Free Crossing the Line (Hard Driving) by Audra North

lifted her head up for a kiss, and he obliged with a smile.
    “Nothing like a kiss from the woman I love at the end of a hard day.” Then he pulled back and frowned. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
    Mom shook her head. “To be honest, I was worried about you two. I’ve had three people today stop me on the street and ask me if it’s true that Ty bribed the race inspectors to pass his car with modifications.”
    Dad’s head snapped up and his gaze met Ty’s. The similarity in that accusation was way too close to what Bobby’s former crew chief had done—bribery before a race—to be dismissed.
    Good, though. Maybe now, Dad would finally see reason and make a public statement. Maybe now he would understand how important it was to fight to defend the integrity of Riggs Racing by owning up to the mistakes of his past.
    But that didn’t happen.
    Instead, Dad relaxed his expression, then turned back to wink at Mom. “It’s just idle gossip, is all. It’ll blow over eventually. Don’t worry about it. But if you need something to relieve stress in the meantime, maybe you can pick up a hobby. Like cross-stitching.” Dad’s voice was solicitous, like he really meant what he was saying, but Ty could see the twinkle in his eye. The day Mom took up cross-stitching would probably signal the end of the world. She spent most of her free time reading heavy textbooks and presenting papers at conferences—domestic labor wasn’t really her thing. She laughed.
    Ty clenched his fists at his sides and tried not to shout at them both for ignoring what was quickly becoming a very unpleasant reality.
    Don’t upset Dad. Don’t upset Dad.
    But damn it, he
had
to get out of there and find a way to let go of this angry energy that was threatening to explode out of him. To relieve some stress.
    Hmm.
Dad had been joking just now with Mom about relieving stress, but he had a good point. A little distraction might be exactly what Ty needed, too. In fact, it might be the only thing that kept him sane over the next couple of months.
    Which was probably why, when they all parted and Ty left the garage to go home, he found himself slipping a hand into his back pocket to clutch at the paper like it was a talisman.
    He was going to call Cori the first chance he got.

Chapter 5
    That night, Cori walked into her tiny rented cottage just past eight o’clock, feeling like the world’s hottest mess. Somehow, over the last week, her life had gone on a bender and she was still racing to catch up with it.
    After her meeting with Alex that morning, she’d rushed to take care of the things that had piled up in her other role while she’d been out of the office—ordering supplies, paying bills, filing expense reports, essentially managing the office the way she always had. But on top of that, she’d had to book travel and get her reporting schedule lined up for the next race, and things had gotten so busy that she hadn’t even had time for lunch.
    But by the time she left the office for the long drive home, she was so hungry that she didn’t feel like eating, even though that made no sense. It was like her body had simply given up on any hope of food and had adjusted to running on fumes.
    Now that she was home,
thank God,
she would grab something small to eat, then fall into bed and try to sleep off the intensity of today’s emotional roller coaster. But she’d barely crossed onto the faded linoleum and switched on the light when her phone rang.
    Every muscle in her body went tight with anticipation.
    She turned around and, despite her exhaustion, practically ran back to where she’d left her bag on the floor, rummaging through it for her phone.
    It’s probably just Mom and Dad. It’s probably not Ty. Calm yourself. Don’t get your hopes up. Don’t—
    She yanked her phone out and stared at the caller ID.
Restricted number.
That was usually reserved for people trying to sell her things she didn’t need or want, which was why she was