Sweet Carolina by Roz Lee Read Free Book Online Page B

filled
out her fire suit. She was a paradox, all business in her team
gear, but the ponytail threaded through the loop in her cap made
her look fragile, and feminine. Dell's palms itched to curl around
the fall of hair and tug her against him. He'd never wanted to get
his hands on an ass in a fire suit before, and he shouldn't be
thinking about it now.
    “Caro,” he said. She turned to face him. Dell
was so surprised at the genuine concern on her face, he wanted to
hug her.
    “Are you okay?” she asked.
    “I'm fine. The car took most of the impact,”
he said, glancing at the heap of twisted metal the crew was getting
ready to load into the top rack for the return trip.
    “So it seems,” she said. “Come with me.” Dell
followed her to the lounge at the front of the hauler where she
evicted Russell, with instructions to leave them alone. Once
Russell closed the door behind him, Caro turned to Dell. All her
earlier concern for his physical being was gone from her face,
replaced by red-hot anger.
    “What were you doing out there?” she
asked.
    “Racing.”
    “Is that what you call it? Because if it is,
you and I have a different definition of the term.” Her hands were
fisted on her hips and her ponytail swished from
shoulder-to-shoulder as she paced the small lounge.
    “Wrecks happen, Caro. You know that.”
    “Yes, they do, but you don't have to make
them happen, Dell. This one was your fault. You were driving
crazy.” He opened his mouth to argue, but her raised hand stopped
him. “Don't argue the point. I was there. I saw it all. You
shouldn't have been trying to pass in that situation. It couldn't
be done. And don't tell me your spotter didn't tell you the same
thing, because he did.” She was something to see, pacing the lounge
like a caged animal, venting at him in that singsong voice of hers.
Dell wiped the smile from his lips as she turned back in his
direction.
    “Can I say something?” he asked.
    “No. You can't, Dell. I don't want to hear
anything you have to say unless it's that you won't do it again.”
She stopped her pacing. Her shoulders rose and fell as she took a
deep breath before she continued. “We're hauling home scrap metal,
Dell. Scrap metal.” Her voice rose an octave on the last two words.
“We'll have to take the backup car to Phoenix, and God knows what
you'll drive if something happens to that car during practice or
qualifying. At this rate, we'll have to drag the show car out of
retirement.”
    She paused, and Dell thought she might be
expecting him to say something now, but he didn't have a clue what
that might be. He'd done his job. He drove the car – and tried his
best to be a contender.
    “Well,” she said. “What do you have to say
for yourself?”
    “Look, Caro, I did what you hired me to do. I
drove the car. If you don't like the way I did it, then you should
have hired someone else.” Her cheeks turned pink and her lips
turned white. Dell continued. “You knew what you were getting when
you hired me. If you want a mouse behind the wheel, put Wilson back
in the car. He won't wreck, but he won't win either. You said you
wanted to win: well, that's what I was trying to do. The only way
to win is to lead the pack, and to do that, you have to pass
cars.”
    “I know that, Dell,” she said. “I'm not
stupid. I know you have to pass cars to win, but Dell, you took too
many risks. It was only a matter of time before you wrecked.”
    “What are you so pissed about? I don't get
you, Caro. Do you want me to race or not?”
    “I want you to race, Dell. But I want you to
listen to your spotter and your crew chief. This is a team sport,
Dell. T.E.A.M. No I's in the word team.” She poked a finger into
the center of his chest. “Don't forget it.”
    He couldn't help it. He laughed. She was too
damned cute in her fire suit, her face flushed with anger and that
damned ponytail swinging like a pendulum, tempting him to grab it
and yank her head back so he could kiss