Acres, Natalie - Bang the Blower [Country Roads 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

Chapter One

Three months later

University Hospital of Pennsylvania

Julie Jenkins rose from the wheelchair on wobbly legs. She used a cane to make her way down the sidewalk where she stood awaiting the unknown.

“Thank you for everything,” she said, turning to her physical therapist. “I know I wasn’t easy.”

“You weren’t as difficult as you might like to think,” he said, shooting her a wink and a sincere smile.

She knew better. When she awoke from the drug-induced coma, she fought those around her, although she still wasn’t sure to whom she owed an apology. Maybe there was a list somewhere since she remembered being restrained by several men and women.

“Really, Miss Jenkins, it was my pleasure to work with you,” the therapist reassured her. “You weren’t a problem at all.”

“I hope not,” she said quietly, wondering why her publicist and crew chief weren’t there yet.

A maroon SUV stopped curbside. Equipped with dark-tinted windows, the vehicle possessed front plates with a stock car emblem. She might have thought her ride had arrived if the car displayed a dragster on the tag instead.

She silently hoped whoever left the car didn’t glance her way. Since her accident, her publicist told her she’d become America’s sweetheart, the woman everyone in America, and not just the sports fans, wanted to see survive a crash that should’ve claimed her life.

Then again, stock car racing and drag racing often interlocked. Fans sometimes followed both sports like a religion. And evidently, she was quite recognizable now. Her face had been on numerous magazines. Her story told countless times by reporters searching for ratings.

A pedestrian passed her then and she turned her head to the side, fearing those never-ending pitiful looks, the eyes of sorrow staring back at her. She’d seen enough of those. She hated being on the receiving end of a stranger’s curious gaze almost as much as she disliked waiting for a ride. No one could accuse her of being a patient woman.

Taking a few uneven steps, she balanced her weight as best she could. Deciding she’d sit and wait on a nearby bench, Julie made her way toward the concrete seat while doors opened and slammed behind her. She hesitated before she turned around, but when she finally managed to make the effort, she had no choice but to acknowledge the familiar eyes staring back at her.

Her fate flashed in front of her. Life as she’d known it was forever over.

* * * *

Hank was the first one to approach her. Thank God.

Duke stayed put, standing firm on the ground underneath him. Julie didn’t look like she was glad to see them but then again, why would she?

The last time they’d been together, they’d parted on bad terms. Evidently, she’d worn her resentment toward them like a badge, too. As soon as she discovered he and Hank wanted to sit by her bedside, she denied them access. Raising complete hell, Julie informed the hospital staff they were not permitted to see her nor were they allowed access to her medical information.

She apparently didn’t have any recollection of the time they’d all spent together while she was in the intensive care unit, which was just as well. Duke was confident Julie would’ve found a way to sue the hospital had she known.

“Julie,” Hank said softly. “It’s good to see you.”

“You haven’t seen enough of me on television over the last three months?” she asked, bitterness in every word.

“I don’t watch the tube,” Hank retorted.

“Duke,” she said, tilting her chin his way. “Tell your brother he’s a horrible liar. He was glued to the news when I caught a glimpse of him as the nurses moved me to a private room, which I’m sure you both arranged.”

Duke’s heart was in his throat. She was as beautiful as the day she’d left them, and just as ill as the staff relayed. She always thought she had something to prove, but now things were different. Her eyes flashed anger. Her voice was laced with fury, and her expression was one he didn’t recognize. Julie was mad at the world.

“Hi, Julie,” Duke finally managed. This was a tough day for all of them, and it was about to become more difficult and pretty damn complicated.

“Hi, Duke,” she choked out, mockery in her voice. “What brings the two of you here today? Did someone tell you the administration decided to release me? I guess you’re here to gloat, aren’t you?”

“Why on earth would you think something like that?” Hank asked.

“I don’t understand either,” Duke admitted.

She snorted at both remarks. “I imagine you drove all this way so you could say you told me so. Women have no place in drag racing, remember?”

“You proved us wrong,” Duke pointed out. “You were one of the best, Julie. I mean that.”

“Were,” she rasped. “I’m not dead yet, Duke.”

“I’m glad about that, by the way,” Duke immediately fired back, his heart breaking for her. He wanted to go to her then, wrap his arms around her small body and tell her to cry out her anger, latch onto him and hold on for dear life.

If he could only tell her how he planned to make everything all right again. Maybe then he’d see signs of the Julie he once loved, the Julie he knew still existed under the afflicted layers of sadness and defeat.

“We’re here to pick you up,” Hank announced. “I talked to Carl Carlton and he spoke to your publicist. You’re looking at the only ride you have today.”

“Remind me to switch race teams when I’m fully recovered,” she grumbled. “Carl has no loyalty.”

Duke ran his thumb and forefinger down the bridge of his nose. That was an understatement. Carl was after that almighty dollar and when he had an injured driver, he tried to save public face. Unfortunately, Carl’s interest in his driver’s welfare generally faded when he realized he wasn’t about to profit off their improbable return to the drag strip.

Julie’s gaze immediately shifted between Sam and Frank, two employees who worked for them in several capacities. Frank had been a longtime employee and they considered him a friend, practically family. Sam recently joined their team as a highly recommended mechanic. Lucky for them, he had a thing for farming, too.

They’d asked Sam and Frank to come along for several reasons. Sam was a huge fan of drag racing but recently came to Hinman Racing when he heard the circulating rumors about a possible new driver joining their team. Frank was invited along for another purpose. Julie respected him. He was, in many ways, like the father she never had.

“Frank,” she whispered, a flash of genuine appreciation softening her cold, empty eyes as soon as he rounded the front of the SUV. “What brings you up this way?”

Frank shot her a gentle smile. He hurried toward her with open arms. “I heard my little girl was getting released today.”

“Uh-huh,” she muttered, embracing him. “And let me guess, you couldn’t make the trip from Tennessee alone? Either that or the Hinmans were afraid they couldn’t handle me.” She quickly released him as she tossed out the accusation.

Poor Frank looked ambushed for about a minute. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and bowed his head. He lifted his gaze again and his eyes met hers. They were moist, but not because he felt sorry for Julie. Oh no, those piercing black eyes with folds of wrinkles underneath held nothing but love for a woman he often called “his” little girl.

Julie was visibly shaken by the old man’s expression. She tilted her head to one side and said, “You have to overlook me, Frank. I’ve been in a bad mood for the last ninety days or so.”

“Me, too, little girl. Me, too.”

Duke was touched by the older man’s reply. Frank tucked Julie’s free hand against the bend of his arm. “I have a feeling we have brighter days ahead.” He took a first step toward their rented vehicle, but Julie resisted.

“Somethin’ wrong?” Frank asked, studying her face.

Julie shook her head. “I know what you’re doing, Frank, and I can’t let you manipulate me like this.”

“Can’t and won’t are two different beasts. If you can’t because you’re disabled—and you aren’t, by the way, which is obvious—then that’s one thing. If you won’t because you’re stubborn as a damn mule, or even scared, then that’s somethin’ we’ll overcome together. We always do.”

“I ain’t scared, Frank.”

“Well that remains to be seen, I reckon,” Frank said, nodding toward the car. “Thing is, if you get in that backseat there, you belong to Hinman Racing. You ain’t backin’ out, because I won’t let you. We’ve got a plane waitin’ at the airport ready to fly all of us to Nashville. Hinmans have a nice little practice track over in Columbia, and I happen to think you’ll like it there.”

Julie gulped. “I’m not racing again.”

Frank took a deep breath, studied Hank and Duke for a moment, and just when Duke thought the old man might give up, he came back with a full-fledged rebuttal. “I hope you never sit down in a dragster again. I told you from the time you set your sights on a-racin’ that dragsters were no good. You wouldn’t listen. I tried to tell you, but that’s yesterday’s conversation. Today, I’m gonna spout off and say what I should’ve said then.

“I think you could be one of the best stock car drivers the sport has ever seen. You’re gutsy, smart, and have good instincts, remarkable reflexes. You grew up around stock cars and horses, Julie. How the hell you ended up inches off the damn ground in one of those death traps beats the beejeezies out of me, but you were determined to do things your way.

“Now, I want you to try something different. Give stock cars a shot. You tried your way. Now it’s time to try mine.”

“Don’t you mean theirs?” she asked, pointing at Hank and then Duke.

Hank cleared his throat. “Julie, we’ve got a car that’s unbeatable. We need a driver that wants to win.”

“Since when did you start giving handouts, Hank?” She addressed Hank but looked at Duke.

“This ain’t charity,” Duke said, feeling a strong “no” was inevitable. Julie had already been here and done this. She wasn’t a woman who typically jumped backwards.

Julie pressed her lips together. She studied Sam and after a brief moment of strained silence, she asked, “Who are you?”

Sam stuck out his hand. “I’m Sam McMann. I followed your career in drag racing. No one out there had your skill. I just joined Hinman Racing because I want to work with you. If you’ll give these fellas a chance, I think we’ll put together an unconquerable team.”

Immediately, Frank glared at Sam. Duke felt that sudden stabbing sensation in his gut, too. Julie never once raised her arm and shook his hand. Instead she stared at his splayed fingers and then tilted her chin and looked away.

“You joined Hinman Racing because the word is out, isn’t it?” When he didn’t respond, she addressed Hank. “You told him I was definitely joining your team.”

Hank narrowed his gaze and rubbed his chin, taking his own sweet time providing a reply. “I promised Frank he could handle you but the truth is, I don’t want anyone to handle you except me or Duke. Now, you can say no to Hinman Racing. That’s your choice, and if you decide to turn down the offer we put on the table, it’ll be your loss.

“But Hinman Racing is offering one deal. Me and Duke? We’re offering something else altogether. We moved our entire team from Daytona to Columbia because we have better facilities there. We’ve got a car with your name on it. We’ve got a room decorated to your tastes, and a physical therapist already relocated to the guest house, which has been converted into a rehab facility.

“Whether you drive for us later or not, you’re going home with us. You’ll see the group effort that’s gone into the Columbia farm. I think you’ll appreciate the people who made our place comfortable enough for you. Now, like I said, you’ve got two deals here—Hinman Racing and Hinman men. One is negotiable. The other, isn’t. Accept it.”

Julie’s eyes were wide. She held her head as high as she could manage and squared her shoulders. “I’ve experienced the Hinman men and believe me, I was less than impressed. What makes you think I won’t feel the same about Hinman Racing?”

Duke grunted but then put aside the blow she delivered. “The team is just that, a group effort, and our guys are winning races. Hinman Racing isn’t just me and Hank. It’s a conglomerate of the best mechanics, designers, and engineers in the business. Best I remember, you always liked team sports, Julie.”

“I used to,” she said thoughtfully. “Things have changed. You’re looking at a woman who had her life flash in front of her. There’s more to life than racing.”

“Maybe,” Duke said, not buying her reply for a second. “But there’s more racing left in you, too. So what’d ya say?”

“No,” she said firmly, looking the other way. “No all the way around.”

“That’s about what we figured you’d say,” Hank remarked, inching closer and closing the distance between him and Julie. “For the record, the racing we’re willing to talk about. The other part, sugar, isn’t open for discussion. I thought I explained that well enough. Apparently, I didn’t.”

Duke strolled toward her, grabbed her around the waist, and lifted her into his arms. At the same time, Hank removed the wooden cane from her small hand.

Seconds later, Duke secured her against his shoulder. “I never took you for a quitter, Julie. And like it or not, you don’t have a choice right now. You’re not quitting on us before you get started. You did that once already. I don’t have the stomach to watch you walk away from the people you love all over again.”