Hot Laps (45 page)

Gray blinked, looking at the two of us.

“You stole my name.” I said, kissing Hayden’s temple.

“You stole my heart.” she said, kissing my nose.

Gray jumped down and headed for my mom who was by the pool. Mom picked her up right
away, her arms tight around her tiny body with her face buried in Gray’s sweet scent.
Something about the way she held her struck me as odd, as if she was holding onto
something she knew she had to eventually let go of. Dad came up to her then, whispered
in her ear and then took Gray from her.

Gray loved my dad. Adored him. He was also the only one who could get her to belly
laugh, too.

My parents stood there holding each other, Gray in my dad’s arms. Look at them. Celebrating
twenty-three years of marriage a few weeks ago and still in love. Their love for one
another has always been something memorable to me. Something noteworthy.

I do think it’s something others can have too though. Did I before Hayden?

No.

Now I realize, no, I see that it’s there. Remember when my mom gave her speech about
certain tracks being a driver’s home track?

Well, drivers have preferred lines, too. They have a groove, one they always search
for. Doesn’t matter the track, they find it. Dad likes the high side. Axel, he loves
the inside.

Me?

I’m a lot like my dad. I love the high line and the thrill of being inches from a
concrete wall and then turning left.

Hayden was the line I preferred. She wasn’t just my favorite track, she was the line
I constantly searched for.

Just because racers have different lines they preferred didn’t necessarily mean they
didn’t win. It doesn’t matter whether you’re running high or low, if you got it that
night, you got it. You can make it work.

Love can be discovered in different ways, a three-week pit lizard vacation or a love
formed through a childhood bond. Or, in my case, a crazy witty girl who captures your
heart while dancing in a field lit by a bonfire.

It all comes down to that emotion. You just get there in different ways.

Love is shown in different ways too. No two racers will celebrate a win the same.

I look at this family around me and I see it. It’s right there in front of my face.

There’s Axel and Lily, so strong, making it work though they’re seldom together with
three very active little boys. When they are together he has his eyes on only one
line.

There’s my parents, a love that just goes without saying. You can feel the intensity
in my dad’s stare knowing she’s the only one for him. A love so deep it stands the
test of anything thrown its way.

There’s my grandma, a woman who misses her late husband so much she hasn’t taken the
locket off that he gave to her…it’s been three years and it still lays over the heart
that only Jimi will ever own. She buried his ring with him, and forever hers will
stay on her finger, and always in her heart.

Then there’s me. My love for this girl beside me. It’s a love that took me a while
to recognize. The feeling was there. It just took me a little longer to celebrate
the win.

She gets me though.

“You look like you’re thinking something dirty?” Hayden said when I looked back at
her running my hand up her thigh.

“Well … I guess you’ll have to see for yourself about that, pretty girl, won’t you?”

The End.

Shey Stahl is the author of the Racing on the Edge Series. She enjoys spending time
with her family at the local dirt tracks. You can follow her on the links below.

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https://www.facebook.com/shey.stahl.9

Website:
www.sheystahl.com

Website & Social Media:

www.sheystahl.com

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Shey Stahl

Novels by Shey Stahl:

Racing on the Edge:

Happy Hour

Black Flag

Trading Paint

The Champion

The Legend

Hot Laps

Additional novels coming soon:

The Rookie

Fast Time

Lapped Traffic

Behind the Wheel - Outtakes

Everything Changes

Waiting for You

Delayed Penalty