“Lieutenant Stanton just received notification that his mother is in the hospital. Her prognosis isn’t good and he needs to get there ASAP. I spoke with his brother and you should be receiving a Red Cross message.” Rick listened as his platoon sergeant handled things for him. Drew’s family was so right. Good NCOs were worth their weight in gold.
Captain Powers stepped in front of Rick and dropped to a knee. “I’m sorry for your news, Rick. Let’s get it processed so you can travel home. Do we need to look into flights for you? Top?” the captain asked as he looked over his shoulder.
Rick started shaking his head. “No, sir. It should only be an eight-hour drive and I’ll need my vehicle.”
“Okay. You get home, pack, and then head out. Check in with me or Top so we know you made it safe. I’m considering youon leave until next week.” Powers tapped Rick’s knee and stood. “Emerson, make sure Rick gets to his apartment safely. Top, looks like the platoon is waiting to be released. You’ve got that?”
“Not a problem, Captain.” Top crossed the area and called the platoon to attention. His soldiers were in good hands.
“Upsy-daisy, Lieutenant,” Emerson said. “Let’s get your man on the phone so I can brief him as I drive you home.”
Rick followed the taller man to the parking area. Yeah, get him to Coop. Everything would be all right if he had Coop beside him.
Chapter Twenty-Two – Coop
Finally. Coop walked out onto the track. Everything about it felt familiar and good, right down to the smell of oil and dirt. The mechanic, Kevin, had the bike where they practiced starts, but that wasn’t the focus of the day. “Hey, Coop. Great to see you back. How you feelin’?”
“Fucking great. Can’t wait to get on that machine. How’s it running?”
“I have it set up for you. Don’t worry.”
“No worries.” Coop ran his gloved hand over the seat.
“Get on it, slowpoke.” He turned to see his coach, Dane, walking up. He hadn’t seen either of these guys in what felt like forever. Inevitably, he felt the warmth of camaraderie when Dane clapped his shoulder.
“I’ll showyouslow.” Coop loved the way they teased and could give as good as he got.
“You better not.” Dane and Kevin laughed while Cooper rolled his eyes. “Seriously, though. Get up there.” He pointed to the bike.
Coop shoved his hair out of his face and slid his helmet on before mounting the bike. Kevin held it for him until he could get his boot on the ground on the other side. Then he pulled his goggles over his helmet. “Alright. Let’s do this.”
Dane pointed at the practice track ahead of Coop. “I want you to take a few laps slow. Like a sight lap. Get used to it and see how you feel.”
“All that teasing about going slow, and you want me to go slow?”
“Just the first few laps, then we’ll talk. You’ve been injured, Coop. You can’t just jump on and fly.”
“Bet.”
“Don’t.” Dane gave him a stern expression. He was serious, and Coop was going to listen. The last thing he wanted was to push too fast and reinjure his wrist.
“I got it. Promise.” He turned the bike on and shifted gears, taking the first straightaway slowly as if he were only heading to the gate. He watched the track as he went, looking for problem areas and determining the depth of the ruts. He rolled through the jumps in the rhythm section, but his restraint was a palpable thing. When he approached the whoops, he pulled off the track and rode alongside them. Dane would appreciate that. But for Coop, it was extremely hard to roll them instead of blitzing over the top or even jumping. He loved the whoops section, and it was a place he could always pick up speed and gain seconds over competitors. He eyed the ruts as he passed that section. It looked like the team had worked the track and they were ripe for blitzing, tires bumping over the tops of the little hills as he flew over them. He could taste how it felt in his mouth. He wanted it more than anything, except for Rick. And that was something he’d never had before.
Back at the starting area, because it wasn’t set up like a gate today, Dane waved him over. He turned off the bike so he could hear his coach talk. “How’s it feel?”
“Like I need to speed this up.”
Dane glared. “Well, we’re going to work on pacing this together. How’s the…” He held up his arm and shook his hand.
“Fine so far.”
“Okay. Then do this rhythm section. Moderate pace. No killing it. Light jumps. Then back around.”
“Yes, boss.” And off he went again. This time felt better as he got a little air. He wanted to go over a high jump and whip it sideways, but he had to build up to that. Dane wasn’t kidding. His arm was already feeling tired.
Then he waved Coop over again, which he expected, but not what Dane said after. “Hey, I have an important call for you.” He held Coop’s cell phone out to him.
Panic immediately set in, making his palms sweat and it became impossible to swallow. Had something happened to Rick? He pulled his gloves off and grabbed the phone. “H-Hello?”
