Start Your Engines

by Jim Cangany

  If there was any doubt whether or not Gabrielle was still totally invested, her qualifying run kicked it to the curb. She was true to her word and better, taking P one with over a half-second gap between her and Chas, who qualified P two. The points earned from the pole win brought her within fifteen of Chas in the championship race. So far, it was mission accomplished.

  The reporters who gathered around her during the P one ceremony kept asking about the Jensen offer.

  After the fourth question, Gabrielle apparently reached her limit. “Unless you have questions about the qualifying run and this afternoon’s race, I’m done. The only thing I’m thinking about is winning a championship for Gale Force Racing.”

  That brought a quick end to the Q and A session.

  As the group dissipated, Brad’s reporter friend Kurt came up alongside him. “I hear you’re headed to Europe with your driver. Care to comment?”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard about that, too. Don’t know if the Jensen folks have, though.”

  “So, is that a denial or an evasion?”

  “Come on, man. I’m not going anywhere. Gale Force has made some incredible strides this year, and we’re just getting started.”

  “What about your rumored romantic involvement with Gabrielle?” Kurt didn’t mess around.

  “We’ve had a special season working together. I’d like to think we’ve made each other stronger, better people. I wish her the best, but we still have two races to win before she goes.”

  “That’s it? You wish her the best?”

  He wished a lot of things for her. He wished Jensen would never have called. He wished he could match the offer, or at least come up with something competitive. He wished he could find a way to convince her to stay.

  “Look, Gabrielle’s earned this. Sure, I’d love to have her stay, but to pressure her to pass on an opportunity that may never come again, would be unfair. I won’t do that to her.”

  “Can I quote you on that?”

  Brad sighed. He trusted Kurt. The man was a journalist, not a muckraker. He wouldn’t try to fan flames that weren’t there.

  “I’ll leave that to your best judgment.” After a few more questions, he gave Kurt’s shoulder a friendly squeeze. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a race to win.”

  He checked in with the crew back at the garage. While the others were preparing the car for the race, Gabrielle and Scott were discussing race strategy. Mandy was tapping a stylus on her tablet in time with her foot.

  “Sorry. Got held up by a reporter. We good?”

  Once he and Mandy were out the door, Mandy heaved a long sigh. “I was about to explode waiting for you. They’ve been texting me every five minutes since qualifying ended.”

  “If you haven’t learned by now, Kurt isn’t somebody I can blow off.” His tone was too sharp and made Mandy wince. “Sorry. I’ll be on edge until we pull this off. Wasn’t expecting to be so worked up over this.”

  “It’s okay. I know how much Gabrielle means to you. Thanks for asking me to help.”

  “You’ve worked hard. I don’t trust easily, but you’ve earned it.” Brad laughed at the parallels between Gabrielle and Mandy. “I owe you big time.”

  “You can get me a business-card holder to go with the name plate you’re getting me. Come on. Time to deliver the package.”

  A few minutes later, they were back outside the garage, ready to launch the surprise. Brad checked his phone when it went off.

  “All set. Mandy, go get Gabrielle. We’ll wait here.”

  With a wide smile, the young woman went inside. Though muffled, her request could be heard through the glass door. “Gabrielle, there are some people outside who say they’re your biggest fans and want to know if you can come outside to say hi.”

  • • •

  Gabrielle glanced at the clock. There were still thirty-five minutes before the drivers-to-their-cars call. Still, she preferred to take this time to find a quiet place to practice her visualization techniques.

  “I don’t want to be rude, but is there any way they can come back after the race? I need to get prepared.”

  “Come on, Gabrielle. The fan crush is going to be ten times greater in Europe.” Barbara nodded toward the door. “You can spare a few minutes.”

  She let out a huff. “Lead the way, Mandy.”

  Even with her sunglasses on, the glare from the early afternoon sunlight made it tough for Gabrielle to see while her eyes adjusted. To the left, the area was deserted. Straight ahead, a few passersby were hurrying to their seats, pulling collapsible coolers behind them. To her left, Brad was standing next to . . . she recognized the people, but her brain couldn’t make the connection.

  “Oh my God. What are you guys doing here?” She rushed into the arms of her mother, as Rafael and her father enveloped her in a massive family hug.

  Amid the tears, laughter, and kisses on various cheeks, Gabrielle finally extricated herself enough to breathe.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you guys were coming? I could have gotten you tickets or something.”

  “We wanted to surprise you,” her mother, Sunny, said.

  “Well, that, and we figured if you knew we were coming, you’d totally freak out and put the car in a wall.”

  Gabrielle stuck her tongue out at Rafael. “If I wasn’t so happy to see you, I’d kick you in the shin for that. Where’s your guaranteed positivity for your emotionally damaged sister?”

  “Pssh.” He pointed with his thumb toward Brad. “Seems to me, your troubles are officially in the past. No thanks to this guy.”

  “Who arranged this little visit,” Eduardo, Gabrielle’s father said, as he put his arm around Brad and gave him a friendly shake.

  “It’s hot out here. Come meet the team before we have to get to work.” Brad ushered everyone inside and made the introductions.

  After meeting Gabrielle’s family, the team had a laser-like focus as the car was towed to the starting grid. Her family’s surprise appearance had taken the day to a new level.

  Gabrielle and Brad always took a minute to review the game plan before she put on her helmet. When he asked if she had any questions, she seized her opportunity.

  “Did you really swing things so my family could be here today?” When he nodded, a lump formed in her throat. “Why?”

  “I wanted to make sure they got to see you race this season, in case . . . ” He let out a ragged breath. “What do you say we give them their money’s worth?” Her gave her a hug. “Onward and Upward?”

  “At two hundred miles an hour.”

  From the moment the green flag dropped, Gabrielle’s hands were full. In the time between qualifications and the start of the race, the thermometer had inched above ninety-five. Temperatures that hot made handling difficult for the entire field, regardless of experience.

  With her car loose through the corners and threatening to snap her around three hundred sixty degrees with no warning, Gabrielle kept in mind the game plan—drive smooth, consistent laps for the first two-thirds of the race to preserve tires and fuel and then go for it.

  She was content to let Donahue in the sixty-six car keep the lead. He was a smart, trustworthy driver. It was too bad not all of the Continental Series drivers were like that.

  A little over halfway through the race, Gabrielle and the rest of the leaders caught up to three cars struggling at the back of the field. Passing cars was never easy, especially when they were back markers with handling problems, like this trio.

  “No need to get aggressive. Stick to your line and follow Donahue. We’ll ask the other teams to give you room.”

  Two laps later, she’d passed the first two back markers without incident. The next one, car number twelve, was going to be a problem. Brad reported the driver, a teammate of Chas’s in the junior circuit named Buhner, was ignoring his requests to give her room to pass.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. Fine. I don’t need any help, anyway.” Even with the car loose, she could make
the pass within the next few laps.

  She stayed on Buhner’s rear wing for another lap, but felt it in her bones she was losing time to Donahue. It was time to make a move.

  Heading down the backstretch, Gabrielle moved to the outside for a second before she dove low as the twelve drifted high going into turn three. Her nose was just past the other car’s left rear wheel when he started to come down on her.

  “Oh no you don’t.” Visions of Crossroads flashed through her mind, but she wasn’t going to let that happen again. She held her line as Buhner inched closer, closer, until her front right tire rubbed against the side pod of Buhner’s car.

  The contact unbalanced her car and, in the blink of an eye, she was in the midst of a spin. She worked the brakes, and as she came around to complete the three-hundred-sixty-degree adventure, she clicked the machine back into gear and kept going. By the time she was back up to speed, she’d lost track of how many cars had passed her.

  But she’d saved the car.

  “Impressive acrobatics. Everything okay?” Brad’s deadpan delivery made her laugh in spite of the anger-fueled adrenaline surging through her veins.

  “Everything except that idiot Buhner’s driving ability. I’m going to have a word with him later.”

  “One thing at a time. You’ve lost a lot of track position, and you really need to take care of the tires now.”

  The spin had probably cut the tires’ lifespan in half. She sent a little thank-you to her guardian angel that none of the tires had flattened. That would have meant an unscheduled pit stop and an express pass to the back of the field.

  “Where am I?”

  “P eleven.”

  She’d lost nine spots. On top of that, instead of gaining on Chas, she was likely behind him, which meant losing ground in the championship race. Biting down the urge to scream, she focused on the car ahead of her. Her parents and brother were here. She wanted to make them proud by bringing home a strong performance.

  A strong finish would also be a way to pay back Brad for the lengths he’d gone to give her such a special surprise. Sure, he’d grown a little distant, but she couldn’t exactly blame him. She was the one who was leaving, not him.

  Gabrielle keyed her radio. “Okay, B.T., let’s see how much lemonade we can make out of this batch of lemons.”

  By the time she took the checkered flag, her batch of lemonade consisted of an eighth place finish, four behind Chas. Her parents didn’t care as they smothered her in hugs the moment she was out of the car. Her mom fussed over her and asked her never to scare her like that again, while her father insisted on having a selfie taken with every single member of the team.

  Rafael kept his distance, using his cell phone to take video of the occasion. When things calmed down, he gave her his signature one-arm hug. “You were amazing out there. Great job throwing that spin in there to get Mom and Dad riled up.”

  “If that’s what I have to do to get them riled up, they can stay un-riled for the rest of their lives.” She laughed, but it occurred to her nobody could guess the next time her family would see her race.

  “I’m glad things have worked out.”

  “Thanks.” She picked at some fuzz on the sleeve of her fire suit.

  “Hey.” He put his arm around her. “It took ten long, hard years to get from the abyss to here. You’ve earned your shot at A-1.”

  “I know. It’s just, I’m going to miss him, them.” She closed her eyes. “Okay, mostly him.”

  “Do me a favor. Keep in mind things don’t have to be over between the two of you if you don’t want them to be.”

  Later that afternoon, Gabrielle and Brad were unwinding outside the team’s garage with her family. They’d run some calculations and determined the season championship still wasn’t out of reach.

  “Tell me again, what do you have to do to win this thing?” Gabrielle’s father asked.

  “I need to win the pole, win the race, and have Chas finish seventh or worse.”

  “It’s a tall order, but if anybody can do it, your daughter can.” Brad gave her shoulder a squeeze.

  The touch of Brad’s fingers instantly calmed Gabrielle. She’d missed his touch, his smile, his gentle kisses.

  Especially his kisses. The man’s lips could make Gabrielle’s motor run faster and hotter than anything in the Continental Series.

  “I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

  Gabrielle whirled around to find Chas and Buhner snickering.

  “Oh, did I say that out loud? Well, the truth hurts, especially when it’s about a small-time operation like yours, Thomas.” Chas took a step toward Brad. “I suppose you’ve done one thing right in your life, though. When I left your sinking ship, you didn’t beg me to stay. I wouldn’t have, so you saved yourself some humiliation, at least.”

  Buhner laughed, a sickening, high-pitched laugh reminiscent of a crow’s, and gave Chas a fist bump.

  With her breath held, Gabrielle eyed Brad. He was inspecting his fingernails, as if he hadn’t heard Chas.

  After what seemed like an hour, Brad sighed and raised his head. With a neutral look, he seemed bored. “Now, Chas, we both know all that’s wrong. Why don’t you and your little toady move along, and we’ll settle things in two weeks, on the track.”

  “What, with her? She doesn’t belong on a racetrack, anywhere.” Chas turned his focus on Gabrielle. “Face it, Marquez. You’re a failure. Any man could have held his line today, but you couldn’t. If you want to race, go form a league so you can race against other girls.”

  “That’s enough, Chas.” Gabrielle got to her feet, ignoring the searing pain caused by her fingernails digging into her palms.

  “What are you going to do? Stomp your foot or, better yet, cry? Come on, Marquez, give me some tears.”

  “Listen up, jerk face.” She took a step toward her adversary, but Brad put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Be the better man, Gabrielle.” He put his hand on her shoulder and shrugged. “Of course, looking at your competition here, it wouldn’t be tough to be the better anything.”

  “What?” Gabrielle looked at Brad.

  He winked. The moment his message dawned on her, she smiled.

  “You know, you’re right.”

  She returned to her seat as a cool wave of serenity enveloped her. “Chas, it’s time for you and your sidekick to slither back under your rocks now.” She flicked her hand in their direction to let them know they were dismissed. “We’ll settle this at the Wine Country Race.”

  The group ignored the interlopers until they were out of sight. Then Brad and Gabrielle’s family gave her a standing ovation.

  “Any chance we’re done with him once and for all?” Gabrielle asked.

  “Nah, but at least we got rid of him for now. And, with the way the world is these days, any victory I get to share with you, big, small, or in between, is pretty much priceless.” He picked up his iced coffee. “So here’s to sharing victories while we still can.”

  Gabrielle clinked her bottle of lemon water to Brad’s cup and drank. There was one race left on the calendar. One race to win the championship. One race before leaving for Europe.

  One race before leaving Brad.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Hey, bro. Got a second?” Bridget caught up to Brad just as he was about to head upstairs to his apartment.

  “Come on up. How’s school?” Once classes began, Brad usually didn’t see much of his sister and niece until the late October fall break. Between Bridget’s teaching and Amy’s club activities, the twosome was busier than Brad and Gabrielle during the racing season.

  “The usual chaos of the first few weeks.” Once they were upstairs, Bridget flopped onto the couch. She brought him up to speed on her new class of fourth graders and then entertained him with stories of Amy’s adventures as a second grader.

  “Her teacher asked each student to tell the class about something unique he or she did over the summer. When Amy said she spent her summer r
acing go-karts, some of the boys didn’t believe her.”

  “Oh, man, she didn’t punch anybody, did she?” With Bridget and Gabrielle as her role models, Amy had developed a strong-as-titanium sense of girl power over the summer. She wasn’t going to let any boy boss her around, ever.

  “No. Instead, she asked if she could use a computer to prove it. When the teacher said yes, she logged onto the Racer Girlz site and showed the class a picture of her standing next to her go-kart and another of her and you racing.”

  Brad let out a long, loud laugh. “That’s my girl. You should be proud. Thinking on her feet and being so tech savvy, too.” Brad poured two glasses of water and spent the next hour getting caught up with his sister.

  Bridget’s phone pinged. “That’s Amy. Mom and Dad took her to dinner. They’re back, so I need to scoot. I have something I need to tell you, though.”

  “Fire away.”

  “Mom and I are planning a going-away party for Gabrielle. It’s the Saturday after your final race. I wanted to make sure you got it on your calendar.”

  A going-away party.

  The logical part of Brad knew Gabrielle was leaving soon. The season was almost over. From day one, everyone had agreed her stay at the farmhouse was temporary.

  The emotional part of him wanted to scream his lungs out at the thought. He was a new man because of Gabrielle. She’d taken him by the hand and led him into the deepest, darkest caverns of his soul, where she’d helped him slay the dragons lurking there.

  Then she’d found the key to his heart, when he didn’t think there even was one, and unlocked it. In doing so, she’d shown him how beautiful life could be when you were facing its potholes and oil spills with someone by your side, instead of on your own.

  Now, she was leaving.

  He couldn’t blame her but couldn’t fight the knot in his stomach at the thought of saying good-bye, either.

  “Yeah, I don’t know. I’d probably just bring the party down.”

  “Don’t give me that B.S.” Bridget’s phone pinged again. “This party is going to happen, and you will be there. You’re not going to play the I’m-too-hurt-to-show-up martyr thing. Gabrielle deserves better.”