Authors: Katherine Garbera
HER FEELINGS FOR Jared grew deeper each week and they’d spent so much time together, she was starting to not only like the man he was, but see a future where they could be together as she caught glimpses of the man he hid from the world.
Those moments didn’t happen often and usually he retreated as soon as he realized he’d let her past his barriers, but she took heart from the fact that he was letting her in.
Her cell phone rang and she glanced at the caller ID.
“Hey, Jared.”
“Are your parents there yet?”
“Yes, why?”
“I just want to make sure that everything is perfect tonight.”
“Dinner isn’t going to change my father’s mind about you.”
“It could.”
“Why is this so important? I thought all the lectures didn’t bother you.”
“They don’t. But I know how close you are to your parents. I don’t want to cause a rift.”
“What do you mean?”
He took a deep breath and then said, “I know how lonely it can be to lose that closeness with your parents.”
“You were close to your parents,” she said, knowing from other comments he’d made that he had been.
“Yes. And I’m not going to be responsible for any tension with yours.”
“Jared”
“I’ve got to go. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
He hung up. She fingered the bracelet he’d given her as she put the finishing touches on her makeup. It was the Friday before the race at Talladega.
Jared had hired a limo to pick them up. She was waiting with her mom and dad outside the track. It was a beautiful spring night in Alabama. And she thought it was a good sign for the evening.
Her father was still leery of her relationship with Jared. A long black limo pulled to a stop where they were waiting. Jared climbed out of the back, flashing Annie a quick grin as he shook her father’s hand and gave her mom a friendly hug.
The driver opened the door and her parents got into the back of the stretch limo. “You’re early.”
“I’m hoping to make a good impression on your parents. Maybe your dad will call off the rest of your male relatives.”
“You two coming?” Her dad stuck his head out of the open door. “Or you going to talk all night?”
“We’re coming,” she said, getting into the car. Jared followed her, sitting next to her in the seat facing the rear of the car. Jared left the door open.
“Aren’t we ready to go?”
“No. We’re waiting for your brother.”
“He didn’t mention anything to me about coming,” Annie said.
“He’ll be here,” her father stated.
Annie hoped the evening didn’t turn into Dave and Daddy grilling Jared about his intentions.
“Oh, good,” her mom stated.
Dave joined them a few minutes later and she found herself sitting on the bench seat between her lover and her brother. Neither man said much to the other but her parents kept the conversation going.
They had a nice meal at the country club where Jared had made arrangements for them to have dinner. When they got back to the track, Dave took her aside while Jared showed her parents the corporate suite he was using for the week.
“Does he think that we’re going to forget he’s the team owner for Aldridge?” Dave asked.
She frowned at him. “I think he wants to get to know you all better. It’s not like we’re going to forget about Tucker.”
“I’m sure he wants to know us. Most people are envious of the Jenner legacy.”
“He’s not like that. He has plenty of NASCAR connections. And he has no aspirations to be a driver.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“What’s this really about, Dave?”
Her brother shrugged. “Look, maybe I just can’t separate MacNeil from Aldridge. They are a team and I’m used to working against them on the track and off.”
“Jared’s nothing like Tucker.”
“No?”
“Tucker’s much more gregarious. Jared seems that way but there’s a…wall of reserve that he doesn’t let many people see behind. He’s trying to open himself up to the family, Dave.”
“You seem to know Tucker pretty well.”
“He’s Jared’s best friend. He’s not as bad as you think he is. But I don’t care if you like Tucker or not.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that you should give Jared a chance.”
“No, thanks.”
“Dave”
“I’m not interested in discussing this anymore. Tell Mom and Dad I had to run.”
Dave walked away and Annie watched him leave, feeling a sad ache in her heart. Jared returned a few minutes later.
“Where’s Dave?”
“He had to go. Thanks for taking us to dinner tonight.”
“You’re welcome. I think your mom and dad enjoyed themselves. Your dad is even warming up to me a little. I wouldn’t say he actually likes me but we found some common ground.”
“Talking about owning cars and running a team?” she asked.
Jared shrugged. “It’s a start.”
THE NEXT WEEKS FLEW BY with more tension than Annie had experienced in a long time. She couldn’t believe it was May. Annie had always liked coming to Richmond and this year was no different. Tucker had been careful to treat her more like Jared’s girlfriend than Dave’s sister, which she appreciated a lotespecially when Dave was being difficult.
Dave acted as if she’d committed the deepest act of betrayal by continuing to date Jared. In fact they hadn’t spoken in the last week because of the fight they’d had in Talladega.
Her respect for Tucker had grown as he’d endured rumors and innuendos about his tires and the resurfacing of the old stories from his rookie year when he’d been a bit of a maverick, always shooting off his mouth and getting creative with the rules.
She’d spent the morning in the garage photographing the crew getting the car ready for the race. Dave wanted to devote a chapter of the book to Vinnie and her father’s crew chief, Pete Boscom. But right now Annie was standing outside Dave’s hauler waiting for him to get back from the media center so she could make peace with him. She didn’t like it when they were fighting.
“Annie, you got a minute?”
She glanced over to see Dave’s assistant holding a clipboard. “Sure, Mel, what’s up?”
“Um…we got a couple of questions this week about you and team owner Jared MacNeil.”
Annie wasn’t surprised. She’d been accompanying Jared to a few social events and the media had picked up on it, putting pictures of the two of them together on the society and sports pages.
“What’s the problem?”
“Everyone knows that Dave and Tucker are rivals, and with you dating MacNeil…”
“What do you want me to do?” she asked, not sure where Melissa was going with this.
“Well, Dave is not saying much. But Tucker has been saying what a great gal you are and all that stuff.”
That explained so much of the argument she and Dave had last week. “Could you ask Tucker to tone it down a little?” Melissa requested.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Annie said. This was what she’d been expecting from the first. “I was actually hoping to talk to Dave. Will he be back here soon?”
“Yes,” Mel answered.
Melissa left a few minutes later and Annie leaned against the hauler waiting for her brother. He showed up about ten minutes later. He stopped when he saw her standing there, then opened the door to the hauler and motioned for her to enter before him.
She rubbed her hands down her arms, climbed up the steps and entered. She sank down on the long bench and tried to think of the right words to apologize for a fight she wasn’t sure she’d started.
But Dave just sat down next to her and threw his arm around her shoulder. “I hate it when we fight.”
“Me, too,” she said. “I’m sorry if I’ve done anything to complicate your life.”
“Are you happy with this guy?”
“This guy? He has a name.”
“I know what it is,” Dave said, pulling his arm away from her and leaning forward, bracing his forearms on his thighs.
“Yeah, I am happy with him. Mom likes him. Dad is starting to come around.”
“He’s a charming guy. I’m not surprised the folks like him. He knows how to put everyone at ease.”
“Not you.”
“I think it has something to do with the fact that I’m your brother and I don’t trust him.”
Why didn’t Dave trust him? She’d never told him that Jared had accused her of tampering with Tucker’s car. So what did her twin sense that she was missing?
“Why don’t you trust him? I…you know that trusting someone is hard for me. But I’ve come to see that he can be very trustworthy.”
Dave didn’t say anything.
“Is it just the Tucker connection?” she asked.
He shrugged and Annie was suddenly mad at him. Mad at the men in her life who endlessly complicated it.
“I think I’m falling for him, Dave. I think he could be the right man for me. So if you know something solid about him, tell me.”
“Ah, Annie. Don’t fall for him.”
“You know love doesn’t work like that.”
“Yeah, I do. You really like him that much?”
She nodded.
“Straight up, Annie, I don’t trust him because I don’t know him.”
“You haven’t exactly been friendly.”
“Fair enough, but everyone I’ve asked about him says the same thing. He’s all surface, flash and charm, but no one knows anything solid about the man himself.”
She swallowed her own fear that Dave’s comments brought to the surface. She knew that Jared could be distant. She’d seen him deflect her with kisses and embraces.
“I think he’s afraid to let anyone close,” she said.
“Then why are you trying so hard to change that?” Dave asked.
She had no words to explain it that wouldn’t leave her feeling exposed and raw. And she didn’t want to go there with Dave.
“I’m not trying to bring you down, Annie.”
“I know,” she said, realizing nothing between Dave and Jared had been resolved. But she did feel as if there was a certain peace between the two of them now.
“I got some good shots of Vinnie and your team this morning.”
“You’re going to get some great shots later.”
“Really? Of what?”
“Me winning.”
DAVE WAS RUNNING LATE to the drivers’ meeting. He had qualified in the pole position for Richmond and the last thing he wanted to do was screw up by arriving late to the meeting. All drivers and crew chiefs were required to attend and be on time. Anyone who was late was penalized, usually by having to start last in the pack regardless of qualifying.
When he arrived Dave saw Vinnie was already in the garage bay where the chairs had been set up. He sank down next to his crew chief.
“Late night?”
“Ha, I wish. You?”
“Nah. Darla’s here and she likes to ‘spend quality time’ together.”
Dave laughed. Vinnie’s wife read a lot of magazines, always had some new relationship improvement in store for him. Though Vinnie groused a bit, Dave knew his friend didn’t mind. In fact, Dave kind of envied Vinnie and the solid relationship he had with Darla.
He glanced around at the seats, seeing that they were almost full. This was the one time each week where all the drivers and crew chiefs were together. It was kind of a last bit of relaxing before the race started in a couple of hours.
The officials were about to go over the rules and ask questions. Though they all drove each week sometimes issues came up. In fact Dave was going to bring up something that had been bothering him.
Nothing illegal had been found on Aldridge’s tires the last time they’d been inspected or at any of the five races they’d had since then. Vinnie had been watching the other man’s pit stops and noticed that he hadn’t taken tires at his last pit in the last four races.
And he intended to bring that up today. Get it out in the open where it could be dealt with.
Aldridge and Billy Toughton, his crew chief, arrived in the midst of an entourage. Dave noticed that Jared was absent and didn’t see his sister, either. But other people with garage passes started to line the garage area where the meeting was held.
Aldridge took a seat right behind Dave. During practice he’d been a little aggressive in his passing, almost clipping Dave’s car one time, but it wasn’t in a reckless way. It had felt like a warning to Dave, as if the other driver was laying down a challenge before the race. It was a challenge Dave had no problem accepting. He wanted to beat Tucker on the track as many times as he could.
Dave got up toward the end of the meeting when concerns were addressed. “I’m still concerned about the tire usage issue we’ve been discussing for the last few weeks.”
Marvin, the official who’d been leading the meeting, nodded. “You know we don’t routinely inspect the tires, Dave.”
“Yes, sir. That’s why I’m bringing it up again. Aldridge has finished in the top five in the last five races
without
changing tires on his last pit.”
Lance Maxwell stepped up. “We’ve noticed the same thing. I’d second the request that you inspect the tires again.”
“Give me a break,” Tucker said, standing up. “It’s not my tires that are winning races, it’s my driving. You know the lab analyzed the tires and they came back clean. “
Dave glanced back at the other man. “Your driving hasn’t changed all that much from last year.”
The official cleared his throat but didn’t say anything else. “Take a seat, please. We’ll keep an eye on the tire situation during the race.”
“Fine with me,” Aldridge said. “But if you’re going to send
my
tires to the lab, I think you need to check
all
the drivers’ tires.”
There was a lot of grumbling and the official finally quieted them all down. “I’ve already said we’d watch the situation.”
Dave knew that was the best he was going to get from the officials and honestly couldn’t ask for anything more. The meeting moved on. There were a few other concerns that were addressed.
Lance glanced over at Dave toward the end of the meeting and he knew the junior driver on his team was waiting to see if he was going to say anything about Tucker’s driving during practice.
“I have one more thing,” Dave said at the end, feeling the mantle of his father’s legacy on his shoulders. “Just wanted to remind some drivers that the race isn’t won by the fastest, it’s won by the driver with skill,” he said, looking directly at Aldridge.
“I’m pretty sure that’ll be me,” Tucker said with his trademark arrogant grin.
Dave curled his hand into a fist, glancing back at the other man. “We’ll see.”
“Boys,” Marvin said.
He hated being called a boy and knew the official had done it intentionally to remind them that sportsmanlike behavior was paramount. “We can settle this on the track.”
The meeting was adjourned. Vinnie and Dave left together. A few fans approached with T-shirts but Melissa stepped between him and the fans with a promise he’d sign their stuff after the race.
Dave entered his garage area where his team was tearing down the engine while a group of officials watched. Since he’d qualified in the pole position and had broken a track record, the officials wanted to make sure he hadn’t done anything illegal to his engine.
“Hey, bro, you ready for today?”
“Yes,” he said, hugging his sister with one arm.
“How was the drivers’ meeting?”
“Fine.”
“Oh, that doesn’t sound fine.”
But he didn’t say anything more. Aldridge needled him and she already knew that. The fact that the man was a maverick on the track wasn’t anything new.
“I’m going to stay on pit road for most of today’s race and get what pictures I can there.”
“You’re always welcome.” And she was. He loved having her around. She kept him calm.
She nodded at him and moved out of the way as his guys put the engine back together and got his car ready for the race.