Revved Up Hearts (13 page)

“Do you know your phone number yet?” Jeremiah
asked.

“No. That’s one of the errands I have to do is make sure my phone is
installed.”

He reached into his pocket, retrieved a piece of paper, and handed it to her. “Here’s my home number and my cell. Call me if you need anything. Maybe I can drive you around town to show you where everything
is.”

“That would be great. Thank you,” Dawn said as she put the paper in her
pocket.

“So are we okay? After the fight, are we friends
again?”

“Of course.” Dawn smiled up at
him.

He smiled back. “Awesome.” He was about to say something else, but Bryan called to Dawn that he was ready to leave. “I’ll talk to you later,” Jeremiah said. “Call me
tomorrow.”

“Okay. Bye.”

The temporary housing that Dawn had thought was a pool or guesthouse was actually a mobile home on the back of Bryan’s property. Bryan told her that it was where he and Valerie had lived while their house was being built. It was white with green shutters and trim. All the utilities were already turned on. Valerie had seen to that before she left for Daytona. Valerie had also written the phone number to the place down and left it stuck to the fridge with a magnet. Everything was nice but dusty. The furniture looked like it was almost new. The living room had a dark-brown leather sofa, matching recliner, and glass-topped coffee table. The kitchen was fully loaded with all modern appliances and a tile floor. There was a good-sized bathroom with a separate tub and shower. It was already stocked with plenty of towels and supplies. The bedroom had a big oak bed with matching dresser and nightstand. There was a blue-and-green quilt on the bed that looked handmade. A TV was on a table in the corner. The place looked like Bryan and Valerie left it just the way it was when they moved into the
house.

As Dawn continued her exploration, she found a large deck with a porch swing, hammock, and a BBQ grill. From the deck, she could see a big backyard. This was a rural area, and the yard went until it stopped at the tree line. She wondered if Bryan would mind if she got a dog. Flower beds lined the front of the house and down the walk from the house to the driveway. Maybe she would get to stay here until spring to see if anything would pop up. She could see the backyard of Bryan and Valerie’s house from her front yard. Dawn really liked this place.
Too bad it’s just
temporary
.

Dawn put on an old pair of sweatpants and an old T-shirt. She covered her head with a bandana and started cleaning. All it really needed was to be dusted. Unfortunately, that was Dawn’s least favorite household chore. Even though the house had sat unoccupied for a while, she was finished by early afternoon. She was sitting at the kitchen table, making a grocery list, when Valerie, Bryan, and the baby came to
visit.

“So, what do you think of the house?” Valerie asked after they had gotten settled in the living
room.

“I love it. I’m going to hate leaving
it.”

Bryan and Valerie looked at each other and then looked at Dawn with confused looks on their faces. “What do you mean, leave it?” Valerie
asked.

“I got a letter with a lot of information on it: your address, the race shop address, etc. It also said that you would provide me with a temporary place to live until I could find something
permanent.”

“We were going to put you up in a hotel for a couple of weeks,” Bryan explained. “But then we realized that the mobile home was sitting here unused. We thought about moving it out and trying to sell
it.”

“We decided to let you live here,” Valerie cut in. “That way it doesn’t sit and
rot.

“And we have a neighbor,” Bryan continued. “I guess we forgot to tell
you.”

“But if you don’t like it and want to find something else, we’ll understand,” Valerie
said.

“No. I love it. I really do. It’s out in the country where it’s peaceful and quiet. I want to stay. Really. Are you sure it’s
okay?”

“Yes,” they both
said.

“Is the furniture okay? Most of it is leftover from my bachelor days. Valerie always complained that it looked like a guy’s place. She couldn’t wait to pick out new stuff for the
house.”

“Can I hang pictures on the
walls?”

“Sure,” Valerie said. “Make yourself at home, and let us know if you need
anything.”

“And let us know if something is broken so that we can take care of it,” Bryan
added.

“Okay,” Dawn said. “This is great. My mom was really worried about where I would live. She was afraid that I would end up in a big apartment complex where I didn’t know anyone. I can’t wait to call her to tell her that it’s all been taken care of. She’ll love knowing that I have a place in the country. She can stop
worrying.”

“A mother never stops worrying,” Valerie
said.

Dawn called home right after Bryan, Valerie, and the baby left. Her parents, especially her mother, were so relieved to find out that Dawn’s housing situation had been settled. After that, Dawn set out to find the nearest grocery store. She found one that was just about a mile and a half away. She didn’t have to go through any heavy city traffic at all.
One small victory
, she thought as she unloaded groceries from the car that Bryan had loaned her. She went inside to fix herself some supper. Halfway through her meal preparation, Dawn realized that she had made way too much. She would be eating leftovers for a week. Then she realized that she had Jeremiah’s phone number. His home phone rang several times. She was about to hang up and try his cell when someone finally answered. “Hello?”

“Hello. Is this
Jeremiah?”

“Yes, it
is.”

“Hi. This is Dawn. What are you
doing?”

“I just walked through the door. I’ve been riding motorcycles all
afternoon.”

“Are you
hungry?”

“Starved.”

“I’ve got a ton of lasagna over here. Do you want to come over for
dinner?”

“I’d love to. Where?”

“Do you know where Bryan and Valerie
live?”

“Yes.”

“I’m in the mobile home behind their
house.”

“Where they lived while the house was being
built?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be there in half an
hour.”

“Perfect. That’s how long the lasagna needs to
cook.”

It was exactly thirty minutes later when a dark-green extended cab pickup truck pulled into the driveway, and Jeremiah got
out.

“Wow. When you say thirty minutes, you mean it,” Dawn said from the front
porch.

“I would’ve been here sooner, but I stopped to get you these,” Jeremiah said as he pulled a bouquet of fresh flowers from the passenger seat. He walked up the gravel path to the bottom porch step and handed the flowers to
Dawn.

“Thank you. They’re
beautiful.”

“They’re not as beautiful as you.” That made her smile. He climbed up the steps to drop a quick peck on her cheek. “It’s cold out here. Let’s go inside and get something to
eat.”

Once inside, Jeremiah could immediately smell the tomato sauce, garlic, and oregano. “It smells great and makes me realize that it’s been a long time since I’ve had homemade
lasagna.”

“It was one of the first things I learned to cook as a teenager,” Dawn said as she searched the cabinets for a vase. “I have to cook for Bryan at the track. I think I’ll make a big lasagna and freeze it in single serving portions. That way he can pop one in the microwave when he wants one. Hopefully I can think of several things to stock the freezer of the motor coach with so that I don’t have to cook all the
time.”

Jeremiah watched as Dawn stretched and bent while looking for a vase. Unfortunately, she found one in one of the top cabinets. She couldn’t reach it and was stretching on her tiptoes, trying to get it. She finally managed to touch it, but she knocked it off balance. Jeremiah jumped up from his seat at the table to catch it just before it hit Dawn on the head. Jeremiah sat the vase on the counter and looked down at Dawn. She had ducked her head and covered it with her hands. She was beginning to peek out from under her elbow. Jeremiah found this adorable. He was still looking at her when he realized that she was trying to move but couldn’t because he had her pinned against the counter. Suddenly, he felt awkward and took a step
back.

Moving quickly, she grabbed the vase and went to the sink to fill it. He noticed that her cheeks were pink. Obviously, she was feeling the awkwardness as well. Once the vase was full, Dawn moved back over to the counter to unwrap the flowers. Then she arranged them in the vase. She put it on the table, avoiding looking at Jeremiah the whole time. “Have a seat. I’ll plate the lasagna and serve you. What would you like to
drink?”

“Do you have iced tea?” he asked as he took a seat at the
table.

“Is sweet tea
okay?”

“You bet. You know, when I moved here from Montana, I hated iced tea. But I’ve learned that if you’re going to live in the South, you’d better learn to like
it.”

“I know. I grew up in Arkansas where everybody drinks it. I didn’t like it until my family became friends with some people who moved to town. We’d go over to their house, and that would be all they had to drink. At first, I just tolerated it, but I eventually learned to like it.” She had been talking while putting food on plates. She had lasagna, garlic bread, and tossed salad. “I’ve always helped my mom cook for our family,” she said as she turned toward the table. “I know how to cook, but I only know how to cook for five. I guess it’s true what they say about how hard it is to cook for just one. I hope you like it,” she finished as she put a plate in front of Jeremiah. “What kind of dressing do you want for your
salad?”

“Ranch please, if you have
it.”

She went to the refrigerator and brought him a bottle. “Do you need anything
else?”

“No. I’m fine. Sit down and enjoy this with
me.”

She sat in a chair on the other side of the table. She bowed her head for grace and noticed that Jeremiah did the same.
One small step in the right direction
, she thought as she blessed the
food.

An hour later, after Jeremiah had helped himself to two servings, he helped her clear the table and load the dishwasher. They moved to the living room where they sat and talked and watched TV. Then the phone rang. “It’s probably my mom. I’d better answer
it.”

“Okay.”

“Hello,” Dawn said. “Oh, hi Emily. Did you get the e-mail I sent
you?”

“Yes,” Emily answered. “I can’t believe that you met James Jr.! What’s he
like?”

“He was nice. I only met him for about five minutes. Barely long enough to say hi and take the
picture.”

“Did you get his
autograph?”

“No. I didn’t have time. I’ll get it for you, though. I did get you someone’s autograph. It says, ‘To Emily. Thanks for being a fan. Love…”

“Love who!” Emily practically screamed into the
phone.

“It’s a surprise. I put it in the mail this morning. You should get it in two or three
days.”

“Not fair,” Emily replied. “So what about Bryan Richardson? What is he
like?”

“He is a really nice man. I’ve met his wife and daughter. They are all great people. I think I’m going to love working for them. So how is
school?”

“I’ve got a huge bruise on my left wrist that I got in softball practice. Daniel asked me to prom, but Dad says I can’t go because I’m just fifteen and can’t date until I’m
sixteen.”