Read Drive Me Crazy for Free Online Page A

“Tomorrow’s fine. Don’t be late.”
    “ I’m always on time,” he heard her say before she marched out the way she’d come in, face scarlet and head held high.
    What was wrong with him? First he’d all but screwed Melanie in the parking lot, up against a building for Christ’s sake. Then he’d humiliated the hell out of her when they’d gotten caught. He had to fix this for her. It was the least he could do before he apologized.
    Carter nodded at Jack, who’d just walked in. “We need to talk.”
    “ She’d already been warned about taking too long of a break,” Jack said, wiping his hands on the apron around his hips.
    “ This is was my fault, not hers,” Carter insisted, hoping to get the man to listen to reason. He’d known Jack since first grade. They’d played high school football together and sneaked six-packs of beer on the activity bus after games.
    Jack grunted. “Maybe so. But I’ve got a business to run.”
    “ I know you do and I respect that, but she needs this job.” Carter shook out his coat, then put it on.
    “ Then you hire her.”
    “ I did.”
    A slow smile kicked up the corners of Jack’s mouth. “Problem solved.” He turned his attention to the cooks. “Get back to work. I’m not paying you to stand around.”
    “ Thanks for your help, Jack,” Carter called over his shoulder.
    “ Consider it payback. I lost ten grand on you last year.” Jack grabbed a plate, inspecting it before sending it out. “Now that you’re a has-been, I can recoup my money on your teammate, Jake.”
    Has-been? He was twenty-seven years old and could beat anyone in a race, blindfolded. Done it once too. Although it hadn’t turned out so well on the victory lap.
    Carter started to tell Jack to go fuck himself, then shook his head and strode outside. People like Jack were exactly why Carter should open his business in Charlotte. Small towns bred small minds.
    ***
    Forty-five minutes later, Carter found himself crossing the Johnston county line. To his right he spied a sign advertizing a Sprint Car Race and it just so happened to be tonight.
    He glanced at the clock on the dash and grinned. It was almost seven, plenty of time to catch the last few races. Downshifting, he headed to his old stomping grounds.
    Turning down a dark, bumpy road, he headed to the brightly lit track where he’d gotten his start. A man with a light baton pointed to a semi-full row of vehicles. Carter found the closest empty space and parked, his heart pumping with adrenaline.
    The roar of Sprint Car engines had him pick up his pace, until he jogged to the entrance. He paid admission, bought a beer and ambled over to the stands. He climbed up to the back of the bleachers, where he wouldn’t have to wear protective eye-gear or ear plugs. Men and women covered in a sheen of dirt nodded at him, some widening their eyes and whispering.
    The stands and his chest rumbled as a pack of cars raced by, a chain length fence the only thing separating the spectators from the action. The smell of racing fuel and burnt rubber filled the air, making him feel right at home.
    A little boy, wearing a shirt with Carter’s face on the back, glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening as Carter grinned at him. Tugging on his dad’s arm, the kid pointed behind him. Both turned to Carter and this time it was the dad who got that holy-crap-it’s-you look on his face.
    “ Come on up,” Carter mouthed at the duo, with an uptick of his chin.
    Grinning big, the kid and his dad made their way to him.
    “ Hi, I’m Carter. What’s your name?” Carter shook the boy’s hand.
    “ Kyle.” Kyle’s grin nearly split his face in two, as he continued to shake Carter’s hand. “I knew it was you, Mr. Ambrose.”
    “ C’mon now, Kyle, Mr. Ambrose is my dad,” he said, finally getting his hand back. “You can call me Carter.”
    “ My cousin, Beau, is racing right now. He wants to be just like you, Mr. Carter, only without hitting the wall twice