The Comeback (16 page)

He’d better not be seeing her as the first in a new wave of
revolving-door girlfriends. Before he got to kiss her again, she would ask Ryan some tough questions. He’d better have the right answers.

G
ABY SLIPPED IN TO
Matheson Racing on Tuesday morning hopeful she wouldn’t run into Zack. Best if she carried out her mission without seeing him.

Because this couldn’t go on. They’d come so close to a media disaster at Bristol, and it wouldn’t have been entirely Zack’s fault, though doubtless he’d have gotten the blame. The whole Matheson family needed a major readjustment of their attitude. If things didn’t change soon, Zack would either bomb out in making the Chase, or he’d lose it in public. Neither of those would make Getaway, or Sandra, happy.

Most importantly, neither of them would make Zack happy.

Gaby shoved the thought aside. She had enough reasons for this meeting without letting it get personal.

“Is Chad around?” she asked Amber, whose manner was unusually subdued.

“Brady went upstairs to see him a few minutes ago,” Amber said.

Great, Gaby could tackle Zack’s father and brother in one swoop.

Upstairs, she saw Brady talking to Chad through the glass wall of Chad’s office. Neither man looked happy. What she had to say wouldn’t make them any happier…but that was too bad. She knocked on the door and entered.

“Gaby.” Chad wiped away his somber expression and replaced it with a smile of genuine friendship. She was counting on that friendship to get her through the next few minutes. “Could we talk later? Dad and I are in the middle of—”

“I wanted to see both of you,” she said. “It’s important.”

“About Zack.” Brady stated the obvious. Both men eyed her expectantly—she took it as a positive sign that they were willing to suspend whatever they’d been discussing to focus on Zack.

“This thing between Zack and Trent—” she decided to start with Trent, since he wasn’t here to take offence “—is hurting Zack’s racing. There must be some way you—we—can smooth things over between them.”

Chad frowned. “I spend half my working life trying to keep those two from each other’s throats.”

“Well, it’s not working,” Gaby said. Chad raised his eyebrows at her bluntness. “Trent was out of line at Bristol, and you know it.”

“So was Zack,” Chad said. “That garbage about lodging a complaint…”

“Unless you can wipe Zack’s memory, nothing will change,” Brady opined. “He’s got it fixed in his head that Trent deliberately put him out of the Chase four years ago and nothing will shift it.”

“Maybe he’s right,” Gaby said.

Brady bristled. “It was an accident, the kind that happens in racing all the time. Unavoidable.”

“I know Zack didn’t react well last weekend, and it wasn’t the first time,” Gaby argued. “But let’s say you’re right, let’s say the problem lies entirely with Zack…”

“Let’s say it does.” Zack’s voice came from behind her. “After all, that’s what everyone thinks.”

O
H, HECK
. H
EART IN
her mouth, Gaby spun to face him. “Zack…”

“Hello, Gaby.” His tone was pleasant, but his eyes were furious. “What a surprise to find you here.”

“I wanted to talk to your dad and Chad—”

“Behind my back,” he completed.

“Calm down, Zack.” Chad said exactly the wrong words, as he so often did.

“Maybe you all would like me to step out of the room so you can go on talking about me,” Zack suggested.

“This meeting was my idea, not theirs.” Gaby didn’t want to damage his fragile relationships any further. “Someone has to face up to the fact that your past with Trent is affecting your racing….”

“Do
you
believe me when I tell you Trent rammed me deliberately back then?”

“I—I didn’t see the race,” she prevaricated.

He dipped his head, and when he raised it again his features were set in stone. “You’re no different from these guys.” He dismissed Brady and Chad with a jerk of his head. “You think I’m holding a needless grudge. That the crash was purely an accident, and that I’m the one holding myself back.”

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I don’t care. Whatever happened, you need to get past this fixation with Trent so you can win more races.”

Zack stiffened at her use of the word
fixation.
As a PR pro
fessional, she knew that she should have chosen more carefully, but as a woman who cared about him, frustration was getting the better of her.

“What I need,” Zack said, “is people around me that I can trust. People who give me their full support.”

“You can trust us,” Brady said gruffly. “Hell, if you didn’t have our full support, do you think we’d put you behind the wheel of a stock car? And if you
don’t
trust us—”

“Of course he does.” Gaby jumped in to prevent the inevitable meltdown. “But I agree with Zack, you don’t show him anywhere near as much support as you show Trent.”

Zack rounded on her, furious. “I was talking about
you.
”

She ignored the stab of pain—he was pointing the finger at her because he was afraid to rock the boat further with his family. That’s what she told herself, at least.

She could deal with Zack later. Right now, it was important to get her message across to Chad and Brady. “I know Trent’s a brilliant driver—”

Beside her, Zack made a sound of hurt disbelief. She steeled herself to continue. “But you guys act as if he’s the only driver that counts on this team. If there’s any dispute between him and Zack, you always defer to Trent.”

“This isn’t a school playground,” Brady blustered. “They’re grown men, they can fight their own battles.”

“And grown men—fathers and brothers—should know better than to take sides,” she shot back.

“Dammit, Gaby, shut up,” Zack snapped.

She wheeled on him. “I won’t shut up. You need to deal with your family’s hostility toward you, their intolerance—” she ignored Brady’s growl “—or you’ll wind up racing even worse than you are now.”

“It’s not all about the racing,” Zack roared.

His words fell into a shocked silence. By Matheson standards, he’d just committed sacrilege.

“Then what is it about?” Brady asked, bewildered.

Gaby couldn’t believe Zack had finally admitted what mattered most. His jaw locked tight; he wasn’t about to answer.

“It’s about family,” she said. “You guys need to stop treating Zack like a second-class citizen.”

Zack clutched his head. “Can’t you see you’re making things worse? When I said you could run a PR campaign with my family—” frantically, she signaled him to stop talking, but he was oblivious “—I didn’t mean you could attack them, or betray my confidence.”

Chad jumped in. “What do you mean, Gaby’s running a PR campaign with your family?”

“Yeah, what the hell is that?” Brady demanded.

Zack smacked his forehead. His shoulders sagged.

“I can explain,” Gaby began.

Zack didn’t let her. “Gaby offered to help me mend my fences with you if I put more effort into the bachelor contest. She’s helped me talk to you, find the right words. Back away from arguments.”

“You mean, this whole Mr. Reasonable thing you’ve been doing is an act?” Chad demanded.

“Not an act,” Gaby said. “Just planning his communications better, to prevent the crossed wires your family excels at.”

“A publicity stunt,” Brady said, disgusted. “I suppose when you told Amber I’m inspiring, that was part of it.”

“No, Dad, it wasn’t,” Zack said.

“Well, it worked,” Brady said grimly. “Had me thinking you were a regular prodigal son, back in the fold.”

“When you invited me out for a beer the other night,” Chad said. “Was that part of it, too?”

“No, dammit,” Zack said, frustrated. “Well, yeah, I guess. You’ll remember you didn’t accept my invitation, which shouldn’t have surprised me.”

Gaby closed her eyes. He was too honest for his own good, something she’d never thought she’d say about a man.

Chad slammed his hand down on his desk. “I can’t believe you. You say you want back on the team, so we give it to you. I bust my butt finding you a sponsor—”

“Like that was so painful,” Gaby retorted. “You got your wife back in the process, you should be thanking Zack.”

A strangled sound came from Zack. Chad ignored her and continued on. “I’ve been so busy keeping you and Trent from each other’s throats that it’s taken me months to notice there’s something weird going on with the team’s finances—”

“What do you mean?” Zack demanded.

“Forget it, Dad and I are working it out with Tony Winters.”

“You see,” Gaby said. “That’s a classic example of how you shut Zack out of family business. If Trent had asked that question, you’d have answered.”

Chad shot her a look that suggested if he’d ever liked her in the least, he no longer did. “And now it turns out you’re playing us,” he said to Zack, “with the help of this scheming, manipulative…” He waved at Gaby.

Zack took a step forward. “Take that back, right now.”

The menace in his voice was unmistakable. Gaby’s heart swelled. Even though he was hopping mad, Zack was defending her.

Unlike Zack, Chad didn’t allow himself to get distracted, he knew where the real argument was. He said a perfunctory, “Sorry, Gaby.”

The apology robbed Zack of ammunition and left Chad in control of the moral high ground. “Zack, you’re seriously screwed up in your attitude to this family and this team,” he said. “You need to think about how much you want to be a part of it and whether or not you’re willing to quit playing games and conduct yourself like a real Matheson.”

The flicker in his eyes said he knew his words had to have hurt, and he regretted them. Gaby would bet that if Brianna was here, Chad would have moderated his reaction. Instead, he held his ground. Brady moved alongside his oldest son, and
with the two of them joined in glaring solidarity, even Gaby conceded Zack didn’t stand a chance.

But unlike previous occasions, where she’d told him to be the bigger man and back down from a fight, she didn’t want him to do that now. Unlike those other times, this was important—huge. Zack was in the right, darn it.

He swallowed, and she hoped it wasn’t his pride. Right now, she was proud of Zack Matheson and she wanted him to be proud of himself, too.

“As for you,” Chad said to her, “you can count on me talking to Sandra about your little games. She needs to know just how unprofessional you are.”

There went her promotion—no way would Sandra see a “family PR campaign” as being in Motor Media’s best interests. Gaby felt sick, but she defiantly answered, “I’d expect nothing else from you. To you, Zack and this whole conflict are just a part of the business, not a part of the family.”

Through gritted teeth, Zack said, “Leave Sandra out of this, Chad. Leave Gaby out.”

He was protecting her again. It took Gaby’s breath away…and what came flooding in to replace it was a surge of…
Love.

I love him.

She didn’t even try to deny it. She was an idiot not to have realized it sooner. She’d fallen in love with the prickliest man in the world. A guy with a chip on his shoulder and a natural tendency for screwing up relationships.

A guy who cared so much about his relationships that he’d returned to Charlotte and willingly become the least regarded person on the team, just so he could get closer to his family, she reminded herself. Who’d let Gaby blackmail him into working hard on the bachelor contest in exchange for her help in repairing the family rift. Who got out there every weekend and raced, even when he felt he didn’t have the respect of his team, or any chance of winning. Yet he drove his heart out regardless.

Who every time he got hurt, fought the urge to retreat, and kept putting himself out there. Who right now was protecting her, even though he was mad with her.

Who
wouldn’t
fall in love with Zack Matheson?

“I’ll talk to Sandra if I damn well want,” Chad said. “I’ve had enough of your games, both of you. Sometimes I wish I could fire you, Zack.”

“I can’t do this,” Zack said. Gaby didn’t know if he meant continue the argument, tolerate his family’s attitude, or be a part of the team.

He headed for the door, shoulders straight and stiff. He paused, one hand on the handle, and turned back to Gaby. “I trusted you,” he said. “I thought we had something.”

“Zack, please…”

“It’s over. Everything’s over.”

He left, and Gaby’s heart went with him. For a long moment, silence seethed. Then Chad said, “You can get out, too.”

Gaby stalked out of the office, head held high, but waited a couple of minutes before going outside. She didn’t want to see Zack. When she got into her car, she locked the doors and cried until she’d soaked through every tissue in her purse.

How could she have misjudged this situation so badly? Knowing what a deep thinker Zack was, how willing he was to accept responsibility for his share of the rift in his family and to work to fix it, she’d assumed the other guys would have the same attitude. That they just needed someone to set them on the right track. Turned out Zack was a bigger man than any of them. Now, she’d screwed up the work they’d done with the Mathesons, screwed up her promotion and screwed up any hope that Zack might return her feelings.

At last, she exhausted her tears. Gaby balled up the sodden mess of tissues, stuffed them into the cupholder. And wondered how long it would take Sandra to fire her.

“Y
OU GOING OUT
?” Jeff Thorne asked.

The question reminded Ryan why moving back in with his parents hadn’t been his best idea.

“I’m picking he has a date.” Terence Thorne, Ryan’s grandfather, weighed in.

Oh, yeah, and somehow Granddad got to say his piece, too, even though he was as much a guest around here as Ryan, having moved in at the same time.

“A date?” Jeff asked.

Ryan wondered why he was even in this conversation, since his father and grandfather were quite capable of carrying it on without him.

“On a Wednesday night?” Jeff continued, brows angled upward.

“I know what night it is,” Ryan assured him.

“You leave for Montreal tomorrow, don’t you?” Granddad asked.

No, Granddad, they changed the whole schedule just so I can go out Wednesday nights.
“I won’t be late,” he said. Not that he owed them an explanation, but it might shut them up.

“You seeing Amber Blake again?” Jeff sounded carefully neutral. He liked that Amber had a NASCAR background, liked her connection to Matheson Racing, and genuinely liked Julie-Anne. But he’d heard rumors Amber’s attitude to the sport wasn’t as reverent as he thought everyone’s should be.

“I’m having a drink with her, Dad,” Ryan said patiently. Sometimes he wished he hadn’t been brought up so respectful toward his elders. It would be much easier if he could say, “Butt out,” and leave. Instead he said, “It’s not a big deal.”

No, the big deal—the big night would be after this Sunday’s race, he’d decided. He would make love to Amber, convince her to stay on in Montreal for a day’s sightseeing. Get a serious start on that fling Kelly had recommended he have.

Maybe not recommended, exactly, he conceded, but defi
nitely endorsed. Just the thought of seeing Amber improved his mood; he smiled at his dad.

Reassured, Jeff smiled back. “You’re a good kid, Ryan. I know you won’t forget what matters.”

Racing. Winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Like his father had and his grandfather before him. That was what mattered, and Ryan wasn’t about to argue. He said goodbye to his folks, gave every appearance of listening to their advice about alcohol consumption and the benefits of an early night for a NASCAR driver, then headed out to his Mustang convertible.

Amber—ever-independent Amber—had insisted she meet Ryan at the bar in uptown Charlotte where they planned to have a drink, rather than have him pick her up. She’d sounded noncommittal on the phone, but he was used to her vagaries.

After next weekend, when she would officially be his girlfriend, in a no-strings way, he’d expect to pick her up from her place. Thankfully she wasn’t staying with Brady, she was living in Julie-Anne’s house in NoDa, the Bohemian area of Charlotte. At least one of them needed a private space.

He walked into the bar and saw Amber right away. She didn’t look happy that he was late. Ryan kissed her lips briefly, enjoying the challenge of getting in and out of the embrace before she fired off one of her shots. Mmm, she tasted good, even in that brief moment.

“You look great,” he said after ordering a couple of beers for them. She wore white jeans and a flowing green halter top with two layers, the top one a sexy, gauzy fabric.

Her smile had an edge to it, but he’d given up on trying to read Amber’s mind, so he gave her an easy smile back. “Sorry I’m late. I had to listen to a few lectures from Dad and Granddad about taking my job seriously.”

“Maybe you should get your own place.”

Ryan’s pulse thudded. Did she mean she wanted to be alone with him? The beers arrived, he passed one to Amber.
“I probably should. But being with Mom and Dad is convenient. Listening to the odd lecture is a small price to pay.”