Page 24 of Truck You

I glance at Mac, and the smile on his face is pure magic. Despite how scary and insane this is, he’s in complete control and happy. He’s having the time of his life. I can’t deny this is a rush I enjoy, but a part of me is terrified for my life.

A wave of relief washes over me when I see the flicker of flames appear through the trees, then an opening. We bounce off the forest road and back into the open field mere seconds after another truck. The windshield is too filthy to tell who it is.

We race through the field, neck and neck with the other truck. I glance around and realize all the trucks have exited the forest and are hot on our trail.

Just ahead of us, I see a long line of lights on the ground and a short podium in the center. Someone is standing on it, waving a glowing flag in the dark.

Mac hits the gas, trying to take the truck next to us, but he doesn’t make it. Whoever it is beats us by a few seconds.

“Dammit.” Mac hits the steering wheel as we come to a stop. “That fucker always beats me.”

Chase reaches behind me and playfully punches Mac in the arm. “You may be the best behind the wheel of a racecar, but no one can beat Garret on the logging trails.”

Mac turns the truck around and heads back to where he was parked near the bonfire when I arrived. He climbs out of the cab, then turns to offer me his hand. I stare at it like it might jump out and bite me.

I meet his gaze, and the look in his eyes causes me to suck in a breath. Desire and anger are tangled up in his heated stare.

He still hasn’t called me out about the race earlier today. I expect him to be mad that I didn’t tell him, but the way he came to the defense of women drivers to Tanner gave me hope that maybe that wasn’t the case. Now, I’m not so sure.

I accept his offer to help me out. When our hands join, a jolt of energy shoots up my arm and warms my entire body. I know my face just turned bright red. I can feel it as my body heats. Thankfully, it’s dark out and he can’t see my blushing skin.

“Dude, that was awesome!” Ash hops out of the bed of Garret’s truck and jumps up on Mac’s back. “Those trails are always the best after a hard rain.”

Ash wraps his arm around my shoulder and hugs me tight. He’s covered in mud and makes no apology for getting it all over me.

I look down at myself and frown. “Glad I didn’t wear my good jeans tonight.”

Ash chuckles. “Yeah, it’s best to wear old clothes when you hang around us. You never know what we’ll get into.”

“Clearly. I’ve got mud caked in my hair too. I don’t think I’ve ever been this filthy.”

“That’s too bad.” Ash waggles his brows. “It’s fun getting filthy.”

“Har, har.” I push him off me and step back to run my fingers through my hair. With my long curly locks, it’s going to take forever to wash all this out.

“So what? You can race cars, but you don’t like a little dirt on you?” Mac says from beside me. His voice is low and gravelly.

I snap my eyes to his. “Not at all. As my dad always says, God made dirt, and dirt don’t hurt. It just would have been nice if someone would have warned me before shoving me inside the truck.”

“A warning huh?” He crosses his arms over his chest and narrows his eyes. “I could say the same thing about today’s race.”

My shoulders sag, and I sigh. “I didn’t tell you because—”

He holds up his hand to stop me. “No need to explain. I get it. You didn’t trust me enough to be honest with me. Good thing I’m used to dishonest women or else I’d be hurt.”

He turns to walk away and then stops, glancing back over his shoulder with a deep scowl on his face. “For the record, I would have been fine with it. In fact, I think it’s pretty fucking cool.”

He grabs himself a clean cup and heads for the keg before giving me a chance to defend myself.

Liam walks past me with a huge grin on his face. “See you later,S. Becker,” he says with emphasis on the S.

Mac glances back at his brother with a confused look on his face.

Oh, boy. This is going to be fun.

* * *

The driveto Mac’s family garage has my nerves on high alert. I can’t remember the last time I felt this anxious.

---