“God, I hate that guy,” Dean says.
“I can handle myself. If anything happens, you’ll be the first to know.”
“And you’ll have us,” Taylor says, gesturing to himself and Chase.
“And me,” a woman says, coming to stand next to Chase. She looks familiar, but I can’t place her. Her strawberry blonde hair cascades down her back, almost to her waist, freckles adorning a good portion of her face.
“Karla, I’m Chase’s sister. We met at the gala.” She juts out her hand with her introduction.
“That’s right.” I take her hand. “How are you? Having fun at the track?”
“It’s been a great time.” Karla beams, giving a quick look at Taylor that Chase doesn’t seem to notice. The tips of Taylor’s ears turn a shade of pink.
“I brought her in for the last race. She just finished school.” Chase beams with pride at his sister.
“Yep. Graduated and now looking for my next adventure.”
“What did you go to school for?” I ask.
“Business Administration with a concentration in Digital Business,” she explains.
“Wow, that sounds interesting. Maybe you could work for Chase’s team doing social media stuff,” I suggest.
She taps her chin, pondering the idea. It would be nice to have another woman to hang out with. A girl can only take so much testosterone at a time.
“She doesn’t want to hang out around with us all the time, right, Karla?” Taylor asks her. He seems to be joking. There’s something that tells me that something else may be going on here. And Chase doesn’t seem to be picking up on the same vibe as I am. I side eye Dean, who just shrugs.
“That’s a great idea, Regan. I’m going to text Paul now.” Karla takes out her phone and her thumbs begin to move swiftly across the screen.
“You have Paul’s number?” Chase asks. I’m guessing it’s Paul Woodward, the owner of Chase and Taylor’s team.
“Of course. Don’t you?” she questions, her eyes never leaving her phone.
“Of course I do,” Chase exclaims. “He’s not gonna let you?—”
“And done,” Karla says, cutting Chase off. “Get ready to see me a lot more next season, brother.” Karla leaves to grab a drink, and Taylor heads in the same direction she does. Chasenervously rubs the back of his neck and walks away from the party.
The party is starting to dwindle down, and Dean walks me back to my RV. I wish he could come in and stay, but we have a long drive in the morning to get back home. He leans down to give me a kiss. It’s slow and longing, like he doesn’t want this moment to end.
Neither do I.
Once we break apart, he leans his forehead against mine. “I’ll see you back in town, then?” he asks.
“Of course. Now that it’s off season, we can see each other as often as we like, and out in the open.”
“We’ll need to figure out how we can see each other with my new Cup schedule…”
I place a hand on his chest to stop him from thinking so much. “We’ll figure it out when we get there,” I assure him. I give him one final kiss and go inside.
FIFTY-FOUR
DEAN
Being backafter the fanfare that has come with winning this championship has been a nice change of pace. After getting back from Talladega, I was on a mini press tour with talk shows and other interviews. With that all over with, my off season can begin, and I can relax. Well, as much as I can, since I’m still planning on taking as many shifts at The Meadows Diner as I can.
After dropping Regan off back at her RV the night of the infield party, I got a phone call on the way back to my own RV. It was Tom. The Cup team I’m joining also wanted to bring Steve and the entire crew over with me.
I was stunned and excited. With Sampson Racing closing its doors, it’s good to know that the people who work there will continue to have a job, and I don’t have to worry about building trust with a new crew chief, pit crew, and shop team.
