Huge Working Hero (Hard Working Hero 3)

They walk off hand in hand. Hardin smiles at her as they're talking, and she smiles back. Just watching them together is enough for me to know I have to do something. I can't, and shouldn't, just pretend like these feelings aren't real or don't exist.

I don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been because I didn't jump in with two feet. Looking back over my shoulder at my brother, Seth is sitting in the chair beside the car, his face in a comic book.

“Hey,” I say, “you good here for a bit? I'm going to go grab a snack at the stand.”

He waves his hand lazily, absorbed in the pages. “I'll be fine.” Seth doesn't even look up.

My eyes start scanning the crowd. I'm not really going for a snack. I'm going to search for the only person I really want to spend my time with. Brand.

The car show is packed. Right now, it's all about the looks. Everyone has their hoods open and are wiping or waxing their cars for the judges. Other people are relaxing back in lawn chairs with a beer in hand and a sun hat to block the hot rays.

Vendors are set up around the outskirts selling different parts and high-performance upgrades for cars. Two chamber exhaust systems that rumble like thunder, slicks for racing, radiators, belts, even cowl hoods for anyone who's looking to be more badass.

Where the hell is he? I stand up on the tips of my toes and try to look over the people walking by. I don't see him, so I wander around some more.

Finally, I spot Brand examining a cam shaft. He's holding it up and running his fingers over the lobes.

“Here you are,” I say.

Brand looks up briefly, then drops his eyes back to the engine part. “Here I am.” His voice is flat and emotionless.

“Wow, I thought you'd be a little happier to see me after yesterday, and with how long we talked last night. Plus, we're alone, no one else is around right now.”

“Yeah, well, I thought the same thing this morning, then you gave me the cold shoulder.”

I don't say anything. I'm not sure how to answer. He knows why I didn't run into his arms. He knows why we have to keep our distance.

He places down the cam shaft, then turns to face me. “Nothing to say?” He laughs cynically and shakes his head. “I should have figured. A girl like you is too good for a guy like me. Too good to even get a smile or a look or a hello. You know what, I—”

I cut him off with a kiss. I don't want to ever make him feel like I think I'm better than him, because I don't. I kiss him in the middle of the car show and let everyone around us see it.

His warm, wet lips kiss me back. This kiss is exactly what I want. My insides liquefy, and my heart is beating so fast it feels like it's going to explode. Brand wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me in against his chest.

My lips tingle as Brand pulls away and smiles. “Now that's better.”

I drop down to flat feet, my cheeks flushed and pink. “Yeah, I like that a lot better too.”

“Kelsie! Kelsie!” My mother's voice screams from somewhere behind me.

I shove Brand away, putting space between us, frantically spinning around to see where she is.

“Kelsie,” she says as she comes pushing her away through a small crowd of people.

“Hey, Mom.” I'm nervous, afraid she's on the brink of a panic attack because she saw Brand and me kissing. Anxiously, I run my fingers through my hair, my eyes wild and jittery. “What's going on?”

“Where is he? Is he with you?” She looks all around me, behind my back, around Brand and all through the vendor tent. “Where is he?”

She didn't see us kiss. She couldn't have. There's no way she would just ignore the fact I was kissing my father's employee. A man who she sees as beneath her and our family in every single way.

“Who? Who are you looking for?”

She's all over. Her body is fidgety, on the verge of frantic. It's like she didn't even hear me. She's just all over the place.

“Have you seen him? I can't find him. I can't find him anywhere.”

“Mom,” I say again louder. “Who are you looking for?” I grab the outside of her arms and force her to look at me.

“Your brother. I can't find your brother and the car is gone.”

“Wait—what?”

He did it. I knew it immediately the second she said it. Seth took the car. Where? I don't know. When? I don't know. He was there when I left to find Brand, but that was almost half an hour ago.