I step closer to him, but he steps back and glances over my head. I turn and see Hendrix there. I know he’s just checking on me, but his timing is terrible.
“Welcome back, Lennon. Can’t wait to see you chase that checkered flag again. And don’t worry, I won’t go easy on you,” he says as he steps around me.
“Catch me if you can, Dash. We’re down to the wire.”
He stares at me, his gaze pings from my eyes to my lips and back again and I hope he understood what I was trying to say. The race for our love is still undecided. I’d say it’s neck and neck. He may think he’s won by default, but I’m just getting started.
“Your sure thing is waiting for you. You don’t need another dark horse at play in your life, Valkyrie.”
With that, he walks past me and leaves me standing alone. He knew what I was saying before, and he countered. A dark horse in racing is an underestimated racer, someone who could surprise you by winning. He thinks he’s all lined up to have his way and the home stretch is in sight. But I hate to tell him, I’ll be the one surprising him.
36
DASH
Three months later…
Ihaven’t been nervous about a race since—I don’t know—maybe never. But this is Lennon’s first one since she ran in Nashville. All I can see in my head is the pain she was in after that race. Pain she tried to mask from the hungry eyes eating her up as she was just trying to survive.
And this one is making me feel anxious. What if she’s still not ready? Shoulder injures like hers take time to fully heal, if there’s even a remote possibility they can. What if she’s pushing too hard and she faces a major setback because of it?
Not to mention, she’s still healing from the accident that wrecked us all in the first place. True, those physical injures might be akin to a dull ache now, but they’re still very much lurking beneath the surface. The mental wreckage left behind though, it’s very much alive and hovering like a dark cloud.
Lincoln won’t tell me a lot. Enough for me to know she’s doing good. He thinks I’m being an idiot. So does pretty mucheveryone else. But I know staying away from her is best. Safest for her. I’ve allowed myself to wave from a distance when we’ve attended the same meetings and events, because in the racing world, I’ll never be able to escape her presence.
Hell, even if I could physically stay away from her, her memory would call to me like a whisper in the wind or an echo on the water. She’s part of me, and I’ll never be rid of her…I’d never want to be. The feel of her lips against mine lingers like dewdrops on flower petals in the morning. She’s still mine in my dreams. Loving her has been one of my greatest joys—heartbreak and all.
This race is one hundred laps on a track meant to test a driver’s strengths and abilities behind the wheel. She’s always handled it beautifully, coasting along the pavement like she was in a world of her own. But her doing it now, so soon, feels like she’s trying to prove something she doesn’t need to. She’s already proven to us all—to the world—she’s a survivor. She won against all the odds meant to crush her.
If I had to guess, she’s trying to prove several things to several people, herself included. Herself probably most of all. Racing this race, and maybe even winning it, would be the ultimate comeback story.
It’s almost time for all drivers to line up. Instinctively, I search for her and come up empty. I try to shake it off and get situated in my own car when my sister’s voice breaks through the comms in my ear.
“She’s here, Dash. I saw you looking for her,” she says.
“I was just getting a feel for everyone. I wasn’t looking for anyone in particular,” I reply quickly to try and avoid talking about the woman I loved and lost.
“You can’t bullshit me, Dash. I’m not just your manager or someone on your team, I’m your sister. I know you better thanalmost anybody else in the world. But, if that’s how you want to play it, then so be it,” she says.
I ignore the jab. “Are Mom and Dad in their suite?” I ask, steering the conversation to something safer.
I can’t risk my emotions clouding my focus in this race. I need to have my eyes wide open and keep my breathing steady. And I know what will happen if my thoughts center on Lennon for too long. I’ll lick up every drop of attention she pours in my direction. I’ll drown in her eyes the same way, and I won’t even try to surface. The ties that have always bound our hearts together will start pulling. And I’ll have to resist that much harder.
All drivers are taking their place on the grid and that’s when I feel her. Her car rolls to a stop beside mine. I’ve got my helmet on, but she doesn’t yet. She picks hers up and glances my way. The look in her eyes is more conflicted than I’ve ever seen it before.
She looks torn between excitement and something else I can’t place. It’s like a part of her is missing since our last face-to-face encounter at Tyler Motorsports the day her dad hosted her welcome back party.
Last call for the race to start is announced and she tears her gaze from mine before putting on her helmet. The pace car leads us all out for the first five laps before the green flag starts waving, signaling the race has started.
I don’t focus on anything but my own car and take off, tires flying under me. I can’t focus on anything else, especially Lennon, or I’ll screw this race up for both of us.
An hour later, the race is still going. We’re on lap fifty-two and that’s when it happens. Another car ends up sideways after they lose a tire to a blowout. I check my rearview mirror, and Lennon is fast approaching as the out-of-control car spins toward her.
At almost the last second, she pulls threshold braking, causing her to skid for a few seconds before making a sharp turn, evading a collision and out of harm’s way of the spinning car and back on course with the race.
It cost her some time, but if all else goes smooth, she’ll catch up. She’s doing good in this race…at least on the outside. I can’t see her to tell if she’s shaken right now, or if she’s still driving with a steady hand.
As we near the final laps of the race another hour or so later, Lennon’s car is still close by. We’re both in the top ten right now, but it’s time to tighten up. She must agree, because she closes in on me and I smile.That’s my Valkyrie.
