Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
JACE
I’ve been on cloud nine for three days since having breakfast with Kinsley and I swear nothing could bring me down.
There’s been this smile I can’t seem to wipe off my face. One that Lawson’s already made multiple comments on during testing and qualifying about how my good mood seems a bit more ‘extra’ lately.
But I don’t care. I got to have alone time with my girl for once and I didn’t make a fool of myself. Mental fist bump.
Now it’s race day and I’m itching to catch a glimpse of her like I have the past couple days.
There’s a knock on my hotel room door and I finish pulling on my T-shirt as I go over to open it. My sister stands, shifting foot to foot, on the other side.
“I’m sorry,” Sydney rushes out before I even open my mouth. “I should have told you instead of going behind your back. But I’m not sorry that she’s here now.”
I raise a single brow and she straightens her shoulders. “I knew from the moment I saw you two together that you were meant to be. Because I saw what I see every day with Mum and Dad. Just because you lost those years with her doesn’t mean you also lost your chance at a happily ever after.”
“I know.”
“Just lis—” She freezes, looking at me like I’ve grown two extra heads. “What?”
“I know this is my second chance and I don’t plan on wasting it.”
“Really?” Her eyes light with hope and I wince when she squeals at my nod. “Does this mean you’re not angry with me anymore?”
I sigh, pulling her in for a crushing hug. “I was angry at first, but I don’t think it was ever with you, specifically. I think I was angry with myself because I wouldn’t have been strong enough to do it myself.”
Her arms band around my waist tight. “I only want to see you happy, big brother.”
I pull back and look at her. “You swear you didn’t pull any strings to get her this job?”
“I only got her the contact information, she did the rest herself.”
“I just don’t want to feel like we manipulated her into being here.”
“I only opened the door. She’s the one who decided to walk through it.”
The door across the hall opens and Lawson leans against the door jam, arms crossed. Sydney turns around and matches his stance. “Eavesdrop much?”
“Just making sure I didn’t have to break up another Collins sibling scuffle. This is a nice hotel and I’d like to be able to stay in it again.”
She rolls her eyes and turns back to face me. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Plan?”
“The win Kinsley’s heart plan. You need one because I don’t have any clue how you pulled it off the first time.”
I squint. “I just forgave you?—”
“This is serious. You’ve been given a second shot at the love of your life! Are you really going to just wing it and hope for the best?”
“No, I’m not going to just wing it. I have a plan.”
“Oh, really? What is it?”
“I’m not going to tell you. My life. This is my girl. Ergo my plan.”
Sydney sticks out her bottom lip. “Aw, you just called her your girl. Lawson catch me while I swoon at the cuteness.”
I frown at her. “Stop that.”
“Please let me be a part of the plan.”
“Okay. You’re the annoying sister who keeps her mouth shut about the past and doesn’t try to play matchmaker anymore, got it?”
She pouts. “I don’t like that role, can I put in a request for a different one?”
“Request denied.”
“Ugh, fine. But I’m adding on a tiny detail. I also get to be the new best friend.”
“What?”
“I want to be Kinsley’s new best friend.”
“Sorry. You can’t.”
“Uh, and why not?”
“Because that’s going to be me.”
Her smile drops. “Oh god, please tell me you aren’t going to try and be her friend and then make your move. That never works out.”
I smirk. “It did eight years ago.”
“Let’s go out there and have a great race.” Mitch claps his hands and I catch sight of Kinsley with the other photographers when everyone stands.
Lawson bumps me with his arm. “You’re really going to do this?”
“Do what?”
“Be yourself?”
“What’s wrong with being myself?”
“I’m just saying. It may not have chased her off before but do you really want to press your luck for a second time?”
I scowl. “Sometimes I wonder why I stay friends with you.”
“My shining personality, obviously.”
I snort. “Obviously.”
We make our way through the garage and I catch Kinsley’s attention as we walk by. Someone bumps into her, making her stumble forward and I stop in my tracks to steady her.
She smiles through a breathy laugh and looks up at me. “Hi.”
“How are you feeling today?”
“Still a little nervous.”
My hand flexes on her arm before I let it drop to my side. “You got this, Kinsley.”
“Shouldn’t I be the one telling you that?”
I shrug. “Someone once told me that I didn’t need luck. It was the other drivers who did.”
She hums. “Sounds like that person’s pretty smart.”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “She really is.”
“Oh, I didn’t see you yesterday, but congrats on starting P2 today.”
“Thanks. I think it’s going to be an exciting season opener that’s for sure.”
“I’ll make sure to have my camera ready.” She holds it up for emphasis.
Someone calls her name and she throws a thumb over her shoulder. “I should?—”
“I got?—”
We both laugh and she motions to me. “You first.”
I clear my throat, pulling the small bag out of my back pocket and holding it out to her. “I, uh, got you something. In honor of your first day.”
Her eyes drop to my hand. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.”
She takes the package and unwraps it, revealing the brown leather camera strap. Her thumb traces over her initials branded into the side.
“Oh my god, Jace. I love it, thank you so much.”
I watch as she pulls her camera off and unlatches the plain black strap, switching them out. I take the old one from her and stuff it along with my hands into my pockets to hide their shaking.
After I got home from preseason testing, I thought long and hard about what I was going to do. And it all came down to one thing.
If I couldn’t make her remember why she fell for me, then I’d have to do it all over again. But I didn’t want to recreate our story. I love it just the way it happened.
So I’ll start from where we left off.
And this camera strap is the same one I held tightly in my fist that day on the airfield. I don’t know why I held onto it like I did, but something kept me from throwing it out.
Now I know why.
Because it was always going to be hers.
We’re just a few years behind schedule, is all.
“Beautiful,” I whisper and she looks up at me, a small smile on her lips.
Someone calls my name this time and she glances to the side before meeting my eyes. “I’ll see you out there, speed racer.”
Her words echo in my mind as I get ready for the race. When we’ve gone through the opening ceremonies, I make my way to my car and catch a flash of yellow.
Looking up I watch as Kinsley jogs up the steps of the grandstands, snapping pictures of the crowd. She turns around once she gets to the top of a section littered with Miller Racing fans.
She must catch me watching through the lens because I see her lower it slightly before waving to the left. I chuckle and turn, smiling when she gives me a thumbs up.
Slipping on my balaclava and helmet, I look up at her one last time before hopping over the halo. I give my thumbs up and the rest of the track guys run over to the sidewall.
We pull out of the starting line up for the formation lap and my race engineer checks in. Everything looks and feels good with both me and the car.
I tune everything out as each red light goes up, until there’s only the purring of my engine and the sound of my steady breathing. It’s like everything freezes for those few seconds with everyone on the edge of their seats, afraid if they blink that they’ll miss it.
Then it all comes rushing back in as the lights go out and I fly down the track, side by side with Ryder.
It’s make or break with a first tight right turn that immediately rounds out to the left. Picking up speed for the short straight, I hang back to avoid Ryder as he breaks for turn three before immediately swinging out.
It’s a dance between us as we work our way through the next series and we’re neck and neck when we hit the outside curve of turn seven, swinging side by side through eight’s longer stretch to the right.
It opens up to a long straight, really the perfect opportunity to overtake.
And I don’t waste it.
We approach turn nine at higher speeds than we’ve hit so far on the track and he pulls ahead by a fraction, but I’m right there, eating up the inside of turn ten.
I punch it, pulling out in front the short straight into the tight right turn of eleven and hold strong in P1 through the next series before we cross the starting line.
I breathe out a harsh breath as Oscar comes over the radio. “Great first lap. Only fifty-seven more to go.”
“Let’s get to work then.”
Lap after lap, I push myself and the car to its limits, working to grow that lead time so when I stop for a tyre change, I won’t drop too far in the rankings.
The thing about this track is, aside from the long stretch between turns eight and nine, everything else is so tight. It’s one of the more compacted tracks with tight turn after tight turn.
I always say that these types of tracks are a dance with the devil. Tempting fate. They’re more prone to accidents, whether that’s between two drivers or someone in a losing battle with the side walls.
Which is why, aside from being in the leading position, your main goal is to get as far away from other drivers as possible. There’s nothing like being taken out of a race at the hands of someone else’s mistake.
“Box, box. Box, box.”
“Understood.”
“Moore is stacking in right behind you so let’s be cognizant of that.”
“Got it.”
We pull into the pit lanes, Lawson a few seconds behind me. I stop at the garage and before you can say ‘Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,’ I’m swerving back out onto the track with fresh tyres and renewed energy to clench my first win of the season.
“Okay. You’ve got both of the Nightingales in front of you. Stone is one point two away.”
“And King?”
“Three point four.”
I nod, calculating the moves I’ll have to make over the next twenty-four laps to catch that speedy fucker.
He’s one of my best friends, I can call him a fucker if I want to.
I’m gaining on Blake when I see her rear brake lock up seconds before it slips out from under her in turn twelve. The accident is a blur as I fly by, but I check my mirrors, seeing a plume of dust from the gravel lined runoff.
“Is she okay?”
“Let me check.”
I move through the next set of turns as yellow flags wave behind me.
“She’s good. Out safe and unharmed.”
I blow out a breath and focus back on the race. The weight of worry off my chest.
Last year, Blake got in a life threatening accident at one of our races. Ryder’s ex-teammate had it out for her since the announcement of her signing.
But he took it too far.
Cutting her off in a turn, she had no option but to brake. Except I was right behind her. We collided and at the speeds we were going, it lifted her car up and over Jean’s car. She flipped multiple times until the fence of the paddock lane caught her.
Hanging upside down, the engine caught fire.
To this day I can still hear Ryder’s screams that were so loud, they transferred over the open radio line I had with my race engineer.
This job isn’t for the faint of heart.
It can cost our friends and family their lives. Ryder lost his father to an accident when we were kids. And just three years ago, he was in an accident that took him out for an entire season. To this day, I see him battle his migraines every once in a while.
And Nik? It almost cost him his life that same year.
We can cover up our scars and mask our emotions all we want, but every time one of us straps into this car, we do so with the understanding that we might not come out.
It’s why Blake and Ryder trade off their wedding rings before every race.
It’s why Nik—even as a team principal now—Ryder, Lawson, and I stand in a circle and look each other in the eyes for a silent minute. Sharing claps on the backs before we go our separate ways for the race.
It’s why I stare at the image of Beckham that I tape to the backside of every steering wheel before I clip it in.
It’s why, if I get this second chance with Kinsley, I’m going to show her every day how much she means to me. How much I’ve missed her. How much she’s loved.
“Green flags out. Go get him.”
Now that I know Blake is safe and there’s no doubt they’ve relayed it to Ryder, I don’t feel as bad when I do this…
I close in on him and open DRS down the straight. Swinging around him, I take the lead. It’s a battle to the finish line, but I’m able to hold him off as we pass under the waving checkered flag.
Cheers greet us as we pull into the first and second place spots, Lawson taking third. We walk over to where our teams stand, Nik right in front.
After we celebrate with our respective teams, we circle around, Nik on one side of the gate, us on the other. Ryder pulls him in for a quick strong hug and I lean in bumping our foreheads together with a tight grip on the back of his neck.
“You should be out there with us.”
“There are only three podiums, Jace.” He pulls back. “I’m where I need to be.”
“Bossing around this one is that much fun then?” I throw a thumb to Ryder.
A rare smirk tips up at the corner of his mouth as he looks at the three of us. We’re pulled away for our interviews before given a moment to cool down.
“How’s Blake?” I ask as we make our way to the stage.
Ryder chuckles. “Pissed. She thinks she would have had me if her brakes didn’t lock up.”
We all laugh and I clap a hand on his shoulder. “And you?”
He shakes his head. “I never want to see the woman I love hurt ever again.”
“None of us do.”
And I’m not just talking about her.
Hours later, after I’ve washed off the sticky champagne residue, I step out of the clubhouse with my bag thrown over my shoulder. Looking down the paddock lane, I spot a familiar head of chocolate waves and break into a jog.
“Well, hey there.” I slow to a walk next to her.
She laughs. “This is new.”
“What is?”
“Not bumping into each other.”
“I guess you’re right.” I smirk, bumping my shoulder into hers. “Better?”
She giggles. “Immensely.”
Yeah, it is. Everything is immensely better when she’s here.