Jacked Up by Erin McCarthy Page B

around him. Whereas with everyone else, she knew what she was capable of and didn’t give a rat’s ass what they thought, with Nolan she wanted to show him she could do it.
    It was so stupid it needed a whole new word for it.
    So as she followed him up the long drive, nothing but grass and corn growing as far as the eye could see, she vowed to get her shit together.
    A brick ranch house sprung up out of nowhere. It was tidy and sprawling, but it still didn’t look big enough to house nine kids. Nolan’s arm popped out of the window of his truck and gestured for her to park to the left. There was a big gravel turnaround in front of the garage, a barn a few hundred feet from that.
    As she turned the truck off, she saw the front door open and a man who looked an awful lot like her own father come strolling out. He was around six foot tall, still in good shape, hair almost completely gray. Behind him came Rhett, who Eve knew, but had never really made the connection was Nolan’s brother. Rhett was the kind of guy who walked with swagger, who joked and teased and charmed.
    The kind of guy Eve took great pleasure in slamming down into the dirt when he hit on her.
    Nothing like Nolan.
    Well, maybe a little like Nolan in that he was attractive and had green eyes. But Rhett’s arms weren’t as buff, and you always got the impression he wasn’t telling you the full story. Nolan was pretty much the you got what you saw kind of guy. She dug that about him.
    Oh, hell, who was she kidding? She just dug him.
    They were going to have sex after the demo derby. He said he’d guarantee it. It was going to be hard to drive with that kind of anticipation.
    She probably shouldn’t have just thrown it out there like that. It probably made her look easy. But she said what she was thinking and that was exactly the thought that had been running through her head. Too late to take it back now.
    Hopping down out of the truck, she swiped her hair out of her eyes.
    “Eve, this is my dad, Nolan Ford Senior. Dad, meet Eve Monroe.”
    “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, sticking her hand out for a shake. “Thanks for letting me work on the car here. You have a nice property.”
    “My pleasure.” He shook her hand firmly, which she appreciated. It was no wimpy you’re a girl so I’ll hold back shake. “We’ve got the room, might as well use it. Now that all the kids except for this loser”—he pointed to Rhett—“are out of the house, we have more land than we know what to do with.”
    “Gee, thanks, Dad. Way to make a guy feel good about himself.” Not that Rhett looked the least bit concerned, really. He was grinning. “Eve, good to see you.”
    “Yeah, you, too. Nolan says you’ve driven in the demo derby before. Got any tips for a newbie?”
    “Yeah. Hit hard.”
    Well, duh. “I’ll remember that.”
    “No, seriously, hit first. They’ll be gunning for you because you’re a chick. And if anyone catches wind of who you are, they’ll really be after you.”
    “Who am I?” she asked, even though she knew what he meant. The thought made her want to sigh.
    “The Monroe family is racing royalty. Your father, your brothers . . . there’s some serious record holding going on there. The other guys will want to take a piece of you just to have a story.”
    That pretty much summed up her life. Her dad and her brothers were the stars . . . she was the one everyone wanted to take a swipe at. She was the easy mark. The nondriver. The girl. Man, that pissed her off.
    “I’ll give them a story alright. When I tear off their bumpers and shove them up their asses. Metaphorically speaking, of course.”
    The three of them laughed. Nolan Senior rubbed his chin. “Girl, I’m glad I’m not out there as your competition. I have a feeling you’re going to be a power to contend with.”
    “I
am
driving against her,” Nolan said, his hands in his sweatshirt pouch. “But you won’t rip off my bumper, will you,