Revved Up Hearts (5 page)

“That’s awful. I feel so bad for you.” She squeezed his hand again. He looked up then and saw the tears in her eyes. “I have two younger brothers. I can’t imagine what that must’ve been
like.”

“My mom and dad became friends again after a few years. Dad uses his business skills as my business manager. He lives in Mooresville, just outside of Charlotte. Mom stayed in Montana but went back to school. She’s a pediatric physical therapist. She says helping injured kids helps her deal with Elizabeth’s death. She says that Beth watches from heaven and smiles.” He finally looked up at Dawn and smiled himself. “We are supposed to be having a good time, not talking about sad things. Change the subject, and ask me something
else.”

“Okay. How did you get into racing?” she
asked.

“Well, after Elizabeth’s death, but before the divorce, I started hanging out at a friend’s house. My friend and his dad were big into racing, and they taught me all about it. I went to the races with them at a local dirt track, and we built racecars in their garage. At first, we thought my friend Wes would be the racer, but after a really scary accident when we were fifteen, he couldn’t get back into the car. He wasn’t badly hurt, but the scare was enough. I tried it and was instantly hooked. It’s such a rush. The three of us kept working at it. Then one Saturday night, we were at this dirt track in North Carolina, and we won. Then Jerry Rush walks up to me and says that he was really impressed with what he saw. I about flipped. I couldn’t believe it. He was impressed with
me
! He kept his eye on me until a ride opened up in one of his trucks. From there, we worked our way up to the Sprint
Cup.”

“What happened to Wes and his dad?” Dawn
asked.

“They are both still with me,” Jeremiah answered. “Wes is my crew chief, and his dad is my
spotter.”

Dawn looked at her watch; it was a quarter till twelve. “Don’t you have a curfew on the night before a
race?”

“Yeah. NASCAR wants all drivers to get a good night’s sleep and be as alert as possible for the race. I have to be in my coach by 12:30 a.m.”

“It’s almost twelve
now.”

“Then we had better
go.”

“Do I have time to visit the ladies
room?”

“Yes,” he said with a wink. “I drive
fast.”

When Dawn came out of the restroom a few minutes later, she saw that a large crowd had gathered around Jeremiah. They were asking for pictures and autographs. Jeremiah, as always, was happy to sign autographs, pose for pictures, and talk to his fans. It was very clear that he appreciated his fans very much. When Dawn continued to walk toward him, she was grabbed by a blonde in a tank top that was just too tight. From the smell of her breath, she had had way too much to drink. “No cutting in line,” the blonde
slurred.

“I’m with Jeremiah,” Dawn said as she shrugged to get lose from the grip the woman had on her
arm.

“Sure you are, honey,” the blonde said. “We all are. That is why you have to get in
line!”

“I’m Jeremiah’s date,” Dawn answered as she continued toward
Jeremiah.

The blonde grabbed Dawn by the hair. “I said get in line!” she slurred
again.

“Ow!” Dawn turned to defend herself. Her hands were clinched into fists at her side. She was not going to let this woman get away with that. She took a step toward the blonde but stopped when she heard Jeremiah’s
voice.

“Let her go!” Then she saw him pushing his way through the crowd toward her. The club’s security officers were right behind
him.

“No, Jeremiah. I’m sorry,” the blonde begged. “I’m your biggest fan. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. I just wanted my picture taken with you. I’m sorry. Please!” she yelled as she was escorted out of the
club.

Jeremiah didn’t even hear her. He was concentrating on Dawn. “Are you okay?” he asked. He used his hands to gently work his way down her arms as if checking her for
injuries.

“I’m okay. Just a little mad, but I’ll get over it.” Dawn’s dress had ridden up a little in the altercation. She took a moment to straighten it and to calm her nerves. Jeremiah was very disappointed when she smoothed her skirt back into place and her thigh
disappeared.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He put his finger under her chin and forced her to look at
him.

“Yes, I’m
sure.”

The look in his eyes said that he didn’t believe
her.

“I really am okay. I grew up with two brothers and more male cousins than I can count. I’ve survived a whole lot more than what a big, blonde hussy can dish
out.”

That made him laugh. “Okay. Now I believe you,” he said with a sigh of relief. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, took her hand, and led her toward the door. “Let’s
go.”

Back at the hotel, Jeremiah walked Dawn to her door to make sure she got to her room safely. He hugged her good-night and told her that he would see her tomorrow. After he’d gone, she shut the door and prayed, “Dear Lord, please forgive me for my actions tonight. I was not acting like a Christian at all, and I have paid the price for it. I might even lose my job because of it. Not only that, but I may have killed any witness I started. I am so sorry. Please forgive me, and help me not to be led into that temptation if it arises again. I don’t deserve your grace right now, but lucky for me that is not what your grace is about. Thank you for your love and your Son who died on the cross for a wretch like me. I love you. Amen.” She opened her eyes, walked across the room, and picked up her Bible. She had finished Esther last night and didn’t know what to read next. She closed her eyes and opened the Bible. She opened her eyes again and laughed when she realized that she had turned to the book of Job.
Ironic that she had found the story of a man going through all kinds of trouble and heartache.
Wasn’t she going through that herself? That was God’s grace for you.
She had read Job’s story many times but always had trouble understanding all of
it.

The basic story was about a man who trusted God and lost everything when he was tested. Job’s faith had held strong, and he passed the test. God rewarded him by restoring double what he had lost. Dawn knew that the story had a much deeper meaning, and that was the part that she struggled with. She read the first chapter but found that she couldn’t continue. Her eyes were drooping, and she was falling asleep. She put the Bible on the nightstand beside the bed. “Okay, God,” she prayed as she drifted off, “I think you are trying to tell me to put all my faith in you, and you will give me peace. I’ll work on it.” It was her last thought until
morning.

When Dawn got to the track the next morning, she learned that Bryan and the crew had decided to go to the backup car. The primary one that had been wrecked yesterday was beyond repair. It would go back to the race shop in Charlotte, be stripped down to the chassis, and then rebuilt. But going to a backup was a major change that would send the team to the back to the pack. The crew was in good spirits this morning. They had decided to switch cars last night, not long after Dawn left. So the crew had gotten a good night’s sleep. But now they were busy getting the backup ready to race. When Dawn entered the garage, Bryan was looking under the hood of the car. He motioned for her to come
over.

“How was your date with Jeremiah last night?” he
asked.

“It wasn’t really a date. We’re just friends. But it was okay I guess. Why?”

He picked up a newspaper and pointed to a picture on the front page of the local section. There, in black and white, was her fight with the blonde. “What happened
here?”

Dawn was speechless. She stared at the picture while she tried to think of something to say. She was probably about to get fired. “I’m sorry, Bryan. There’s no excuse for
this.”

“What do you
mean?”

“My behavior. You haven’t even known me for a week, and I get my picture in the paper for fighting at a nightclub. It doesn’t make me look very good or leave a very good impression. It certainly doesn’t help my witness as a Christian. But I assure you that this is not how I normally behave, and it won’t happen again.” Dawn was still looking at the picture. She was afraid to look at her
boss.

“The article says you were attacked, and you were defending yourself. Is that
true?”

“Yes.”

“Then look at me, and tell me why you are apologizing to me?” Dawn looked at him but couldn’t say anything. Bryan continued, “If you had started the fight, I would probably be putting you on a plane back to Arkansas right now. But all you did was defend yourself. There’s no harm in
that.”

“Thank you,” Dawn whispered, her voice full of
emotion.

“So tell me,” Bryan said as a huge grin spread across his face, “did you whip her
good?”

Later, after Dawn had repeated the story at least a dozen times, it was time for the Twin 125s. After switching cars, Bryan would start at the back of the field in the first race. Jeremiah would start fifth in the second race. Dawn had heard the powerful cars running before so she knew they would be loud, but she still wasn’t fully prepared when all those cars fired at once. The noise was so loud it caused her whole body to shake. She joined the crew in a prayer for safety and then watched Bryan’s race from the top of his pit box with his crew chief. He offered her a headset to wear so that she could hear race conversations. The headset had a microphone, but she traded it for one that didn’t. She was afraid that she would say things like “Oh, my !” or “Oh, no!” that would distract Bryan and the
team.

The race was amazing. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. She had seen races on TV, but that didn’t compare to being there live. Not only were the cars going 180 mph, they were so close to each other! Any driver could reach out his window and touch another vehicle without even extending his hand out all the way. Not that they would actually do that but they could if it wasn’t so dangerous. No wonder NASCAR was such a popular sport. On a superspeedway like Daytona, the drivers drafted off of each other. It was something about wind resistance and aerodynamics that Dawn didn’t quite understand. Somehow, if one car got right up on the bumper of the car in front of it, they “shared air.” The car in the back pushed the other car while the one in the front pulled the other. The result was that both went faster together. But they were so close to each other that even the smallest mistake could mean disaster. Also, at a big racetrack like this, everyone waited for “the big one,” a huge wreck that happened as a result of one of those mistakes. Everybody said that is wasn’t a matter of if it happened but when. Bryan’s race ended without the big one. He raced from the rear of the field to finish second, just a car length behind the winner. That meant that Bryan would start in the second row of the
500.