Hot Laps (41 page)

“But you won it,” I said. “It’s not my goal to win, but just to finish and say I finished.”

He smiled. “That’s a good plan to have. When you least expect it, a race can swing
your way when you go into it with an attitude like that.”

In a lot of ways, that statement held about as much meaning as Ryder’s theory of going
fast and turning left.

The next to talk to me was my mom.

My mom didn’t say much, I think she was too nervous. She kissed my cheek. “Sometimes
I think no one will ever truly appreciate the depth of you and what you bring to our
lives.”

It was an emotional moment for her as she held me, her mama’s boy, and wished me luck.

Then my grandma found me. I was happy she made the trip with us because if I was doing
this, I wanted my family with me. All of them.

“Tell me a story,” I said putting my arm around her as we sat alone in the hauler.

“Okay. I’ll tell you about Jameson leaving home.”

“Why that one?”

She winked at me. “Because it’s something you’ll appreciate right now.”

“He didn’t sleep for days before he left. I know it. He couldn’t bear to think he
made a bad decision. It was a risk and one a guy like Jameson wouldn’t ordinarily
make. Everything he did was carefully planned and thought out.”

“What was it like for you when he left?”

“I was so sad. I cried for says. Suddenly all my kids had left home. I started traveling
with Jimi. I had to.” Grandma smiled taking in the sights and sounds of the pits.
“Jimi once told Jameson that to understand where you’re going, you need to know where
you’ve been. Remember that.”

As my grandma walked away toward Emma and my mom, Hayden walked up to me, complaining
about Dave who apparently pissed her off. I think I remember saying this, but Dave
was single responsible for a few divorces.

The problem is when he drinks, like now, he gets kind of obnoxious and starts being
an ass. He’s got a lot of demons in him but when he drinks he should be pointing the
finger at himself. Instead he does it to others.

No one pays him any mind most of the time.

“He vacations in Assholeville,” I said, trying to reason with her. “You know, the
place where most men go.”

“Oh, yeah, I know that place,” Hayden laughed. “It’s just outside Douche and west
of Cunt City, right?”

“Yep.” I nodded, smiling. “Come here, pretty girl.” I pulled her as close as I could
and wrapped my arms around her right about the time they sounded the horn for all
the drivers to return to their cars for the start of the A-Main.

I could tell she wanted to cry again. Ordinarily I understood Hayden wasn’t a crier.
Unfortunately, hormones controlled her now and she cried nearly every day.

Dropping to my knees in front of her I cradled her belly in my hands. “Listen to me,
little baby.” Hayden laughed at me talking to her stomach. “You stay in there for
another couple days no matter how much your mommy tries to get you out.”

Part of me was worried she might go into labor when I was racing, given how anxious
she was these days.

“Believe me,” Hayden sighed, her hands on my shoulders as I rose up from my knees.
“I think this kid has decided to stay.”

“I don’t blame it.” I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I stayed, too.”

I hoped she caught the meaning behind my words and she did. She always did.

The Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is one, if not the biggest midget event in the United
States. I was racing in it with twenty-three other drivers. Some of the best in the
world including my dad and brother.

When I pulled onto the track and lined up fifth behind my Dad and brother, it was
a strange experience. My first race with my dad was five months ago in Williams Grove.
I wasn’t even in the same class with him and never saw him that entire race.

Now I’d been racing side by side against him for the last four days and every time,
I learned something from him. There’s different ways of learning how to race. Seat
time and research, talking, learning from other drivers. I’ve always been the type
of guy to learn by experience. I don’t understand lectures. They bore me. I learn
by watching.

When the green flag waved, I wanted to throw up. My hands were shaking so bad I could
barely keep the wheel straight let alone keep the car off the concrete walls.

I was running the bottom in one and two, and then on lap five managed to pull even
with Tyler down the backstretch.

The battle for fourth was easy and I felt like he just let me pass him on the inside.

The caution flew when a driver out of Australia rolled to a stop on the back stretch.
That’s about when my nerves finally calmed and I got into a rhythm.

I was on the outside on the re-start. I got a good jump on the re-start but not as
good as Dad who was just a touch faster. On lap twenty I looked to the inside of turn
one but lost ground when I slipped up the track.

I was hitting the brim and bouncing off everything, but sooner or later I got past
Axel who was clearly having some mechanical problems.

There was no way I was getting past Dad and if you did manage to get past him, he’s
a gasser for sure. Part of me hoped like hell he didn’t slow down because there was
no way I wanted to pass him without earning it.

Without much warning, Axel apparently figured out what was wrong with his car and
passed both my dad and I on the inside.

Lucky bastard. He always had luck on the bottom.

Eventually, though, I ran out of laps but made a top three finish.

To me it seemed the race flew by and then I wondered what it was I was so nervous
about. My thoughts seemed silly now.

Axel won, Dad was second, and there I was. You couldn’t have planned that shit if
you tried. No one ever thought all three of the Rileys would be in the top three.
Hell, I wasn’t even sure I’d finish the race after those first few laps when I was
bouncing off everything.

They had the top three finishers pull onto the front stretch and I know this was a
picture our family would cherish.

I looked at Dad and his smile said it all as he wrapped his arms around the two of
us standing beside him.

Tears welled up in his bright green eyes and his chin shook as he spoke, trying to
blink away his tears. He swallowed and then quickly wiped his forearm over his eyes.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how proud I am of you two.”

That got both me and Axel a little teary eyed. We’d never admit it though and thankfully
we had our helmets on. Once the reporters got to us, I gave them an interview with
my visor closed. Got a laugh out of everyone.

Axel then looked at me and wrapped both his arms around me. “So proud of you, buddy.”

I smiled pulling away from him, our helmets rested together. “It’s good to be your
brother, man,” I said.

There’s a moment in time where I will remember this. Just this moment right now.

I’ve never celebrated with my dad and brother. We’ve celebrated wins separately and
I’ve been in victory lane with both of them. It wasn’t just Axel who won that night.
It felt like all three of us had won. There was no better feeling in the world than
the connection we had at that moment…nothing would sever the ties we’d strengthened
tonight as a family of racers doing what we love.

Part of me knew once Hayden did go into labor, it would be fucked up just like everything
else that’s happened to our relationship. Complicated.

The day she went into labor was a day the doctor assured us, fucking swore, it was
safe for her to travel to Tulsa with me.

We should have sued those no good assholes.

Everything was good Saturday night. I raced, finished with a top three finish at a
national event and was feeling pretty good. Tired, drunk, but good as we headed back
to the hotel.

Hayden had just given Tommy a muscle relaxer because no one could trust him with the
bottle and he’d thrown his back out somehow.

He gave my dad a piggyback ride is what happened.

Well, Tommy should have never taken anything Hayden gave him and, as it turned out,
Hayden couldn’t be trusted with muscle relaxers either.

If you remember correctly, Tommy put a snake in my truck. Hayden was bitten by the
snake.

Now she had a chance to get back at him.

He asked for the bottle wanting another one and she didn’t stop him. Tommy seriously
cannot be trusted with anything. He never travels alone, has someone help him fill
out anything medical and has to have my mom balance his checkbook. It’s amazing the
dude has made it this far in life without being committed.

So if you’re thinking to yourself, why would he just keep taking the muscle relaxers?

Well, if they didn’t work in five minutes, he thought he needed more.

I didn’t realize there was a problem until we got into the hotel lobby after the race
and Tommy was hanging on Hayden’s shoulder dragging his feet.

“Moisttttt.” Tommy said, putting his face in Hayden’s ear. “It’s such a weird word.”

“What did you give him?” I asked her, turning to face them.

“He won’t fuck with me again,” she said as I stared at her in disbelief. “I let him
have the entire bottle of muscle relaxers.”

“Why would you do that?”

“He put a snake in your truck. As if you expected anything less from me.”

Willie’s mouth fell open. “I love her.”

“Goddamn you, Tommy, stand up!” Hayden grunted pushing his arms off her and then grabbed
her stomach in pain. “Oh my God …”

I knew what that meant. And if I didn’t, the water at our feet told me.

“She needs to get to the hospital,” Willie said looking at the puddle creeping towards
his feet. “She’s in labor.”

Hayden immediately broke down into tears. “I peed myself!”

Tommy chose then to lay down on the hotel lobby floor, near the puddle and looked
up at me. “Why is the floor wet?”

Kicking Tommy in the leg, I pulled her into my arms, my lips resting against her forehead.

“Please don’t cry.” I pulled back wiping away her tears. “I can’t take you crying
and Tommy like this at the same time.”

You never want your girl to go into labor at a time like this. But, then again, she
got bit by a snake and got pregnant. As she said, why was I expecting anything less.

“I feel funny,” Tommy said, looking at the bottle in his hand and holding it an inch
from his face.

“Tommy,” I grabbed the bottle from him and shook the empty container in his face.
“You were only supposed to take one of those.”

“Whoops.”

It wasn’t easy getting Hayden to the hospital because we couldn’t leave Tommy at the
hotel. Why I said that I would drive these two back to the hotel was an idiot move
on my part. The next was letting Hayden help Tommy.

I called my dad on the way to Saint Francis Hospital. “Hayden’s in labor,” I told
him, panicking.

“Are you serious?”

“Uh, yeah …”

He was silent for a moment and then said he’d meet us at the hospital.