Dad smooths my hair back gently.
“Give it time, baby girl.”
“Where is he, Dad? You said he was here. Why hasn’t he been back?” I ask.
Mom’s gaze connects with Dad’s and he drops his to the floor like he can’t handle telling me the truth.
“What? What aren’t you telling me?” I ask adamantly.
“Honey, I’m not sure he’ll be back,” my mom says.
“Why do you think that?”
“He was hell-bent on finding you. So much so that I finally gave him my blessing to be with you. But…” Dad hesitates. “Hethinks everything is because of him. Jackson used Dash’s car to cause your accident. He wanted you to think Dash was your stalker to drive an irreversible wedge between you. And as your memories came back, he sort of achieved that goal.”
My chin wobbles as I try my best not to cry, but it’s no use.
“Then, he saw you pull the handbrake drift to stop Jackson, putting yourself in harm’s way to keep him from getting hurt,” he says.
“That’s dumb. We’ve always done crazy things for each other. It’s called doing anything for the person you love,” I say angrily.
“I saw the look in his eyes, baby girl. He’s blaming himself, and because of that, he seems to have decided to stay away to keep you safe. Like you said, he’s doing something crazy because he loves you,” Dad says gently.
“What do I do?” I ask.
“I’m not sure there’s anything you can do, Lennon. Once someone makes their mind up about something this big, it’s not easy to change it,” Dad says.
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing neither of us have ever taken the easy way out,” I say, still angry, but determined.
A week later…
“Thankyou for coming with me, Hendrix. Physical therapy is harder this time around,” I tell him as he parks at Tyler Motorsports.
Dad wanted me to come and let everyone there officially welcome me back. Hendrix opens his passenger door for me and takes my hand to let me out before helping me get my shoulderback in the sling. I left it off after therapy on the way over and held an ice pack to it.
He walks by my side closely, and when we reach the door, he holds it open for me. I’m instantly surprised.
The lobby is full of so many people there’s hardly standing room and black and green balloons take up what space is left.
Mom and Dad walk out of the crowd front and center with teary-eyed smiles.
“Welcome back home, Lennon. This is your legacy,” Dad says as he and Mom pull me in for a hug that steals my breath.
When they release me, I turn and look at Hendrix and he stares at me with a kind smile. I’m overwhelmed and I can’t stop the tears that fall.
Hendrix notices and pulls me into his embrace. He knows who I’m thinking about in this moment. It’s the same person he’s thinking of—London.
I may be back, but she never gets to come back home, and I’ll never be able to accept it. Even if I knew how, I wouldn’t. But as it turns out, I have no clue how anyway.
My parents walk closer, and Dad pulls me back into his arms.
“How did this many people hide their cars? I didn’t see any extra out front. And who all did you invite?” I ask.
He names off two other racing teams from nearby towns, and when he names Full Tilt Racing, I freeze.
“Is he here?” I ask immediately.
He nods in response.
