Page 37 of Wrecking Boundaries (SteelTrack Racing #2)

The house is quiet, with no sign of Sarah. Instinct leads me to pull a bunch of grapes from the fridge and place them in a bowl. She’ll need them.

I find her lying across the bed, wrapped in a blanket. It’s the same quilt I offered after finding her on the side of the road months ago.

“Princess? What are you doing?” I ask.

“Turning into a burrito,” she says.

“I’ll join you then.” I unwind the blanket, crawl beside her, and tuck the quilt back around us.

Guilt strikes me. She broke two pieces of news during today’s lunch meeting. The meeting was a success, but her inner distress was noticeable. We quickly chatted in the parking lot before I returned to work. We may be starting a new company, but my present one still requires me to prepare for races.

“You want a grape?” I press one to her lips.

Her favorite treats are tiramisu and fruit. There’s no dessert, but plenty of other options. If grapes don’t work, I can offer pineapple or honeydew.

“You can’t fix me with treats,” she says, understanding my plan.

“I can try. Will you tell me what happened today?”

“Yes, I turned in my two weeks’ notice today because my brother is a meany pants. ”

“Meany pants. That sounds serious.” It sounds hilarious.

“Don’t make fun of me. I’m unable to summon good insults right now.”

“Then tell me how he earned the title.” I gently press my lips to her forehead. “Take another one.”

She eats another grape. “I learned your spotter accepted his job offer and then found out Boone extended offers to two more on your team like he threatened he would.”

“Do you know who?” No one submitted their resignation, so that gives me some relief. If this keeps up, Boone Rivers will take my entire team.

“I have no idea. No one will tell me anything, not anymore.” Sarah cranes her neck to see me. “I confronted him, and he didn’t deny it.”

There’s more. The last time I saw him, she tried to avoid and diffuse the confrontation, holding on to hope everything could be fixed. Now, Sarah’s wearing one of my old shirts and lying on the bed. Misery radiates off her.

“Then what?”

“He said it was a business decision. He expected I would believe it, like it was some impersonal choice based on a balance sheet. Then he called me a child.”

“That’s when you decided to quit.”

“Oh, no. It gets worse.” Her arms go flying to emphasize how much worse it is. One hits my thigh. “Also, how stupid does he think I am?”

I wisely don’t answer that, choosing to hand over another piece of fruit. “Is it possible he meant that? My old team is closing down; it’s not a shock, especially if he has expansion plans. Julian is there because you signed a contract.”

“His company was going out of business. It’s different. ”

“So is mine.”

“No, it’s personal, against you,” Sarah sighs. “Boone is out to get you, and he won’t quit. Also, I made it worse.”

“That’s not possible,” I say, wanting to defend her, even from herself.

“No, it’s true. I called Boone a horrible person who enjoys hurting people. Then I said he and Maddie deserve each other or something close. Also, I said he’ll eventually do the same to her.”

“Princess, reach out to her. You can repair friendships.”

Sarah turns, curling into a ball and snuggling against my shoulder. “I said she’s as horrible as he is, and it’s not true. Boone is the horrible one; she’s the one trying to make it all better. After that, I returned to my office and felt sorry for myself.”

“Then you quit.”

“Then I quit, and you know what?”

“Tell me.”

“It felt right. I started this morning with no plan to do it, but once the idea came, it felt right. So, I resigned, and now my brother and best friend don’t like me anymore.”

I’m unsure of the correct response, so I pull her closer, tightening my grip on her waist and shoulders. “They don’t feel that way,” I say, knowing it’s a feeble response. “They both love you very much, I’m sure of it. Talk to them.”

“No, I won’t. If Boone forces me to pick sides, then he decides for me. He doesn’t like you.”

I snort at the simple honesty of her statement.

She keeps going. “It’s only because he doesn’t know you. Well, off the track, he doesn’t. You two will be competitors forever; nothing we do will change it. Boone decided he knows what’s best for me, and I won’t let him.”

“Then don’t.”

“He did it to Matteo last year. Have you met him?” I shake my head at the unfamiliar name, so she says, “He’s one of Boone’s mechanics, or he was. Boone discovered his driving talent and tried to convince him to race. Matteo wasn’t interested, so Boone forced him. Matteo told me what happened afterward; he said Boone threatened to fire him and would destroy his career if he didn’t do what Boone wanted. That’s my brother.”

I whistle, genuinely surprised at his action. “What’s this guy up to now?”

“He’s racing in one of the lower circuits. Julian says he’ll be ready to move up in another year or two. You know, the strange thing is, I asked Boone about it afterward. He said he never threatened to destroy Matteo’s career. It doesn’t matter, though, because Matteo still heard it.”

“I hope he moves up one day. If Julian Murphy says so, he has the talent for it.” Anything else can be left unsaid because I understand Boone’s position, and sharing that with Sarah would be unhelpful. He’s competitive and demands that same attribute from everyone around him. You need to demand the best of yourself to win; if they don’t feel the same, they don’t belong.

“I only know he won’t talk to Boone despite working for him. So, that tells you what we can expect from my brother. He’s decided what’s best for me, and that’s all there is to it. Maddie is going to marry him, so she’s caught in the middle, even though I claimed she was the same as him, even though she’s not. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Her friend sent Julian Murphy to check on her at Talladega. She also coordinated with Sarah at the go-kart race to diffuse any problems. Those are the actions of someone who won’t give up on a friendship.

“From all I’ve learned of her, you two can make up,” I say, confident that those are the right words. “You know that saying about never going to bed angry?”

“That’s for married couples,” she corrects me. “We’re friends.”

“Soon-to-be sisters, and from what I’ve learned, you spend nights at her house pretty often. Even if it is for married couples, it’s terrible advice. Sometimes, it’s better to go to bed angry if all you can do is fight. You wake in the morning; you get a new day and new perspective.”

Sarah finally moves, resting her elbows and forearms on my chest to look down at me. Her poking elbows hurt a little, but I don’t say a word. Some discomforts are worth helping her feel better.

“How did you get so wise?” she asks me.

“I helped raise four little sisters. You forget Boone isn’t the only older brother in your life.”

“You agree with him?” she says. There’s an edge of testiness in her voice this time.

“No, not in the slightest,” I say carefully. “He feels protective of you, and I get that. It doesn’t mean he’s correct.”

Sarah nods, satisfied. “Because I’m always right.”

“So far.” She shoves a grape between my lips, and I let her before turning serious again. “As for your job, all it did was change your timetable. Our new business will keep you busy, and I make enough to take care of you.”

“Do we have any watermelon?”

For all her bravado over Boone, Sarah is miserable. Both refuse to yield, and they’ve reached a point where listening is impossible .

If that’s true, maybe he’ll listen to me.

“Stay here, and I’ll go get you some.”

∞∞∞

The treadmill beeps and slows down. I grab a nearby towel to wipe the sweat off my neck and face.

Alone in the gym, a steady hour of cardio lets you zone enough for your mind to solve problems in the background while the more conscious part of you counts down the minutes.

Sarah arranged our big meeting with Top Row to discuss a partnership. Bert shares her opinion that they’ll be glad to help with our manufacturing and production until we can take that over.

The part we aren’t discussing is that Top Row is three hours away, which means we need to move. It also means my crew, the mechanics and engineers who make everything possible, would need to.

It doesn’t feel right to ask them to move because of my ambition.

It would mean Sarah is leaving her family behind, even if they are in the middle of a cold war. I don’t want her to do that for me.

I take several swallows from my water bottle and dial.

She picks up on the second ring. “Maddie Bennett.”

Sarah had one of her friend’s business cards in her paperwork, so getting the number was easy. I considered sending a text message before remembering that a message can be ignored or the number blocked.

“It’s Jake. ”

The line briefly goes dead until she realizes who I am. “Jake Knowles?”

“NASCAR’s most famous driver.” It’s probably not the most helpful answer. “Second most famous.”

She doesn’t respond either way. “What’s going on? Is Sarah okay?”

It’s probably a good sign that she immediately asks about her friend. “Not really, no,” I say. It’s best to be completely honest. “Look, you don’t know me very well, and hell, you may not like me, but we both care deeply about the same people.”

“You want to fix this?” She asks.

“That’s why I’m calling. I need help.”

“This isn’t a good time.”

Shit. That’s a brush-off. “Can you talk later?”

“Do you know where Java Joe’s is? I’m free in two hours.”

“I know the place. It has tacky decor and great coffee.” Also, by sheer coincidence, I’m suddenly free in two hours. “I’ll see you then, and thank you.”

∞∞∞

It’s even tackier than I remembered. Worn surfboards and crumbling sand castles decorate the outside. Kitschy fake driftwood art covers the inside’s pale blue walls. A large mural on one wall has a man with shining emerald eyes and blond hair holding a giant surfboard. Considering the nickname Boone Rivers gave me, the place feels incredibly forced, maybe even like it’s a subtle dig at me.

I arrived early, with Maddie Bennett coming only a few minutes later. I put in our coffee orders and some tiramisu to take home for Sarah later. Maddie notices it but doesn’t comment.

Thankfully, we snag one of the few tables still available. Maddie isn’t petite; she’s short like her body randomly decided to stop growing one day. A conversation requiring me to stare down at her while begging for help would be awkward.

“Thank you for coming. I’m Jake Knowles, by the way.”

“I know who you are, Jake.” She bites her lip and starts tapping a finger against her thigh. “How’s Sarah?”

“She’s miserable, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

“I’m not sure you can,” Maddie says, looking at the ground. “You and Boone clash horribly. Jake, this is difficult.”

“An understatement.”

“No, it’s not that.” She hesitates and squares her shoulders. “I’m going to marry Boone. He will be my husband, and Sarah is my best friend. Telling someone he strongly dislikes what to do feels very dishonest. I understand Sarah is hurting, but so is he. Frankly, so am I. He’s expressed a great deal to me over the past several days, all of it in confidence, and I’m uncomfortable revealing it.”

It was a stroke of luck that Maddie agreed to meet with me, and now I’m fumbling for the right approach. We barely know each other, and I’m mainly going off instinct. “I get that and would feel conflicted in your place. I won’t ask anything that might betray his trust. The thing is, I’m going to marry her, too, and I desperately want to make her happy. She deserves it; she deserves to have her family’s support.

“Boone can’t stand me. I get it, and maybe he’ll always feel that way, but she’s hurting, and I can’t fix this.”

“We’ll, that’s the first problem. Boone’s trying to help her.”

“Then he’s doing a shitty job of it.”

Sarah’s mouth tightens as she draws back .

“I’m sorry, awful choice of words,” I say.

“Sarah wasn’t sure what she wanted for so long; I thought letting her make her own decisions on her own time was best. All that did was delay her making one at all, giving it time to blow up in the worst way.” Maddie’s hand moves to her hip. “That was a poor choice on my part, so perhaps neither of us was as helpful as we should have been. Would you care for a story?”

Sarah once described her friend as unfailingly polite; I’m witnessing that first-hand.

“Please.”

“I was there when Boone and Sarah learned their father was retiring. They each reacted in their own way, but Sarah chose false cheer. She resigned herself to a job that didn’t excite her because it was crucial that not just Rivers Motorsports but Boone, in particular, be successful. She worked herself up to imagining something different while also doing a horrible job of executing it.

“Boone’s made the company his life’s work. The phrase ‘die trying’ describes him, and Sarah is very aware. That’s what you’re fighting against, Jake, even if she never tells you that. That’s his goal, and right now, achieving it feels like sacrificing her. He won’t do that because he loves her, so he plans to destroy you instead. Unfortunately, that also makes Sarah collateral damage.”

“My spotter took that job, which I expected, but now it turns out more of my pit crew is next,” I say.

“I can’t comment on that.”

“I’m not asking you to do so. You’re speaking with me; believe me, it’s appreciated.”

Maddie’s head cocks to the side as her features relax. She twists her lips in one direction and then the other. “Perhaps I was wrong.”

Something in her tone gives me hope. “You have a plan,” I say and smile.

“I have a thought, and it might be wrong. Sarah believed she could convince him alone and then decided that was impossible.” I nod. “They’re both headstrong; it’s a family trait.”

I offer an even bigger nod this time. “Yes, I’ve learned that.”

“It can’t be her; it needs to be you. Yes, that’s my final answer.” Maddie gives a single emphatic shake of her head as if declaring the matter decided. “It needs to be you. If you want it over, you need to convince him it’s genuine. Sarah can’t do that.”

“That was my guess. What do I say?” Confessing my feelings for Sarah’s older brother makes me uncomfortable; knowing Boone Rivers will receive it makes it even worse.

“Honestly, isn’t that for you to decide instead of me? You won Sarah over, and I imagine that wasn’t easy. Whatever it was, use it as a beginning.” She reaches across the table and pats my hand. “Convince him it’s time you both lay down arms.”

That’s a hit in the stomach and brutally correct. “I’ll get started on my speech. Sarah thinks the world of you, and I can see why. She misses you.”

Maddie taps a finger on the table. “I miss her, and let’s leave it there for now. We’ll figure it out.”

The message is received, so I thank her for meeting with me.

“You’re very welcome, Jake, and good luck.”

She offers her hand, and I accept. Sarah described her friend as polite, which was not an exaggeration.

Polite, and maybe the hero I needed .

We’re almost ready to leave when the perfect solution hits me. “Wait. One last favor.”