The Rookie (Racing On The Edge #7) (17 page)

After Kokomo, there was a day break and the teams headed to 34 Raceway in Burlington, Iowa, for a Wednesday night show and we went home. It paid to have a team plane. That’s when she told the rest of the family.

I always thought telling her family would be the easiest but it wasn’t. Grandma cried, as did Emma and Alley. Spencer was speechless and Aiden looked nervous, as always. No one knew what to say. Dead silence surrounded us and mom started crying. I think in her mind she felt like she was letting us down.

“You know what we need?” Emma interjected.

“What?” Mom asked, looking up through her tears.

“A girl’s night!” Emma squealed clapping her hands together.

Aunt Emma always wanted an excuse for a girl’s night. We hadn’t had one since the night of Frost Nationals. Thankfully the boys weren’t drinking, but supposedly there was no racing involved.

So girl’s night out was born.

It was Mom, me, Hayden, Gray, Grandma, Emma and Alley on Tuesday night. Even Lexi came over.

Lexi and I were in the kitchen putting the jalapeño poppers in the oven when I asked about Easton. “How’s E doing?”

“He’s miserable, Arie. Miserable. I actually feel bad for him. All he does is mope around when he’s not in the car and he hasn’t won a race since you left.”

“He should be miserable. He did this, not me.”

“I don’t think he slept with them. Neither does Brody. He said E didn’t leave with them so he doesn’t know how they even got in there.”

“Well, a lot can happen from the time he leaves someone to the time he gets to his bed.” But then I started to second-guess what I saw.

I was silent, thinking about that morning again. “You don’t honestly think he did, do you?”

“I did think so. But part of me wonders. It’s not like him and with all the stress he’s under, why would he add additional stress onto himself and to you?” Lexi said.

“I’m just battling with myself over what I think and what I saw,” I said to her as the doubt slowly crept in.

“You should talk to him.”

“I will. I just can’t right now. I know if I do I’m going to say the wrong thing. And I need to be here for mom.”

Lexi looked over at my mom, her face glowing with excitement. “She’s happy right now.”

“It’s nice to that smile on her face. We have to all be here for her but I can’t leave her right now.”.”

“Look what I found!” Emma said bringing a box full of DVD’s with her when we walked inside the living room with the snacks. “They’re old videos of Jameson racing.”

“Really?” Mom perked up like I’ve never seen before. “Where did you find them?”

“In the garage when I was trying to find the beer.”

That box was filled with hours of video footage. His first Coca-Cola 600 win, his emotional speech, their proposal. His first championship speech.

Chili Bowl, Knoxville, Turkey Night, it was all there. Him and mom dancing in the hauler, riding around the track together on a 4-wheeler that said “just married” and then stopping to kiss on turn four. Clips of me and my brothers as kids and hanging out at the tracks with them.

There was some of dad’s really early days. It was amazing seeing that side of them and to know where they came from, and where they were now. My parents were the true definition of soul mates. Look that phrase up in the dictionary and I just know that there’s a picture of the two of them with no additional definition needed.

Seeing my dad in this way made me laugh. He was so young but it was easy to see he hadn’t changed at all when it came to his personality and demeanor. He loved with every fiber of his being yet still managed to have a successful racing career.

How does that happen? How did he never lose himself to this lifestyle?

I guess it goes back to those two traits you have to have to be in this sport. Desire and persistence.

He never wanted to change. Therefore he didn’t.

Watching the videos also made me realize how much my parents loved each other. There was never a video in his younger days where she wasn’t far from him. And you could always tell when she was around. His attitude was completely different.

There was this one video of Knoxville Nationals from the year he graduated. It wasn’t great quality but it showed my parents before they were married, or even together.

It reminded me of Easton and me when we were first hanging out and that night in Texas when we kissed.

“
Would you let me kiss you…” he asked, his eyes as bright as the track and celebrated his victory.

“I think I would.” I told him, watching his reaction to the night around us.

He didn’t wait for me to say anything before he kissed me, soft beer soaked lips finding mine.

I still remember that first kiss. It gave me hope, a way, an opening in the draft.

Easton Levi came into my life for a reason. I knew that when I kissed him, felt it in my very being. But why wasn’t I feeling that closeness anymore? Where did our turns go from both of us always turning left to one of us seeing where the other turns might take us?

I shook my head at the memory and focused on the television again taking notice in Gray sitting on the floor. She was so intent on the racing videos we all laughed. She was even more obsessed than the boys in our family.

“You know she’s going to race, right?” I asked Hayden who was sitting beside me eating Dad’s gummi bears he left on the end table by the couch.

“Whatever she wants,” Hayden smiled.

I never doubted their love for Gray. Maybe their parenting at times, but never their love. Right now it was easy to see they’d do anything to make sure she was happy. They were happy with a family and a life of racing. What was different about their relationship that Easton and I couldn’t have?

Spinning – This refers to a car that’s spinning on the track, either from an ill handling race car or a wreck.

The race at 34 Raceway was cancelled for rain. There was horrible weather going through the Midwest so they cancelled it before the boys even left.

Wednesday morning I went to Riley-Harris Racing to go over orders with Bailey and Hayden. We got our stuff done fairly quickly so I walked through the shop to see if Casten was in there. I wanted to talk to him about what he thought of throwing mom a party. Emma had this idea that we could do a little get together for her. And by get together she meant party. Mom would love it though.

Casten was in there with the engine specialist for Riley-Harris Racing talking details about the engines going into Easton’s car. Gray was there too, crawling all over one of Easton’s cars that was parked in the shop getting ready to be loaded for the Michigan race this next weekend.

When Gray saw me, she gave me this half smile like she knew who I was but didn’t care enough to actually say anything. Typical.

When the engine specialist left, Casten smiled at me. “What are you doing here?”

“I was going over orders with Bailey and Hayden.” I grabbed Gray before she fell off the hood when she tried to stand up and walk up the windshield. Casten laughed and then took her from me and set her back on the ground.

“Emma wants to throw a party for mom.”

“To celebrate cancer?”

“No, dumb shit. To keep her upbeat and positive. Now that everyone knows we have to try and keep her mind in that happy place.”

“Oh.” You could tell this conversation was making him uncomfortable and although he smiled, he still seemed sad. Casten was a mama’s boy. Everyone knows that and this would destroy him if she couldn’t pull through. He loved her more than life.

“So you think it’s a good idea?”

“How big?” He asked leaning against the car with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Fuck if I know. It’s Emma we’re talking about. Probably like concert size.”

Just then we heard the door to the shop open and in walked my dad and Easton. Yes. Easton.

Casten and I both dropped to our knees and grabbed Gray. “Holy shit! He can’t see me in here.”

Of course I wanted to hear what he was going to say to my dad but spying on them? For real?

“Get under here!” Casten said motioning under the car where he was laying on his stomach, Gray right beside him doing the same thing. I had a feeling she’d done this before. “They’ll see you.”

“With a baby?”

“Yes.” He looked at me like I was stupid.

“Your ideas are always dumb.”

“No. They’re not. I sometimes have brilliant ones.”

“Yeah? Like when?”

He thought for a moment and then shoved me under the car. “I just have them. Now shut up. Don’t you want to hear what he says to dad?”

It was just like Casten to get me wrapped up into this bullshit. The last time I trusted that fucker I ended up in the back of my uncle’s truck halfway to Canada.

He never thinks things through. But I did want to hear this.

As we argued, Gray once again wandered away and we had to keep bringing her back under the car. How they didn’t notice her was beyond me. She was practically crawling around under their feet. Dad had to have noticed her. I know he did.

My dad is straight forward with his drivers. Even with my brothers. He’s business before bullshit and has always been that way. You don’t get to his level by pussy-footing around things.

“Are you in over your head?” he asked, leaning against the car we were under.

Easton said nothing. I couldn’t tell where he was, only saw his feet until he sat down in a chair with a beer in hand. They both had beers.

“I need to know if you are.” Dad said.

“What are you going to do about it if I am in over my head?”

“We need to pull you out of triple duty then.”

Easton laughed, it was a cynical laugh, not one of amusement. “It’s not that easy and you know it.”

“Yeah, I know, but I can’t have you fucking up every race you are in because this shit is too much.” Dad agreed, his voice low but soft. He’s trying to make sure Easton knows he’s thinking of him and not the business side right now. “And if you’re distracted, or not in it, you’re destroying cars and we can’t have that. Sponsors won’t have that.”

I sometimes wonder if Easton would actually tell anyone, especially my dad, if he was burned out on everything. Part of me didn’t think he would. It just wasn’t him. He’d go until something broke, himself included.

“It’s like we’re spying on them when they’re deciding our punishments when we were little.”

I looked over at him. “Or in your case, last week.”

He shook his head rolling his eyes.

“Pull your head out of your ass, kid.” Dad eventually said.

“Nice advice.” Easton said, bringing the bottle to his lips. “Your dad give you advice like that?”

Dad laughed, taking a drink of his own beer. “Yeah, when I needed it.” I heard him sigh and then look at Easton again. “There’s a difference between a champion and a legend. One goes for glory and then name. The other goes for the win.”

Easton stared at him, and then I felt Casten’s eyes on me. We both shrugged not understanding what he meant. Gray even looked at us and I swear, she shrugged too.

“And the next order of business, what’s going on with you and Arie?” Yeah, my dad just went there but Easton had to know he was going to bring it up.

“That’s our business.” Easton looked reflective for a moment. “I don’t see why you care.” He said, glaring at my dad.

“Stupid fuck.” Casten laughed lightly.

“I suppose it is your business.” Dad laughed. “But when it comes to my only daughter, and her crying on my shoulder, that’s my business.”

I could tell Easton was pissed when he replied with, “Figures she’d run home and tell her daddy everything.” He turned and faced my dad, anger present in his words. “You heard one side of what happened.”

“Okay, well then, what’s your side?”

“I was drunk and passed out in my motor coach. Shaylee and Olivia came in and got in my bed when I was sleeping.”

“Nothing happened?” Dad asked, giving Easton a look that said you better not lie to me. He wouldn’t if he was smart.