Crash (Daring the Kane Brothers)

By Kelly Gendron

I DARE YOU TO MARRY ME ...

Three years ago, on a dare, I “married” my best friend’s sister and the next day, my best friend died. Maggie Mae is back in town and she wants a divorce. The thing is, we’re not really married
At least, I didn’t think we were...

Remember that guy in high school every girl wanted
Well, that sexy bastard was my brother's best friend
With a mouth that always knew exactly what to say and a body that wouldn't quit
Crash Kane was pure perfection
Perfect until he was almost mine

Remember that girl in high school every guy wanted
Maggie Mae was NOT that girl
While she wasn’t every guy’s dream
She was mine
She was also my best friend’s sister
And, like most guys, I knew the rules

Abandoned love, lost dreams and broken hearts. Sometimes, you’re going so fast, you don’t feel the CRASH...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kelly Gendron
• Release date: Jan 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463048979

Kelly Gendron

USA Today Bestselling Author, Kelly Gendron is best found tucked away in a quiet suburb in upstate NY writing her steamy, blush producing contemporary romances. But, when she’s not creating HEA stories, you might find her helping out her hubby in his workshop. He’s good with his hands and great with wood! If you Google Kelly, she’ll pop up there as well. And please google her. Kelly loves to hear from her readers and to meet new people!

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CRASH

Daring the Kane Brothers

Published by Kelly Gendron

Copyright © 2019 Kelly Gendron

All rights reserved

Edited by J Sims - Editing4Indies

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations used in reviews.

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CHAPTER ONE

What the hell! Back off, asshole! I slam on the brakes, jerking the steering wheel to the left. My car skids onto the grass. Heart racing, I glance to the right. The Dodge Intrepid does a 180 before it pulls up in front of me. Son of a bitch. I park and jump out, fists clenched and ready to put the hurt on someone. What the fuck! Shielding my eyes, I squint against the high beams to see the driver of the beat-up Dodge that nearly crashed into me. I gotta know the fucker. Ben doesn’t just let anyone on his race track.

The engine revs. Oh-ho, no! My hands ball tighter. Is the jerkoff fucking with me? The engine revs again. I yank off my helmet, toss it to the ground, and slam my fist on the hood. Come on! I hit the hood a few more times. Come on, asshole!

The door swings open, and a body emerges. Hands reach for the black helmet hiding the face of the dickhead responsible for nearly killing me.

I step forward. Yeah, that’s right. Let’s go— My tongue halts as inches of long blond hair shake free from the helmet. Blinded by anger, I watch as the figure takes shape; black leather jacket and jeans that wrap tightly around a slender female form. My eyes snap from her body to her face. Maggie? My voice cracks like I’m thirteen.

CJ, she mocks, tucking the helmet under a long, slender arm.

She’s the only one who calls me that. When we were kids, she told me since she couldn’t call me what she really wanted without getting her mouth washed out with soap, she’d have to settle for CJ. I assume it’s short for Cash James, but I don’t recall ever telling her my middle name. I figured her brother, Josh, had. The strange thing is, she only calls me CJ when no one else is around.

She smiles, and when those familiar light amber eyes sparkle, a rush of warmth confuses my body. It’s as if she tapped the darkness that rests deep inside me on the shoulder, and now, it doesn’t know what to do. I shake my head, her persistent smile weakening my anger. What the fuck was that?

What? She tilts her hip against the helmet, showing off her all-grown-up rockin’ bod. Oh. She smirks. You must’ve missed the move over flag back there? Or were you daydreaming again? Is that why you were going so slow? She leans a little closer. I’m tempted to shift my gaze down to her cleavage and peek at what else she’s showing off today, but I direct my eyes to remain on her plump pink lips. Damn, in a matter of a few years, she went from best friend’s cute little sis to a sexy cock-calling goddess.

She glances at my car and then back at me. Her thin eyebrow arches.

Refusing to take the bait, I clench my fist.

What does she want? She hasn’t talked to me since the accident. Hell, she couldn’t bear to look at me at Josh’s wake, and after the funeral, she jumped into Sean Bryan’s bright teal metallic 1996 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 SS Coupe and drove off into the dark sunset without looking back. At least, she hasn’t reached out to Tandy, and I don’t think she kept in touch with her mom. But that’s probably a good thing. To help deal with her only son’s death, Josh’s mom turned harder than ever to alcohol. Shit, I was right there with her. Not literally, but I went on my own bender for a few months until Josh’s old lady, Tandy, and my family kicked my ass back into shape and back to reality.

Why are you here, Maggie?

Now, is that any way to greet an old friend? Her voice cracks as mine did when I first saw her, and the luster in her eyes dulls a bit. Transforming her expression from playful to flat, she stares back at me. Obviously, Josh’s death fucked her up a little as well. Poor Maggie Mae. She was full of so much life before her brother’s accident. Hell, we all were. So young and hopeful, we thought we were going to live forever.

We were never friends. I reach down, pick up my helmet, and dust it off. You were just my best friend’s little sister, and now he’s dead. I look back up at her, relieved by the gloss in her eyes. Good. She’s not entirely like me. She’s not completely gone. There’s still hope for her.

Just your friend’s little sister? Wow! She laughs at the ground. Ya know, when I came back to town … She lifts her head, leveling me again with those amber eyes. People warned me that since Josh’s … ah … She clears her throat, and I get it. I can do it now, but for a couple of years, it was hard to say the words aloud. Josh is dead. They said you’d changed, and I thought, no. Crash Kane is resilient. He’s always risen above any tragedy. Like the time you crashed your car in the finals at Cali Raceways. Everyone thought that was the end of your career, but you proved them wrong. You worked your ass off and bought that old Charger. For weeks, you and Josh worked on it, and the following year, you entered, qualified, and won.

Yeah, well, that was a long time ago. And as I’m not really lookin’ to go down memory lane with you, I’ll see ya around. I give my helmet another swipe before turning around, ready to get the hell away from my past and a girl who not only makes me feel like a teenager again but also makes me feel good about it. Ah, to go back in time and have Josh back and have Maggie tagging along. Now that was an easier life. This new one, the adult one where everyone looks at you like you’re a killer. This life sucks.

You want to know why I’m here?

I don’t care. I wave a hand as I carry my heavy heart to the car. It’d be best for her if I weren’t in her life. The fact remains that Josh was my best friend, and she’s his little sister. The sister who always nagged me and always batted her big brown eyes at me; the little sister I couldn’t stop thinking about after she left. I’ve always had a soft spot for Maggie Mae. She’d hang out in my head, lay quietly in my heart, and when she became old enough, sometimes, I’d feel her toying with my cock, but I’d be quick to remind myself that she was Josh’s little sister. And now that he’s dead, there’s no way I’d fuck with the trust he always had for me to protect her like a big brother would. I slipped once, and I won’t do it again.

I want a divorce.

Just as when my car came to a complete stop, my feet skid in the grass. She’s married? Fuck! Oh man, please don’t let it be to Sean Bryan. If she married that fucker, Josh would kill me all over for letting that shit happen. And that’s when I finally do meet him at the pearly gate.

But, hell, honestly, I can’t do anything about it now. Sorry, Josh.

I remain calm about the news. Maggie loves drama and reactions. She thrives on that shit. I glance at her from over my shoulder. Well, then you better go tell your husband. I twist back and reach for the car door handle.

I just did.

My hand freezes on the handle. I slowly tilt my head, finding her from the corner of my eye.

Las Vegas? Her eyebrow rises. The night before Josh—

No! I throw up a hand. Fuck! She’s gonna get what she wants. Full of drama, I’m quick to react. I spin around and march straight toward her. No! Maggie Mae! I point at her. You get that shit out of your head. You and me, we’re not married.

Yes. She nods. Yes, we are.

No! I shake my head as I confront her. I’m so close that I get a strong whiff of her familiar sweet scent. Damn, she’s going to drag my ass down that memory lane whether I want to go there or not. Her smell alone pushes that night in question back in my head. You’re wrong. You were drunk, and you don’t—

You were drunk too! she rationalizes. Her angry expression just as sexy as her snide one.

Yeah, but not drunk enough to make the mistake of marrying you. I mean, fuck, Maggie. You’re Josh’s sister. Hell, he would’ve killed me had he known what went down in Las Vegas.

I didn’t ask you to come.

No, your brother did. Josh asked me to check on you because he was worried. As it turns out, he was rightly so. You were in a bar with Henley’s crew. They’re assholes, every one of them. I know you heard about the accusations, about the roofies and the girls. What the hell? I had to accept your dare. It was the only way I’d get you to willingly leave with me without getting my ass kicked. There were eight of them and one of me. Remember?

No. Her guilty eyes drift to the ground, and she’s wearing the same expression as the time I caught her and Linda Brew drinking behind her garage with a couple of boys from school while playing spin the fucking bottle.

Well, there were, and I knew I’d never get you to stop with the ridiculous dare until you got what you wanted. So I took you to that all-night chapel. I paid ninety-nine bucks to marry you and then paid another two hundred to make sure it’d go away. The guy ditched the papers and never filed them. So ya see, you and me, we ain’t married. She looks at me for a few seconds. The marriage wasn’t finalized. I yell the truth, but I’m not sure she’s getting it as she continues with her unblinking stare. Maggie, it’s not true. I clench my fists. What do I need to do to convince you—

She pulls a paper from inside her jacket and presses it against my chest.

I grab the crumpled thing, open it, and read it. This is to certify that the undersigned, Rev Daniel Beck… join in lawful wedlock, Cash Kane … and Maggie Mae … What the fuck? I glance from the paper to Maggie, then back to the authentic-looking document. Certified copy … Seal of the county clerk … Where did you get this? My heart races as though I’d just been pushed off the race track for the second time today by some crazy chick. It looks legit.

That’s because it is! She snags the document from my hand. Too shocked to react, I watch her fold it and shove it back into her jacket.

That fucker! I rake a hand through my hair roughly, walking in a small circle searching the ground for some answers ‘cause I’m pretty fucking sure Maggie ain’t got any. He took my two hundred bucks and told me he’d take care of it. What the hell? I stop and look at her.

Well—she shrugs—apparently, he didn’t.

No shit! I throw my helmet, and it bounces in the grass. Fuck! My eyes dart from the beat-up Dodge to the chain-link fence, before settling back on Maggie Mae. Then it hits me. I take a step forward. It’s been three years. Why now?

What? Eyes widening, she backs up.

Why come to me now for a divorce? It’s been three years. What’s up, Maggie? Is it another guy? Did she try to apply for a marriage license and was denied? Is that it? My left eye twitches. Why do I care? She’s free to marry whomever she wants. I press forward until I’m almost touching her. The idea of another guy touching her makes my insides burn. Another guy thinking she’s his. Another guy kissing and holding her. Holding my Maggie! My jaw locks. Dammit! What’s wrong with me? It’s been years. I’m sure there have been guys. She’s gorgeous, and that shit doesn’t go unnoticed. Some fucker has claimed her by now.

Your auto shop is on the corner of Main and Parker, right? Where that Thrifty Deals car lot used to be?

Yeah, I hiss between clenched teeth, still shocked by the news. Married! I’m fucking married!

Good. She nods. I’ll meet you there tomorrow so you can sign the divorce papers and put an end to this. She pulls the helmet back on, gets in the car, and skids away.

Unable to respond, move, or feel anything, I stand as the dust from the car blurs all evidence that she was even here.

Maybe it’s not another guy.

Maybe, Maggie Mae came back for the mere fact that she’s finally ready to divorce the man who killed her brother.

CHAPTER TWO

I lift my pounding head from the hood of the car to find Steele, my oldest brother, standing in front of me in a T-shirt and jeans. I like him with Jay. She’s loosened his Hollywood pompous ass up. At least he’s not prancing around my shop in five-thousand-dollar suits anymore.

His face crumples. What the fuck happened to you?

Mistaken identity. I set the wrench down and wipe my hands on my overalls.

"Mistaken