Quickly turning, I heard Emmit call out my name. Picking up my pace, I tried like hell to get as far away as I could. The idea that Emmit was out fucking some girl while I laid in my bed last night dreaming of his hands on me made me feel sick to my stomach.
Emmit clearly had moved on and no matter how much I tried to get him to talk to me, he’d never forgive me for leaving him.
Bumping into someone, I wiped my tears away and mumbled, “Excuse me.”
“Adaline, sweetheart, are you okay?”
I looked at Jack and attempted to smile. “Jack, hi how are you?”
My eyes immediately looked at the woman who had been on Emmit’s arm the last few days.
“It’s race day. It’s always a good day!”
I let out a nervous chuckle and nodded my head. “Adaline, I don’t think you and I had the chance to talk much last night. I know my uncle was introducing me to everyone on the team. I’m going to start working for him.”
Trying to be polite and cheerful, I couldn’t help but think how convenient that would be for Emmit. A girl who would be traveling with him to each race.
“How exciting,” I said as looked between Jack and his niece. “Lynn, isn’t it?” I asked, as I tilted my head and tried to seem like I gave two shits about this woman.
“Yes. My Uncle Jack was telling me you and Emmit used to be high school sweethearts.”
I swallowed hard and barely said, “Something like that.”
“Emmit was nice enough to show Lynn the racing side of the business. She’ll be working in the main office back in North Carolina, marketing is her thing.”
Wait. What?
“Oh. Really?” I asked as my voice sounded a tad bit too chipper.
Lynn looked at Jack and nodded. “My fiancé just left for a long tour of duty and my Uncle Jack thought coming to the race would keep my mind off things.”
“Your . . . your fiancé?”
Lynn smiled a bright smile as she nodded. “My high school sweetheart.”
My hand went over my stomach as I let out a chuckle. Emmit wasn’t dating her. He was babysitting her!
“The drivers’ meeting is about to start, Lynn, why don’t you head on over with Emmit and take it all in. I want to talk to Adaline for a bit.”
Pointing to myself, I asked, “Me?”
Jack took me by the arm and led me toward the bus pad. “Yes. I have a business proposition for you.”
“SHIT. WHERE IN THE HELL did this rain come from?” Robert asked as he sat in my bus. Robert had been on my pit crew since day one and had become more than a friend to me. He was like my brother.
I pushed the air out of my lungs as I glanced over to the TV and shrugged. “Who knows, it’s Texas. The weather here can change in a heartbeat.” Lola barked and jumped up as she looked at the door.
The doorbell rang as I got up and made my way to the bus door. It was probably Waldo giving us an update. He knew I didn’t watch anything to do with the race on TV. From day one I thought it would be bad luck, so I didn’t listen to what they were saying as they talked pre-race shit.
Opening the door, I smiled. Adaline was standing there with an umbrella over her head as the rain came down steadily. “Hey. I had to ask which one was your bus. You’ve gotten a different one.”
My smile faded some as I nodded. “Yeah, well a lot of things are different now.”
Adaline’s face fell as she asked, “May I come in?”
“Um, yeah but Robert’s here and—”
Robert pushed past me and waved to Adaline. “Hey, Adaline! Great seeing you again. I’m headed back to the hauler, Emmit. See ya later.”
Slowly shaking my head, I shot daggers at my so-called best friend.
Lola barked and Adaline let out a gasp. “Oh, my gosh. There’s a dog!”
“Always were observant, Adaline.”
Adaline shot me a dirty look as she slowly nodded. “Well anyway, I’m sorry Robert ran off. I’ll let him know he can come back.”
Adaline turned and walked off as I squeezed my eyes shut and cursed under my breath. “Fuck!” I hissed through my teeth. Stepping out into the rain, I called for her. “Adaline, wait. I’m sorry, if you want to come in, you’re more than welcome to.”
Turning around slowly, Adaline raised an eyebrow. “Anyone else in there?”
I didn’t even care I was getting wet. “Like who?” I asked with a confused look.
With a shrug, Adaline walked back over to me and started up the steps as I stepped back in and told Lola to sit. Adaline stepped into my bus and looked around as her eyes widened in surprise as she glanced back toward the bedroom. “Oh, I don’t know, Cookie maybe?”
Holy living hell. Adaline was jealous.
Choosing to ignore her reference to Cookie, I said, “Ashley and her two friends are hanging out in the hauler.”
“Oh,” Adaline said, barely above a whisper.
I took her umbrella and shook it out as I placed it by the door. Lola quickly made her way over to Adaline. Instead of doing what she normally did, rollover and demand a belly rub, she jumped up on Adaline.
“Oh, my!” Adaline said as she took a hold of Lola.
“Lola! No, that’s a bad girl. Time out!” Lola jumped back down and ran back into the bedroom and jumped on the bed where she promptly began to pout.
“Wow. That’s impressive. She must be really smart,” Adaline said as she sat down on the tan leather sofa.
I sat across from her and smiled as I looked at Lola. Damn I loved that dog. “She is, but we also spend a lot of time together. I worked hard on training her when I first got her.”
Adaline looked directly at me as our eyes met. “Oh.” Adjusting in her seat, she asked. “Um, how old is she?”
“One tomorrow.”
Adaline smiled. “Did you get her a birthday present?”
My heart slammed against my chest as Adaline talked about Lola. Nodding, I said, “Yes.”
Looking away, she said, “Good.” Adaline glanced around my bus as her knee bounced nervously. “So, wow. You got a new bus.”
Looking around, I nodded. “Yep. About a year after you um . . . well, after you started school. I started making pretty good money, so I upgraded.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Want to see all of it? I mean there’s really only the living room here, the kitchen, the bedroom, bathroom and the closets.”
With a grin, Adaline said, “Sure, I’d love to see it.”
My stomach felt like I was on a roller coaster. All I really wanted to do was tell her how much I’d missed her. I reached for her hand as I stood. When she placed it gently in mine, we both looked into each other’s eyes. I was almost positive she felt it too.
The love was still there.
As I guided her back toward the bedroom, I focused on my breathing. Stepping into the room, Lola jumped up and wagged her tail as Adaline started giggling. “I guess she thinks time out is over.”
I nodded my head and laughed. “She’s a good girl.”
Adaline sat down on the bed and began petting Lola. “How does she do on the long drives?”
With a shrug, I said, “Good. She doesn’t really know any different. She loves when we head back to North Carolina, though. I bought a new place with lots of room for her to run.”
Adaline glanced up at me. “That’s wonderful. I bet she loves it.”
Leaning against the closet door, I smiled and said, “Yeah. She does. She is the only constant in my life. I guess you could say she keeps me grounded.”
Adaline’s eyes turned sad as she looked back at Lola. “Have you, um, dated very much?”
I could either skirt around it, or just be honest. I decided to go with the later.
“No. I’ve fucked around a lot, though.” Adaline’s head snapped up as she looked at me as her mouth fell open. I could tell she was surprised by my honesty. “I’m not going to lie and sugar coat the last three years of my life, Adaline. My heart broke in two when things between us ended. The only thing I knew to do to try and forget you was drink and fuck woman.”