Eli shook his head. “Not when it comes to Alex. I don’t think I mentioned it last night, but he and Emery can’t have kids, so those twins are like their own. The
Texas in him is going to come roaring to the surface when he hears she’s been flirting with a boy. I just hope I’m there when he lets loose.”
“I hope you mean it’s all in good fun. The baby is only three after all.”
Eli’s grin widened with pride. For some reason, Honor’s immediate jump to protect Alex resonated with him, his heart warming with the knowledge. “Spoken like a true momma. No, he’ll tease her mercilessly. And I have a feeling Alex isn’t going to give a shit from the sounds of it. She was very matter-of-fact that Dallas was the one she was calling for.”
“I don’t know who I feel sorrier for, Molly or Alex when she gets a little older. She’s got an awful lot of men watching over her.” Honor softly chuckled as she picked the spatula back up from the counter, placing it in the sink.
“I can answer that…her parents. For sure. She looks like her father and has her mother’s attitude, a lethal combination. She’s going to be hell on wheels one of these days.”
Honor swiped at Eli. “Molly was nothing but sweet last night. You be nice.”
“Oh, she’s a doll, one of the most amazing people I have in my life. That doesn’t mean she’ll take a lick of shit off anyone.”
“Okay. Well, my mom is making me breakfast, and then I’ll see if Eli will bring me over,”
Dallas said quietly into the phone before they saw him turn back to face them. “Okay. Tell Jack ‘hi’ too. Bye.”
They stood by the
coffee maker trying nonchalantly to gauge Dallas’s reaction to his early morning call. The boy hit the end button on the phone and walked slowly to the desk to hang it up, without one word. Eli and Honor shared a look, both fighting like hell to hold in the laughter and teasing remarks they wanted to make.
Dallas
went to the stove and picked up a plate off the stack. Without looking at the adults in the room with him, he mumbled, “Looks good, Mom.”
He scooped a spoonful of scrambled eggs onto his plate along with two pancakes, and made his way back to the kitchen bar. Eli turned toward Honor, but glanced over his shoulder at the boy, his cheeks still red, shoveling food in his mouth probably to keep from answering any questions.
Eli leaned into Honor’s ear. “I’m sorry, but that’s freaking hysterical,” he whispered his words only for her.
Her amusement spread over her face, and she rolled her eyes and grinned.
“Why don’t you get something to eat while it’s hot.”
CHAPTER SIX
As
Dallas walked out of Eli’s house into the garage where she and Eli were waiting in the Razor, Honor sensed the nerves in her son. He quietly slipped into his boots and bent over to buckle them, then made his way over to them, climbing in the backseat of the off-road vehicle. She watched him thumb through his gear bag that she already placed on the seat beside him, going over his mental checklist and making sure he had everything he needed.
She could feel the tension radiating from him. His face was tensed, his breathing shallow but steady.
Dallas never got nervous. Not even before a big race. Now it was her turn to be worried.
“You okay, buddy?”
He nodded his answer.
“You’re going to do fine, son.” Eli reached behind and squeezed
Dallas’s knee in support. “It’s just practice, no big deal…really. Don’t look at it any other way, all right?”
Dallas
let out a deep breath.
Eli rolled to a stop in front of the massive metal building. The early morning breeze was warm enough to allow for the shop doors to all be open. All eyes stopped and stared for a long moment.
Talk about feeling like they were on display in a zoo. Honor’s stomach dropped to the floorboard, and she immediately turned to the seat behind her. They’d already been introduced to the family last night at dinner, but the rest of the staff they hadn’t met yet, and as they all started making their way toward them, Dallas’s eyes went wide, his face paled.
The boy was scared shitless.
This was exactly what Honor had been afraid of. The pressure. Not that he couldn’t do it. She had no doubt in his skill or ability. But he was just a young kid, and these were important people in the business—this was his make-it-or-break-it moment.
Sudden death.
They may be here for a month, but Dallas knew as well as she did, he only got one chance to make a first impression. One chance to show them what they wanted to see. One chance to prove they’d made a good decision on inviting him to the school. For free. One chance to show them all, he was the real thing.
Eli held out a fist to bump in male support. Honor watched
Dallas look around at the group of about thirty people who had gathered. When his eyes met Eli’s again, he held his fist to Eli’s and took in the support the man offered.
“
Dallas, listen to me.” Eli demanded her son’s attention, and then she watched her son visibly relax once his eyes settled on Eli.
“You got this, son. Just like when it was you and me alone on your track. Just ride. That’s all you’ve got to do…
just ride
.” Eli nodded, waiting for the boy’s gesture of understanding. “Now, go show them what you’ve got. Show them what you showed me.”
Honor saw the hint of a proud smile dance across her son’s face. She would have said very similar words, however, they wouldn’t have had nearly the same effect Eli’s did. She filed that piece of information away for later, for when she was in bed alone and could assess it from all angles.
Exiting the Razor, Eli reached in the back seat, grabbing Dallas’s gear bag. The three of them stood, unable to move forward because the group descended on them. The friendly
hello’s, nice-to-meet-you’s, can’t wait to see you ride’s
all being said over one another, the volume quickly layering, leaving them clueless as to which direction to turn first. When Honor would have tried to calm her son with a gentle hand on his shoulder, Eli scooped him close to his side, casual, manly, but still supportive.
Very much…
fatherly
.
Honor pushed the thought out of mind as fast as it had entered and let out a breath, her eyes wide to what she was witnessing.
She would not let herself get swept away by a gorgeous man, one that she had just seen without a shirt on not more than a couple of hours ago. The man that she had practically drooled over, with his washboard abs and dark skin, the one that still had the night’s shadow gracing his jaw and chin. The one with a tattoo spanning across his shoulder blades that made him ten kinds of hotter.
Honor would not let her son get attached to someone who would not be in their lives after twenty-nine more days. She couldn’t.
It was better now that he had a shirt on. It wasn’t as effective as a bag over his head, but it was a great deal safer to look at him when he spoke. After his shower, he had come back to the kitchen without the whiskers that matched the very closely trimmed dark hair on his head that had made him appear dangerous.
At least to a single mother who hadn’t had sex in too many years to count, other than the battery operated kind. And thankfully, he’d covered up that amazing tattoo. She did not need to have to look at it, the way it moved when the muscles in his back and shoulders flexed. The scroll and design work had been nothing short of astounding, but frustrating as all hell when he’d caught her staring—more than once.
Yes, Eli in clothes was much easier to handle. Now if he would never take off the sunglasses so she didn’t have to look, or more appropriately, lose herself, in those hazel eyes, she'd be just dandy.
Still horny, but just dandy.
What the hell was wrong with her? It had to be the lack of sleep. She had tossed and turned, even in the comfort of the large queen bed with a mattress so soft she felt like she was laying on top of a cloud, and the blankets, so warm and downy, completely cozy. Honor was grateful beyond measure. However, all of it—his home, his gestures, his sweetness—had made her feel more out of place, more out of control, more…different.
It didn’t help that she had slept with her door partway open out of habit for
Dallas, and so had Eli. Only two walls and a hallway separating them all night. Knowing he was right there, but that she needed to keep safely behind the line she had drawn around herself years before, left her feeling edgy. Needy. And restless like she’d never felt before. She clenched and pressed her thighs together while fisting the butter-soft cotton sheet in her hands.
Volleying between guilt and hunger, pride and want, only resulted in allowing sleep to elude her. The moon washing the room afforded her the ability to watch the shadows dancing across the walls in the dark blue light.
The night grew even longer hearing him toss in a fit, wrestling in his own sheets, with what had to be a nightmare. The low moans of pain and anguish reliving a horror. After a couple of minutes listening intently, the motocross mother in her knew exactly what his dream was about. She had lain in bed, smelling the lilacs he’d placed there special for her, wondering what she could do, what she should do. When she had finally argued herself into a corner, she threw back her covers, ready to go check on him, but he’d quieted down again, sleep winning out over his demon.
After about her pride the first half of the night, Eli became her focus and concern the second half, listening for another round of hell that thankfully never came. It brought to the forefront how dangerous the sport really was. Again, it made her wrestle with what kind of mother she was to let her son relive Eli’s past. Would he have a crash like Eli’s? Would he be okay? Could she make him quit?
The answers to her questions were elusive as she sat trackside over the years.
No.
This was Dallas’s dream. Honor had the chance to go for hers, and she wouldn’t take away his. Dangerous or not. Instead, she gave him every tool she could afford to keep him safe. She did everything she knew possible to make sure he had the right training, including standing uncomfortably in a group of strangers, taking a scholarship that hurt her pride. So she could watch her son do a sport that scared the hell out of her, all in the name of motherhood.
Eli hadn’t said anything about the nightmare when he walked in the kitchen for breakfast, so she didn’t either.
The words had been on the tip of her tongue, and her mouth opened more than once, poised to ask, only to lose her nerve and turn away. The part of her that worried about those around her wanted to know if she could help, but the part of protecting her heart from developing any type of bond with him won out. Even a platonic friendship with Eli could end up being painful and leaving her feeling empty.
****
Eli watched Honor walk to the track entrance with her son. The academy’s two chief mechanics, Emery and Joey, were close behind them with the bike that Honor had no idea had been built specifically for Dallas. He couldn’t help but worry. She was trying to keep it together, trying to stay strong, but he could tell she was feeling the strain of the offer.
He had no doubt
Dallas would live up to their expectations, and although the boy was a little antsy about showing off in front of everyone, Eli also knew that inside the boy was the heart of a racer. As soon as he kicked the bike, everything else would fade to the background.
As he walked their direction, a blonde giggling ball of energy raced past him. Dressed in her own purple riding gear, her hair in long braids for her helmet, she ran as fast as she could in the cumbersome riding boots. Nearing the object of her affection, she tucked her tiny hand in
Dallas’s without a word. The older boy didn’t appear to mind, never skipping a beat, holding her hand as they continued to walk.
Eli bit his cheek to keep from laughing, and turned to see if either of her parents was watching. Judging from the dropped jaws surrounding him, everyone saw. Carter looked like a man defeated, standing shaking his head, Molly had her mouth covered, her eyes wide with shock.
Jesse was standing by Karen, and when Eli caught his attention, Jesse mouthed, “Oh my God, did you see that?”
With a jerk of his head, he acknowledged the sight. From what he knew, Jesse hadn’t heard about the early morning phone call
Dallas received—yet.
Eli got close enough to hear the words of wisdom James Noland was giving
Dallas, all the while Alex clung to his side, not letting go of the boy for anything.
“Can I ride with him, Uncle E? Grandpa said maybe.”
For whatever it was worth, the little darling had erased Dallas’s nerves. Eli nodded an understanding to the boy. “How about you let him take a few laps by himself, then you can show him how you jump that.” Eli pointed to a small hill. “I’m not joking buddy, don’t let your girl here out jump you.”
Dallas
smiled down at Alex. “Can you go super-fast?”
“Yep,” she answered without hesitation.
“She isn’t kidding you, Dallas. The girl can ride. Even though she’s young, my baby here is a racer, aren’t you, sugar?” James held out his hand to Alex.
She nodded but never left
Dallas’s side. James glanced at Eli with raised eyebrows and a knowing grin.
“All right, son. Let’s see what you got.” James patted the boy on the back for encouragement, and then leaned in close. “Put these older boys here to shame. Show them what a real racer can do.”
“Yes, sir.”
Eli and Dallas both understood that James was talking about the other students who had been cleared off the track.
Dallas and Honor were the only ones who didn’t know that James Noland didn’t take off work to watch just anybody. He was on the tail end of a big project, working the last several weekends through, but he wasn’t about to miss this, and Eli understood why.
Dallas
put on his helmet, snapped the neck brace in place, and put on his gloves, pressing down against his wrists securing the Velcro of each one.
As he was putting on his goggles, Honor quietly whispered the words, “Love you, buddy.” Only to be repeated by the other girl standing at his side.
Honor looked at Dallas then at Eli, her cheeks stained, her face dumbfounded. Eli winked and shrugged. He had no idea what to say. It didn’t seem to faze Dallas one bit. When Alex leaned into his side and hugged him, he patted her back in return.
It wasn’t until Honor put her hand out to Alex and pulled her back so
Dallas could straddle the bike were they able to break the little girl’s connection. Eli threw a backward glance toward Carter, his cocky
sucks to be you
smirk was answered by Carter’s middle finger. Molly smacked at Carter, making Eli laugh out loud.
They had known from the moment she was born that there was going to come a day when they’d all take a back seat to a boy. However, they hadn’t thought for one wild minute that it would have come so soon.
Eli turned back around in time for Honor to steal his heart.
Automatically sucking in a deep breath, he watched wide-eyed as she bent down to scoop up the little girl that had her arms held up to her. Holding Alex in one arm, Honor leaned in with a last minute word for her son. The action was so true, so practiced, so easy to have a child on her hip…so breathtaking for the man watching.
His pulse pounded in his ears.
Once again, Eli looked behind him at Molly. She gave him a knowing wink and held up her forefinger.
He read the words,
She’s
the one,
very clearly on her lips.
Molly had been right once before. Eli had been present when she’d stated those three words to another man—and she had been right. Without even a flicker of doubt then, and Eli didn’t see it in her face this time, either.