Remy
“You think the car is ready for this weekend?”
Frankie shrugged. “As ready as she’s going to be. I think the engine could stand a little bit more tuning, but hopefully with the first qualifying pass, I can get everything dialed in.”
“I haven’t even seen Brooks this whole week. You would think the guy would be around to help get the car ready.”
Frankie scoffed and wiped her hands on a shop towel. “Pfft, that would mean he actually cared about something besides himself.”
“You would think he would care about the hurtling piece of metal and nitro he straps himself to.” I leaned against the workbench and crossed my arms over my chest. “He could have some shit going on we don’t know about. I’m sure owning your own race team isn’t stress-free.”
“I’d rather not talk about that knob unless I absolutely have to.”
Frankie had a rather escalated hatred for the guy who paid her every week.
“Frank, Grain. Get your asses in gear and start loading up the trailers.” Roc stood on the other side of the shop shouting orders to Frankie and me. “We need to make sure we have every spare part we could need times three. If we make it to the finals, that’s at least nine drags down the track. Think of everything we could need, then add to it. There is a checklist on the clipboard in the trailer. Make like Santa Claus and check that thing twice.”
“Santa Claus?” Frankie laughed. “Ninety percent of the time, Roc is a hardass, and then he says something ridiculous like that.”
“Not like he's ever been anything but nice to you.” I grabbed a pair of work gloves and made my way to the trailer outside.
“Hey, you can’t be mad at me for Roc riding you so hard.”
I pulled open the side door and grabbed the clipboard hanging on the wall right inside. “I wouldn’t mind it if I was doing something I shouldn’t be. I do everything the guy says to do, and he still acts like all I do is stand around all day.”
“Standing around all day is my job.” Jay grabbed the clipboard from my hand. “You guys start grabbing shit. I’ll check everything off.”
Frankie laughed. “You would take the easiest job.”
Jay shrugged. “Someone has to do it. Besides, Remy can’t do it because then we would have to deal with Roc being as asshole.”
Six hours later, we had the three haulers and two pickup trucks loaded.
“Holy fuck, that is a shit-ton of stuff.” Jay sat on the tailgate of one of the trucks and tossed the clipboard over his head into the bed of the truck.
“What the hell are you complaining about? All you did was look at the damn list the whole time.” Frankie grabbed her water bottle and squirted it at him.
“Fuck you.” He rotated his wrist and grimaced. “That was a lot of check marks and shit I had to cross off.”
Frankie shook her head. “The odds are good I’m going to kick you in the balls before this season is over.”
Jay held up his hands. “Hey, hey, cool your jets, woman. I’ll sic Leelee on you.”
She scoffed. “Please, she is married to my brother. What exactly do you think she is going to do to me?”
I had only met Leelee a couple of times, but I wouldn’t want her on my ass. She was a bad-ass chick who ran her own speed shop up north. Frankie and Jay had known each other all through high school. Jay’s sister, Leelee, had married Frankie’s brother, Kurt.
Jay sighed, defeated. “Dammit. You also have Luke and Mitch.”
“Both of which plan on being in the Glades in four weeks,” Frankie said smugly.
“Yeah, Leelee said her and Kurt were going to be there, too. You and I both know Leelee can bring all your brothers to their knees.”
Frankie flipped him off. “You’ve never seen my brothers when it comes to me, asswipe.” She tucked her bottle under her arm. “I’m heading back to the house to pack up. You two might want to do the same thing. Roc said we all need to be here ready to go by five a.m.”
It was already half-past eight, and I didn’t have anything packed of my own. “I was surprised Roc disappeared around six.”
Jay hopped off the bed of the truck. “That’s what happens when you’re the boss man.”
One day, that was going to be me. Except I wouldn’t leave in the middle of the chaos like Roc did today. “Well, since I rode in with you today, Frankie, looks like I’m heading home to pack too.”
“I’m gonna stop and grab something to eat. You guys want anything?” Jay asked.
“Where you stopping?”
Jay put his arm around Frankie’s shoulders. “Where ever you want me to stop, shorty.”
Frankie elbowed him in the side. “I’m not short, and I want Chinese.”
Jay put his hand on her head and rumpled her hair. “Good. I’m stopping to get pizza, then.” He took off toward his car, laughing his ass off.
“Should I really be surprised he took off before we’re actually done?” she grumbled.
That was the thing about Jay—the guy could do nothing and come out looking like he had worked the hardest. It was like he had a damn horseshoe shoved up his ass.
I shrugged and headed to the shop to lock everything up. “You’ve known the guy a hell of a lot longer than I have, Frank, and I’m not surprised by it.”
After Frankie and I shut down the shop and locked everything up, we headed back to the house. Jay was already there with two large pizzas and a couple containers of Chinese sitting on the kitchen table.
“How in the hell did you manage to go to two places and still make it home before we did?” I asked. I grabbed a couple of plates from the cabinet and three beers from the fridge.
Jay shrugged. “Monica was working at the pizza place, and Ming was at the Chinese place.”
“And you’re dating both of them?” Frankie asked.
“Dating isn’t the word I would use,” he replied smugly. “That wouldn’t be fair to Joy and Maya.”
Jesus. I didn’t even know how the guy could keep track of them all. “One day, your shit is going to catch up to you. Especially in this small town.”
Jay grabbed a plate and piled it full with pizza. “They know where they stand. I never promise these girls anything more than a little bit of fun.”
“Fun is going to get your ass kicked by four girls one day.” Frankie grabbed the two containers of Chinese. “I’m gonna pack. See you assholes in the morning.”
“Hey,” Jay shouted around a mouthful of pizza. “I wanted some of that.”
She flipped him off and disappeared up the stairs.
“I put up with her bullshit, and I don’t get anything out of it,” he grumbled.
“You try to hit that, and you know she’ll kick you in the balls so fast, you won’t even see it coming.”
Jay sank down on the couch in the living room and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. “Been there, done that.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Jay had never told me he hooked up with Frankie. I sat down in the recliner and reached down to kick up the footrest. “You and Frankie?”
Jay laughed. “For about two-point-four seconds. I didn’t even get to first base before she told me to fuck off.”