Magnetic Shift (16 page)

My heart wept. Who was I kidding? I could never get a guy like Colton Tayler. If he found out what I truly was—a freak of nature—he’d drop me like a rusted-out muffler. He’d hate me. I couldn’t deny that, against my better judgment, I was falling for him. The glass of punch I’d swiped off the beverage table trembled between my fingers. This felt like more than a crush. I was falling … No! I couldn’t even let myself think the words. It was just so wrong on so many levels. I couldn’t be. I’d only known him for a short time.

The song reached its end. Colton spotted me over Gwen’s shoulder and smiled. Gwen noticed and glanced back. An evil smirk crossed her face. She looked back up at Colton, reached for his collar, and pulled him into a full-on lip lock. The glass slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor. Or had that been my heart shattering into a million pieces?

I couldn’t look away, even though I desperately wanted to—like a bad car wreck that just wouldn’t end. Tears clung to my lashes and a lump formed in my throat. My curse vibrated and pulsed in my head.

The kiss ended and Colton looked up at me right away. My tears defied my orders and leaked down my cheeks. The thumping in my temples grew stronger. I needed to get out of here. I pushed through the crowd toward the front door, but it was too late. Everyone’s gasps filled my ears. I knew it was my fault. I’d felt the stainless steel pitcher of water fly through the air. I turned in time to see it hit Gwen square in the chest. Water poured down the front of her cotton candy pink dress.

“Who threw that at me? Who?” she screamed, her eyes
filling with rage.

Colton looked down at his damp shirt, then back up in time to spot me. “Lexi, wait.” He left Gwen’s side and started making his way through the crowd, but I didn’t wait. I didn’t want him to see me like this. I wasn’t sure if my eyes had turned red or not. I could never tell, but I didn’t want to take any chances. I couldn’t let him see what I was, what I could do, or how I honestly felt about him.

He could never know.

chapter fourteen

Dark clouds hovered overhead, hiding the stars. I wished I could see them right now to calm my nerves. I’d lost control again. At least this time I hadn’t almost killed someone.

Colton found me on the side of the house where I sat on the grass, in the shadows, wiping away my tears. I hid my face behind the curtain of hair that fell from behind my ear, too embarrassed to face him.

He knelt beside me. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I wiped away another tear with my forearm.

He leaned in closer. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m not. It just got too stuffy in there all of a sudden. I had to get out.” I looked at him. It was clear he wasn’t buying it.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” He stood and extended his hand.

“What about Gwen?”

“What about her? I came here as a favor to her father. I owe her nothing.” He smiled down at me. “Come on.”

I took his hand, not expecting his firm grip to pull me up so
fast. My heel dug into the grass and tripped me into his arms. He straightened me and stilled his hands on my hips. His eyes shone in the dim light as he brushed back a clump of hair that clung to my damp cheek.

Gwen appeared from around the corner, still drenched from the pitcher of water I’d flung at her. “There you are,” she said with a grin the moment she spotted Colton.

Colton turned to face her, slipping one hand around my waist. “We’re leaving.”

The grin melted off her face. Her eyes traveled from him to me, then back to him. “But you just got here.”

“Lexi’s not feeling well.” He stepped past her, taking me with him.

She spun around. “But, Colton, you can’t just kiss me and then leave.”

Colton released me and stepped toward her. “You ambushed me, Gwen. That wasn’t a kiss. Thank your father for his hospitality. I’ll see you at the track.”

Gwen let out a sharp grunt and stomped back toward the house.

Colton slipped his arm around me again and led me to the valet attendant out front.

“Wait here,” he said, releasing me to go have the car brought around. I shivered at the sudden lack of warmth.

“Are you cold?” Colton asked, returning to my side.

“A little.” There was a chill breeze blowing that wasn’t helping. Colton loosened his tie, shirt collar, and sleeve cuffs while we waited. When the car pulled up, he reached into the back seat where he’d left his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders before helping me into the car.

The jacket didn’t help the chills much. I wasn’t just cold, I was scared. Scared of my growing feelings for Colton and my need for him to feel the same. My head and heart were on opposing sides. And if he knew what I could do … I couldn’t let him find out. I couldn’t let anyone find out. Not now, not ever.

The ride back to the track was a quiet one. Neither of us dared break the silence. Colton took a detour down the Vegas strip. The blinking lights and show displays were hypnotic and larger than life. Tourists and gamblers alike flooded both sides of the street. Fliers and papers littered the sidewalks. I’d never seen anything like it. The strip was alive, unlike me. My insides mourned the life I wanted. The life I would’ve had if I’d just been born … normal.

I thought back to the night of my mother’s funeral, after everyone had left the cemetery. Roy had taken off, leaving me there alone so he could go have a few beers with his friends. He hadn’t cared that she was gone, only that he’d inherited the burden of having to raise me.

I’d sat at the foot of the fresh mound of dirt over her casket, staring at the cheap tombstone Roy picked out without consulting me—a small, thin oval top rock, like those Styrofoam ones you see on people’s lawns on Halloween. Only her name, her date of birth, and the date she left me were on its surface.

It stormed that night, hard. The rain fell like pebbles against my umbrella until the wind ripped it from my hands. It didn’t bother me. I’d been too numb to care.

The shock of having lost her overwhelmed me. I couldn’t leave her alone there in the ground. In the cold. Thunder rumbled and lightning lit up the sky, but still I stayed, staring at my mother’s name, dark against the grey stone. I shouldn’t
have been out there. I knew that. Mama told me time and time again, even made me promise her before she died, to never go outside during a storm. I never quite knew why, only that it had something to do with what had happened to my father and that the same thing could happen to me.

My father.

Was she with him now? Had he greeted her when she opened her eyes in the afterlife?

That’s when it happened—the instant flash of bright light jolted through my body, making me seize up with pain so hard I blacked out. Hours went by before I woke again. Weak, stunned, and tingling all over, I managed to walk the three miles back to the salvage yard on my own. I never told Roy what happened—or anyone else, for that matter. Who would have believed me?

Mama never told Roy that I could detect and sense metal as easily as a normal person could sense a cold breeze on their skin. Roy didn’t know what kind of impact lightning could have on me. I hadn’t known either, until Roy forced me to attend my first day of high school the next day. I found out then why my father thought himself too dangerous. That was what had happened to him. Now it was happening to me.

Sunday morning I woke up early. With last week’s sabotage hanging over the team’s head, Dean wanted me there at all times, in case he needed my speedy skills. That meant hanging around the garage … and Colton. I hadn’t seen him much yesterday. He’d been tugged away to different promotional
things, and I’d skipped going to his practice. The moments we did run into each other were awkward and uncomfortable.

“Hey, Lexi.” Dean waved at me from the other side of the car when I got to the garage. Colton hadn’t returned from his driver’s meeting yet. “I have a favor to ask.”

“You need something dismantled again?”

“No. I need you to watch the race from the pits today.”

Confused, I cocked an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

“Mr. Langdon and his daughter are here, and Miss Teen Beat requested that you not be anywhere near her.” Dean rubbed the back of his neck, looking disturbed by his own request. “Of course, Mr. Langdon thinks she’s being unfair, but has requested that you stay down here, just this week, so he can have a chance to talk to her later.”

I’d known that her royal highness disliked me, but hadn’t realized she held the power to exile me from the hauler’s roof.

“Just this week, Lex, I promise.”

I wiped the hurt from my expression and forced a smile. “No worries, I’ve never seen a race from the pits before.” I shrugged. “Could be fun.”

“You could sit next to Lenny in the pit box. I’m sure Dylan would let you have his spot.”

I amped up the smile and enthusiasm in hopes of taking some stress off Dean’s shoulders. He had enough to worry about. He didn’t need the added worries of Gwen’s tantrums.

“It’s okay, Dean. I don’t mind.”

Colton came back in time to help the crew push the car out to the inspection booth. We exchanged glances and nods, but nothing more. Things were awkward once again.

He knew.

He knew how I felt. He’d be stupid not to. He saw me storm out like an idiot after Gwen planted one on him.

I took my time going to the hauler to retrieve my headset and met the crew out at the pit stall once all the inspections were done.

The cars lined pit road in starting order, ready to go. Colton ran off for his driver introduction, where they paraded all the drivers in the backs of pickup trucks around the track for the fans. Meanwhile, I stood to the side, trying my best to stay out of the crew’s way.

Gwen glared down at me from the hauler, as if trying to zap me with laser beams. That girl had a serious problem, and it wasn’t that her colored nails didn’t match her purse.

“Walk with me.” Colton’s whisper came from behind, startling me.

I spun around and smiled. I couldn’t help it. His sheer presence brought one on every time. “Walk with you where?”

He stood before me, gloves in one hand, helmet in the other, and a sexy half-smile on his face. “To my car.” He winked and tapped me on the arm. “Come on.”

The remainder of the crew followed behind us as we walked by the other cars and drivers. Some stood around with their wives and kids, others with their girlfriends and parents, all anxious to start the race.

Colton placed his helmet on the roof of his car and threw his gloves inside on the dash. He stood by me, talking to the crew as my attention wandered to the massive grandstands ahead. Everything looked so much more majestic from down here. Camera crews and reporters threw themselves in front of any driver willing to talk. I prayed that none came toward us.
My nerves were tightly strung enough as it was, I didn’t need a microphone shoved in my face.

Speakers blared, and the crowds in the pits and grandstands settled when the anthem started. Colton removed his ball cap, reminding me I’d forgotten to wear mine again. Maybe, with a little luck, my green Fizzy Pop one would still be in the hauler. Colton’s hand rested on the small of my back. I bit my lip, skin tingling under my shirt. It took every ounce of my willpower not to look at him. I focused my eyes on the rows of cars and the crews lined up in their matching team uniforms, mentally gearing up for the long afternoon. Being part of a NASCAR team was like being part of a whole different kind of family. I laughed and covered my ears as the jets flew over our heads at the end of the anthem. Maybe I could get used to this life.

Lenny smacked me on the shoulder. “Put the boy in his car, sweetheart.” He winked. “For good luck.”

“Put him where … what?”

Colton laughed. “He means see me to my car.”

“But we’re at your car.”

Colton leaned back against his front fender and pulled me toward him. He looked down at me, at my lips. A chill traveled down my arms and legs despite the scorching heat of the sun.
Please don’t kiss me
, I prayed. I looked around. Too many people. Too many reporters.

Ah, who was I kidding? I wanted him to kiss me.

He tucked my hair behind my ear, leaned in, and pressed his cheek against mine, his lips practically touching my ear. My lids fell.

“Wish me luck,” he whispered, then pulled back. Resisting the urge to touch the tingling skin of my cheek, I
lifted my lashes and met his smile. “Good luck.”

Lenny pushed me aside and shoulder-shoved Colton. “Alright, now. In the car you go.”

Colton climbed through the window, put on his gear, buckled himself in tight, and snapped his steering wheel into place. Lenny fastened his window net, tapped the hood, and walked away.

“I hear you,” Colton said, his voice muffled by his helmet. Lenny or Jimmy was likely testing the mic.

“Be safe,” I told him.

He winked and gave me a thumbs-up. Dylan tugged my arm. “Time to go.”

As I walked back, something tapped me on the thigh. I looked down and found Colton’s Guardian Auto Insurance ball cap hanging from my belt loop. Without me noticing, he’d attached the Velcro strap to the belt loop of my denim shorts. Sneaky little bugger. I removed it, put it on, and then raised my headset over it.