Chapter 27
Asurge of heat flared down Memphis’s leg as he floored the gas pedal, deftly gliding from one lane of the wide, open racetrack to the next. With two tight fists, he gripped the wheel against the resistance that came with such high speed.
It might have taken him two days to drive out to the nearest professional racetrack, and it may have cost a pretty penny to rent it out for the evening, not to mention the car itself, but it was worth it. Nothing released steam like driving a hundred fifty miles per hour in a Chevrolet Camaro SS on a pristine racetrack like this.
It turned out that having a shattered screen and a dead phone battery wasn’t such a bad thing. It had saved him the grief and anxiety of waiting for a call that just wouldn’t come. It had also saved him from sending desperate, late-night pleas to Ty, begging her to give him a second chance. She didn’t believe that he was a good guy? Let his respect of her own wishes show that he was.
He didn’t think any pain could compare to that of losing his parents, but this was right up there. It was the haunting sort of grief that nagged him in the night, tormented in the day, and sucked every ounce of hope from his soul. For a while there, Memphis almost had it all. The most tender-hearted, compassionate, naturally beautiful inside and out woman ever. And Lucas…
Memphis readjusted his pull on the wheel. He’d nearly lost focus—a dangerous mistake at this rate. The intense, centripetal force pressed him firmly into the seat as he maintained his pace through the continual loop. Floodlights illuminated the track, but as the night got later, as his mind got bogged down in the chain of events that ended things between him and Ty, Memphis found himself distracted by the shadows in his path.
It wasn’t until he slowed the slightest bit that Memphis spotted the owner up in the box, ready to lock it up behind him. With an audible groan, Memphis slowed the car further, and further still until he was able to screech to a final stop at last.
In the silence that followed, Ty’s voice filled the space.I think we should end this. Goodbye, Memphis.
Ty was going home for Thanksgiving, according to Andie. And as much as Memphis wanted to stay in this town where no one knew his name, he instinctively knew he needed his family. Besides, he’d been alone for days now. He’d cried out his tears. He’d raged out his rage. Now it was time to suck it up and go back to the boring life he had before Ty and Lucas came into it.
An image of the little guy on a horse popped into his mind, causing an entirely different ache to pulse through his heart. Dang, how he loved that little boy. How he’d dreamed of being the father he’d never had.
And now what? He was just gone from his life forever? Fresh tears threatened to spill down his cheeks at that thought, but Memphis fought them off in time to shed his gear, thank the owner, and get back to his truck in the lot.
He’d drive until he tired out, pull over someplace to sleep, then get back on the road once again. From the hotel he’d stayed at last night, Memphis had called the front desk of the inn and asked Betty to tell Andie when they could expect him. It was safer that way. Betty could relay the details, and Memphis could avoid hearing anything else about Ty and Lucas. It was enough to know they were heading back to Boston for the holiday. It was more than enough to also know that Ty had, in fact, given her two weeks. After fulfilling her obligation in the week following Thanksgiving, Ty would be gone from the inn for good.
Hopefully, by the time he got back at the inn, Memphis would have recovered from this wrecked state. He considered Andie’s recent wedding and Richard’s upcoming vows. Why couldn’t he and Ty’s story have gone in that direction?
But Memphis pushed his questions aside and focused on the new road ahead of him. It didn’t help to ask why or how a storm came about. Better to simply face what was and hope he could make it through.
