of Mark Stallion suddenly surfaced, causing a mild current of electricity to race up her spine. Their brief encounter had left her curious, wondering if he was as interesting as she imagined him to be. Luke had always talked highly of him, forever praising the siblings he looked up to, and Michelle couldn’t help but be moved by the man’s adoration of them. Having no siblings of her own, she could only imagine that kind of attachment to any blood relative. Her uncle, who’d been married to her father’s sister, was her only living family and even the bond that existed between them didn’t match the one Luke shared with his family.
She and Luke had met his junior year at Texas Southern University. Michelle had been teaching a basic automotive course and Luke had been her star pupil. The young man had spent an inordinate amount of time learning the fundamentals of an automotive engine and not once had he made any kind of a play for Michelle. Not all of his classmates had been as considerate, a few taxing Michelle’s last nerve. One in particular had become very problematic. A late-night encounter with the brute might have ended very differently if Luke hadn’t been there to intervene on Michelle’s behalf. The man had cornered her in a classroom, the moment just shy of being a crime and Michelle a victim if Luke hadn’t arrived when he did. The two had bonded over cups of Starbucks coffee, becoming fast friends and Michelle felt indebted to him, never forgetting how grateful she had been for his help.
Michelle moved from the window seat to the desk in the corner of the room, booting up the laptop computer that sat on the polished surface. When she accessed the Google home page, she typed in the words Stallion Enterprises. Seconds later she was scanning a listing of some 338,000 entries. Selecting the corporation’s official Web site, she clicked the page for the corporate biographies, reviewing the data on Mark Stallion. Michelle couldn’t help but be impressed by his lengthy résumé of accomplishments. One entry in particular, describing his services to the state’s foster-care system, was of much interest to her. Some thirty minutes later Michelle had read every detail written there about the Stallion family.
Moving back to the window, Michelle returned her attention to the parking lot and another car with another couple that was pulling out of a space. She cradled a lukewarm cup of tea between her small palms, heaving a low sigh. Her Friday nights were starting to get too lonely, she thought as she settled the cup against the top of the coffee table. Rising from her seat, she reached for a lightweight jacket. Searching for her keys, she was determined not to let loneliness get to her. With any luck she could be back in the garage and under the hood of her car long before depression had a chance to set in.
Chapter 3
Luke Stallion was seated in his brother’s leather executive chair when Mark entered his office. The younger sibling was flipping through a pile of papers, a look of bewilderment painting his expression. Mark chuckled under his breath as he stood in the doorway, watching the young man try to make sense of the stack of business documents before him.
“Is it that bad?” Mark finally asked, breaking the silence.
Luke jumped in his seat, obviously startled from deep thoughts. “Hey! When did you get here?”
Mark laughed. “Not long. You looked like you were doing something important. I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
Luke shrugged, dropping the pile of reports back to the desktop as he rose. “It’s the quarterly numbers for the entire corporation. John wants me to run an analysis on them. He says that if I understand the numbers, then I’ll understand which strategies work for the company and which ones don’t.”
Mark laughed again, his head bobbing up and down. “It’s not that bad. He made us all do it one time or another.”
“Anyone heard from him?” Luke asked as Mark moved behind the desk to reclaim his seat.
His brother shook his head. “His wife took him away for a long weekend. No one wants to hear from him. Marah would hurt him if he tried to call and check up on business.”
Luke chuckled. “I know that’s right. So what have you been up to? No one heard from you this weekend.”
“A group of us went up to Big Piney Creek and did some white-water rafting.”
“You’re at the bike festival one week, kayaking the next. You’re living large, bro! And what’s this I hear about the company sponsoring a drag-racing team that you’re going to be driving for?”
Mark grinned. “Pretty slick idea, huh! I came up with that one myself.”
Luke rolled his eyes skyward. “Like that wasn’t hard to figure out. I’m just surprised that John approved it.”
“He hasn’t. At least, not yet. We didn’t think we needed to bother him with the details.”
Luke raised one eyebrow questioningly. “Who’s we?”
“Me, Matthew, and now you. It’s a unanimous decision.”
Luke rolled his eyes a second time. “Thanks for letting me know that I approved.”
“You’re welcome.”
“And Matthew went along with all of this?” Luke questioned, knowing the answer before his brother could get the words past his lips.
“Yep.”
Luke crossed his arms over his chest. “Did you bribe him or was it blackmail?”
Mark chuckled. “You really have the wrong impression about me, little brother. Sometimes you just have to take advantage of those unexpected opportunities that drop into your lap.”
“And what was the name of this unexpected opportunity?”
Mark laughed again. “Stacy something-or-other. Matthew sort of got himself tangled between her and her sister Taylor. See, what it is was…”
Luke held up a hand, stalling the tall tale he knew his brother was about to spin. “Spare me the details,” he said with a wry laugh, his brother laughing with him.
“But a racing team’s a pretty risky venture, isn’t it? And I’m not just talking about the financial risk,” Luke said.
Mark shrugged, his broad shoulders pushing up toward his earlobes. “Life’s too short to waste sitting around. You need to come hang out with me for a while and enjoy it a little more.”
“Life’s too short to be taking any unnecessary chances with these here bones. I think I’ll just stick to the safe sports. Chess, pool, bingo. Those are good enough for me.”
Mark laughed loudly, the warmth of it reverberating around the room, his brother laughing with him. A thought suddenly flooded his mind. He leaned forward in his seat, his hands folded beneath his chin as he rested his elbows against the desktop. “Luke, I met your mechanic friend, Mitch. Why you been holding out on us, boy? What’s up that you had to keep that woman a secret?”
Luke’s grin widened. “No secrets here. There was nothing to tell. Michelle’s just a friend I met in school.”
“A good friend?”
“I like to think so.”
“So you two have something going on?”
Luke
