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“Never o ask the SOB if he’d like to join us for dinner”

“Are you crazy?” Lucy screeched

“Just a little,” Rex ad hen you’re dealing with a lunatic who needs to be taught a lesson”

Chapter Sixteen

The courtyard was the perfect setting for such an occasion Lucy’s employees made the most of the s and spacious enough to accoe barrels were placed at the four corners, each packed with an assortment of colas and beer

Rex called in a favor and unveiled new banners for Mason Malone’s High Performance Group Lucy ell pleased with the end result, boasting to Billy and a few other drivers about the new logo—a three-dimensional series of stock cars frons

Lucy hadn’t seen Fred yet, but felt certain, wherever he was hiding, he was a bundle of emotions Fred didn’t like surprises, and when he wasn’t in control, his luck went to pot She had that in her favor and re inside the country kitchen, alive with activity

Rex and Luke hired two different caterers, and the teaether That alone re had actually formed She’d needed advice from one of the old timers, and the Graves family members were considered old school, well respected in the business

What she didn’t know at the tiest of five Graves brothers, was the black sheep, the one G

raves brother rarely seen on the circuit There was a reason for that He had a vile temper, drank a lot, and prided himself on public scenes He also had a lot of nasty habits, including a costly drug addiction which inevitably landed him in and out of rehab

Lucy shivered when she thought about all the ways Fred ht publicly humiliate her She wasn’t sure she could stand the embarrassment

“There you are,” Luke said, greeting her when she entered the kitchen He was patting out haers and lit up the kitchen with his easy smile

“I thought you hired someone to handle the food”

“Yes, but I er There’s a trick to this, ya know?”

“Really?”