Alex's Destiny (Racing To Love) (7 page)

The first few weeks he’d been near her, he’d walked around soaking in everything anyone on the team told him, memorizing every piece of advice, and feeling lucky to have found his calling. However, it was Alex he was drawn to. She had a way with kids and teaching that was mesmerizing. She worked just as hard as everyone else connected with the academy, and even though her lifestyle provided her the means to live as a spoiled little rich bitch, Alex was anything but.

She was his equal, and though she was drop-dead gorgeous, Levi felt the need to put his head down and work hard to prove himself to those who had given him a chance at what he considered the perfect job. He quickly saw what no one spoke of…she w
as in love. With someone else. And for Levi, that made Alex perfect.     

She was still gazing up at the ceiling of her office. He knew her too well after four years, and though she might be able to hide her pain from the other guys still hanging around the bike Emery was working on, Levi saw the creases in her furrowed brow. He knew who put them there.  

“Alex.” He cleared his throat and waited for her attention. Once he had it, he wished he could bring himself to look away. The suffering in her pale blue eyes cut him to the core, so he told her what deep down he hoped wasn’t a lie. “One of these days, he’s going to wake up and see what he’s been missing all this time.”

She snorted and threw the pen she’d been running through her fingers back down on her desk top. “I’ve waited twenty years. What’s another twenty—right?”

He could tell she was trying desperately to hold herself together, she’d been clenching her jaw, and twice pressed her fingers to her forehead as if she had a headache. Levi knew better. Standing up he knew he needed to give her a chance to pull herself together, so she could have half a chance of getting out of the building without her Uncle Jesse recognizing she was upset. It hadn’t taken Levi long around the academy to know exactly how protective her family was of her. “One night this week I’ll bring in my guitar, and after everyone leaves, I’m going to prove to you that you might just have yourself a second calling my friend.”

The slight blush that flashed over her cheeks was miles better than the sadness he’d been witnessing. So he pushed her an inch further. “Maybe one night, we can drive into town and hit an open mic night.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Levi laughed so hard, he doubled over. When he was able to stand back up he had to wipe the tears from his eyes, and even then her jaw was still dropped open in a state of shock. “No. I’m not.” He chuckled.

“Get out. My Aunt Emery has tools. I know exactly which ones will leave the biggest gash in your forehead. Out.”

She could point and threaten all night long. The snicker was spreading across her face, and he was a betting man. At any moment she was about to lose it, so he did what any mature man in his mid-twenties would do—he stuck his tongue out at her. Then he ducked as she made good on her promise. Damn good thing for him, the first thing she reached for had been the pen she’d been playing with. Even if she hadn’t missed him, it wouldn’t have been too embarrassing to have to explain how he received his injury to the guys in the shop.

“Keep writing, Alex. I’ll be back with my guitar. You just be prepared to be impressed with yourself, girl.” He winked as she flipped him off, her middle finger remaining up as he made his exit.

For the time being, he thought she was in better spirits, and as nothing more than a friend that was all he could do for her. It was up to
Dallas to heal her.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Dallas ripped his goggles off and stared at the numbers on the stopwatch again. It matched those of the red on the tower on the track.

He’d barely qualified. Barely.

It had been eight days since he’d made the biggest mistake of his life by hatching the scheme that had his life falling down around him faster than a maze of dominos.

Not bothering to screw with removing his helmet, he swung one leg over the seat and started to walk his bike back to the pits. Exhausted already, with sweat dripping down his forehead and neck, Dallas pushed the two hundred and twenty-something pound machine, in neutral, down the tunnel, trying to ignore his mechanic and the team’s manager, both men hot on his heels.

“What the hell was that, Hunter?” His team manager yelled, even though they were mere feet apart. “Whatever you have going on in your personal life that’s playing mind-fuck games with you—fix it. Now.”

The adrenaline running through his body due to the speed he flew over the dirt track spiked once again, but this time it was because of anger. Flinging the bike onto its designated stand in his factory pit area,
Dallas grasped at his gloves, yanking them off one-by-one, then attacked the straps on his helmet with the same fierceness. He stomped into the semi, grinding his teeth as he slid the door shut hard behind him, and hoped to put a barrier between him and his bosses. Setting his helmet down on the counter, he grabbed his cell, then a bottle of water from the refrigerator, and slumped into the booth at the table. Thankfully, everyone else remained on the other side of the door. He needed the space and some quiet to settle himself.

Pulling a long draw of the cold water helped, as did crossing his arms over his head and yanking off his sweaty jersey. Leaning back against the cool vinyl was a sudden shock, but within a second it had warmed to his skin temperature. Picking up his cell off the table,
Dallas swallowed hard. He knew better than to expect a missed call, but he couldn’t help but hope. With one click the screen lit up—and he’d been right.

Damn it.

Why he expected her to make the first move he didn’t know. Was he acting his age? Well no, of course not. Was he acting like a man? Unfortunately in the eyes of most women, yes. But he’d hurt her, and now that a week had passed, the distance and time were making it harder and harder to make the first move. Letting out a deep breath, he took another large swig of the cold water. With his head tilted upward, he nearly choked on the water as the phone in his hand vibrated.

A simple text—but from the right person.

Race safe
.

Before he could stop himself, he grabbed ahold of the olive branch with both hands and hit the number one on the keypad. Her speed-dial number…her rank in his life.

“Well, well, well…the prodigal son has blessed me with a call.”

Dallas
swallowed hard. His eyes drifted shut as the hurt in Alex’s voice, even though it was masked with sarcasm, still cut like a jagged knife through his heart. And he deserved it, every nick, every poke, every twist of the blade—he’d earned.

“Hey.” He answered back. Unsure of himself, of his words, of why he even had called, but his finger hit the button before his brain could overrule his heart. She always called two and three times a day, every day. But Friday and Saturdays, she knew his routine down pat, knew exactly when to time a call, knew exactly when to wish him good luck, and knew exactly what to say to put him in the right mindset to race. Alex was simply his go-to girl, his rock. He hadn’t realized how much he depended on her until he’d experienced eight days of silence and withdrawal.
Dallas hadn’t realized how much his racing was affected by her,

and each day’s practice had suffered more than the previous one. The team was getting edgy, his boss was getting pissy. Dallas was losing hope—hope that he’d go to the gate without hearing from her, the one person who got him, the one person who knew how his mind worked.

He didn’t need some fired-up pep talk, he didn’t need pointers. He needed distance. He needed normal. He needed to “just ride”. That’s how it had always been. When left alone to enjoy the track, enjoy the bike and the speed, Dallas could let the pieces slip into place. With Alex’s joking and talking about what they’d do when she saw him next, it was the last piece that allowed him to relax and do what he did best—win.

Even with the hurt he detected in her voice, it was still her voice. And although it made him want to slam his head against a wall because he’d been the one to cause her pain, he let that go for a moment, because for a moment, he could pretend everything was normal. “I’m so glad you texted. I…ah, was beginning to think I wouldn’t hear from you.” Rolling his eyes, he smacked him palm against his forehead for starting off an already tense call, with something so stupid.

“Yeah, well—”

“I didn’t mean it like that, Lex. I just meant I’ve never raced before without seeing, or at least talking to you. Everything has been off this week. And, I know I screwed up…I…we. We need to talk.”

“Not now, not before a race. I just wanted to wish you good luck. I’ve gotta go. Be safe.”

With a click she was gone.

Bikes were revving outside the bike trailer, men from all sides yelling back and forth, some laughing and carrying on, some stressed out to the point of stroking out. Still, all he could hear was the silence, so loud it was buzzing in his ears. A weight lifted with her voice, but dropped right back into place with the knowledge he was several states away. He couldn’t go to her, hold her in his arms, or apologize in person and kiss her like he’d longed to for the last four years.

Dallas
knew where she stood, or had. He knew their feelings were mutual, or at least they had been eight days ago. If he could just get tonight’s race done and over with, he could jump on a plane and fly home. Be home Monday—Tuesday at the latest. He could get to her, he could grovel and beg for forgiveness. Maybe then, the life he’d been dreaming about for the last few years could actually become a reality.

~~~

With the bay doors of the shop all open, the night air drifted through Alex’s office, the soft sounds of crickets and cicadas singing, a happy reminder of her childhood. Too many nights to count spent running through the yard chasing fireflies as the summer songs of the bullfrogs, owls and locusts played in the distance.

Typing in the information on the newest applicant for a scholarship, she felt a set of eyes on her. Her fingers stalled on the keyboard and she looked up. “Oh…hey, Levi. What’s up?” She pushed the enter button. Then her mind registered seeing something in Levi’s hand. Turning back, her cheeks started to burn when she noticed the black guitar case. The corner of her mouth quirked, embarrassed, but also shocked. It’d been almost a week since Levi had announced his revelation. She had lain low, hoping he’d forget. Apparently his Friday nights weren’t any snappier socially than hers were since here they both were, still at work long after everyone else had gone for the day.

“The look on your face is priceless.” He chuckled, a low friendly rumble, without an ounce of sarcasm. “I can assume you thought I’d forget—or maybe you
hoped
I’d forget?”

Normally her days flew by, the pages of the calendar changing right before her eyes. Since that chance meeting with
Heather
… Alex rolled her eyes before she could stop herself, then forced a smile so Levi wouldn’t think her anger was directed at him. From that one defining moment, life had twisted into a house of mirrors. Nothing was the same. And as much as she tried to ignore it, Parker’s father made several more snide comments. She’d also gotten repeated hang-ups, on her business line no less. The calls came at the same time for the last three nights. There had been so much noise going on in the bike area of the shop right outside her door, the caller quickly disconnected before she could ask who it was. Luckily, whoever it was must have gotten bored, because she’d been alone for the last hour and all had been silent.

“I see your notebook.” Levi’s head motioned toward the floor where Alex’s purse was lying by her desk. “Go on and grab that. We’re going to need it.”

Doing as she was told, Alex shook her head. “What are you doing here on a Friday night, Levi? Don’t you have a life outside this place?”

“I could ask you the same question, but I know your answer, so I won’t bother.”

She sneered at his smartass comeback, trying not to grin at the twinkle in his eye. Feigning frustration, she tossed the worn leather-covered notebook on her desk. If he wanted to her to do this, he was going to have to lead the way. Her personal thoughts were in no way
songs
, as he seemed to think. Rolling back enough in her chair, Alex stretched her legs out and stacked her ankles on her desk.

“You’re a brat.” Levi laughed as he grabbed the notebook himself and sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk.

Flipping through pages, he found the one he caught her with the other day. The words on that page hurt more than any others she’d ever written. The ones before had held such hope. The purple ink on that page didn’t. Feelings—hurt, denial, broken—they were all there. Alex watched the lines of Levi’s face as he took in the words as if he understood where the pain she described came from better than she expected. With the last paragraph, he swallowed hard, drummed his fingers on the paper then reached down. Hearing the metal hinges opening, Alex waited silently as Levi sat back up, the guitar on his lap. She didn’t know music at all. Other than she had a weird obsession for pulling lyrics apart and trying to figure out what the songwriter meant at the time. Sometimes, she’d listen to a track over and over, appreciating the message as much as the work that went into putting it on the air. Alex also didn’t know anything about instruments, but even she could tell the shining beauty Levi held as gently as a newborn baby, was precious and probably priceless. He started to strum a few chords and the breath caught in Alex’s chest.

It was perfect.

Not him, not his talent. The notes he strung together, the melody, the harmony—the way he linked them together was as if she’d heard it before. Then he looked up, not at her, but at the notebook on her desk facing him.

Why is it that I stand planted

Watching you walk away

How is my love

Not enough to make you stay

She was staring, completely still, open-jawed at him. The words she’d written came from his mouth in the form of a song and totally shocked her.

“Alex?” She realized he’d stopped and was pointing. “Aren’t you going to get that?”

The phone. Of course. She shook herself back to reality, answering on the fourth ring. “Noland Academy. How can I help you?”

Nothing. Well—except for the breathing she heard.

“Hello?”

The line went dead and a chill raced down her spine. She noticed it was after eight, getting closer to nine. Levi had stopped playing when the phone rang, and for the first time, she’d heard the eeri
e breathing. Suddenly, she was cold from head-to-toe, even in the summer heat.

“Alex? What the hell? You’re as white as a ghost. Who was that?” Levi grabbed the phone from her hand, listened and then hung it back up.

Facing her friend, she blinked multiple times. “I-I don’t know?”

“What did they say?”

“Nothing. That’s just it. Nothing.”

“I take it by the way your hands are shaking this isn’t the first call?”

Alex looked down and sure enough, adrenaline kicked in and the uncontrollable shaking in her hands over-took her entire body. Four nights in a row. The first three times she hadn’t heard anything on the line, because the surrounding noises had been too loud. It was a business. Misdials and hang-ups were quite common. She hadn’t thought anything about it. Until tonight. The breathing, she could still hear it ringing through her ears.

“Levi. I just want to go home. Can we do this another night?” She started to log off her computer before he had a chance to answer. But she saw him stow his guitar away from the corner of her eye. At least he wasn’t going to blow it off. She was glad he wasn’t going to make her feel stupid. If anything, he was acting a little shaken-up himself. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean—”

“No. Don’t apologize. I am going to follow you to your house.”

Her screen went black for the night. Fumbling with the papers on her desk, her argument instantly died on the tip of her tongue as she pulled open her desk drawer to stow away the items with personal information.   

They were out in the middle of nowhere. Her grandparents’ property was in the secluded countryside. Even though her parents and her Uncle Eli and Uncle Jesse had bought off sections years ago, she and Levi were basically alone out here. A person didn’t just
drive-by
as they would in town, or if she was closer to the main road. To be near the Noland property, a person would have to purposely be out that far. And besides, once they reached her Uncle Eli and Aunt Honor’s drive, their property line was a dead-end road. Still, Levi’s offer to follow her down and around the road to her parents’ house was sweet, and normally she’d reassure him she was fine. Instead, she slammed the drawer shut before Levi could see the rose.