Revved(4)

“Yep, I still have her.” He grins. Popping the trunk, he hauls my suitcase into it.

“I can’t believe she’s still running.”

“You doubt the master.” He gives me a cheeky look before climbing into the driver’s side.

I get in the passenger side, putting my belt on. “No, I just thought you’d have upgraded by now.”

“You can never replace your first love.” He lovingly pats the steering wheel. Then, he turns the ignition, and she hums to life. “Okay, so where are we going?”

I give him a questionable look. “I thought you’d know that.”

“Well, I just thought I’d check and see if you’d changed into a normal person, one who just arrived here after traveling for the better part of a day and might want to go to her new apartment and get some rest.”

Uncle John has rented me a little furnished one-bedroom apartment, near Rybell’s headquarters in Heath and Reach, which is a little village in Bedfordshire.

“But if I’m guessing right and you’re not normal—like me—then I’m taking it, we’re going straight to Rybell?”

I look at him, a grin sliding on my face. “You guessed right.”



On the drive to Rybell, Uncle John talks to me about work and what I’m going to be doing when I start tomorrow.

He’s telling me the names of people I’m going to be working with, and I’m not remembering one of them, but I’m sure they’ll stick once I have a face to put with the name.

I see the Rybell building up ahead in the distance, and I start to bounce in my seat with excitement.

I’m not weird. This is just my thing.

You know how some girls get excited at the prospect of going shopping for shoes? Well, I get that way around cars, especially race cars.

I spent the better part of my life around a Formula 1 garage and the second half of it with my cousins back home, working on their cars.

I was practically raised in garage, a Formula 1 garage to be precise, so to me, this is like coming home.

“Andi…”

Uncle John’s voice pulls my attention from the view to him.

“I haven’t asked this yet, and I just want to check…are you feeling okay about this?”

“Yeah. Sure I am.” I give him a confused smile.

“I just…I know my first time being back in the garage after losing your dad…it was hard.”

Ah, right.

My smile fades a little. “I’m okay. It was a long time ago, and it’s not like I haven’t been back to the tracks since it happened.”

Each time Uncle John was in Brazil for the Grand Prix, he got me tickets to go and watch. Granted, it was a little different, being a spectator in the stands than being a part of it, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.

“I know. I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay before we go in.”

“I’m okay.” I give his arm a reassuring pat.

Uncle John pulls down the private road, taking us to Rybell.

“Here we are.” He pulls into the parking lot outside the building. It’s a big white purpose-made building. Rybell itself is owned by a few major shareholders and headed by CEO Pierce Vose. He was a driver himself back in the day, not for Rybell though. Pierce and my dad drove on the same team in the early days of their racing careers.

Uncle John parks his car, and I follow him inside the building, walking through as he holds the door open for me.

“Morning, Liz.” Uncle John lifts a hand in greeting to the forty-something blonde-haired lady behind the reception desk.

I see the way her eyes light up when she sees him. I think someone has a thing for Uncle John. Understandable. He’s a good-looking guy and in great shape for a man approaching fifty.

“Liz, this is Andi Amaro, our new mechanic.”

“Oh.” Her brow lifts to her hairline. Then, she stands from her seat, reaching over the desk to greet me. “Well, hello, Andi. It’s nice to meet you.” She tilts her head to the side, hands going on her hips, as she assesses me with her eyes. “So…you’re our new mechanic?”

“I am.” I give a tight smile.

“Well, you’re definitely not what I was expecting.”

Huh?

I see her give Uncle John a look, and he frowns.

“Come on. Let me show you around,” Uncle John says, trying to usher me away by the elbow.

“Andi, can I just get you to sign in before you go through?” Liz says to me.

“Of course.” Picking up the pen from the desk, I scribble my name down on the sign-in sheet.

“Bye, John,” she says in a saccharine voice.

He lifts a hand as he walks toward the door.

“Nice to meet you,” I say to Liz.