Dirty Looks (Dirt Track Dogs: The Second Lap Book 1) (9 page)

But they had time. He’d fix her up with the dogs, somehow, and there’d be time to take things farther later.

Annie stood from the table and started gathering his trash.

“Take care of her, and whatever is meant to be will be. I’ve seen it plenty of times. These things have a way of working out.”

Funny, but Aaron hadn’t seen a lot of things “working out” in his time away, so his sister’s words weren’t so easy to accept.

“Does that mean you think Drake will take in the vixens?”

Annie cocked her head to the side, thinking.

“I honestly don’t know what he’ll say. But how about this? You and the foxes can ask him yourself, tonight. We’re grilling at six, me and Surge. You’re all invited.”

Aaron arched an eyebrow. “You think the alpha will be cool with that?”

“Bring drinks and—now write this down, it’s specific—sour apple Bubblicious. Do that, and your invitation will stand.” She gave him a wink as she tossed his used napkins in the trash barrel. “I can’t promise what he’ll say about the other though. This just gets you in the door, so be on your best behavior. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am. Bossy little sister.”

“Only by four minutes,” she reminded.

She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and then squeezed, reminding him what home felt like. What safe felt like.

“I like them, Aaron,” she murmured. “I hope the others do too.”

He grunted an agreement.

“Oh! I almost forgot.” She rummaged around in her purse before coming out with an overstuffed envelope. Shoving it toward him, she said, “This is yours.”

Frowning, Aaron thumbed it open to find a thick wad of cash inside. Twenties and hundreds.

“No, Annie,” argued. “I’m okay for money and I have this job now. Rider’s paying. I don’t need you to support me.”

She shook her head causing her curls to swing, and held her hand up to stop him. “I’m not supporting you, brother. This is your share.”

“My share of what?”

“Red Cap. I figure since I’ve kept it afloat all these years, and made it my own, I should buy out your part. Make it mine for real, on paper. That envelope right there contains your fair share of our family business, that is now solely mine. There are some papers for you to sign, but otherwise it’s a done deal. I even went and got you cash since I figured you hadn’t had time to open a bank account yet. I hope you don’t mind.”

Aaron stared at the envelope. Red Cap was always Annie’s.

“It’s exactly how mom and dad would’ve wanted it,” he murmured.

“I figured you were ready to let it go for good and start your own path. This money will help.”

“You didn’t need to buy it from me, sis.”

Her sweet smile was sun shining on him. Always. She was always the sun.

“I know, silly. I wanted to. Like I said, make it legal and start you off on the right foot back at home. It makes sense.”

Aaron shook his head, grinning. “Sure, Annie-girl. If you say so.”

She bent, pecking his cheek. “I do,” she said, and then heading for her car. “See ya later, brother.”

On her way out, she passed Rider coming back from a parts run. Without a word, his friend yanked hard on the garage door and slid the lock into place.

“Closing early,” he called.

“Why?” Aaron had hoped for a full day’s work but with the envelope of cash in his pocket, he really didn’t need it as bad as he had before.

“Waldo called. Says we need to get to the track ASAP. He decided to let the bikers use it for practice. Big mistake.” There was humor in his voice.

“What happened?” Aaron gulped the rest of his lunch and tossed the bag into the trash.

“The girls are tearing it up,” Rider said with a smirk. “Waldo’s spitting mad, I can tell. But he’s also impressed. And if they’re good enough to impress Waldo, this is something we gotta see.” He tossed Aaron the keys to his truck. “You drive. I gotta call Rod.”

As they hopped in Rider’s Chevy and started toward the dirt track, the spot inside Aaron that felt familiar, that felt like
him
, settled even more, soothing the past that had been chipping away at him.

He was finding himself alright. And quicker than he’d ever expected.

Chapter Nine

Lexington spent the morning getting a feel for the track. It was different than Mac’s. Looser, and more sandy. But that wasn’t what had her sliding all over the place and getting jammed in the fresh ruts her and the girls had created. She was having trouble concentrating.

Angry Aaron had turned to mush last night right before her eyes.

She hadn’t expected it. She’d been trying to create distance after his scuffle with the alpha, and angry at herself for not knowing who she brought with her for the first meeting. Angry and sad that the male she found so intriguing had a beef with the pack she wanted to be part of.

But when she’d been clear what was at stake, he’d dropped the hard shell pretense. He’d listened to her plight, and as if they were old friends, he’d promised to stand back-to-back with her as they muddled through it.

Besides Mac, she’d never known a male so willing to take on trouble with her. She’d only known males who wanted to take
from
her. Men with grubby grabby hands. She was beginning to think those men were the exception, and maybe these small town, home grown males were the rule.

And if that was the case… she wanted one for her own.

Him
, her fox purred.
Mine
.

Her animal’s insistent declaration was what had her so on edge.

Having a mate was never a good idea before. Not for the females. Actually
wanting
one was completely new territory for her, and she couldn’t decide if she was up for it yet. Even if he’d given her the most epic whirlwind of butterflies when he’d dried her tears. Even though he’d shown her the utmost respect when pretending she hadn’t broken down crying.

But she sure was curious about him. He was an entire iceberg and she’d only seen the tip.

Gunning the engine, she surged forward.

They were taking the straight, when she spotted Aaron watching from behind the fence. He’d joined Waldo, Mac, and Kit, and he wasn’t alone. Two of the males he’d been drinking with at Red Cap were there too.

Lexington grinned. They had an audience.

She accelerated, preparing to head into the first turn. She was just a hair ahead of Ragan on the inside. As her bike dipped low, Lexington flung out her left leg for balance.

Focus, focus. Hold tight
.

Coming out of the bend, her back wheel fishtailed and she hit the gas hard to dig out of the rut. Glancing back, she watched dirt spray up in a huge arc, and let out a laugh. She might be riding bad, but the dirt don’t lie. She was ahead, and Ragan was wearing her mud.

“Haha!
Roosted!
”

Zooming forward, she was a full bike length leading going into the next turn, but Sera came out of nowhere, cutting her off on the inside before she could tighten up. Lexington was forced to the outside, and right into the bumpy ridge that sent her skidding sideways.

“Aw, hell no.” She wasn’t getting put in the weeds while her man was watching. That just wouldn’t do.

Coming around the edge, she did a brake check right in Barb’s line, forcing her to slow, and giving Lexington just enough time to get her momentum back.

Kit waved the flag for the last lap, and Lexington felt the adrenaline course through her veins. She knew her girls would feel it too. They all liked winning, but there could only be one victor.

Be fast or be last.

She was neck and neck with Seraphina, her throttle pushed to the max as they jockeyed for position. The turn was coming and she had to block her out if she wanted the lead. To her advantage, Sera took the corner too wide, creating just enough space for Lexington to slip past, gaining her inside line once again.

And now all she had to do was keep it. One last turn and she’d win this.

She pushed her bike as hard as it would go on the straightaway, eyeing the others over her shoulder. She had this win in the bucket. As long as she didn’t screw up this turn.

She took it tight and fast, sliding the entire way around the bend, and digging a rut so deep it would certainly slow the others down. Once she was clear, she opened the throttle wide, speeding to the finish, the dust in her wake her only
The End
.

Boom, baby
.

Slowing, she brought her bike to a park and shut the engine off, waiting for the girls to catch up.

Sally was next, followed by Seraphina and Barb, with Ragan pulling in last.

Sally came off her bike fast, ditching her helmet and chucking it to the ground.

“That was
bullshit
,” she yelled, but it didn’t sound as loud as it probably was. Lexington was still hearing phantom engine noises. “You were riding squirrely the entire time, and in the end you just ghost us? What the hell?”

Lexington laughed, removing her mask. “Don’t be a sore loser, Sally.”

“She was sandbagging,” Seraphina groused, being a touch more careful with her helmet.

They thought she was riding bad on purpose, to make them think she was having an off day. Well, let them think it. They didn’t need to know she
was
actually having an off day.

Lexington looked up to find Mac. He nodded slowly, a satisfied gleam in his eye, and she warmed under his obvious approval. It was as close to a pat on the back she was going to get from the lug.

Waldo strolled over, Aaron and the others following him.

Her eyes caught on her human. His jaw was set, his lips drawn tightly together as his gaze pressed into her. She felt it like an invasion. Maybe it was the hot way his eyes raked her, maybe it was simply adrenaline from the race. Whatever the case, his presence had her trembling and struggling to find breath.

Waldo whistled, and she dragged her gaze away.

The track owner crouched low, shaking his head in dismay, and whipping off his trucker’s hat to smooth down the twelve hairs that topped his head before replacing it again. “Well, I’ll be...” His potbelly pooched out as he inspected the raised dirt. “You girls did a number on my track.”

Lexington shot the girls a warning look, but Sally didn’t catch the hint.

“Spshh. Ain’t our fault your track can’t handle us. When it’s hot, it’s hot. We can’t go putting a fire extinguisher to things.”

“Wheeeewy,” the one in the baseball cap hooted. He had a Megadeth t-shirt on, ripped to hell jeans, and… hunter orange Converse shoes? He grinned lazily, giving Lexington the idea that he didn’t care much about anything. “She told you, Waldo. And she can do that because she’s right.” He put his palm to his chest. “Rod Turner, ladies. And can I just say, if the track can’t handle it hot,
I
surely can.”

The one with the greased up hair and tar-stained shirt elbowed him with a scowl. Rider, from the bar. Rider Daley.

“Whaaa?” Rod shrugged. “If watching that didn’t give you a boner,
what will
is all I got to ask.”

Sally eyed him. “If that’s you with a boner, it looks like there’s not much to work with there.” She glanced at Seraphina. “Two point oh, with the possibility of an upgrade to a five.”

Rod looked back and forth between the two. “Wait… what are you talking about? What’s that mean?”

“The Dick-ter scale,” Seraphina told him.

He frowned hard. “The Dick-ter scale,” he mouthed.

“Aw, damn,” Waldo muttered. “The idiot’s right though. The fans will love your style of riding.” The old man was clearly seeing dollar bills behind his eyelids, but that just meant the vixens had made quite an impression.

“So what do we do about this?” Rider asked, nodding at the torn up dirt.

Waldo sighed, standing. “Hell, I suppose we’ll knock it down tonight before it gets hard. Scrape it good and then get a dozer in here to compact it.”

“Making the track harder is going to piss off the drivers who are used to it being soft.”

Waldo shrugged, spitting tobacco juice on the ground.

“Meh. Who cares. The fans will appreciate me changing things up a bit. They getting too used to those Dirt Track Dogs winning all the time.”

Lexington caught Aaron’s eyes, and somehow she felt like maybe he hadn’t ever looked away. Like he’d been watching her with that bottomless gaze. Like he’d gotten lost in just looking at her. And as if his stare was a hook and she was a helpless fish, she was snared. She couldn’t look away, didn’t want to.

Locked in his gaze, her chest warmed and tightened with growing emotion. Her fox pranced inside, relishing the human’s attention. She really didn’t have time to fall in love. She needed to secure her vixens and Kit. But this wonderful ache that grew in her middle with every second that passed didn’t like being ignored. She wanted to explore it. Wanted to be an adventurer to her own love story—if that’s what this was to become.

He strolled forward, never taking his eyes from her as the others bantered on. Each step brought him closer, and made her fox giddy with excitement until her animal was yipping at his nearness.

Get closer to mine
.

He eased to a stop just inches from touching her, but still, he didn’t feel close enough.

“Hey there, baby girl.”

His husky words rolled over her skin bringing chills in their wake. It was the third time he’d called her that. She was keeping a tally.

“Cowboy,” she breathed.

The corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. It was like his mouth had a comma, leaving her hanging on to whatever came before while she waited for what came next.

His eyes left hers and traveled down over her neck, lower.

“You’re all dirty,” he murmured, tipping his chin at her.

“Part of the gig.” Her voice was wispy thin, but she didn’t care. He took her breath away. She wouldn’t be ashamed of it. Maybe she should be, but she’d never done what she was supposed to. It was why her and the girls were rogue in the first place. Playing by the rules wasn’t her style.

He reached forward with his thumb and wiped softly under her eye. “It’s just nature’s glitter, baby.”

Her smile grew, transforming into a giggle. Like, a full-on teenaged girl with a high school crush…
giggle
. She was horrified, but she couldn’t stop. It felt too good. And Aaron liked it too. She could tell by the way his eyes widened and got that soft look they got when he cared about something.

Did he care about her already? She knew humans didn’t fall as fast as shifters did. Humans had to grow the bond, where shifters felt it almost instantly because of their animal.

The noise around them went suddenly quiet, and Lexington looked up to find that her and Aaron had become the center of attention. Mac frowned hard, Sally mimicking him. Seraphina and Barb both had that curious mouth shrug going on. Ragan was giving a disgusted look that had no name.

And it was the same with the humans.

Waldo arched an eyebrow and then shook his head like he had better things to worry with. But Rider and Rod both seemed uncomfortable, fidgeting as they eyed Aaron.

“Mama, mama!” Kit came running from behind the fence, barreling past them with his little booted legs until he reached Ragan.

She squatted to meet him eye to eye. “What is it, Kit-Kat?”

But his eyes were so big and he couldn’t seem to make his mouth work fast enough. All the sounds coming from him were spits and sputters.

Seraphina bent down, running her hand along his back. “Breathe, Kit.”

He drew in a long shuddering breath but the terror in his expression didn’t fade.

Lexington crouched next to Ragan. “Kit, baby. Tell us what’s wrong.”

He hiccupped, trying to catch his breath. “The bad guys, Auntie Lex. The bad, bad guys. I-I can’t remember the code word, but they’re here. They’re coming, I saw ‘em.”

The bad guys.

“Orange,” Lexington murmured. “The code word is orange.”

They’d taught him to use the word if he ever sensed another shifter nearby. It was a hard lesson to teach a six year old, to constantly be on alert for danger, but it was necessary.

Lexington felt Ragan’s fox flare like it wanted out of her body, sharp energy that made the hairs on her arms stand at attention. “How did they find us here?”

“Bastards,” Barb hissed.

“Orange,” Lexington called loud, standing and ripping off her riding jacket and tossing it over her bike. “Ragan, go. Now. Take Kit out of here. Sera, go with her. No one touches the boy, hear me? No matter what.”

Seraphina nodded, urging Kit to move, but there was a war in Ragan’s eyes.

“What are you going to do?”

“Fight,” Sally said. She’d already ditched her riding gear, leaving her in her tank and leathers. “What we’ve prepared to do this whole damn time. It’s here, it’s now.”

“You won’t win,” Ragan moaned, her eyes moving back and forth between Kit retreating with Seraphina, and Lexington. “This will never end, will it?”

“What the hell is happening?” Aaron barked, and Lexington found his frustrated gaze.