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“Sorry.”

He hesitated for abrief second before speaking. “I heard Kyle punched Gordon. I would have likedto have witnessed that.”

“Youand me both.He showed me the video surveillance.”

“I heard...that’s why I would have liked to haveseen Kyle give the asshole what he deserved.”

I stared back at himwith a tortured expression, reliving the images once again. “Yeah,”

“You know...I shouldn’t have brought that up, I’msorry.” His probing eyes examined me.

“No,” I waved him off.“It’s fine. I just don’t know what would have possessed him to show me.”

He laughed one hardlaugh. “He was always on his side. Gordon thought Darrin was the best driverout there and what the sport needed. Then you came along.”

Conversations driftedaway as the commotion around us picked up as a few fans stopped by forautographs and pictures.

“How’s Sway feeling?”Tate asked once the waitress brought our drinks out, the fans leaving us to ourmeals.

“She seems good.” Itook a slow drink, feeling the burn of the alcohol. “She yelled at me.”

Tate laughed.“Been there before.The woman rules,”

“Yeah, I guess you’reright.” I smiled ruefully at him, hoping he didn’t see the sadness I felt.“They definitely have a way.”

He once again examinedmy face for a moment and then nodded with a genial smile seeming to notice myinner battle. “Anything you want to talk about there, kid?”

I inhaled a deep breathrunning my hand over my jaw. Leaning back in my chair I thought once againabout what Sway told me. “She thinks I’m letting go of what I want.”

“She’s right, you are.”Tate shifted forward, his elbows resting against the table, his hand scrappedalong the rough stubble of his jaw. “When I first met you, I thought to myself...there’s a kid that’s either going to bea champion or kill himself trying. I’ve never seen another driver with yourdetermination, your desire to be the best. That combined with the raw talentyou possess...you’re inexorable onthe track, youdominate.” He told me with a shake of his head. “I’vebeen racing since I was a kid, just like you. But I’ll never compare to thetalent you have behind the wheel. No one on the series can.” He smiled beforespeaking again. “Do you know why I raced you the way I did in Richmond?”

“Because that’s how werace.” I shrugged. “All or nothing,”

“Yeah, that’s partiallyright, but I knew that if you were to get inside the top five in points, wedidn’t stand a chance at winning a repeat championship.”

I smiled halfheartedlytaking another drink but didn’t answer.

“Sway’s just lookingout for you, Jameson. She knows you and she knows what you can do.” Hisexpression changed, tensed. “I was in my fourth year of the Cup Series whenDarrin was a rookie. I hated him from the beginning. I mean, if I thought youwere cocky, he was ten times worse but he didn’t have any reason to be. Thereare plenty of other drivers out there he could have targeted like he did to youand Kasey. But he did that because you two were competition for him, you moreso than Kasey. I don’t blame you for going after him...” he shook his head. “I would have donethe same thing.” Tate smiled holding his drink up. “Here’s to him never comingback.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Isaid with a wicked smile. Even with unspoken words, most around the garagefigured Darrin’s abrupt disappearance had something to do with me but thenagain, they never questioned it as I would have never questioned any of them inmy shoes. It was just an unspoken code of conduct between us.

It was silent for a fewmoments as the waitress delivered the food and brought out new drinks.

Tate was one of themain reasons I got this chance to live this dream and I knew me blowing it, wasalso letting him down. As much as it hurt to hear Sway tell me how I wasacting, it hurt worse to actually see it in Tate’s eyes.

I saw it withSway, but Tate gave me this chance with Simplex. If I walked away from it all,that would be just like a slap in his face to him.

“Keep your head on kid,I mean that.” He leaned forward, taking another sip of his drink before runninghis fingertips over the condensation forming around the glass. With his eyesstill focused on the glass, he began to speak. “Bethekid I witnessed come out to the Chili Bowl at nineteen competing against menwho’d been racing twice as long as he had. Be the kid that broke the trackrecord that same week because the other drivers wouldn’t take him seriously.”Tate tipped his head in my direction. “And to this day, three years later,still holds the track record for the fastest lap ever made at Chili BowlNationals, and your first lap ever made there. Jameson, that right there shouldtell you what kind of talent you possess.” He intoned, his body relaxed in hischair, crossing his leg over his left knee. “I shouldn’t say that to you,because I know damn well if you can pull yourself together and get that drive,that determination in you back, I don’t stand a chance for a repeatchampionship.”

I snorted; the cornersof my mouth twitch into smile.

“Thanks...for everything, Tate.” I said withconviction. “It’s nice to have friends like you.”

“Thank me when you winthe championship.” He sounded utterly convinced I could do it. “You could giveme the trophy you know.”

“Ah, well, I don’treally care about the trophy so yeah, you can have it.”

He laughed. “You’llchange your mind when you’reholdin’ it.”