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JAMIE DIDN’T GET TO SEE
Tim’s mom because she left shortly after seeing him at the hotel. On the plane ride back to North Carolina the next morning the family was tight-lipped about the visit. Kellen and her dad played a racing video game together while Tim read. Jamie tried to talk with her mom about the situation, but her mom was clearly upset.

When they arrived at home, Jamie cornered her in her bedroom and closed the door. “What’s going on, Mom?”

“Tim’s mom wants him to come live with her. I think Tim is seriously considering it.”

“Why shouldn’t he?” Jamie said. “If I were living with some other family and you came back, I’d go with you.”

“You know that’s not the point,” her mom said. “This woman has been out
of Tim’s life since he was little. Where’s she been? Why did she abandon him? And why should we believe she’s fit to be his mother now?”

Jamie shrugged. “I don’t think that makes a difference to Tim. He looks excited to have his mom back.”

“He’s just getting a little stability in his life,” her mom said in a huff. “I saw him reading that devotional we gave him. With all he’s been through, the last thing he needs is a flighty mother to take him away.”

Jamie sat on the bed and lay back on the lacy pillows arranged at the head. How many times had she and her mom talked about things like this? Only they were usually about Jamie—what choices to make, what path to take. She felt like somehow the tables were turning, like she was the one to help her mom see something instead of the other way around. She sat up and said, “How much of this is about what’s best for Tim and how much is about you? What
you
want?”

Her mom stopped putting away her clothes and turned. Her face looked pained. “That’s a fair question, and I’ll admit I’ve grown accustomed to Tim. I think we’ve been good for him, and he’s also been good for us. He fits here. It’s not a perfect arrangement, but it’s better than any of his other choices. I just don’t want to see him get hurt again.”

Jamie nodded. “I agree. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from you over the years, it’s that if God really is in control, we can trust him to work things out.”

“You observed that?”

Jamie smiled. “I think you need to give Tim the same amount of rope you gave me. Love him enough to let him go. Let him make a choice.”

Her mom shook her head. “You know what he’ll do.”

“But are you going to tie him up and make him stay here or trust that God is working on him?”

Her mom leaned against her dresser, balling some clean laundry in her hands. “I want to fight for him. Nobody’s ever fought for him.” Tears came to her eyes. “When I think of how lonely he’s been, how alone in so many things . . .”

Jamie hugged her mom, and tears came to her own eyes. “I know. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy to let go. And I agree with you that he’d be better off here. But this has to be his choice.”

BEFORE TIM’S MOM LEFT
the hotel, she had told him she’d call during the week. Tim checked his phone after each class and during lunch, but there were no messages. She hadn’t said where she was living, and he hadn’t pressed her about her troubles with the Florida authorities.

Even though Tuesday was his first day back (he had taken Monday off to return from the race), the week dragged by. Tim watched the coverage of the upcoming Phoenix race and listened to talk radio programs about who would be the winner. Everybody spoke of Dale Maxwell with respect, but nobody gave him a chance. The other teams had multiple drivers in the Chase, and Dale had such a small budget. It was David vs. Goliath, a bicycle against a souped-up motorcycle. Somehow Tim didn’t think that bothered Dale. It probably helped him.

Mrs. Maxwell acted strange around Tim most of the week, putting on a pleasant face. He passed her computer and saw an e-mail from a social worker with the subject line “Tim’s Mom.” He didn’t open it to read it, but he figured they were going over the legal deal about her.

Jamie went with her dad to Phoenix. Everyone would go for the final race in Florida. The Maxwells had a friend who owned a cottage on the beach, and they were going to stay there and celebrate Thanksgiving and the end of the racing season. When they discussed it, Tim said he needed to talk to his mom about Thanksgiving, which made Mrs. Maxwell turn away and work on the dishes.

After church on Sunday, Kellen went to a friend’s house, and Tim sat in the living room to watch the prerace festivities. Mrs. Maxwell brought some popcorn and other stuff to munch on. He took a plate of veggies and dip and some stuffed mushrooms she had cooked and stood.

“Where are you headed?” she said.

“Out to the garage to watch the race,” Tim said.

“You don’t have to go out there. There’s nobody coming over today.”

“Why not?”

“I told them we wanted to watch alone. There’s always a lot of activity around here.”

Tim sat again and popped the top on a soda. “Think he’s gonna win?”

“I think he’ll be okay, no matter what happens. Which is what I think about you.”

Tim looked at her. She had lowered her voice and turned on the couch toward him. He put the plate down and sat back when she hit the Mute button.

“They’re about to have the flyover,” he said.

Her face was serious. “I have strong feelings about your mom and her asking you to come with her. But I can understand how you’d want to go with her. She’s your flesh and blood.”

He nodded. “She seemed pretty serious about it.”

Mrs. Maxwell didn’t say anything, and Tim imagined she wanted to say,
If she was so serious about it, why hasn’t she called you?

“I’ve checked with the social worker and made some calls and sent some e-mails. If you want to go with your mom, we’ll understand. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I hope you’ll stay. I think it might be better to have your mom come visit or work out something like that. But if you want to go, we won’t stand in your way.”

He couldn’t believe it was that easy. He thought he’d have to sign a billion papers and promise never to come back or something. “Thanks.”

She hit the Mute button and they watched the
race. Kellen came back about midway through and ate just about everything Mrs. Maxwell had set out on the coffee table.

Though Tim was interested in the race, it was hard to concentrate. He wondered if something had happened to his mom. Or was she preparing a place where they could live? What would it be like to actually live with her?

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket, and he jumped up and ran to the next room to answer it.

“Hey, Tim,” his mom said. “Sorry I didn’t get a chance to call earlier. You doing okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. We’re just watching the race at Phoenix.”

“Oh, how’s Maxwell doing?”

“He got a penalty for going too fast on pit road, so they sent him to the back, but he’s making his way up.”

“Good. Say, listen, is there any chance you’ll be traveling with the family to Florida next week? I have an idea how we could meet up and start our new life.”

Tim gulped. “They’ve been talking about this place they’re going to stay down near Miami. But if you go back to Florida—”

“I’m going to get all that worked out. Don’t worry. I just need to know if you’re serious about coming with me. Are you?”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I just don’t know how it would work.”

“Leave that to me. Now, I’ll call you before you get down there and get the address. Don’t tell the Maxwells anything about this.”

“Mom, I talked with Mrs. Maxwell, and she said—”

“I have to go. I’ll see you in about a week, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Bye.” He hung up and thought about what she’d said.

Kellen gave a whoop from the other room, and Tim returned.

“Dad made it back into the top 20,” Kellen said. “He’s moving up.”

Tim tried to focus on the race, but it was difficult. He wondered where he’d be staying next Sunday. Would his mom get a good job somewhere and have them move into an apartment—or even a house? Would they be on the road like he had been with his dad?

A crash marred the ending of the race, taking out half a dozen cars. Dale wasn’t in the pile and he finished 11th—a good showing for all the trouble he had. The results flashed on the screen. The top four drivers were separated by only 10 points. Dale was in the fourth spot. He’d have to jump over three other drivers to win the championship.

“He’s going to do it,” Kellen said, hugging his mother.

She smiled, but Tim could tell something was bothering her. Something about him.

JAMIE WANTED TO FLY
down with her dad earlier in the week, but her mom said she’d missed enough school already, so the rest of the family arrived Saturday morning. The phone hadn’t stopped ringing at the house with interview requests and people from the church wishing her dad well. The media played up the “little guy” angle about her dad, and it seemed like everyone in the country who wasn’t rooting for the top three drivers was rooting for Dale Maxwell.

Of course, the fact that Butch Devalon was in the #1 spot didn’t help quell the talk about the feud between Butch and her dad. Some made a big deal of the Tim angle, while others focused on the differences the two had on the track. The one that surprised her most was an article by Calvin Shoverton
about a romance between Butch and her mom that Jamie had no idea about.

“We were young and I was foolish,” her mom said. “I thought Butch was cute back then, but the few dates we had never went anywhere.”

“Why not?”

Her mother gave her the look. “Because Butch liked to talk about his favorite subject all the time.”

“Racing?” Jamie said.

“No.
Butch
. His favorite subject was himself and how many championships he was going to win and how much money he’d make. I wasn’t a Christian back then, so I fell under his spell for a little while before reality came to me.”

“Did you kiss him?” Jamie said, smiling.

Her mom rolled her eyes. “A couple of times, but your father is the only one I’ve truly kissed. Now can we change the subject?”

/////

The house near the beach was called a bungalow, which meant it was only one story, but it sprawled along the property. There was a private, in-ground pool in the back that was as big as the country club pool back in Velocity. Kellen’s eyes widened when he saw it, and he ran into a room and changed into his
bathing suit. He came running through the house, and seconds later they heard a splash.

Tim seemed preoccupied to Jamie, always fidgeting with his phone and not eating much. He jumped in the pool with Kellen with his T-shirt on. Later, when her dad came home and they went to the beach, Tim just walked along, looking at the water and kicking at the waves like a kid who’d never seen salt water before.

Jamie had never seen her dad so keyed up before a race. She talked with him about the points and different scenarios, but he always came back to, “We’ll just have to see how it turns out.”

The whole family (including Tim) was walking together when Jamie said, “I can tell you’ve got that calculator of a brain working up there. What’ll it take to win the championship?”

Her dad smiled. “Well, let’s say we all get the points we normally get for leading laps and such. It’s complicated, but I pretty much have to finish several spots ahead of the other leaders.”

“What about Butch?”

“I have to finish at least three spots ahead of him to beat him.”

“So you’re going to run it full tilt,” Jamie said.

“What do I have to lose?” he said.

/////

Tim went to church with the Maxwells on Saturday evening at a big church with “Welcome NASCAR Fans” on the sign out front. The pastor had asked Dale to speak at the service. The family was led up front to a pew that was roped off for special guests.

The band played a couple of songs that had the people clapping and singing. Then the pastor got up and read a verse or two and introduced Dale. There was a lot of applause for him as he walked to the podium.

“When I was a kid,” he said, “I dreamed about being in contention for the championship. When I actually became a driver, it was so real I could taste it. I’ve had some success over the years. I’ve lived the dream so many would love to live. But I’ll tell you this: I wouldn’t trade all the success I’ve had and even that trophy they’re offering tomorrow for a second of knowing Jesus Christ as my Savior.

“Now that’s a lot easier to say than it is to live. But to know that I have a relationship with the Creator, to know he has forgiven me, that I don’t have to be afraid of what comes after this life, and that I can be excited about what’s to come . . .”

Tim’s cell buzzed, and he slipped to the side of the church and into the hallway.

“I’m here in Miami,” his mother said. “Where are you?”

He told her.

“And where are you staying?”

He opened a piece of paper he had jammed into his pocket and read the address to her.

“Could you be ready to leave in the morning?”

“You mean before the race?” he said.

“Yeah, I want to get an early start. Can you be ready about nine?”

“Okay. I’ll get my stuff together.”

/////

The next morning, Tim was up with his suitcase by the door when Dale was ready to leave. He turned to Tim. “Your mom coming to get you?”

Tim nodded.

Dale stuck out a hand. “I can’t tell you what a pleasure it’s been to have you with us. You’re like another son to me.” He opened his wallet and pulled out a few bills.

“You don’t have to do that,” Tim said.

“I know. Take your mom out to dinner when you’re on the road. If anything happens . . . well, just remember you have a place with us.”

“I appreciate all you’ve done,” Tim said, grabbing Dale’s hand.

“And there’s a spot for you on our team,” Dale said. He stopped and looked like he wanted to say something else, then gave Tim a hug and walked out.

Later, when everyone else was ready to leave for the track, Mrs. Maxwell gave Tim a big hug and wiped away a tear. The water in her eyes brought a mist to his own.

“I knew this day would come,” she said, “but I didn’t think it would be this soon. I’ll be praying for you every day.”

“Thank you.”

Jamie hugged him and Kellen stared. “I thought you were going to be my big brother. Forever.”

“I will be,” Tim said. “I’m just going to do it from a distance.”

“Where?” Kellen said.

“I’m not sure. But I’ll call and tell you. Maybe I can visit or something. We’ll e-mail.”

Kellen looked up at Tim. “I’m going to miss you.” He hugged him, and Tim couldn’t find any place to put his arms. He hadn’t counted on feeling like this. Finally he put his arms around Kellen and gave him a hug he’d never forget.

“You’re not coming to the race?” Jamie said to Tim.

“We could get your mom in if she wants,” Mrs. Maxwell said.

“She wants to get on the road. I’ll wait here for her if that’s okay.”

Mrs. Maxwell nodded. “Just lock the door when you leave. You have our phone numbers on your cell. Call us if anything goes wrong or if you need something.”

Tim nodded. As the door was about to close, he reached out and stopped it. “Mrs. Maxwell, can you tell Dale something?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Tell him to beat Devalon, okay?”

She smiled. “This race is for your dad.”