The Legend (66 page)

“It’s hard
to believe all that led us to here.”

To me
though, it wasn’t hard to believe. I think our whole lives led us in the exact
direction they were meant to go.

Twisting in
my arms, Sway quirked an eyebrow at me, “Is that ice cream for me?”

Kissing
along her neck I responded in a low voice I knew would give her goose bumps.
“Maybe.”

Soon we
had the entire pint gone, still sitting in the tub when she asked. “Will you
sing to me?”

“What do
you want me to sing?”

She
shrugged carelessly. “Anything, I love to hear you sing and it’s been a while.”

“All right
...
” Clearing my throat, I asked. “Slow song?”

“
Mmmm
...
Surprise
me.”

I leaned
down so my lips were at her ear and began to sing.

“You
are my world…”
I let my
voice drawl out the way she liked and felt her lean further into my embrace.
Her head tipped to give me better access to her neck I placed a soft kiss.

“If you
weren’t so good at racing
...
I’d tell
you to become a singer.”

“Well I am
retiring
...
”

Sway
laughed, her body shaking in my arms distracted us. “No, I’m not sharing you
with rock star groupies too.” She turned in my arms to straddle me in the tub.
“Pit lizards are enough.”

The flames
danced across her wet skin tempting me even more. She knew when my eyes met
hers what I wanted.

She seemed
to want to the same thing. We ended up in our bed not more than two minutes
later.

That
night, Sway seemed different and had seemed different since the accident. Her
gazes lasted longer and her touches seemed to linger. She told me she loved me
more and more and late at night, I’d find her staring at me as though she was
trying to memorize my every feature and every freckle.

To be
honest, I found myself doing the same thing. When you lose something, you find
yourself clinging to what you still have. It’s a shame that it takes a loss to
remind you of what you have.

“I love
you.” I panted against her shoulder rolling us over so I was on top of her.

“Oh god,”
she moaned, her body clenched around me. I took pride in knowing I could still
satisfy my wife after twenty years of marriage. “I love you too.” She repeated
before her mouth found mine.

I’d never
grow tired of those three words from her.
Ever.

The next
morning, Sway was making breakfast before we needed to leave for Pocono that
afternoon when I was standing at the back French doors looking at the pool. Of
course, I was thinking of racing and our test session there a few weeks back. I
knew with the right set-up we could gain some speed. As it was, the lap times
were mid-pack from last year’s run meaning we needed to gain a few seconds
somewhere if I wanted a top five car.

That’s
when I saw Easton limping across our back yard pulling a sweatshirt over his
shoulders. Glaring, I watched him sneak down the driveway.

Arie all
but skipped into the kitchen after that.

“Did
Easton stay the night last night?” I asked avoiding looking at her. She
wouldn’t want to see my glare.

“No, why?”
she actually sounded innocent. For a moment, I remember my sweet little angel
when she was younger, squealing with glee and running to me when I’d come home
on Sunday nights. She wasn’t a little girl anymore.

“Oh yeah,”
I motioned to Easton’s truck on the security screen. “Then why was he just
limping down the driveway?”

Sway burst
out laughing. “That worked well for you.” She patted Arie on the back and
handed me a plate of pancakes and bacon.

Arie gave
up and said. “Oh, don’t be a brat.” She sat down across from me at the table. “And
I’ve been seeing him for months now.”

“No way, I
don’t think so.” I said firmly. “You’re not going to date him.”

“He’s a
nice boy, dad.”

“If you
have to say that he’s a nice boy, well, then he’s not.”

Sway
slapped my shoulder. “He is a
nice
boy Jameson.”

I knew he
was. I’d spent enough time around him the last month to know he was a good kid.
But no one would be good for my little girl, that’s just the way it was.

“I’m gonna
need to talk to him.” I finally said after I finished my pancakes in silence.

“Don’t
bother.” Casten said when he entered the kitchen in just a pair of board
shorts, his rusty hair sticking up on the left side. “I’ve already put the fear
of god in him.”

“Do you
ever fully dress yourself?” Sway asked him and then noticed a tattoo on his
arm. She grabbed it and pulled it toward her face, squinting. “When did you get
that?” she looked amused when she read the scripture under the symbol.

“Don’t
ask.”

Arie
immediately started giggling to the point where she couldn’t breathe only to
have Casten knock her off her chair and then start laughing himself.

Watching
them in a fit of hysteria, I had to laugh myself and I wasn’t sure what was
even so entertaining. “I probably don’t want to know what that says, do I?”

“No,” Sway
managed to squeak out. “You don’t.”

I never
did figure out what it said but I knew it was probably something as stupid as
the shit we used to do at his age when I found out Cole was behind it.

Four Wide
Salute
– Sway

I enjoyed
mornings like this with our family goofing off. We were seldom all together.

“So,”
Casten began with the adorable smirk he had when he was up to no good. “What
was all that noise last night? I was worried sick that something was wrong.” He
looked between Jameson and me questioningly.

Jameson,
knowing his son, grunted some kind of reply and pushed away from the table to
set his plate in the dishwasher.

“Were you
two
...
?” his smile grew wider.

“Shut up.”
I kicked my son under the table. “Don’t say that.”

“That was
childish.” Casten laughed which caused me to start laughing and then Arie.

Jameson
was about to say something when we heard the booming voice of Spencer. “Do I
smell blueberry pancakes?”

“Oh man,”
Jameson banged his head on the counter in annoyance. “Why does he always come
over when we’re cooking food?”

“Sway,”
Spencer laughed coming around the corner into the kitchen. “Your bra is on the
front porch.”

“See!”
Casten cackled. “I told you I heard something.”

Spencer, holding
Madison, stood beside Jameson nodding arrogantly like he was proud of his
little brother that my bra was outside. Hey, we may be pushing mid-forties but
we still found ways to make the dyno testing interesting.

Madison,
Logan’s daughter, reached out to grab a handful of Jameson’s hair. Only
problem, she had her sucker in that hand which was now in his hair.

He was
less than amused.

Casten
slumped forward at the table laughing again.

“She does
that on purpose.” Jameson complained of Madison. This wasn’t the first time she
put something in his hair. Madison was definitely Logan’s daughter.

Like I
said, I loved mornings like this. My family was literally crazy but it was what
I loved. It made me feel normal because there were people just like me.

We couldn’t
go a day without making fun of each other or someone calling someone an asshole
but that was us. It was our way of a four wide salute.

When we
left that afternoon for Pocono, an interesting article caught my attention as
we sat on the plane that summed up what Jameson’s decision meant. If I was
being honest, yes, I was relieved to hear him say the words “I’m retiring,”
because it meant that I would have a little more of the morning like today, and
a little less of afternoon’s like this, flying around the country.

But I also
knew what he was leaving behind for this. And the article painted a vivid
display of that dream that was captured.

CHARLOTTE
NC – SPEED NEWS

Bryce
Kulton

FAST
TIME

Jameson Riley. It’s
a name our sport knows very well, fear even. He was so fast, so agile, that no
one knew how good he really was and no one wanted to find out. Back in his
rookie year, 2003, they found out what that fear meant.

A quick pit stop, a
good pass, triumphantly in the clear and then looking up and seeing that black
and red number nine Ford coming for you. Then there was that feeling you knew
that anything you and your team could do, Jameson and his Rowdy Ring of boys
could do better.

Jameson not only
had the chops on the track but he with that razor sharp wit and an attitude
that made you want to smack him and a numbing reputation in the garage, an
imperial manner and that clout to back it.
A rooted display
of skill and an opportunist when faced with decisions.
It had to do with
what he did and he didn’t have to do because of who he was and how he did it.

He was a rare racer
and someone whose effect on the sport was far greater than any statistical
contribution he made in the record books or even the points standing. Jameson
came to the track, whether it is your local dirt track or the superspeedways of
Talladega and Daytona, the attitude around the pits changed. Standing beside
him, you could feel it, see it charging, growing restrained and powerful,
respecting him as though everyone was waiting to see what he could do.

Some drivers held
him, and still do, with such awe, treating him with an almost fawning respect
that they seemed to abandon their style of racing when around him and any hope
of winning. You saw it in their faces knowing their chance at victory was now
gone.

Jameson is a driver
that can rattle even the toughest. He’s a driver that is rare with a raw
talent. He’s the racer fans follow when they prefer their hero’s flawed.

Was he a
hero?
Without a doubt.

Was he
flawed? More than most liked to see.

It was
hard to grasp the fact that he was retiring and reading articles like this made
it even harder because it was real. On the plane, after reading the article, I
glanced over at him to see a man, a champion, a legend, relaxed with his
decision. He was staring out the window of the plane watching the clouds as he
usually did. Who knew what he was thinking at times like this but for me, I
knew. He was more than likely thinking of racing and maybe even our night last
night but not far from his thoughts was his decision to retire and what it
meant to him.

Four Wide
Salute
– Jameson

It took me
a while but come Michigan in late August, I had a conversation with Easton
about his intentions with my daughter. It went something like, “You fuck up,
you’re out of a ride next year and I’ll make sure you never walk again.”

He was
smart and responded with, “I respect your daughter and you. I would never do
anything to hurt her.”

Easton
Levi was a good kid. At nineteen, he had a promising future in the Cup series
and with Arie. They liked each other and that’s really all that mattered to me
in the end, that and her safety. After getting to know him, he had her best
intentions in mind.

That’s all
I could ask for.

“You took
that well.” Casten said to me when Easton left the hauler Friday night.

“Yeah,
she’s a big girl.” I said contemptuously. “I can’t tell her who to date.”

Casten let
out a laugh and a snort at the same. “He’s good to her. If he wasn’t, I’d kill
him.”

“I’m sure
you would.”

“Besides,
Uncle Aiden and Uncle Spencer already scared the living shit out of the poor
kid.”

“What do
you mean by kid? He’s older than you.”

“Really?”
he looked over at me after shoving piece of candy in his mouth and then threw
the wrapper at me. “That’s all you heard?”

“I’m just
saying; it’s hard to call someone who is older than you, a kid.”

“Do you
have brain damage?”

“No, do
you?” I gave him a glare.

“Well I’ve
never been clinically tested.”

“Hmmm
...
that
explains a lot. And I have been tested, I’m
fine.”

Casten
glared before smiling. “Stop distracting me head case. I had a point to coming
in here.”

“And what
was that?”