Revved Up Hearts (30 page)

“Yes, how about some real Texas
BBQ?”

“That sounds
great.”

“Good. I won here last year, and they are having a barbeque in my honor tonight. Can you be ready by
seven?”

“You bet. Let me finish here and go to my hotel to shower and change. I’ll meet you back here at
seven.”

“Great.”

Dawn was back at Bryan’s garage stall at 6:45 p.m. She was dressed in jeans, her old cowboy boots, and a red long-sleeved western shirt. She hadn’t dressed like this since she went to a rodeo with Kevin last year. Dawn looked around, but Jeremiah was nowhere to be seen. From a distance, she saw a good-looking cowboy walking toward her. On second thought, make that a fine cowboy. She looked around again, but no Jeremiah. She glanced toward the cowboy again. Now he was close enough for Dawn to see his face. It was Jeremiah. He was dressed in black from his black cowboy boots to his black cowboy shirt. He was carrying a black Stetson and a yellow rose. He finally approached and gave her the flower. “Will you be my Texas
rose?”

“Yes.” She took the rose and stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss. She told him how she had admired him from a distance and he
laughed.

“Do you like what you see from up
close?”

“Definitely.”

He leaned down to kiss her again. “You know we could ditch the dinner and go back to my motor coach,” he
suggested.

“We can’t.”

“Why not?” he
sighed.

“You know the first reason,” she told
him.

He nodded. “You’re right, and I know it. But when you look that good, sometimes I forget. What’s the second
reason?”

“You’re the guest of honor. You’ll be
missed.”

“Oh, yeah,” he said and offered Dawn his arm. “Let’s
go.”

Dawn had a wonderful time at the barbeque. It was an outdoor dinner with red-and-white checkered tablecloths on the picnic tables. There was pulled BBQ pork for sandwiches and BBQ ribs to choose from. Green salad, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, and homemade bread was served with a choice of iced tea or soda. She saw a dessert table off to the side and vowed to check it out later. Dawn filled her plate and followed Jeremiah to the head table to sit with the track owner, Jeremiah’s owner and crew, along with other NASCAR dignitaries. The food was delicious. Dawn ate until she was stuffed. Then she sat and listened to all the speeches. Dawn didn’t know that the driver didn’t get to keep the trophy when it was presented to them in victory lane. She learned that everyone took photos with the trophy but then left without it. The track owner or race sponsor would have the trophy engraved with the driver’s name and then have it shipped to them later. The officials at the track in Texas chose to keep the trophy until they could have a party and present it in grand Texas
fashion.

After the meal and speeches, the tables were cleared out of the way and a band was brought in for dancing. “Do you want to dance with me again?” Jeremiah asked. It made Dawn remember the first time they
danced.

“Yes,” she answered as she took his hand. Dancing with Jeremiah was different this time. The first time, they had just met and he held her loosely. This time, however, he held her closer, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They slow danced to a George Strait classic. Then the band kicked up the tempo, and they two-stepped to an early Brooks & Dunn
hit.

When the song was over, Dawn and Jeremiah moved to sit back down, but Jeremiah was stopped by another driver’s wife. “We requested ‘Achy Breaky Heart.’ Come line dance with
us.”

“I don’t know how,” Jeremiah
said.

“Don’t lie to me, Jeremiah Jones. You danced it with us last
year.”

“Okay,” Jeremiah said to the woman before turning to Dawn. “Dance
again?”

“I never learned this
one.”

“Seriously? Where were you in the nineties?” he said, teasing.

“Arkansas,” she shot back. “I tried, but I just never got it.” Jeremiah started to say something else, but his friend grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the dance floor. Dawn sat and watched. The other women swarmed around Jeremiah. She thought that she should be jealous, but the way he kept looking at her while he danced, every time he faced her again after a turn, she knew that she had no reason to be jealous. At least not from him, anyway.

The next dance was another line dance, the electric slide. “Do you know this one?” he asked from the dance
floor.

“Yes.”

“Then get out here,” he told her as he motioned her toward him. She did as she was told, and he made room for her next to him. They danced almost non-stop for the next ninety minutes. It was quite a
workout.

Later, Jeremiah walked Dawn to her hotel door. “I like it when we can get to the track on Wednesday afternoon,” he told her after he unlocked her door and turned on the room light. “It gives us time to see the sights of the town we’re in or just hang out before the work
starts.”

“What time will you get to the track in the morning?” she asked
him.

He thought about that one for a second as he leaned against the wall. “Probably around eight, same as always. What about
you?”

“A little later than that, I think. I’m going to skip my jog in the morning since I did all that dancing
tonight.”

“True,” he said as he pushed himself away from the wall. As he did so, he put his hands on her waist, pulling her close. He nuzzled his head against her neck. “You smell so good,” he told her. “Have I ever told you that there aren’t many things that I don’t like about
you?”

“What do you not like?” Dawn asked, stepping closer and playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. It was slightly damp from
dancing.

“Nothing that I can think of,” he whispered in her ear. “Especially when you are doing
that.”

“Sorry,” she said, dropping her hands to her side and trying to step away from him. But he stopped her. She looked into his eyes as his lips lowered to hers. She stepped back into his embrace and let him deepen the kiss. She would never get tired of this. Standing in his arms and kissing him was the greatest. She knew now that she loved him with all her heart. She knew now that this was the man that the Lord had made for her. Unfortunately, because of her upbringing, she couldn’t bring herself to be the one to tell him
first.

Dawn got to the track around lunchtime the next day. She had called Bryan to see if there was anything for her to do. He said no, and she slept in. When she did finally arrive at the garage stall, Bryan and the guys were eating subs that they had gotten from a local sandwich shop. The only one who said anything about Dawn’s absence was Ted because he had been sent to get the sandwiches. The crew got back to work and Dawn cleaned up after them. When she was done with that, she walked over to Jeremiah’s garage stall, but he wasn’t there. One of his crew told her that he was at a groundbreaking ceremony for an addition to the track. Construction would begin Monday as soon as the races were
over.

As it turned out, Dawn didn’t see very much of Jeremiah all weekend. As the reigning race winner, he was needed at every ceremony or event at the track, not to mention the countless interviews he had to do. She saw him once from a distance as she was leaving the track and he was going to a TV appearance. He waved and she waved back. He sent her several text messages asking her to meet him somewhere, but it was always when she had something else to do. He didn’t have any free time at all. She finally caught up with him at chapel on Sunday before the race. “Hey good looking, where have you been?” she
asked.

“Everywhere,” he answered as he took a seat beside her. “I’ll be glad when this weekend is over. Then I can get some
rest.”

“I’ve missed you,” she told
him.

He took her hand. “I’ve missed you, too.” He raised her hand to his lips and gave it a peck. “I thought about you a
lot.”

“Me
too.”

He looked at her for a moment and opened his mouth to say something to her but then closed
it.

“What?” she
asked.

“Nothing,” he answered but turned his head to avoid her gaze. She wanted to press him for more but decided against it. Besides, the service was starting, so she let it
go.