Chapter 4
FOUR
Kasey Corcoran shoved his fingers through his dark blonde hair before replacing the white ball cap on his head, pulling the brim down low over his eyes.
He huffed an annoyed sigh into the phone perched between his shoulder and ear.
“Look, Charlie, I told you I was going to be gone this weekend. Bentley is set to qualify tomorrow and Saturday, and then race on Sunday. I’m in Michigan for the weekend.
I’ll be back Tuesday at the latest. He’ll do fine. ”
Charlie Hoffman, his manager, grumbled on the other end of the line. “Your sponsors want you in the race on Sunday, not Bentley.”
“I’m allowed to have a life outside of that fucking car,” Kasey snapped, stretching his long legs out in front of him under the booth table of the breakfast diner he sat in, waiting for Freeman to arrive.
“They pay you for your time,” Charlie reminded him gruffly.
“And I make them a lot of damn money,” he muttered back, then took a sip of coffee from the tiny banana yellow mug the waitress had brought him. “I’m taking one weekend off, Charlie. That’s it. I think you’ll survive without me for one weekend.”
“You better be in Talladega by Wednesday, K.C.,” he mumbled sourly.
“You’ll see my ugly mug by Tuesday,” Kasey reminded him. “Give Suzie a kiss for me.”
“I am not giving my wife a kiss from you; she’d have a damn heart attack and then leave my sorry ass for you.”
Kasey laughed. “You’re probably right.”
“Fuck off, Corcoran,” Charlie grumbled, but Kasey could hear the amusement in his voice. “You can get any damn woman you want. You can’t have mine.”
Kasey scratched at his stomach idly, his thoughts immediately drifting to the fiery bombshell he’d had the pleasure of running into already that morning.
He’d been in town for less than an hour, his red-eye flight into Pellston—which was the tiniest airport he’d ever flown into—had arrived half an hour ahead of schedule.
He’d been driving through the small lakeside city of Petoskey, his GPS speaking to him through the speakers of his rental truck when he’d damn near crashed into the car in front of him when he’d seen Shaun climb out of a truck parked in front of a gas station he was passing.
He’d swerved into the parking lot, making a passing motorist honk their horn in indignation.
Forcing himself to move slower than his legs wanted him to, he entered the gas station convenience store, his eyes sweeping until they landed on her, where she stood over at the coffee station.
Her back was to him, and he watched her as he walked toward her, admiring her figure outlined in the tight jeans and the hooded sweatshirt she wore, though the fabric was more like t-shirt material as it clung to her waist and hips.
Her hair was secured in a long braid that fell over one shoulder and a ball cap was on her head.
She did a little wiggle after sniffing the coffee she’d just poured, and he couldn’t help the grin that lifted one corner of his mouth or the stiffening of his cock behind the fly of his jeans.
Stepping forward, he caught that hint of Japanese cherry blossom that always seemed to cling to her, and he made to touch her shoulder at the same time that she whirled around, colliding solidly with him. Her coffee fell from her fingers, sloshing all over the floor at their feet.
And that wickedly sharp tongue made its appearance and he’d nearly laughed. Christ was she feisty. All. The. Time.
He fucking loved it.
“Earth to K.C.,” he heard Charlie’s voice and refocused on the call. “Did you hear me or are you having a stroke?”
“I’m not flatlining,” Kasey mumbled, glancing around the bustling diner.
He saw Free climb out of his blue F-150 out in the parking lot through the window and sat up straighter, leaning forward to clasp the tiny yellow mug in his large hand and bring it to his lips.
“I’ll be there Tuesday. I gotta go, Charlie. Talk to you later.”
He hung up just as Free walked through the double glass doors at the front of the diner.
Kasey waved a hand over the heads of the other patrons to get his attention, and a moment later his cousin was sliding into the booth seat opposite him.
The waitress materialized out of nowhere, flipping the coffee cup that sat on the paper placemat in front of him over and filling it with coffee.
She set the carafe on the table and asked if they were ready to order, and they nodded.
“The usual, Free?” she asked.
“Yes, please,” Free said, smiling gratefully.
She turned toward Kasey, inclining her head just the slightest. Her gaze swept over his face, as if trying to place where she recognized him.
He shifted in his seat, dropping his eyes to the menu.
He didn’t want breakfast to turn into an autograph fest. He placed his order of a skillet breakfast and extra slices of whole wheat toast without raising his eyes to the waitress again, thanking her as she sidled away.
“How was your flight?” Free asked and leaned back against the padded booth seat. He draped one arm along the back of the booth, his other hand wrapped around the small, tangerine orange mug.
“Crowded. That plane was tiny,” Kasey grumbled.
“Don’t you fly first class?” Free asked, teasing.
“Ha,” Kasey muttered sardonically. “If it’s a sponsored flight, sure. On my own dime, economy is just fine. Even if my legs do get cramped.”
Free motioned to the ball cap still on his head. “Do you get recognized more often now?”
“Eh, sometimes. When I travel, I try to dress down; wear ball caps, sunglasses, and grow out my scruff. That sort of thing,” he said and shrugged. “Though it didn’t help much at the gas station this morning. I still got recognized by a fan. Had to take a selfie. Hazard of the trade, I suppose.”
Free laughed out loud. “I didn’t see Shaun as the type to ask for a selfie. Maybe to throw darts at.”
Kasey’s eyebrows jumped in surprise. “How’d you know about that?”
Free chuckled again, pouring himself another cup of coffee from the carafe the waitress had left for them. “She was already at the house this morning, all in a huff. You spilled her coffee, you know.”
Kasey grinned. “Oh yes. She let me know.”
“You enjoy pissing her off, don’t you?”
Kasey shrugged again, though he grinned behind another drink of his coffee.
“It’s entertaining, for sure.” That buffoon fiancé of hers came to his mind and his lips drew into a thin line.
He couldn’t remember if he’d seen a ring on her finger.
He made a mental note to double check when he saw her again.
Not that he expected a change in her relationship status.
If that idiot had any kind of smarts, he’d never let her go.
He knew he wouldn’t, if he ever got the chance.
There was a hideous green monster that seemed to crawl under his skin whenever he thought about that jackass. Touching her. Kissing her. He’d give his left leg to have those long legs of hers wrapped around his head, his face buried in her—
The waitress was back just then with their platters of food, and he shifted in his seat, adjusting the stiffening of his cock in his jeans.
Freeman had warned him once about the Kendall women.
And he hadn’t listened. Nope. He’d gone ahead and tumbled right off the deep end.
She was too beautiful. Too spicy. Too fucking everything to resist.
He noticed the waitress staring at him again, as if still trying to place him. He smiled, but again angled his face away as he thanked her. She walked away, but glanced over her shoulder once more as they dug into their food.
“Are you guys going to get along this weekend?” Free asked as he took a bite of toast.
“Probably not,” Kasey replied honestly.
“Can you try? For Jodi, please?” Free asked, stabbing his fork into a sausage link. “I want this weekend to go well for her. She deserves it after not getting a wedding when she married that douchebag ex of hers.”
“I’ll behave,” Kasey muttered sourly as he shoveled a forkful of hashbrowns into his mouth after smothering them with ketchup. Then he amended, “For the most part, anyway. She just makes it too easy to rile her up.”
“You’re a menace,” Free chuckled and took another bite of egg. “I have to work today, but my evening is open. Roxy will be in later today, too. Actually, Jodi said she’s kicking the three of us out for the evening so we can catch up.”
“She does know the trouble the three of us can get into together unsupervised, right?” he asked, laughing. He pushed his plate away and leaned back in the booth.
Free laughed, nodding. “I think she knows if we’re out together getting into trouble, you won’t be able to bother Shaun.”
Kasey rolled his eyes but grinned. “She may know me too well already.”
“What will you do today?” his cousin asked then, mopping up the last of his egg yolk with his toast.
Kasey shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest as he fought a yawn. The waitress was back with their check. “I didn’t sleep much on the plane; would it be alright if I head to your place and crash for a few hours? The hotel won’t let me check in until after three.”
“Sure, not a problem. Jodi will be there for a bit, she doesn’t go into the bookstore for a couple more hours,” Freeman said as he pulled out his wallet, but Kasey handed the waitress his credit card, waving his cousin off.
“I invited you out for breakfast,” he said as the waitress walked away, looking at his credit card. Dammit. Over at the counter, she whispered something to the middle-aged woman at the register, their faces lighting up. “And I’ve got about thirty seconds before this place explodes.”
As the waitress returned with his credit card, she handed it back to him along with the credit card slip and a pen.
He scrawled his name and a tip, then handed it back to her with a resigned smile when he noticed the cell phone clutched in her other hand.
The middle-aged woman from the register stood behind her, and a moment later a tall, skinny guy with a white apron approached from the kitchen, peering over their shoulders at him.
“I knew I recognized you! Can I get a picture with you, K.C.? And an autograph?”
Free chuckled, but Kasey smiled with a nod and exaggerated his Texas drawl as he said, “Sure can. What’s your name, darlin’?”