Nico
NICO
My elbow slipped off the arm of the chair, waking me with a jolt. I groaned and rubbed my eyes, then squinted at my watch. Four fifteen. I got to my feet and stretched out my back, then padded over to the bed to check on Everly. Her breathing sounded labored, wheezy, and I could make out her damp forehead in the muted light coming from the streetlights in front of my house.
I pressed the backs of my knuckles to her cheek and grimaced. Damn, she was still burning up, yet her body trembled, shivers running through her. I fetched an extra blanket and laid it gently over her, then walked into the bathroom. I turned on the faucet until the water ran cold. Rinsing a facecloth underneath, I wrung it out, then returned to Everly and placed it over her forehead. She stirred but didn’t wake.
Shuffling the chair I’d slept in closer to the bed, I collapsed into it. Fuck. How had this happened? One day, a happy bachelor. The next, my sanctuary had been invaded by a beautiful woman and her six-year-old kid.
Except I hadn’t been happy. I’d barely existed, moving blindly from one day to the next. The racing school grounded me, gave me a purpose, but happy? No, I couldn’t use that term to describe myself.
Yet now, sitting here, I noticed the tension that’d ridden me for the past few years had receded. Maybe I needed this, the chance to think of someone else whose problems were far worse than my own instead of wallowing in a pit of self-despair. This quiet moment in the dead of night gave me an opportunity to reflect, forcing me to acknowledge that the black moods, which had dogged me since my accident, had grown less and less frequent these past few weeks. Since Everly marched into my office and demanded I reassure her that Rhett would be safe taking a place in PFK’s program. And then when I’d met him, somehow that broken little boy who blamed himself for his father’s cowardly abandonment had cracked open my heart and allowed hope to flood in.
I’d always miss racing—the adrenaline rush, the thrill of hurtling around a track and risking your very existence for a shot at a win—but Rhett and Everly had forced me to acknowledge that there was a life outside of racing, and if I opened my eyes wide enough, it was mine for the taking.
Everly whimpered, shoving at the covers keeping her warm. I stood and pulled them back over her.
“Shh.” I stroked her hair. “You’re okay.”
“?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Go back to sleep.”
“Thirsty.”
“Okay, hang on.” I picked up the jug of water I’d prepared last night and poured her a glass, adding a straw. “Here.” I held the straw to her lips, and she took a few sips, then flopped back against the pillows, the small amount of movement wiping her out.
“What are you doing here?” she mumbled, her eyes closed.
“I live here.”
She rolled her head to the side and half opened her eyes. “What?”
“You’re at my house. I brought you here yesterday, remember?”
She frowned and then struggled to sit up. “Rhett.”
I pressed my palm against her shoulder until she lay back down. “He’s fine. He’s asleep. I’ve got this, Everly, okay? Stop panicking.”
She ran her tongue over her lips, then swallowed. “Why are you helping me?”
If she weren’t so ill, I’d have made some inappropriate joke along the lines of hoping for sexual favors, but now wasn’t the time to tease her.
“I’m paying it forward,” I said. “Now do as you’re told and go back to sleep.”
She sighed, and seconds later her eyes closed and her breathing slowed. I felt better now that I’d managed to speak to her. I tiptoed across the room, closing the door quietly behind me. I checked on Rhett. He’d thrown the bedcovers on the floor and was lying on his front, one leg stuck out at a right angle and his pajama bottoms had ridden halfway up his thigh. A twinge plucked at my chest. I could love this kid so easily. I’d never considered being a father. It wasn’t that I found the idea particularly disconcerting, but for so many years, the racing circuit had consumed my life, and while I’d had more than my fair share of women, I’d never come across one I wanted to have more than a few dates with, let alone settle down and start a family with.
But with her…
Maybe a few dates wouldn’t be enough.
I left Rhett’s door ajar and went downstairs. While I waited for the coffee to brew, I checked my phone. Tate had texted an hour or so ago. He must be up early to catch his flight back to London.
Tate: How’s Everly?
I tapped out a reply. Not too bad.
Tate: That’s good. Heading to the airport soon. Madison asked me remind you that if you need anything, to call her.
Thanks bud. Safe travels and good luck with the race. Talk soon.
I tossed my phone on the counter and added cream to my coffee then wandered into the backyard. Dawn wasn’t far off, but the sun hadn’t yet kissed the horizon, and the soothing sound of crickets filled the air. The wind was nonexistent, and I anticipated another hot day. California was enjoying a hot start to autumn. The temperature had topped ninety degrees for the past week, a good ten degrees higher than normal for this time in September.
I waited until seven o’clock, then went back upstairs to check on both Everly and Rhett. Everly remained fast asleep. The facecloth I’d placed on her forehead had dried out. I ran it under the faucet again. When I put it back, she didn’t even stir or murmur.
Rhett, though, was awake. He hit me with a beaming smile the second I poked my head inside his room.
“Hey, buddy. How did you sleep?”
“Good,” he said, jumping off the bed. “How’s Mommy?”
“She’s doing good. She’s sleeping.”
“Can I see her?”
“Of course.” I held out my hand, and he took it. “But we have to be super quiet so we don’t wake her, okay?”
He nodded, eagerly following me across the hall to Everly’s room. Once he’d seen she was all right, he happily came downstairs with me. I poured him a glass of milk and gave in to his demands for pancakes. Luckily, I had a carton of that ready-made stuff. Making pancakes from scratch challenged my culinary abilities a bit too far.
With time stretching ahead, I racked my brain for ideas to entertain Rhett. We’d played a few video games last night, although a lot of mine weren’t suitable for a kid his age, but we couldn’t do that all day, and I didn’t want to leave Everly to take him to the beach. As I flipped the first pancake, then slid it onto his plate and tried to curtail the amount of maple syrup he poured over the top, an idea came to me.
Madison.
Maybe she’d entertain Rhett for today. I put in the call. She instantly agreed to help me out, promising to come and pick up Rhett within the hour. I left Rhett watching cartoons and went to check on Everly, but she was still passed out. I hoped she agreed with my decision. I knew Madison, but she didn’t. I thought about waking her and asking her permission, but I changed my mind. She needed the rest. She’d have to trust my judgment.
An hour later, I stood at the front door and waved off Rhett and Madison. His broad smile and the way he’d skipped to her car without a care reassured me he’d be fine.
I went outside and sat on the veranda to read the morning paper but lost interest after a few minutes. Why didn’t journalists ever write about positive, uplifting stories? The news, the papers, and even magazines these days seemed to have their pages and screen time filled with war and famine and hateful acts. There wasn’t a country that seemed to be immune.
“Where’s Rhett?” a voice behind me wheezed.
I spun around. “What the hell are you doing out of bed?” I asked, getting to my feet.
She started to speak, then launched into a coughing fit, her eyes watering as she tried to draw breath. I sidled past her and poured a glass of water, then helped her into one of the chairs in the garden.
“Here.” I pressed the glass into her hand, and she managed a couple of sips, which seemed to help ease her.
“Thanks,” she croaked. “Where’s Rhett?”
“A friend of mine is looking after him for a few hours.”
“What!”
Her exclamation set off another vicious coughing attack. By the time this one ended, she looked like she was at death’s door, sweat pouring off her and giving her an unhealthy glow. I dropped to a crouch in front of her chair and held her clammy hands.
“He’s safe and very well cared for. Trust me, please. I would never put Rhett or you in harm’s way. I just wanted to be able to take care of you and your needs, and sitting around here all day wouldn’t be much fun for Rhett. It’s the weekend. He deserves to have some downtime before it’s back to school on Monday.”
“Who’s he with?” she rasped.
“The girlfriend of one of my partners at the racing school. She’s a doctor. Next to you, he couldn’t be in better hands.”
Her shoulders slumped, and her chin dropped to her chest almost as if she didn’t have the strength to hold her head up. She probably didn’t.
“You need to be in bed.” I scooped her up into my arms. She didn’t even attempt to fight me.
I got her settled. Despite my best efforts, she refused any food but did drink a bit more water. In seconds she’d fallen asleep, her body exhausted by the sheer effort of walking downstairs.
I sat with her for a while, watching her chest rise and fall. I’d lived my entire life thinking I was in control of everything. And then the accident happened. I’d had a hell of a fight on my hands to regain that sense of control, but sitting here with Everly, I found myself spiraling, falling headlong into a life I’d never imagined for myself yet suddenly realized I craved.
Love, family, a life outside of racing.
There were those who believed that if you saw a person at their worst and yet you still wanted them, then you might as well give up fighting because it was meant to be.
If that even held a grain of truth, I was in deep shit.