by Gina Wilkins
“You didn’t ask me anything,” she countered defensively. “You ordered me. But I left a message with J.R. about where I would be. He said he would tell you.”
Wade frowned. “J.R.?”
She nodded. “Didn’t he tell you?”
“He said something earlier this morning about you being with Katie. He didn’t say you would be leaving the track. I just assumed he meant you were at Katie’s hauler. Or her motor home. But when I couldn’t find you at either of those places—”
“I told him we were going shopping. And I said you could call my cell phone if you needed me.”
“I tried calling your phone. Several times. You didn’t answer.”
Now it was her turn to frown. “You did? I don’t remember hearing it ring.”
She pulled her phone out of its holder on her belt and grimaced when she saw the symbol that told her she had voice mail messages. A couple of button presses told her what had happened.
“Sorry. I set it to silent when I cleared that message last night, and I forgot to change it back this morning, so it didn’t ring when you called. I never thought to check for messages, since I wasn’t expecting any calls. And to be honest, I didn’t want to read any more threatening messages from Norris while I was having such a good time with my new friends.”
“A lot of good it did you to have your phone with you.”
Sighing with mounting impatience at his attitude, she reached down to retrieve her dropped bags and toss them on the table. “Look, I’m sorry you didn’t understand the message I left for you and that I missed your calls. But all I did was go shopping with Katie and Andrea. You never said I was forbidden to leave the track.”
“I didn’t think I’d have to say it,” he snapped. “The whole point of you being here is to take advantage of the security here at the track. Beyond the gates there’s no one watching out for you. If Norris had followed you here, you’d have made yourself a sitting duck on a shopping excursion. Not only that, but you’d have endangered Katie and Andrea at the same time.”
Planting her fists on her hips, Lisa faced him defiantly. “Okay, that’s enough already. We went shopping. I was careful. Katie knows the whole story so she was as alert as I was to any potential problems. There weren’t any.”
“Great. And while you were shopping and ignoring your phone, I was going crazy here. How am I supposed to concentrate on my work when I have to worry about what you’re up to?”
“I’m so sorry I interfered with your all-important job!” she snapped, finally losing her temper. “Maybe I should have just sat quietly in a corner of the hauler until you had time to throw me a scrap of attention. Is that what you want from me, Wade?”
“I never said—” He stopped and drew a sharp breath, pushing his hand through his hair.
“This is ridiculous,” he said after a moment, his own temper now firmly back under control. “I don’t expect you to sit in a corner, Lisa. And you’re right, you don’t need my permission to leave the track. I appreciate that you tried to leave word for me, though J.R. isn’t the most reliable messenger around. I just think it would be best if you stay close for the rest of the weekend, especially since there are going to be over two hundred thousand spectators here tomorrow. Maybe that message last night didn’t worry you, but it scared the hell out of me.”
She nodded stiffly. “I wasn’t planning to leave the track again this weekend. And, yes, it scared me, too. But I told the Chicago police about it and forwarded them the message and there doesn’t seem to be anything more I can do about it. I just…I just needed to get away from it all for a little while, you know?”
He looked at her moodily for a moment, then nodded and changed the subject. “So, you want to go have some dinner? Bubba and Tony are frying catfish and hush puppies back at the hauler. A special request from Jake and Ronnie.”
Lisa wasn’t as good as Wade at pulling herself back together after their skirmish. As tempting as it was to stay in the motor home and seethe about what she had perceived as an unfair attack, that would be petty. She lifted her chin. “Sounds good. I’ll just put my things away and then I’ll be along.”
“I’ll wait and walk you over.”
“That won’t be necessary. I’d like to freshen up for a few minutes, and I’d hate for you to have to wait for me.”
“Lees—”
She turned away deliberately from his partially outstretched hand. “I’ll see you at the hauler, Wade.”
It might have been more dramatic if there had been room in the motor home for her to stalk past him and close the bedroom door behind her. As it was, he pretty well blocked the aisle. She moved to one side, looking pointedly at the door. Pretty nervy of her to kick him out of his own motor home, but he was the one who had started this quarrel.
He didn’t linger to argue longer. He merely dropped his hand and walked past her, quietly letting himself out.
“SO, YOU WANT TO TELL ME what’s going on between you and Wade? Did you have a fight?”
Sitting in a lawn chair next to Katie, Lisa balanced a paper plate of fried fish filets, hush puppies and coleslaw on her knees and pretended to be hungry. She shrugged in response to Katie’s low-voiced question. “Is it that obvious?”
“Not from looking at him, of course. Wade never gives anything away. But you’ve been looking ready to kick something ever since you joined us for dinner. Since I know you were in a good mood after we went shopping, and since Wade mentioned that he’d seen you at his motor home, I put two and two together.”
Wade never gives anything away. That was an understatement. He’d made it clear enough that he’d been annoyed with her for leaving without making sure he knew about it, but even in his anger he’d been fully under control. She’d been on the verge of throwing things, but he’d just packed it all down and asked her if she wanted catfish. And she prided herself on being so cool and collected in her work!
“He was irritated because I left the track. J.R. didn’t get the message to him clearly enough and apparently Wade was worried that someone had made off with me.”
“Well, that’s sort of nice, isn’t it? That he was worried about you, I mean.”
“He was annoyed because it interfered with his work,” Lisa muttered. “I didn’t follow his instructions and so he couldn’t mark me off his checklist.”
“Oh, Lisa, surely he didn’t mean it like that. He must have been frantic about you if he didn’t know where you were. When he said he couldn’t concentrate on his job, I’m sure it was more of a measure of how worried he was than a complaint about the inconvenience.”
“I’m not so sure. The job is everything to him, Katie. Always has been, always will be. He’s never pretended otherwise.”
Not even that morning, after she had made it painfully clear to him that her feelings for him had never really gone away. That she had been willing to try again if he could help her find a reason to believe they could make it work this time. She hadn’t said it in so many words, but he had to have known last night had meant a great deal to her. That there had been nothing casual about it, at least as far as she was concerned.
Wade, on the other hand, had been “business as usual” from the time he’d slipped out that morning. There had been no warmth in his eyes when he had seen her again, no tenderness in his voice when he had spoken to her. If last night had meant anything to him other than a pleasant way to pass a couple of hours, or a brief stroll down memory lane, he certainly hadn’t let her see it. And it hurt.
Maybe she could have competed with the job. If it had only been the job. And if she’d known for certain that she meant as least as much to him as racing did. But she hadn’t been able to settle for second place six years ago, and she wasn’t willing to do so now. She’d spent the first part of her life trying to get her father’s attention; she wasn’t going to spend the rest of it trying to hold Wade’s.
“The job is important to Ronnie, too, you know. All he can think about during the season
is the next race. The next win.”
Lisa shook her head and smiled a bit sadly at her new friend. “You know better than that. Yes, racing is very important to Ronnie, but if he had to make a choice, he would choose you and the baby. He would never be entirely happy if he couldn’t race, but he’d make it work somehow. Because he loves you. Because he’s made a commitment to you and Olivia. Don’t tell me you aren’t aware of that.”
Katie started to speak, and then she gave a rueful little shrug. “I guess you’re right. I’d hate to think he would ever have to make that choice, and I will certainly never willingly put him into a situation where he would have to pick—but I know he would choose his wife and child. Unlike some of the other drivers I know,” she added with a frown.
Glancing across the pavement to where Wade sat with Ronnie, Jake and Digger, Lisa mentally added his name to that list.
“I’m sorry, Lisa. I was hoping things would work out between you and Wade, you know? I’ve come to think of you as a good friend over the last couple of weeks.”
Looking determinedly away from Wade, Lisa forced a smile. “I feel the same way about you. And that doesn’t have to end just because I’m not going to be hanging around the tracks with Wade. Have you forgotten my father owns the team? I can visit the tracks any time I want to, with or without Wade’s approval. I feel more a part of this team now and I’m going to make sure Dad lets me stay involved, even if only peripherally.”
Katie looked as if it hadn’t really occurred to her just how Lisa was connected except through Wade. “Oh, my gosh. I’d almost forgotten…I mean, this whole operation will probably belong to you someday, won’t it?”
Exactly what her mother had implied. And as she had then, Lisa demurred, “Someday, far in the future, maybe…”
“So in an indirect way, you’re sort of Wade’s boss, aren’t you? He’s got some nerve yelling at you for not following his orders.”
“I’m not Wade’s boss in any way,” Lisa corrected her quickly. “This company is my father’s, not mine. Not for a long time, if ever.”
“At least you don’t have to worry about Wade romancing you in an attempt to take over the business,” Katie said tactlessly.
Lisa winced. Now she would have to consider that possibility, even though she found it hard to believe. For one thing, Wade hadn’t exactly romanced her. So if that was his agenda, he wasn’t particularly good at it.
She politely declined an invitation to join the weekly Bunko game, telling Katie she was tired. Katie didn’t look as though she bought the excuse, but she didn’t argue, sensing that Lisa wasn’t in the mood for a party.
She didn’t even wait for Wade to walk her back to the motor home after dinner. Instead, she fell into step beside Jake as he headed back to his own coach, where he would relax and then turn in early, as was apparently his practice on the night before a race. She knew Wade watched them leave the hauler, but he didn’t try to follow.
“Man, that was some good fish, wasn’t it?” Jake asked, rubbing his tummy in satisfaction. “Bubba sure knows how to cook a catfish.”
“It was delicious. It’s hard to find catfish and hush puppies cooked just right in Chicago.”
“I’ll bet. Rumor has it that you’re thinking about coming back to North Carolina.”
She shrugged. “Probably. I’d like to live closer to my parents.”
“I don’t blame you. They’re great people. Woody’s an old tyrant, of course, but he’s more bark than bite. And your mother is one of the nicest ladies I’ve ever met.”
Pleased, she smiled at him. “She likes you, too. She told me you send her flowers for every holiday. She loves flowers.”
“My pleasure. Here we are at your door, safe and sound.”
She turned to him at the bottom of the steps. “Thank you for the escort. And I hope you have another great race tomorrow.”
“Thanks.” A shadow of concern passed through his dark eyes, but he didn’t let his smile dim. “I’d love a win here. Every one of us wants at least one chance to kiss those bricks.”
“You’ll have that chance,” she predicted confidently. She didn’t know that he would win tomorrow, but Jake was too good a driver not to be on top eventually. Everyone seemed to accept that a championship was inevitable for him. It was just a matter of when. And she had a feeling the time was now.
“Knock wood when you say that,” he said, taking her hand and rapping it against the side of his own head a couple of times.
She laughed. “Superstitious, are you?”
“Sugar, we all are. If I win tomorrow, you’ll have to come knock me in the head before every race.”
“I don’t think I can guarantee that.”
“If it were up to Wade, you could.”
Her smile faded. “Yes, well…good night, Jake.”
He touched her arm. “He’s a great guy, you know. The best friend I’ve ever had. But he’s a total wipeout when it comes to expressing his feelings. Which doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any.”
“Jake.” She patted his hand. “I’m glad Wade has such a good friend. I hope the two of you stay pals forever and win a dozen championships together.”
“But you want me to butt out, right?”
“Right.”
He squeezed her fingers, then stepped back. “You got it. Good night, Lisa. Sleep well.”
“You, too.” She turned and walked inside the motor home, knowing that Jake waited until she was safely inside before walking away.
LISA FOUND THE HORSESHOE by accident that night. Stumbling around in the bedroom, still completely distracted by Wade’s odd behavior, she opened the wrong drawer, thinking it was the one Wade had emptied out for her things. Instead, she found herself looking down at a neatly folded stack of white T-shirts and a cheap metal paperweight tucked into one corner.
Moving very slowly, she reached out to pick it up, holding it in the palm of her hand as she stared at it. Shaped like a horseshoe with the head of a proud-looking horse in the center, the lightweight trinket was obviously inexpensive, pretty much useless for its intended purpose. The formerly shiny silver paint had begun to flake, exposing areas of dull gray beneath. The green felt backing had worn off in places, revealing the hollow inside.
It might well have been a time machine, so quickly did the sight of it carry her back to a night more than six years earlier.
She and Wade had been at a carnival. He hadn’t been overly enthusiastic about going, but when she’d seen the bright lights and spinning Ferris wheel, she had talked him into it. Because he had always indulged her while they were dating, it hadn’t been hard to convince him.
They had walked hand-in-hand along the midway, eating cotton candy and watching people on the rides and at the so-obviously-skewed games of “chance.” Wade had thrown a baseball at a stack of wooden milk bottles and had won her a purple teddy bear, which still sat in a corner of the closet in her bedroom at her parents’ house. She’d been amused by the way he’d strutted a little when they’d walked away from the booth—so typically and endearingly male.
She had been so in love with him that night that she’d been almost giddy with it, almost able to completely ignore the doubts that had already set in about their relationship. The diamond ring on her left hand had seemed almost like a promise that night, rather than the ominous symbol it had begun to feel like.
She’d won the horseshoe trinket from a quarter-a-play claw machine on her third attempt. Delighted when it dropped into the slot, she plucked it out and turned victoriously to Wade, who stood nearby self-consciously holding the purple teddy bear.
“For you,” she had said, holding it out to him with exaggerated ceremony. “For luck at the racetrack next weekend.”
He’d had a funny look on his face when he accepted the gift. “Uh, thanks,” he’d mumbled, tucking the horseshoe into his pocket. “But unlike a lot of superstitious guys in racing, I don’t really believe in luck. I believe in hard work and perseverance.”
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The prosaic comment had dimmed some of the giddy pleasure she’d been feeling that evening. As they left the carnival a short while later, she had wondered if he would ever even look at the prize again, or if he would simply toss it in the trash when he got home.
A week later, she had broken off their engagement.
And yet, here it was. Obviously something Wade carried with him from track to track. The flaking paint and worn-off felt could only be attributed to a great deal of handling over the years. From the pattern of wear, she could almost see him holding it, absently rubbing his thumb over the smooth surface.
With the wisdom of maturity—and having come to know Wade a bit better during the past couple of weeks—she wondered now if Wade had been touched by her gesture and was characteristically unable to express his emotions with anything other than his usual gruff logic. Had he hung on to the souvenir just for luck, despite his denial of superstition, or did it have a deeper meaning for him?
Would Wade ever be able to open up enough to her to tell her exactly how he felt about her—or about anything other than racing?
CHAPTER TWELVE
SUNDAY WAS THE USUAL hectic pandemonium, beginning before dawn and going hard all morning. The sheer number of people at this enormous facility was mind-boggling. The excitement, the energy, the adrenaline, it was all almost overwhelming.
Lisa stayed close to the team, sitting in on the church service and the drivers’ meeting, hanging around the hauler, watching as Jake and Wade worked the media and the fans. Wade acknowledged her presence, asking occasionally if she needed anything, but she stayed out of his way, calling no extra attention to herself.
An hour before the race was supposed to start, she grew a little restless, weary of trying so hard to remain quiet and invisible. Thinking of Davida, she wandered toward the souvenir trucks. Her friend would love a few trinkets from this famous track.