Racing Outside the Line: A Love Story at 190 Mph (41 page)

The last few laps of the race, I had latched onto a straw from the drink that Desmond had brought me several hours before and was twisting the life out of the poor thing. I couldn’t help it, I was beyond nervous. To say that I really badly wanted him to win would be an understatement. I knew he needed to get back on top after the drama that had centered on us the past few weeks, and what better way to do that than to win the race.

When Seth made his move with three laps to go, Dale Horton tried to block him, but his car was clearly incapable of maneuvering well enough to stop Seth’s superior car. We were all jumping up and down on the pit box cheering and continued to do so when Seth took the white flag and finally, the checkered. The smile plastered on my face matched the one on Wyatt’s and Desmond’s.

I could barely hear Seth say, "Awesome work guys, couldn’t have had a better car, you guys amazed me this week, great job!" I looked over the edge of the pit box to see the crew cheering and pounding each other on their backs. "Lexie are you listening?"

I was suddenly embarrassed as the guys turned to look up at me. I suddenly felt like hiding under the seats. I turned to Gary and nodded.

"Yeah, she can hear ya," Gary said.

"This one was for you, love." I hid my face in my hands as the guys all put their hands up to me clapping and smiling warmly. Dougie and Todd pounded me on the back before climbing down the pit box ladder. Desmond laughed at me while Chelsea gave me an aww-that-is-so-sweet look before leaving the pit box. Wyatt, Gary and I were the only two left up there. I took off my headset, still smiling like a freaking child when Gary put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed.

"You know, he’s a hell of a driver, hun, but he makes a shitload of mistakes. He gets cocky, he gets angry, he gets frustrated and screws up week after week. He’s such a good driver, though that he can usually recover, which is why he still has a job," Wyatt was nodding beside Gary. I wasn’t sure why he was telling me these things, but I wasn’t too happy to be hearing this negativity. "I’ve never seen him so focused, Alexis, I’ve never seen it before."

"I have," Wyatt said confidently, and a little angrily, as he stood there shaking his head leaning against the back of one of the chairs. "I can’t believe I didn’t know about it, but I’ve told you, Gary, I’ve told you a million times, he used to drive like this all the time! He used to be focused every week. Then, he hit about twenty-one years old and couldn’t stay focused anymore. Oh, a race here and there, but not like he had before." He looked back at me and smiled still shaking his head, "It’s you," he accused.

I wasn’t sure what to say, if I needed to defend myself, or was that a compliment?

"I was going to say that it was her," Gary began, "but I was just guessing."

"Well," Wyatt laughed, "you hit the nail on the head. When you went away to college, he seemed to lose his ability to focus and control himself on the track," mentally I added in the fact that he had slept with me and forced himself to leave me as a major cause of lack of focus. "Now, you’re back, and his head is clear as a bell," he turned back to Gary, and they both blurted out something along the lines of "we could win the championship."

Before I knew it, they were clambering off the pit box talking about getting me a headset with a microphone so I could make comments that would keep him focused, I even heard something about putting me in the garage to work on the car so that he would take better care of it out on the track. Shaking my head, I climbed down off the pit box and started to walk to Victory Lane.

I think Emily Dickinson said it best: "Success is counted sweetest by those who never succeed." I had never succeeded when it came to Seth, even when I thought I had won a little battle, I had really wound up losing the war, and suddenly, here I was walking confidently toward my husband, the man I had always loved, realizing that he had always loved me and all I could think was,
Nothing can ever top this feeling for as long as I live!

About the Author

Kimberly Montague lives in North Carolina with her husband, three dogs, and their over-sized cat. During the summer, she often spends weekends at short tracks helping her husband race in a local series. In addition to racing and writing, she enjoys constantly reading, spending time with her family, and antagonizing her pets.

This is the first book in her four-book series
Love at 190mph
. The second novel in this series will be out by the end of 2011. She is also finishing up a young adult paranormal romance titled
Setenid Blight: The Kindling
scheduled out by July of 2011.

Contact Me Online:

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/k_montague

Website and blog:
http://www.kimberlymontague.com

Facebook: Search for "Kimberly Montague Fans"