Epilogue
[Dart]
One week later
I’m standing in the front yard, about to head out for my newest home renovation—a revamp of the free-standing garage. It’s the last project on my list before I take Clint up on his offer for part-time work.
Trinity and I talked about me finding a purpose. Not just husband, father, friend, but something for me. For now, I just like staying busy.
I’m about to open the garage door when a car pulls into the driveway.
A Chevy Camaro that’s as familiar as my right hand.
She’s loud. A beauty and a beast.
A young guy unfolds himself from the driver’s side door. He’s tall and thin, wearing loose-fit jeans and a Chevy t-shirt.
“Hey.” His voice cracks like he’s still in puberty. “Are you Dart Rivers?”
“I am.” I step toward him, offering my hand, although a faint trigger about the last time a stranger approached me, asking me the same question in such a hesitant voice, comes to mind. A time when I was worried I’d lost my wife, and I had.
“Ryder Wesley.” He shakes my hand with a firm grip. “Max Larsen said I should come see you.”
Max shouldn’t be passing along my private address, and I make a mental note to ream him out for it. After my early departure from the race track a few weeks back, I called Max. Told him I had a family emergency and never watched the race.
“Family always comes first,” Max said. “You make it your number one priority.”
“What can I do for you?” I ask the kid. “But a better question is, what are you doing with my car?”
I stare at the lean machine, almost afraid to approach her. Max gave me the keys the night of the race, but my only focus had been on chasing Trinity.
“Thought I’d personally deliver her to you. And then ask a favor.” He slips his hands into the back pockets of his jeans, like he’s anxious while excited at the same time.
“What do you need?” I’m not saying yes or no, just curious.
“I was wondering if you could train me.”
I pause, pulling my gaze from the sleek lines on the wide hood of the Chevy. “Train you?”
“Yeah.” He’s still sheepish. “How’d you like my race the other night?”
The kid Max wanted me to watch. Number eleven.
I scratch at the back of my neck. “Sorry, kid, but I didn’t end up staying for the race. I had a family emergency.”
“Oh.” His face falls. He only has a speckling of scruff on his jaw. He looks so young. A guy in his twenties with dreams.
“Everything okay? With your family?” He nods toward the porch, and I see Trinity standing on it, holding Mirabelle on her hip.
At six months, our baby girl is healthy and lively, showing us every day even more of her individual personality.
I give Trin a reassuring smile before turning back to him. “It’s perfect.”
My girls are the most important people in my life.
“So, Max sent you here to ask me to train you.” I pause a beat. “Do you need training?”
He shrugs, squinting in the morning sunlight. “I guess so. He said you were local but a legend.”
I choke out a chuckle. Good old Max, always embellishing the truth. “I don’t know about legend.”
“He said you hit the circuit at forty. A midlife crisis redemption story.”
My face falls. “Well, that makes me sound like shit more than a hero.”
He laughs. “Yeah, well, I don’t want to wait until I’m forty.” There’s a quiet confidence to him. A little cocky as one is in their twenties.
I get it. I totally get it. And I appreciate his candor. He has a goal and wants to act on it. He’s already smarter than me.
Then I check myself. We each take our own path, setting our own pace. Some race to the finish line, like Trin, knowing at a young age who she wanted to be. Some of us need more time. Either way, it’s okay to change course. Adjust the speed with which we achieve our dreams and complete our goals.
“What would training you look like?” I hadn’t ever considered being part of a crew. My position was always behind the wheel. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t teach this kid a thing or two.
“Watch me race. Maybe give me some pointers.”
“Play Doc Hudson to your Lightning McQueen?”
He stares at me. He can’t be so young that he hasn’t ever heard of Disney’s Cars, right?
“Sure,” he eventually says, appeasing me.
I glance back at Trin. “I’d have to think about it.”
When I look back at Ryder, he’s looking at Trinity and the baby. “Sure. I get it.”
Does he? Will he eventually learn there are greater things to achieve in your life? That people are more important than trophies or accolades. That love is the ultimate victory.
Still, there’s something about the awkward way he stands and the hunger in his eyes that reminds me so much of myself.
Trin’s dad comes to mind, telling me I reminded him of himself. Potential. His favorite word for me.
I want to know Ryder’s story, but first, I want to talk with Trinity.
“Why don’t you give me your number?” I pull out my phone, taking down the digits he gives me. “I’ll get back to you in a day or two. And in the meantime, maybe watch Cars. Appreciate the small stuff before you hit it big.”
He smiles like a kid.
He finger-guns me and winks, like that flashy cartoon race car in the movie. Apparently, he’s already perfected a smirk for the media.
“Alright. I need to get to the hardware store.”
He gazes toward the car and clears his throat. “Think you can give me a ride into town?”
Glancing at my Chevy, I realize he doesn’t have a way to get anywhere. “Sure,” I chuckle, mimicking him. “Can you back out the Chevy? Let’s trade positions.”
I swing into my pickup, reversing into the street to switch parking spots. When he approaches the truck, I set it in Park.
“Give me a sec, okay?” I hop back out of the truck and cross the yard for the porch.
“Everything okay?” Trinity asks me as soon as I reach the steps.
“Gonna give this guy a ride into town.”
She eyes him suspiciously.
“Max sent him. He wants me to train him.” We don’t have time to have a full discussion right now. “Can we talk when I get back?”
“Of course.” She smiles while pressing a kiss to the back of Mirabelle’s head. Mirabelle’s limbs go wild. Arms and legs and a smile of her own.
God, I love my girls.
I hop up the steps and kiss Trinity one more time before giving Ryder a lift.
Once I’m back at the house, I find Trinity in the living room. Mirabelle squeals in a new baby seat contraption.
“So, about Ryder . . .” Trinity pauses, looking up at me from her spot on the floor. “You should do it.”
I chuckle, surprised and confused. “I don’t even know what it involves.”
“I want you to love it again, Dart. Even if it’s from the sidelines.”
I fold down to the floor, stretching out on my side, Mirabelle between us.
“You sure about this. It might mean days at the canyon. Or nights at the track. Could mean weekends away.” I grimace. “I’m not willing to give you up again, Trin.”
“You’re not giving us up, Dart. We’re here to support you.”
“God, I love you.” I press up and lean over Mirabelle, giving Trin a quick kiss. Then I lean down and kiss the top of Mirabelle’s head. “What do you think, baby girl? Think Daddy will make a good coach? A good mentor for a driver?”
“I think he’ll be perfect at it,” Trinity speaks for Mirabelle, her eyes warm, her confidence in me unwavering.
I don’t deserve her, but I also don’t intend to ever let her go again.