Shifting Gears Read Online Free PDF

anyway.”
    What was his mother up to? Why was she insisting on including Annabelle?
    But then, he hadn’t missed the way Annabelle had beamed at Mom’s words. There was no mistaking it. She’d enjoyed being called a part of their family.
    It did something funny to him. Sure, he loved his family. They’d been through everything together. But he also didn’t fool himself into thinking that other people felt the same way about his stubborn sister or wild little brother. Knowing that Annabelle felt that way about them too, made him want her even more.
    He cleared his throat, trying to settle his desire into something more manageable. “All right. It’s about the garage. Ranger is looking to hire a team manager.” He nodded toward Annabelle, not quite looking at her. He didn’t want to risk getting distracted by her again. “I told him I’d help in the search.”
    Mom placed a plate of pie in front of him, and he paused to look down at it.
    Wow. It was like a work of art. A wedge of golden-brown crust that looked like it had been carved with flowers, with a small cutout in the shape of a leaf near the crust. Thin sliced peaches made up the filling, and they were layered in a way that made the pie keep its shape even when it had been cut like this.
    He made a loud exhale and didn’t look away from his plate as he said. “Wow, Annabelle. This is the most beautiful pie I’ve ever seen.”
    â€œI was telling her earlier that she has a deft touch,” Mom agreed.
    Next to him, Annabelle went ramrod stiff. What was that about? And at the same time, another part of him thought, I’ve got a place where she can put that deft touch.
    â€œThank you both.” Annabelle said softly, and then—oh, Lord, and then—her hand reached out and touched his shoulder, squeezing lightly.
    Deft touch, indeed.
    Grady stopped breathing for a moment.
    And uttered a prayer of thanks that they’d installed a gym in the garage, so that even though he worked so much, he still managed to stay in pretty good shape, if he did say so himself. If Annabelle was going to touch him like that, he wanted to be proud of what she felt.
    â€œI have to admit that I’ve never had a man even notice my pie, much less compliment it like that.”
    That sounded … suggestive. Did she seriously just say that in such a way? For a second, Grady felt nothing but hot, embarrassed arousal. Even when her hand fell away, he was left with the burning desire to throw her over his shoulder, haul her away in his truck, and take her home so that he could bury himself between her legs and give her all the compliments in the world.
    â€œSo what does hiring a team manager have to do with me?” Mom went back to what they’d been discussing, thank God. Not only was he sitting at his mother’s table with an erection—something he’d have to bleach his brain clean of later—but he was pretty sure he was being too obvious again with his interest in Annabelle.
    â€œI thought, given how involved you are in the community, you might know someone who’d be interested in the job. Someone who knows cars and the family, and can deal with both of those things.”
    Mom got his drift. Everyone knew his siblings were a bit hotheaded, and though Ranger was a good guy, he’d earned the nickname Ruthless Ranger during his career as a consultant because he was a hard-nosed businessman who could sometimes be a bit overbearing in his manner.
    â€œI do know a few people. But it just so happens that the best person for the job is sitting right next to you.” Mom gestured to Annabelle.
    Grady frowned. Annabelle, working in the garage? Wasn’t she a home ec teacher? That’s what he remembered her talking about one time when she’d been home from college. But he could feel something —some kind of intensity—coming off of her at the suggestion, practically