Racing to Love: Eli's Honor Read Online Free PDF Page A

sales guys nodded or waved their hellos as she quietly made her way past them to the parts counter at the back of the building.
    She stood patiently waiting for the burly, six-foot-five, bald giant behind the counter to finish with the handsome dark-headed man in a suit who he was helping. The other two men behind the counter made eye contact, and she offered a simple shy grin, nothing else. Both answered—one with a wink, the other a toothy smile—but both left her alone. She pretended to flatten a non-existent wrinkle in her shirt, then straightened a shelf near her, lining the goggle boxes back up perfectly while waiting until her giant was free.
    Biting her lip, she tried not to snicker at the very basic information the handsome suit was given. When he turned to leave, he flashed Honor his expensive smile. Poor sap, it was wasted on her. She smiled back timidly for less than a second before diverting her gaze behind him to the muscled man at the counter.
    “There’s my girl.” The volume of Mac’s greeting a level higher than necessary.
    Mac’s voice was sweet enough to welcome her, but Honor knew the steel beneath it was meant to keep the suit moving.
    “Hey, Mac.” She replied, her smile and warmth genuine, her voice friendly but quiet.
    The suit looked at Mac for a long minute before glancing back to Honor with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged and walked past her toward the front doors. He could keep on walking as far as she was concerned.
    “Sorry about that. Damn yuppies—have a mid-life crisis, buy a bike, and then they don’t know what to do with it once they get it home. He should have stuck with a convertible or a twenty-something skirt. Hell, that guy should’ve done both. His lack of knowledge of a bike is going to wind up getting him killed. And it beats the hell out of me how he was able to acquire the license in the first place.”
    Honor reached out to pat his thick muscled and tattooed forearm with a gentle grin fixed on her lips. “It’s okay. Did you get my oil yet or do I need to have one of the guys put it in the computer first?” She asked, but was barely audible.
    “I’ve got it right here, darlin’, but I’ll come by after work and do it.”
    Damn it .
    She had known what Mac’s answer would be, and it wasn’t due to predictability as much as it was the same line he’d tossed to her so many times it was breaking her heart.
    “I can change the oil, Mac. I know enough to do that much by myself. I don’t want to bother you with the easy stuff.” She said firmly, but her volume low, not wanting to turn the attention of the other two men.
    “Honor, I know you can. I just need to check a couple of things out.”
    Shit. Why now?
    She knew exactly what he wasn’t saying.
    Mac let out a defeated breath. “That boy has grown three inches in the last couple of months, I swear. I just want to check—“
    He must have been able to read her face because his words halted momentarily when she dropped eye contact. She wasn’t near as good at hiding her emotions as she used to be. She was just too worn out, and the extra effort it took to put up the happy front was too hard to do anymore. That exertion was only made for one man in her life, and for the time being, he was still at school.
    Honor titled her chin back up, her brow furrowed, ready for the words she knew were coming.
    “I’m sorry, Honor. His suspension, I’ve got to. We may have to redo it again, sugar. But I can do it. No big deal.”
    No big deal?
    In her book, tires were a big deal. The suspension, that was beyond a big deal and it was so not in the budget this month. She had been hoping to make it at least another three months before they had to adjust it again. It made her sick to think of needing a whole new bike. But that’s where she finally was—he was aging out of his bracket and needed the next bike up. And he was going to need seat time on it before he jumped into racing it. At the rate she was going, she might