Sweet Carolina by Roz Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

until they recognized him and realized they'd been
talking about his new boss and him. “I don't care what you say
about me personally, but the lady in question doesn't deserve to be
talked about that way. I'd appreciate you minding your own
business.”
    Dell slipped his cap back on and left,
congratulating himself on getting out before he did something that
would get him suspended from racing – again. NASCAR frowned on
drivers punching out the fans, though in Dell's opinion, the sport
could use a few less fans like those.

 
     
     
     
     

Chapter Five
     
    Caro gasped, but refused to look away.
Everything had been going smooth, up until now. Now, all she could
do was sit atop the war wagon and watch helplessly as her racecar
spun down the track, sliding completely out of control through the
narrow strip of grass between the track and the inside wall on turn
three. When it came to a halt, it was facing backwards.
    She closed her eyes and sent up a prayer that
Dell was all right – even if he deserved to die for that last
stunt. He'd passed the 28 car without incident. Why he slid in
front of him like he did was beyond comprehension. Getting bumped
and spun out was what he deserved.
    “You okay?” Russell asked Dell.
    Her headset crackled. Dell's voice met her
ears. “I'm alive.” Caro sighed in relief. “Car's okay, I think.
Restarting now.”
    She watched in disbelief as Dell spun the car
around in place, and roared back onto the track. He was several
laps behind now, but he drove with the determination of someone
defending his first place status.
    “You've got grass in the grill. Bring it in,”
Russell ordered.
    “Not yet. I'll pit with everyone else, unless
we have another problem,” Dell answered.
    “What's with him?” Russell asked Caro.
“Doesn't he know he's done for?”
    “I don't know,” Caro said. “He's lucky no one
hit him on the spinout.”
    “Skill, not luck. He steered the car out of
the way before he lost control in the grass.”
    “You think?”
    “I know. He spun halfway down the back
straightaway and into turn three and the caution flag never came
out. That took skill.”
    Caro shrugged. Skill or no skill, Hawkins
Racing wasn't going to get a win today, and they didn't garner any
favors with the other drivers either. For the first time since she
came up with the idea to hire Dell, she began to wonder if she made
a mistake. The man could drive a racecar – no one would dispute
that – except maybe Dell's father. She didn't know all the details,
but she did know the two of them didn't see eye-to-eye when it came
to racing.
    Twenty laps later, and they were done. Dell
lowered the net on the driver's side window and Caro let out a
pent-up breath. He was alive. She was going to kill him.
    The car was a total loss. They'd be lucky to
salvage any part of it. As Dell climbed into the back of the
ambulance – standard procedure following a crash – Caro mentally
calculated what the loss of the car would do to their bottom line.
The prognosis wasn't good. They'd have no choice but to use the
backup car for next week's race in Arizona, and they'd have to work
around the clock to build another one. That meant money out the
door. Money they couldn't afford.
    * * * *
    Dell cursed as he pulled himself up and out
of the car. He managed to make up the laps he'd lost on the
spinout, and was inching his way up on the lead lap when disaster
struck. He couldn't say exactly what happened – someone ahead of
him spun out, crashed into someone else, then all hell broke loose.
He looked around at the carnage. At least a dozen cars were beyond
driving, his included. This wasn't the way he wanted his first race
with Hawkins to end, but some things couldn't be helped.
    After being checked out at the track's
medical center and pronounced sound, Dell made his way back to the
hauler. Caro stood with her back to him, supervising the repacking
of their equipment. Dell took a moment to admire the way she