Kurt choked and leaned against the fender of the car I was working on. “Cactus, huh? This guy must have really pissed you off.”
Obviously, Luke hadn’t had a chance to talk to Kurt about what we had talked about at breakfast. “If we could not talk about him, that would be great.”
“But what else is there to talk about, Frank? You really expected to blow back in here without even a little bit of an explanation and we were all just going to lay down and take it? You really forgot who your brothers were.”
I hadn’t forgotten how Luke, Mitch, and Kurt were. They had to have their noses in my business no matter what it was. “Can I just give you the condensed version about Brooks?” I glanced up at him.
“For now, it will do.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers, right?” I finished tightening the last bolt and stood up. I wiped my hands on my towel and tossed it at Kurt. “I’m a woman. Brooks couldn’t care less about me. Everyone else gets credit for the work I do. I got fed up, threw a wrench at him, and got suspended.”
“You got suspended for more than a couple of days?”
I had been here for over two weeks. “I got suspended for a week.”
Kurt stroked his chin. “I know I’m not the sharpest crayon in the box, Frankie, but your math is a little off. If you only got suspended for a week, your ass should have been back to the pit crew last Monday.”
“It’s brightest crayon, dumbass, and I quit after Roc told me I was suspended.”
He splayed his hands out in front of him. “I’m lost on why you would quit. You did something wrong, Frank. Do the time for the crime and then get back to work.”
“You mean go back to carrying that race team on my back and getting absolutely no recognition for it?” I shook my head. “No fucking way. That’s not the type of shit I can put up with.”
“Such a potty mouth,” Kurt tsked.
I stepped back and slammed down the hood to the car. “Learned that shit from you, Luke, and Mitch.”
He scoffed and shook his head. “Now that is a lie. You know that we are saints.”
“Saint dumbasses,” I mumbled. “There isn’t a person in town that you could try to sell that load of bullshit to. That’s why you guys found chicks that weren’t from here, or were like Leelee who could kick your ass if you decided to step out.”
Kurt pushed off the car and grabbed the bag he had dropped on the bench before. “I am highly offended, so I am not going to share my Miguel’s tacos with you.”
I took two huge steps toward Kurt, ducked to the side, and snatched the bag from his hand. “That’s fine, cause I’ll just take them.” I dodged around the car and glanced over my shoulder to see Kurt’s jaw dropped with a glare on his face.
“You tell me Leelee can kick my ass and then you steal my tacos. What happened to the sweet little girl who used to be my favorite sister?”
“Used to be?” I laughed. “Last I checked, I’m your only sister unless you just discovered a kid Mom and Dad had been hiding in the closet for the past twenty years.” I pulled out one of the still warm wrapped up tacos and held it to my nose. I had missed Miguel’s. I inhaled deeply and sighed. “This is going to be the most delicious lunch ever.”
The shop door shut, and my head snapped that direction. Kurt had left. “Well, that didn’t take much to get rid of him,” I mumbled. I unwrapped the taco and took a huge bite.
Something wasn’t right about this, though. Kurt never gave up that easily. I could count on one hand the amount of times I was able to get the upper hand over him. I took another bite and leisurely strolled over to the door he had walked out of. It didn’t hurt to check on Kurt to see what he was up to.
I set the bag of tacos on the bench by the door, grabbed one more taco, and pushed open the door. “Ugh, totally should have grabbed my sunglasses,” I groaned. I shielded my eyes from the blinding sun with the extra taco and spotted Kurt crouched next to my pearl white Challenger. “Mind telling me what the hell you are doing?” I called.
Kurt looked over at me and smiled. “You take my food, I let the air out of your tires.”
My jaw dropped, and my eyes scanned my tires which were slowly sinking to the ground. “Hey, you can’t fucking do that!” Kurt walked behind the car and crouched down again. “Stop!” I screeched. That fucker was taking the damn valve core out of my tires.
I darted across the short distance to my car, but not before I heard the loud telltale hiss of air leaving my left rear tire. I heard the crunch of tires as someone pulled into the parking lot of the shop, but I was too occupied with thoughts of murdering Kurt. I knocked him down before he could stand up, and he sprawled out on the gravel parking lot with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Steal my fucking tacos, and I’ll flatten all of your tires.” He tossed the valve tool at me.
I snatched the tool out of the air, knowing he had snagged it from my own tool box. “You’re gonna put the damn air back in my tires, Kurt.”
He shook his head. “No can do. I need to get out of here soon to grab Noah from school. You’re on your own, Frank.” He laughed and hoisted himself off the ground.
“Excuse me.”
Kurt and I turned around to see who was talking.
“Can we help you?” Kurt called.
“I’m looking for Frankie.”
The blood drained from my face right about the same time the words “holy shit” fell from Kurt’s mouth.
Brooks Cummings was here.
*
Brooks
I was tired.
I was pissed.
I was hungry.
Not exactly the mood I wanted to be in when I first saw Frankie.
I left my wallet at the house when I was packing. Thankfully, my passport had been tucked into the side pocket of my carry-on so I was able to fly to Illinois, but eating hadn’t been an option. I had called the office at Cummings Racing and had money transferred to a nearby bank, but the funds weren’t going to be available until after three. It was only two.
“Shit, it’s Brooks fucking Cummings.”
When the cab pulled up, I had spotted Frankie sprinting across the parking lot and knock over the guy who had just spoken. “Uh, yeah. That’s me.”
He turned to Frankie. “Your asshole boss is here,” he taunted her.
Frankie elbowed him in the side and hissed for him to shut the hell up.
The cab honked it’s horn, and I knew I was going to have to do the thing that I had been dreading since I had gotten into the smelly, yellow car. I slid my sunglasses on top of my head and sighed. Asking for money was always a good way to start a conversation. “Would either of you happen have money on you to cover the cab? It’s been a long day, and the story of me not having money on me is one I’d rather tell over a burger and a cold beer.”
The guy instantly grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and walked over to the cab.
Frankie crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. From the vibes she was throwing my way, I knew I should feel lucky this guy was here because I’m positive she wouldn't have given me a penny. “Not even a hi for me, Frankie?” I had barely spoken five words to her before she chucked a wrench at my head two weeks ago, so I was really starting from square one with her.