a good thing ’cause her daddy does sponsor your car. You better get over there and make sure there’s no ruffled feathers. We aren’t working on this car for our health.”

  For a split second, Wayne thought about it before grabbing his car keys. Lee was right, he couldn’t afford for the wrong rumors to get spread all over town, and spread they would. Like a California wildfire. Running to his car, he hopped in and gunned his engine before kicking up gravel on his way out of the parking lot.

  *

  “I told you, Kevin. Daddy’s not here, and even if he was, he wouldn’t let you look at the spare parts in the back. Those are for his car exclusively. Since you don’t drive for him, that means they aren’t for you. Now please leave. I have a lot of work to do,” Clementine warned Kevin.

  He had been in the store for over an hour and had yet to buy anything. He kept using the excuse that he wanted to borrow some extra parts from her dad’s junkyard in the back of the store. Clementine, however, knew that was a lie. Everyone in a three-county radius knew those parts were for Wayne and Wayne alone. David Lewis refused to share with the competition.

  “C’mon, Clem, you won’t let me just go back there and take a peek?” he asked, moving closer to her as she continued to stock the shelves.

  Hiding a shudder, she glanced at the clock. Her dad had been gone for an hour and a half. She could only hope he would be back soon. Either that or they could get a customer that would ward him off. Her patience, however, was wearing very thin.

  “My name is Clementine, and like I’ve already told you a number of times, those parts aren’t for public use. They are for Wayne’s or my daddy’s use. Grimes money won’t buy what’s here,” she quipped, knowing that she was goading him.

  Anger flashed in his eyes. It was a well-known fact he hated it when someone threw his money back in his face. “It won’t, huh? Sure bet it could buy a night with you.”

  Clementine visibly flinched when he ran a hand down her side, cupping her hip in his hand, pulling her closer to his body.

  “You know you want to give me a try. Who wants to spend the rest of their lives working hard for nothing? That’s what you’re going to do here, and it’s what you’re going to do if you end up with Wayne Harper. Ever heard of the expression ‘rode up hard and put up wet’? Looks will only get you so far, honey.”

  She did her best to dismiss him by turning her back and continuing to stock the shelves.

  Kevin fumed. He wanted to goad her, to knock her down a few pegs. She’d always been unreachable to him. She was the one thing in this town that his money couldn’t buy. “Don’t turn your back to me, Clem. I was talking to you.”

  “No, she asked you to go. I think it’s time you leave, Kevin,” Wayne said from the doorway.

  Neither of them had heard him come inside and both were surprised when they heard his voice. Clementine had never been so happy in her life to see him.

  “We were just havin’ some fun, Wayne. No harm done.” He lifted his hands away from her and backed towards the door.

  As he got closer to Wayne, Wayne grabbed the neck of his shirt. “When a lady asks you to leave, you leave. It’s really low to come here and bug someone and feel them up when it’s not wanted. Take yourself home and don’t come back. You’re lucky I don’t drop your ass right here.”

  Jerking himself free, Kevin fixed his collar. “Keep out of shit you know nothing about.”

  “Same could be said for you, Grimes. See you at the track next week.”

  Kevin grinned before opening the door to the store. “Yeah, see ya. We’ll see who gets their picture made then.”

  Chapter Four

  ‡

  “You sure it’s okay if I go out?” Clem asked her dad, eyeing the mess they had. “If I need to, I can stay a little while longer and help you out. I’m sure Wayne won’t mind,” she offered, picking up the last box of the delivery they had just gotten.

  David glanced over at Clem. He still wasn’t sure about her dating a driver, but she’d come to him and explained in her no-nonsense way that if he felt that Wayne was good enough to sponsor, then he was good enough for her to go out with. It didn’t help that she’d also explained that she was an adult, and while she always respected her parents, it didn’t mean she had to agree with them.

  It killed him to say the words, because he knew Wayne’s focus, which was a dirt track on a Saturday night, but it was her life to live. “No, you go on and go get ready. If I need help, I’ll call your mom.”

  Clementine bit her lip in worry. She was a daddy’s girl through and through. Until her junior year of high school, she hadn’t even cared about hair and makeup or how to dress. She’d been the kid tagging after her dad, wherever he went. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t the boy he’d always wanted; she was every bit his buddy in everything. It would be sad when she went off to college in the fall.

  “Stop worryin’ about your old man.” He laughed seeing the look of apprehension on her face. She had always been his little worrywart, and he didn’t think he’d ever get her to stop, especially now.

  Frowning, she sat on a stool in front of him. “You’re not old, and what if I’m not just worrying about you. What if I’m worrying about me too? I’ve never dated a guy like Wayne before.”

  David cleared his throat. If there was one thing that spooked him it was talking boys with his daughter. He needed his wife, Beverly, to get here. He wasn’t sure he could handle this conversation.

  “Clem, you’ve known Wayne your whole life. He’s not going to do
a complete 180-degree turn just because you’re going out on a date with him. To be honest, Wayne is the only driver I trust you with and will ever trust you with. I’ve known this was coming since the beginning of the summer; anyone who looked at the two of you knew this was coming. His family is good, and I know with all my heart he is never going to disrespect you. Now, I want you to go home and get beautiful. You have a little more than an hour,” he told her, glancing at the clock over the back of her head.

  “Holy shit.” She turned around to look at the clock too. Time had completely gotten away from her. “What time do I need to be home, Dad?” she asked, grabbing her purse and some magazines she’d brought with her.

  “Clem, you’re an adult now. In two months I won’t be able to tell you when you need to be home, you’ll be living in dorms miles away from here. Use your own discretion. Just don’t make your mom and I worry too much. Keep it reasonable.”

  She grinned, coming over to him. She stood on her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck. “You’re not old and I love you. I’ll be home before two.”

  “I love you too. Now get goin’.”

  With sad eyes he watched her go through the store and out the front door. She was growing up and he would have to learn how to deal with it.

  *

  Wayne cursed loudly as he stubbed his toe on the foot of his bed. In his small apartment, there was never enough room for anything, and now that he was hustling to get ready, it seemed even smaller. He and his father had been trying to get some of their crops harvested before the rain that was a day away reached them. They had run late and now he was trying to make up time. He took the towel from around his waist, not even bothering to dry completely off, and began putting clothes on. He’d just gotten his boxers and jeans on when a knock sounded at his door. Making sure his zipper was zipped he called out.

  “Yeah, c’mon in!”