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I held her stare for a long beat as she stood there.“Why are you glaring at me?” she asked, looking at me like I’d lost my mind.
I shrugged and righted my JAR Racing hat. “You left me hanging.”
“I’m sorry.” Her cheeks flushed, her eyes on her dad. “I asked if you wanted to finish. And you said no.”
I didn’t get a chance to say anything before Jameson approached on a four-wheeler. Smiling, he nodded to Arie who took off on it toward the pits. Jameson stood next to me. “Ready?”
I walked with him toward merchandise trailers lined up next to the front gates of Thunderbowl Raceway. The afternoon sun warmed the back of my neck, the sounds of torque wrenches and impact guns filling the silence between us. These days, my mind had been elsewhere, and I think Jameson understood. He’d been where I was now—on a losing streak so far this year. Through the pit lane speakers, I could hear “Ladies and Gentlemen” by Salvia and smiled when I noticed Gray rocking out to it outside Casten’s merchandise trailer. Only she was on the damn roof. A place all the older kids loved to climb on. They hung out on the race haulers during the races and thought they could climb on top of everything after that.
Jameson smiled up at her, standing near the hitch with his hands on his hips. “Gray, get down.”
Peeking over the edge, she frowned. “Why?”
“Because it’s dangerous.” She offered him a glare and I knew exactly where this was going. “Get down,” he snapped, and she was scrambling down the ladder a second later.
She didn’t say a word as she stomped away back to the motor homes.
Jameson shook his head, laughter on his lips. And then he eyed me when I leaned against the side of my merchandise trailer, wishing I hadn’t agreed to sign autographs this morning. “What’s wrong?”
I shrugged. “Tired.”
“Did Lane and Jensen get the car repaired okay?”
“Yeah. Took them until four in the morning but we got it. Caden, Tommy, and Zac helped us out.”
He smiled, and I knew it was because the team had been working together. “How’s Jensen working out?”
I shifted my stance when I noticed Hayden approaching with the keys to the trailers, the row of fans starting to accumulate near the gate. “He seems good. Nice kid.” Jensen O’Neil was our newest team guy who paired up well with Lane. He knew him and his dad, Parker, from his dirt bike days.
Hayden took off the other direction, without opening the trailer, and left Jameson and me standing there wondering what the fuck she was doing. Jameson looked at me, confused. “Do you have keys?”
“No, I think Arie has them because she needed into it this morning.”
He stared at the fence behind us. “Shit.”
I glanced over at the pits where Hayden had disappeared to. “Maybe she’ll come back?”
“With her, you never know.” He gave me a nod and motioned to my cheek. “That from E or Hudson?”
“Guess he got me a couple times.” Rubbing my hand down the side of my jaw, I realized it was a bit tender. I didn’t want to admit it but Easton had landed a few.
“What was that about?”
I looked up from the dirt to Jameson. “What do you mean?”
“The race or Arie?
“Both,” I admitted.
Jameson chuckled, reaching up to adjust his hat when the sun peeked over the row of haulers to our left. “I’d hit the fucker too.”
Jameson had his fair share of pit fights over the years and I could count on one hand the number related to Sway. Most of the time they were racing related, but every once in a while, other racers would try their hand at the famous Rowdy Riley wife. In fact, last year at Pevely was a prime example. A late model racer, Chase Stockton, got frisky with Sway while she was at the concessions knowing damn well whose wife she was. Sway didn’t say much about it, but Jameson did. Fast-forward to the heats, Stockton was running up near the cushion and Jameson pulled a slider on him but took the air off him and gave no room on the exit. Stockton wadded his car up and never made the main event.
The thing was, it was a clean move, but his point was made where Stockton sat with Rowdy Riley. And Easton knew where he stood with me. I wouldn’t tolerate his shit anymore. For months he’d been showing up at tracks where we were, and I knew the ties he held with Riley Racing. It didn’t mean I had to take his shit though.
I tried to remind myself it didn’t matter, regardless, because I had the girl and always would. He’d never get an opening with her again as far as I was concerned.
Hayden returned with the key and Hudson on her hip. She handed him over to me, and then he lunged for Jameson. “He apparently kicked Ryder and got himself black flagged with Grandma.”