Free Turn & Burn by Eden Connor Page A

another text, then turned off my cell phone.
    Richard strode to his place, but didn’t take a seat. Grabbing his roll of silverware, he selected a spoon and used it to bang his water glass.
    The ringing tone silenced the buzz of alcohol-fueled conversation. “All right, folks. Gather ‘round. Time to kick this thing off.” Richard pressed on, even though stragglers still congregated near the hall that led to the bar, chatting amongst themselves. “Now, I know last season wasn’t the best we ever had, but tonight, we do have somethin’ more’n Christmas to celebrate.”
    “Doris, they make a pill to prevent that shit!” someone cried, to the crowd’s amusement.
    When the laughter died down, Richard plowed ahead. “I see two or three faces in the crowd who might know what I’m fixin’ to tell y’all, but most of you signed on later, so it might surprise you to hear that Dale Hannah just finished up his twenty-fifth year with Ridenhour Racing. I’d kinda lost track of it myself, to be honest. When it hit me, I knew damn well Dale wouldn’t want me to make a big deal of it. In fact, he just about dared me to.”
    I darted a look at Dale. Sure enough, his expression turned to a glower.
    Richard waved the spoon like a scepter. “So, I was just about to let go of the idea of markin’ it some way, when I got me an unexpected partner in crime. Her name’s Shelby Roberts. Let’s all give Dale’s little girl our attention.”
    “And to think, I was gonna buy you a new car.” Dale raised his chin to glare as I got to my feet, but he turned on Mom. “And Macy, I swear to God, if you had a hand in this, I’m gonna spank your ass.”
    “Oh, in that case, I take full credit.” Mom’s giggle and schoolgirl blush made the entire table burst into laughter.

Chapter Six

    I got to my feet and moved to Richard’s side, thanking God for my public speaking classes. I gave the room a bright smile. Fastening my eyes on Dale, I took a deep breath and began the speech I’d rehearsed for weeks.
    “The night my mother introduced us, Dale, I’ll admit, I gave the whole we-got-married-at-lunchtime thing six months to implode.” Abruptly, Dale shoved his chair to the side and crossed his arms over his chest. I saw no hint of a smile. Combined with his defensive posture, I realized he was pissed. Maybe no one knew he and Mom made such a hasty decision.
    Maybe my brilliant plan to make Colt pay was about to crash and burn on takeoff. No choice now, I had to go through with this. I looked away from him to scan other faces around the tables, noting the surprised looks.
    “Anyway, if y’all know Dale, you know he loves vintage muscle cars. The day he put the keys to a 1971 Barracuda Hemi in my hand, all I knew about the car was that it was purple and the top went down, so I decided I could make do without power windows and cruise control.”
    The men laughed at the stupid little girl who didn’t appreciate what she’d been given. I needed them to buy into that mindset, but my cheeks began to heat.
    “Then, when I went away to college, I figured he’d hang onto the ‘Cuda, but he brought it down to Spartanburg where I go to school, and once again, he put the keys in my hand. Now, I know this will be hard for most of you to believe, but that car became my cross to bear.”
    Dale’s expression was truly thunderous now, but I had the room’s complete attention, so I relaxed into my story. “See, my roommate can take her new BMW and run out for doughnuts and be back in five minutes, ready to study. Takes me a minimum of forty minutes to make that same trip, because someone always wants to talk about that car.”
    A few chuckles pinged around the room. I stared right at Dale, but was aware I had Colt and Caine’s full attention.
    “Then, one Sunday before a huge test on Monday, I lost the coin flip with my roommate and had to make the Krispy Kreme run. Let me tell you, everyone in Spartanburg’s at that place on the