Pole Position (Country Roads 2)

“Uh-oh,” Brant said. “That is a problem.”

“Yep. You get four guesses which one caught my eye, and the first three don’t count.”

Brant finished off his first beer and stood. “You’re being too hard on yourself. Just sit there and chill. I’ll be back in a minute.”

A minute passed and Brant didn’t return. A few minutes more, and Colt was ready to hit the door and get some fresh air. There was something wrong with him. That’s all there was to it. He couldn’t have looked at Princess as anything more than that little girl who won his heart when she invited him to a tea party. Could he?

Chapter Eight

Princess tried to steady her shattering nerves. She looked in the bathroom mirror and attempted to fix her hair. Her hands were shaking so violently that she immediately turned on the faucet and washed them in hopes no one would notice how uneasy she’d become.

“Hey, girl.” Catherine Belton, another rookie driver, came in the restroom about the time she reached for a hand towel. “You okay, honey? You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine,” Princess assured her, checking out her makeup again.

“Did you see those two cowboys who came in during that last song?”

“I saw them,” Princess replied.

Catherine arched her brows. “I say we get a little frisky on those fellas. What’d you say?”

“No,” Princess replied abruptly. “I know them.”

“Are you serious? How about you do a friend a favor and introduce me to the one who looks like a rocker. Good God, I could do maddening things with that man’s hair.”

Princess noticed how red her cheeks became when Catherine implied she’d take Brant to bed. Princess had thought about that a lot since she’d became a woman, and if anyone tangled their fingers through Brant’s hair, it would be her!

“I haven’t seen them in a long time. They’re in their thirties, and if I had to guess, they’re both married.”

“Didn’t see a ring on either one of

their hands,” Catherine reported. “And I gotta tell you, the way that tall cowboy looked at you, I don’t think he’s the marrying type, sweetie. His eyes were glued to your ass when you turned around and shook it for the crowd.”

Princess blushed again. This time anger wasn’t the reason she saw the pink in her cheeks when she studied her reflection. She was blushing for a better cause. “You think he was looking at me?”

Catherine fluffed her hair. “Think, hell. That man was lusting after your cute butt.”

“He probably doesn’t remember me, then.” If he did, he surely wouldn’t have been staring at her bottom. She immediately thought of the kind men who’d pulled her away from those cold Kentucky mountains, and her heart swelled with the love she’d always felt for them.

“How long has it been since you last saw him?”

She shrugged and fought to restrain the tears threatening to dampen her face. She knew the day, time, and place when she last saw Colt and Brant. “I was a kid.”

“Well you aren’t a kid now. Get out there and rope in a cowboy, lady. If you leave one of them on the bar tonight, I swear I’ll take them both home with me.”

Princess balked at that. Catherine always picked up guys in strange towns. She had one of the nicest and most frequented RVs on the lot. She’d also earned herself quite the reputation. Princess was not about to let Colt or Brant end up paying a visit to Catherine’s mattress.

Oh no, if a headboard was going to bang tonight in that Bristol infield, she fully planned to be the inspiration behind the wood.

* * * *

The music started again and the DJ said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we promised you a rocking night here at Bristol Streets. We believe in keeping our promises! Let’s introduce the ladies who will be behind the wheel tomorrow. What’d you say we put our hands together and welcome Bethany Brooks!”

The crowd clapped, a few men hollered, and Miss Brooks sashayed across the bar after a few men hoisted her up and helped her to her feet. Dressed in the same provocative attire, Bethany shot Colt a quick glance. His stomach rolled as he watched the woman shake hands and sign autographs. The men looked as if they couldn’t wait to grope her. The DJ told a little bit about her and Bethany smiled as cameras flashed around her.

Brant returned with a frosted beer mug. “Looks like Princess will be properly introduced in a minute. Maybe after you see her again, you won’t sit there like a sour toad on a log.”

“I doubt that,” he grumbled, unsure if he could sit still while Princess proudly displayed her assets for any man to see.