Race to a Christmas Reunion

by Brenda Jackson

  When he had gotten the call from Ronald in the summer asking that he be his best man, he had immediately known he would do so because he would have a chance to see Lisa again without breaking the promise he had made to her parents; a promise that he loved their daughter enough to get out of her life and stay out.

  And now that he had seen her, he wasn’t so sure he could return to Charlotte and live the life he had for the past five years. It was a life where he had tried so hard to forget her—but he never could. There wasn’t a woman out there who could take her place in his life—and his heart.

  So where did that leave him? Where did that leave them?

  As far as she was concerned, there was no them, and a part of him felt that maybe he should accept that and move on, leave in a few days like he’d planned and be a spectator at the race in Daytona to cheer Bronson on to victory. But another part of him could not. It was the part that had heard the hurt and pain in Lisa’s voice. It was hurt and pain the years hadn’t erased and for her to believe that she was of no value to him, or possibly never had been, was unacceptable.

  He turned when he heard his cell phone go off and quickly crossed the room to get it out of his jacket. “Yes?”

  “Merry Christmas. I know the day is almost over, but I thought I’d check to make sure you’ll still coming to Daytona next week.”

  A smile touched the corners of Myles’s lips. “Bronson, Merry Christmas to you, too, and yes, I’ll be there.”

  He heard the loud noise in the background. “Having a party, Bron?”

  He heard his friend’s chuckle over the loud music that was playing. “I decided to open the Race Track for a couple of friends. Wished you were here to party with us.”

  Any other time Myles would have wished he was there, too, but not this time. He was exactly where he wanted to be, right in the same town, breathing the same air as Lisa.

  The Race Track Café was a popular hang-out in Charlotte that was owned by Bronson and several other race-car drivers. Myles found himself spending a lot of time there.

  “Donovan sends his greetings,” Bronson said. “He would come to the phone, but he is kind of indisposed at the moment.”

  Myles shook his head. For Donovan Steele, being indisposed meant he was cornered off somewhere with a woman. The man took his role as one of Charlotte’s most sought-after bachelors very seriously. It was a top spot that Donovan shared with Bronson.

  “Thanks. And tell Donovan that I might be missing the Christmas party, but I’ll be at the New Year’s party to celebrate your win in Daytona.”

  After talking to Bronson a few minutes longer they ended the call and his thoughts immediately went back Lisa. Once the picture-taking sessions at the reception had ended, she had avoided him, not giving them a chance to spend time together again. He wondered if she’d deliberately put distance between them because she knew her family would want her to.

  He shook his head, realizing that wasn’t the case. If he knew anything about Lisa it was the fact that she had never succumbed to any pressures her family placed on her. She had always been considered the rebel in the family, thinking for herself and not catering to what others wanted. That had been the main reason her parents had sought him out, pleading for him to do what they considered the right thing when it became apparent that she wouldn’t.

  Maybe he had hurt her too much and she could never forgive him?

  He headed for the guest bedroom. Without a family to call his own Christmas would end for him just like the other Christmases that he had spent for the past five years. Alone.

  * * *

  LISA ENTERED HER APARTMENT, closed the door behind her and leaned against it. It might have been her imagination but she could swear she could detect Myles’s scent. And when she closed her eyes she could still see the intensity of his eyes as they followed her around the room while greeting those she knew at the reception.

  At any point and time she could glance up and meet his eyes and immediately she would feel sensations flow through her. Sensations that only Myles could evoke. He was still attracted to her, that much she could figure out from the way his eyes would roam over her, like a private and personal caress.

  She kicked off her heels as she made her way to her bedroom. She was grateful that neither her parents nor her sisters had tried discussing Myles with her anymore. She was well aware that they had known she and Myles had arrived at the reception together, just like she knew they were aware she had caught a ride back to the church with Sheila’s cousin Judy to get her car.

  As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t forget Myles’s words that the two of them still had some talking to do. A part of her knew he intended to make good on that promise. And she wasn’t looking forward to it.

  * * *

  MYLES SMILED AS he entered Sybil’s Delicatessen, and immediately the thought of dough, powdered sugar and honey made his stomach grumble. Sybil Porter had owned the pastry shop on the main street in Chiefland for as long as he could remember, and he considered her the best baker in the entire Southeast. While growing up it wasn’t uncommon for him to stop by on his way to school or to the garage. One of the things that made Sybil special was that she had treated him with kindness.

  The bell above the door had jingled as he walked in and the older woman turned in his direction and smiled. “I wondered when you would finally drop by. Once I heard you had returned to town I knew I might as well get the dough ready for those strawberry tarts you liked so much,” she said.

  Myles laughed. “You mean you made a batch of sticky fingers just for me?”

  “Yep. I figured you deserved them. Not every day one of our own goes up against the likes of Grady McClellan and wins a big championship race.”

  He lifted a brow. “When did you start keeping up with the races?”

  “When I heard you had moved from being a mechanic to a driver. Joe still comes in on occasion and he’s proud as a peacock. Have you seen him?”

  “Yes, I’ve seen him.” What he didn’t tell her was that upon arriving in Chiefland the first place he’d gone was out to Joe’s place. The older man had since retired from working at Harris Auto and spent his days fishing on the lake behind his home. At seventy-five, Joe, the man who had taught him everything he knew about cars, was sharp as ever and just as ornery. But Joe had been the closest thing to a grandfather he’d had, especially after his own grandfather and father had gotten killed in a car accident trying to outrun the law. The Chiefland police had tried stopping them for speeding and, instead of pulling over to get a ticket, the two men thought they would give the cops a run for their money. Unfortunately, they hadn’t planned on a huge semi truck unexpectedly pulling into their path while they’d been doing close to a hundred miles an hour. That had left Myles with no family. His mother had run off when he’d turned ten, fed up with her husband and father-in-law’s drunkenness, and never looked back. When he turned sixteen he’d received word that she had died of breast cancer.

  Myles slid onto one of the bar stools at the counter, about ready to order a tart and a cup of coffee when Sybil motioned to a customer sitting alone at one of the tables in the back. It was Lisa. She was reading the newspaper and hadn’t noticed him enter.

  “Wouldn’t you prefer to join her?” Sybil asked, smiling from ear to ear.

  He returned her smile as he got off the stool. “Yes, I would.”

  “I know what you want and will bring your order over to you.”

  “Thanks,” Myles said, remembering that Sybil was one of the few people who thought he and Lisa made a good match.

  He headed toward the table where Lisa was sitting and before he got within five feet, her scent filled his nostrils. It was as seductive as always and the fragrance stirred something deep and elementally male inside him. “Good morning, Lisa.”

  She jerked her head up. Her eyes widened in surprise and he saw that her grip on her cup of coffee faltered somewhat. “Myles,” she said, putting down the cup. “I see you
decided to stay in town another day.”

  “Yes,” he said, taking the seat across from her. “I promised Ronald that I would hang around. He ordered some new furniture as a surprise for Sheila. It’s going to arrive sometime tomorrow.”

  Lisa smiled. “That’s wonderful. She’ll be pleased.”

  Myles chuckled. “Not as pleased as Ronald since it’s a bigger bed. A California king-size.”

  “I didn’t know there was such a thing.”

  “Me, either. But it’s bigger than a regular king.”

  There was silence as she sipped her coffee. Then he asked, “Are you up early to catch the after-Christmas sales?” It wasn’t eight o’clock yet.

  “No, I’m usually an early riser.”

  He, of all people, should know that. The couple of times they had managed to get away on private trips together, she was usually the first one awake in the mornings. One such trip had been to Cedar Keys. He would never forget that weekend, mainly because it had been their last getaway together.

  Suddenly he wanted to be alone with her, away from the townspeople’s prying eyes. Besides, they needed to talk. “How would you like to go riding with me?”

  She lifted a brow. “Go riding where?”

  “To Ocala. I have a huge fan there who owns a sports shop. I promised if I was ever in the area that I would make a pit stop to sign a bunch of T-shirts he sells.”

  She studied the contents of her coffee before looking back up at him. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Myles.”

  “I disagree. Besides, like I said yesterday, we need to talk.”

  “Talking won’t change what happened.”

  “No, it won’t. But I refuse to leave town having you believe what you do.” He knew she didn’t have to ask what he was talking about. He was referring to the comments she had made yesterday. “Come with me, Lisa.”

  Silence surrounded them again and then Lisa set down her coffee cup. “All right, Myles. I’ll go with you.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  IT WAS A beautiful day and with the top down on Myles’s convertible, Lisa enjoyed the feel of the wind on her face. She glanced over at Myles. As usual he looked the epitome of sexy. He wore a pair of jeans and a pullover jersey that said Men of Steele.

  As if he felt her attention on him, he glanced over at her, taking his eyes off the road for only a quick second. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination or not, but his grip on the steering wheel appeared to tighten.

  “Thanks for coming with me, Lisa.”

  She shrugged. “You don’t have to thank me. I hadn’t planned on doing much of anything today anyway. My sisters are the shopaholics in the family. They drove to Tallahassee before the crack of dawn to hit several of the malls.”

  There was silence again and then he said, “I want to set you straight on a comment you made yesterday about me not knowing if you were alive or dead. That’s so far from the truth it isn’t funny. I talked to Ronald and Joe often and I always ask about you.”

  His statement surprised Lisa. “Why would you do that?”

  He took an exit off the interstate. “Why wouldn’t I do that?”

  “I can think of several reasons. You left me behind because you didn’t want me anymore.”

  Myles looked at her and the anger she’d seen in his eyes yesterday when she had made a similar statement was back. “I refuse to drive any further until we clear that up.”

  “Keep driving, Myles. There’s nothing to clear up. Although I did hurt for the longest time, I understand why you did it.”

  “I don’t think you do,” he said, pulling into a fruit market off of Interstate 75. He parked the car in an isolated area of the parking lot and released the lever to push back his seat to stretch out his long legs. He then turned his body toward her.

  “So tell me, Lisa, why do you think I left town that night?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I know why you left town,” she said, wondering why he was determined to rehash things. “You were contacted by a professional team because they were interested in you being a mechanic for them.”

  “Yes, but that would not have affected our relationship. I still would have taken the job but would have sent for you when you finished school. No matter what, I still wanted to marry you.”

  Now it was Lisa’s time to be angry. “Excuse me, but I don’t recall you presenting that as an option. I distinctively recall you saying you were leaving for Charlotte and that we needed to end things.”

  “Yes, but that was only after your parents came to see me.”

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  “I’m talking about you threatening to quit school in your junior year, telling your parents you were doing it to marry me, although I hadn’t officially asked you yet. I had purchased the ring and intended to ask you Christmas night, but after your parents’ visit, I knew I couldn’t mess up your life like that. You deserved better and—”

  “What on earth are you talking about? I never threatened to quit school in my junior year.”

  Myles stared at her. “Are you saying your parents lied to me?”

  “They did if they told you that.”

  Myles didn’t say anything for the longest time and neither did Lisa as it became crystal clear just what her parents had done. And it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why.

  “How could you have believed them?” Lisa asked in a soft voice.

  Myles looked at her. He saw the tears she was trying to hold back and knew she was thinking the same thing he was. Five wasted years. “Why wouldn’t I believe them? They were your parents and they sounded worried about you and your future. They made me realize I could ruin things for you if I didn’t get out of the picture.”

  “So you did.”

  “Yes.”

  Again neither said anything for the longest time and then she said, “They never liked you.”

  “I know, but they sounded pretty convincing. I hadn’t expected them to outright lie about something like that.”

  She knew that he truly hadn’t. Her parents were members of Chiefland’s upstanding community. They weren’t supposed to lie. “Why didn’t you ask me about it?”

  “I did. I called you the next day and in a roundabout way I asked how your classes were going. You sounded stressed and said you were fed up and ready to quit.”

  She frowned, trying to recall that time and suddenly it did occur to her that she had spoken with him a couple of days before they had broken up. She had been studying for finals and she had told him that she was frustrated. “I remember you calling and saying that, Myles, but I hadn’t meant it.”

  “Well, I didn’t know that. I was thinking about what your parents said and then hearing you confirm their words made me realize that I couldn’t let you quit school just to be with me.”

  Lisa was silent for a brief moment and then asked softly, “You bought me a ring?” She had expected one, was hoping to get one, but what she’d gotten instead was his goodbye.

  “Yes. I bought it four months before. In fact, you almost came across it when you spent the night at my place and were going through my gear. You never looked in my gear for anything and I figured it was safe there.”

  She remembered that morning when she had sneaked into town from Gainesville and spent the night with him. She had been looking in his gear for more condoms. “So, you figured you were doing me a favor by leaving?”

  * * *

  MYLES WASN’T SURE she was asking a question or making a statement but decided to treat it as a question. “Yes. I loved you just that much, Lisa.”

  He watched as she wiped a tear from her eye and, knowing he wanted to hold her in his arms and could only do just so much with bucket seats, he released his seat belt, opened his car door and walked in front of the car to the other side. He then opened her door, leaned down and unbuckled her seat belt. “Come here for a minute.”

  Desire inched its way up his spine as he stood back to give her room to get out, ap
preciating the fit of her jeans and blouse. The moment she was out of the car he took her hand and pulled her into his arms, both wanting and needing to kiss her. He captured her mouth with his.

  And she kissed him back.

  The moment she did, years of denying himself the one and only woman he had ever loved came crashing down on him and he deepened the kiss. Every cell in his body seemed to light up, heat up, and send shivers through every single pore.

  He tightened his arms around her, thinking the memories of their kiss didn’t come close to doing justice to the real thing. And he also knew that he would never let her parents or anyone come between them again. No matter how many races he won, or how popular in life he became, he could only be complete with one woman by his side. The one he was holding in his arms. The one he had intended on asking to be his wife five years ago.

  “I’m going to confront your parents about the lie they told me, Lisa,” he murmured against her lips, glorying in the taste of her.

  “We both are,” she whispered, pulling in a deep breath.

  He nodded. “And just so you’ll know, so you won’t have any doubt, I never stopped loving you.” And then he gathered her into his arms and held her. He released her when he realized they were getting unwanted attention.

  He pulled back and looked at her. “Do you want to continue on to Ocala or turn around now?”

  “I was looking forward to the drive with you. Now that we know what happened, we shouldn’t let anyone ruin any more days for us. And just so you know, I never stopped loving you, either,” she said.

  Because he couldn’t resist, he pulled her into his arms for another kiss.

  * * *

  IT WAS LATE afternoon before they returned to Chiefland and drove straight to her parents’ home. Lisa was glad she had suggested they wait before confronting her parents. Her time with him in Ocala had been priceless, definitely special. It was as if now that their true feelings were out there, she felt renewed inner joy, a sense of peace.

  Although they had yet to discuss where they would go from there, she knew they would have a future together. Each time he had found the opportune time and private spot, he had kissed her, awakening more and more desires within her, making her feel wanted and loved.