“I love that motion. Our hearts have a finite number of beats, buddy, and I want to make sure every one of mine counts for something. You’ve always been the same; that’s why we’ve made such a great team all these years. What’s changed for you?”
“Trig’s death hit me harder than I wanted to admit.”
Andi’s words dropped like a giant rock into a small pond. Taryn swallowed hard and took a second to compose herself. It had been a long time since she’d allowed herself to think about Trig. “I was close to her too.” She smiled, thinking of all the stunts the three of them had done together. And in Trig’s honor, they hadn’t done the triple trio three-wheeler at a show since her death three years ago. “She died doing what she loved, Andi, just like she said she wanted to.” Taryn tilted her head slightly. “I mean, she didn’t have the audience she would’ve wanted for her final moments, but that was probably for the best. That would have been an insurance nightmare.”
In this business, dark humor was often the only way to deal with tragedies like Trig’s, and Andi laughed lightly. “You’re not wrong. She liked the spotlight even more than you.”
“Hey now—”
“I’m kidding,” Andi said. “I know it’s about way more than that for you and always has been. And I know Trig going out in a blaze of glory on Route 66 would have been one of her top three favorite ways to die, but I think I’m becoming more aware of my mortality. It’s a privilege to grow old that a lot of us in this business don’t get.”
“Don’t you think you’re being a bit maudlin?” Taryn bumped her shoulder. She and Andi had indulged in hundreds, maybe thousands of conversations over the years, but they’d never talked about what either of them would do after this. It was as if there was a tacit agreement there wouldbeno end, and that they both expected to die in their little circus. “Are you really thinking of retiring?”
“Retiring. Slowing down. Finding someone to share the rest of my life with. All of those things, I think.” She pressed her head against the glass, and her breath steamed the window. “But also, none of them. You’re partly right; I wanted to meet Bernice. She’s been on my radar for a while—her success and power in a male-dominated industry caught my attention years ago. She reached out a couple of months back, and we’ve been emailing about this business opportunity ever since. But I also just wanted to take my foot off the gas for a few months and get my perspective locked down. I’m not about to do anything spontaneous, and I won’t make any life-changing decisions before I talk to you, okay?”
Taryn pulled Andi back from the window and draped her arm over her shoulder. “Buddy, I want you to be happy. If you want my help to figure it out, I’m here for you. And I promise I’ll stop bitching about you forcing me to stay.”
Andi smiled. “Do you ever wonder what it might be like to settle down?”
“Did you, when you were my age? And that’s like asking a wave if it gets tired of crashing against the rocks. This nomadic life is in my bones. I can’t imagine becoming a number on a population sign.”
“I guess I didn’t in my thirties, no. But this isn’t in your blood,” Andi said. “Your family are generations and generations of doctors and surgeons in Florida. Your parents don’t even have passports! And you could be doing amazing things for so many people with your skills. I’ve always thought you’d leave eventually and go back into medicine.”
Taryn resisted the urge to push up from her seat and leave the conversation now that it had gotten heavy. She let go of Andi but pressed her ass into the cushioning and forced herself to remain there. “That was my parents’ dream, never mine. You know that,” she said, trying to keep the irritation from her voice.
“I’m sorry; that was out of line.”
“Asshole.” Taryn shoved Andi off the chaise longue and onto her butt.
Andi jumped up and shook her head. “You little butthead; you’re gonna pay for that.”
Taryn scooted off the edge of her seat and backed around the giant glass coffee table. “Doesn’t your arthritis render your threats empty, old woman?”
“I’m never gonna be too old to kick your ass, you young pretender.” Andi advanced, a huge grin on her face.
Taryn plucked the head of a rose from the flowers on the table and threw it at Andi’s head. “You’ve got to catch me first.” She took off back to her room. She slammed the door and locked it just before Andi launched herself and landed against the hard wood. It shuddered from the force.
“Chicken,” Andi yelled.
Taryn responded with some convincing clucking between uncontrollable laughter. Her bromance with Andi had been her North Star for so long, Taryn couldn’t imagine her not being around. She pushed away from the door and headed for a shower. Nope, Andi wouldn’t desert her. They’d spend six months here, and it would clear their heads. Andi could work off her fascination with Bernice, and knowing Andi, that wouldn’t take too long. No woman had ever fascinated her as much as a well put-together mass of metal and pile of pistons.
And Taryn? She had Cassie to get to know, and she already couldn’t wait. Taryn was certain that their residency would fly by in her company, and then she, Andi, and the rest of the team would get back on the road and back to the life they both loved.
Chapter Eight
“I think I know who your mystery woman really is,” Rachel said as she scrolled on her phone.
“What are you talking about?” Cassie rolled her eyes. Rachel was a good friend, but her melodrama could be a little tiresome sometimes, and it reminded Cassie how much younger she was. “She’s not a mystery woman. I just haven’t gotten around to asking her any questions yet.” She applied her eyeliner and fluttered her lashes at her reflection. “That’s going to change tonight.”
“Here she is. Do you want to see?”
“Sure.” Cassie focused on the phablet Rachel held out to her. “I thought technology was supposed to get smaller as it got better.”
“Small isn’t always best.” Rachel wiggled her eyebrows and grinned wickedly.
Cassie laughed and waved her away. “Are you certain you’re showing me the right picture? Or have you been drinking on the job?” She pointed at the screen. “I don’t know where you were looking on Friday night, but you couldn’t have seen Taryn at all if you think that’s her. Look at all that hair! And the makeup. And that’s alotof leather.”
“That’s because she’s a stunt rider.” Rachel thrust the phone closer to Cassie. “It’s her. Look at her eyes and face shape… And those lips.”
