Legends and Lies (15 page)

ANNIE SPENT THE DAY taking pictures of the track and her brother. But when evening fell and the parties and promotional gigs were well underway she found herself alone with Dave after an autographing session.

“Ready to talk?” he asked, as he they got on his golf cart and drove away from the crowds in the fan area and back to the motor home lot.

“Yes.” She’d been trying all day to come up with a subtle way to ask Dave to stop being a jerk around Jared, but in the end, she hadn’t been able to think of anything. “I want you to stop giving Jared such a hard time,” she said.

Dave didn’t respond.

“He’s important to me, Dave. But I need my family if I’m going to have any chance at a real relationship with him.”

Dave sighed that deep sound that meant he didn’t like what he was hearing, but knew that she was making sense.

“Hey, it’s not just me. He hasn’t been all friendly, either,” Dave said at last.

“I know,” Annie said. “Could I have picked a more difficult man to fall for?”

Dave braked the golf cart to a stop and turned to face her. There was something in his eyes that made her feel better. “You’re serious about him?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Okay. I’ll do better.”

“You said that after Talladega,” she reminded him.

“I mean it this time. I’ll really give him a chance.”

Annie breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. Now I can know if my instincts about him are right.”

“What instincts?”

“The ones that have been telling me that he could be the one.”

“You thought that about Malcolm,” Dave reminded her.

“Yeah, I know. But the rest of you didn’t.”

“So we’re going to be your litmus test?” Dave asked.

“Something like that. But even though you haven’t really been too keen on him, I still am. Does that make sense?”

“I think you’re saying, no matter what, you like this guy.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Dave started driving again. “This has been one crazy year. Dad’s heart attack, your love life, my racing.”

“You okay?” she asked, knowing the timing of this stunk. She understood better than anyone the pressure that was put on Dave. He had to fill legendary racing shoes. It would have been different if Daddy had just been an okay driver, but he’d been a champion.

Dave gave her a glance that she couldn’t read. “Yeah. I’d like to win this weekend but I feel like I’m getting a cold, which is making me a little fuzzy.”

“Are you taking any medicine?”

“Yes. And mom sent over some soup.”

“Are you going to be okay on Sunday?” she asked.

“Damn straight,” Dave said.

Annie and her brother parted ways at the infield. She wasn’t sure that her conversation with her brother would make the relationship between Jared and Dave any smoother, but she wanted it to. She wanted Jared to see what it felt like to be a part of a large family.

She knew it wouldn’t replace the closeness he’d had with his own parents, but she hoped it would be another dimension in their relationship.

DAVE WON WATKINS GLEN, but Tucker got the better of him the following weekend in Michigan. This weekend they were in Bristol. Annie was staying with Jared in the motor home lot. She’d gone home to Orlando every Monday for the last two weeks and he’d missed her during those three days.

He’d been sincere in wanting her to live with him full-time, and having her reject him had tightened his skin. Made him feel like…like he wanted her more than she wanted him.

To compensate he’d overscheduled his day, limiting the amount of time they had to spend together. But his plan had backfired because instead of insulating him from the sharp ache of missing her, the distance had intensified it.

The track was overrun with the Jenner clan when NASCAR arrived in Bristol. It was Brandon and Carol’s hometown and everywhere he went Jared met another cousin of Annie’s.

“Hey, Jared, come and join me for a cold one,” Dave called as Jared walked toward his own motor home, just before dinnertime on Thursday.

“I don’t have a lot of time.”

“This won’t take long,” Dave assured him, handing him a cold beer.

Why didn’t that reassure him?

He took the beer from Dave then leaned back against the side of the RV. Though he knew Dave to be laid-back most of the time, Jared was just beginning to see that side of the man.

“I heard you asked Annie to move in with you,” Dave said.

“I’m not talking—”

“Hold up. I’m making a mess of this. I think you know how much the family tries to take care of our own,” Dave stated.

“Yeah, I figured that out.”

“Well, if you’re with Annie then you’re one of us.”

“Thanks,” he said, then changed the subject. “How’s your dad?”

“Good. His doctor said he’s progressing just as he should. I think winning a championship this year would make him recover quicker.”

“Probably,” Jared said, aware that this was the first time they’d ever talked racing.

“I’m still coming after Tucker with all I’ve got.”

“He’ll be ready.”

Dave grinned a little ruefully at Jared. “I can’t believe my sister is dating a guy on another team. It’s odd.”

“I know the feeling.”

Dave glanced over his shoulder one time and then turned back to Jared, and started talking about football and the chances that the Panthers had of going all the way to the Super Bowl this year. Since Jared was a Cowboys fan from childhood he told him they had little chance.

His cell phone twittered and he pulled it out of his pocket to see a text message from Annie.

Where are you?

With Dave.

Dinner’s ready.

“I’ve got to go.”

“Later, man,” Dave said.

Jared walked away and had a feeling of anticipation in his gut. He stepped into his motor home and froze realizing this was the dream he’d always wanted, but had been afraid to reach for.

The scents of roasting chicken and potatoes filled the air. There were two places set at the small kitchen table, a candlestick lit between them. Annie’s iPod was plugged into the speaker system and the Cure was blasting from the speakers.

Annie came out of the back, stopping in the hallway. She had on a pair of jeans and a lacy shirt with ruffled sleeves and no shoes. Her hair hung in thick curls to her shoulders and she had no makeup on.

“Do you like chicken?” she asked.

Chicken, lamb, tofu, he didn’t care what she made. The smells, the woman and this setting were more than he’d anticipated. Why wouldn’t she move in with him? This felt settled to him.

He nodded.

“Well, good.”

“What’s that?” he asked pointing to the package, sitting on the table next to his spot.

“A present,” she said, putting the food on the table and pouring them both a glass of white wine. “I’m not much of a cook, so this is kind of simple. Open your present.”

He took a sip of his wine and removed the wrapping paper to find a small metal sign that read Home Is Where Your Story Begins.

She was watching him carefully and he realized that once again she’d surprised him. He’d always thought that life was happening outside of him. “Thanks.”

“I thought we could hang it on the wall here. So you’d see it every week.”

“I like it. But why did you choose this?”

She shrugged and glanced down at her plate. “I thought that maybe you forgot that your story—and your life—stem from the home you carry around within you.”

“Is that why you won’t move in with me?” he asked.

“Maybe part of it. Most of it’s on me, because I don’t want to rush, but another part is the fact that you don’t let any roots form around you.”

Her insight humbled him and made him feel a bit unworthy of her. Because he had no great truth or secret inside of him and he knew it.

DAVE QUALIFIED in the pole position in New Hampshire; Annie was so proud of her brother. She celebrated with his team. They were all talking about how they’d lowered the motor mount for his car and how it had made all the difference. It was still within legal standards, according to Vinnie and one of the other guys that Annie heard talking to an official. She went to look for Jared. Tucker had qualified in fourth but as she approached his garage she heard him talking with a reporter.

“Fourth suits me just fine today. I know that I’m going to be in first on Sunday.”

Annie shook her head as he winked over at her.

“What about those early-season rumors that your team was treating your tires?”

“I hope they’ve been laid to rest. We’ve endured every kind of testing available on our tires and still there’s been no proof of wrongdoing.”

“That’s got to be a relief. Anything else you’d like to add?” the reporter asked.

“It has been an exciting season for us and we’re just hoping to enjoy the ride all the way to Homestead,” Tucker said, concluding the interview. Annie drifted behind the crowd and into the garage. She spotted Jared in the back talking to Reilly O’Connor, the general manager of Tucker’s team.

Jared looked up at her, gesturing her over to his side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her up against him. He did it often and she liked it. Liked the way he immediately drew her close whenever they were together. She hoped it meant that he didn’t like being apart any more than she did.

“Hi, Reilly,” she said, greeting the other man whom she knew from years ago. His dad had been the general manager on her father’s team. Teams on the NASCAR circuit liked to hire people whom they knew.

“Annie. How are your folks doing?”

“Good. Dad had a doctor’s visit early this week and they are pleased with the progress he’s making. Mom’s got him on a strict diet and exercise routine.”

“Your mom’s the only one that man listens to,” Reilly said.

“How true,” she said. Reilly left a few minutes later and she was alone with Jared.

“Busy morning?” she asked.

“Just the usual. I have one of my dad’s old partners and his family coming to the race this weekend. I thought Hal was going to show up in time for qualifying.”

“It was pretty exciting today, wasn’t it?” she said. There’d been a couple of minor wrecks during the practice lap; luckily they hadn’t involved Dave or Tucker. “I got some spectacular pictures of Dave as he pulled through the smoke of that last wreck. I can’t wait to pull up the photo and see if it’s as good as I think it is.”

“I’m sure it is,” Jared said. “Dave’s car was hot out there today.”

“I think they did something different with the engine mount. Vinnie said it made all the difference.”

Jared stared at her for a second before she realized what she’d just done—shared information from her brother’s garage with one of his rival drivers.

“Oh, man, can you please ignore that?”

He shrugged. “Was it legal?”

“Yes. They mentioned they’d stayed within legal limits.” She felt bad that she’d said anything to Jared. The way he was looking at her made her realize he wasn’t just thinking about Dave, but wondering if she’d said anything about what she’d seen in Tucker’s garage.

“It was totally unintentional. I don’t think of you as part of Tucker’s team all the time. Sometimes I just think of you as my boyfriend.”

“I know,” he said. “Don’t worry about it anymore.”

His cell phone rang and he answered it. She turned away from him to give him some privacy, all the while cursing herself. How could she be so lax? She knew that Dave hadn’t done anything illegal, but teams guarded their strategies closely. They didn’t want other drivers or crew chiefs to know what they were doing in their own garage.

“That was Hal and his family. Want to come and meet them?”

“Ah, sure,” she said, wondering if it was simply because he didn’t want to leave her alone in Tucker’s garage.

Doubt was insidious and she could remember how it built during her marriage. She stopped walking and Jared glanced down at her. “Do you still trust me?”

“Of course. I think you’ll like Hal. He’s always been larger than life to me. When I was growing up he’d always tell me tales that sounded like they were too fantastical to be true.”

She was very aware that he’d changed the subject but she let him. “What kind of stories?”

“Just his travels throughout Egypt and all of Africa.”

“What does he do?” she asked, interested in spite of the fact that she wanted to make sure that they’d resolved the issue between them.

“He was a banker, like my dad. But he didn’t like to stay in the office.”

“Your family is so different than mine,” she said. Her family was all about racing and she loved that.

“I know that. You have no idea how hard it was to find a place in NASCAR, coming from the outside the way Tucker and I did,” he said, starting to walk toward the garage entrance.

“I bet. But you’ve found your place now,” she said. “Jared?”

“Yes?”

“I know I’m being paranoid, but please tell me that you don’t think I’m telling Dave what Tucker’s doing in his garage.”

“Honey, I don’t think you’re spying on us. If you were you wouldn’t have slipped up just now and told me what Dave was doing. Okay?”

“Sorry if it seems like I’m overreacting.”

He leaned down, brushing his lips over her forehead. “I’m just hoping you don’t remember that I accused you of sabotaging Tucker’s car.”

“That’s part of what my concern stems from,” she admitted, deciding right then and there that she was going to stay out of both men’s garages until the Chase was completed.

“Well, I don’t think you’re up to anything nefarious at the track.”

And that was enough for now.