Lies and secrets find a way of destroying love.
Teri loves to work on racecars, learning her skills from her brothers back home in Indiana. When Pete Schaeffer stops at the garage where she’s working, he offers her a job on the spot to travel with him to his business in Illinois. She accepts his offer with one thing in mind, to compete in the Nascar race later in the year at the track near Pete’s garage. Pete assigns Teri Kelly O’Brien’s car to maintain, but tells her to keep a low profile because Kelly is very choosy about who works on his machines. Little does Teri know that once she meets Kelly O’Brien, her life turns into turmoil. Keeping her identity a secret is hard to do after she discovers she’s fallen for Kelly. What will happen when Kelly discovers her deception? Will he forgive and forget?
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Inside Track to Love
Copyright © 2012 Mary Suzanne
ISBN: 978-1-77111-077-8
Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Smashwords Edition
Inside Track to Love
By
Mary Suzanne
To Our Family
Chapter One
Teri Macklin stretched her arm to work out the cramp. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand, leaving a trace of grease across her face. The thick material of her work coveralls stuck to her body, making for an uncomfortable experience.
Lying beneath the high-powered car, she picked up a tool and attempted again to attach a steel bar near the bumper. Later, when the driver took the car onto the track, she wanted to make sure he had extra protection in case of a crash. The darn thing was giving her all sorts of problems not wanting to go into place, so Teri decided to get another tool to work with.
She placed her hands on the concrete floor and started to slide out when she heard voices in the office adjoining the garage. One of the voices she recognized was her boss, Pete Sheaffer, but the other she couldn’t remember hearing before.
The stranger’s voice floated down to her and a sudden shiver raced down her spine. The huskiness in the tone was doing strange things to her senses. The more she listened to the man speak, the more excited she became.
Without making a sound, she placed the wrench on the floor to listen to their conversation. What she heard didn’t set too well with Teri, but she kept silent and remained hidden.
“Are you certain this Teri Macklin is a good mechanic?” the man asked. “I just don’t want anyone working on my car before a big race. You remember what happened the last time.”
“Yes, I remember, but it wasn’t my fault,” Pete defended himself. “I’ve always hired good mechanics for you, Kelly. I want to assure you that Teri is the best in town, and you’re worrying needlessly.”
“When do I get to meet him?” An inquisitive sound punctuated his question.
Whoever he was, Teri decided he was persistent, if nothing else. She wondered why it was so important for this man to meet the mechanic, but she reasoned it was for his own safety. Just wait until he found out his mechanic was a woman.
Pete was silent for several seconds. “The mechanic isn’t around today,” he said, lying to his visitor. “I’ll try to make arrangements for you to meet Teri in the next day or so.”
“Oh, never mind, Pete!” Impatience filled Kelly’s tone. “If you say Teri Macklin is good, then I’ll take your word for it. Just make sure he doesn’t forget to check every detail on the car before next month.”
“I’ll keep on top of things,” Pete again reassured in a placating tone.
After the voices faded, Teri realized she was alone in the garage. She slid from beneath the car and made her way quietly over to the window. She craned her neck to see out to the front of the garage to where they stood in the afternoon sunshine.
Pete was doing most of the talking to a man with a thick mass of dark hair that hung a little too long and swept the collar of his polo. When he turned, she caught a glimpse of his face and the air left her lungs with a gasp.
She could see him clearly now that he was facing her. His dark gaze drifted around the parking lot over to where several racecars were lined up and ready to be worked on. He glanced at the building again, but she jerked her head back before he caught a glimpse of her watching him.
She compared this guy to the other drivers that frequented Pete’s garage, and to her, there was no comparison. It was not only his voice, but his rugged features that caused her blood pressure to rise. She judged his height to be more than six feet, with broad shoulders and a chest that matched, narrowing down to slender hips and thighs. His muscular arms looked tanned and strong.
Teri could feel her insides shaking and her heart beginning to race. She’d never had this reaction before. On closer inspection of his face, she noticed that a scar ran the length of his neck and on up to just below his ear, but this didn’t take away from his rugged, handsome appeal. In a way, it made him look more mysterious.
Eventually, he started walking across the lot with quick easy strides. As he reached the edge of the property, he turned and waved to Pete before climbing into the seat of a red sports car.