Page 79 of Truck You

Like I’ve-never-seen-a-woman-so-hot-before-in-all-my-lifehot. It’s not just her looks, either. She’s a beautiful woman for sure. Perfectly smooth pale skin, with the cutest freckles I’ve ever seen. Long, wavy red hair that glows like embers in the sunlight. And her light blue eyes are mesmerizing.

But that’s just part of the package that is Sophia Becker. Watching her drive a racecar going close to two hundred miles per hour is a sight to see. She controls that car like she’s one with it. She makes it look effortless, gliding around every corner, smooth and easy, like it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. No wonder she beat me. She’s fucking brilliant with that car.

And I can’t believe she’s mine.

Now that Ash has helped me get out of my head, I’m able to focus on the race. Sophia is doing great. If she keeps at this pace, she’s going to pass the lead car and win. Lord knows, she deserves it.

“I’m already getting calls and messages,” Liam says as he steps up beside me. I’ve been leaning against a pole next to the TV, watching the race from the pit.

“Calls about what?”

Liam grins and holds his phone so I can read a text message. It’s one of our sponsors asking about Sophia. They want to know if she’s new to our team.

My grin matches his. “I’m not surprised. She’s good. What did you tell them?”

“Nothing yet. I don’t want to speak for her.”

I nod. “That’s probably wise. I don’t think she’d appreciate that very much.”

Liam looks up at me with a hopeful gaze. “Think she’d be interested in joining our racing team?”

I shrug. “Possibly. I know she loves working with us. She’s learned a lot from Chase and Ash. She wants to keep racing. Money is her biggest obstacle. If she raced with us, that would ease her financial burden.”

“And what about you?” Liam asks, his voice hesitant.

“What do you mean? What about me?”

He looks back to the track and rubs his hand down his beard. “Mac, you’re the only racecar driver we’ve ever had. We’re a team around you. How would you feel about growing our team? And I don’t just mean Sophia.”

“Oh.” I swallow hard and stare at the TV screen. Sophia is still in second place, but one good move and she could swing past the leader. Taking a deep breath, I look back at Liam. He’s watching me with a careful eye. “Is that what you want?”

“We’ve talked about it. But not if—”

“And bywe, you mean Ash and Chase?” I don’t wait for him to finish.

He nods. “It’s just been talk. We don’t have anyone specific in mind. Well, maybe Sophia now. But we keep making cars for other teams, and those teams are winning. Maybe that should be us.”

I wait for the anger and frustration to hit me from learning that my brothers have been talking behind my back about growing the team. But it doesn’t come. I feel more relieved than anything, and that reality confuses me.

We have a team because of me and my dreams of being a racecar driver. Had I never pushed to do this as a teenager, Chase and Ash wouldn’t be making custom racecars. Even Warren might have followed a different career path had I not been so obsessed with racing as a kid.

Yet here we are. One of the best in the business, and without realizing it, I’m holding us back. If I can’t get over my anxiety from the accident and take the team all the way to the Sprint Cup, then I need to open that door for someone else. We’ve worked too hard to get to this point to not go all the way.

“I think that would be good.” I look over at Liam and smile. “If you haven’t already done it, we should make a list of young, up-and-coming drivers. If Sophia wants to officially join us, I’m good with that too.”

A broad smile lights up Liam’s entire face. “Really? You’re good with this?”

I slap his shoulder and return his smile. “Definitely. Growth is good, and I think we’re ready for it.”

He lets out a deep chuckle. “And here I was terrified to talk to you about this. I thought you’d be mad.”

“Nah, I’m not mad. In fact, this could be great.”

“Hey, get out here,” Ash calls to us from outside the tent where he’s standing next to Chase.

Chase has a headset on so he can talk with Sophia along with her crew chief. He covers his mic when he sees us approach. “Hey. Number forty-seven is giving her some trouble.”

“What’s he doing?” I ask, my anxiety instantly returning. I’d calmed down some after my earlier talk with Ash, but now it’s back with a vengeance.

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