Page 29 of Endurance

“Both of them just took turns with Colton on the track, but now they are ready to work.”

“That’s right, boys,” Colton chimed in. “Races are won and lost in the pit lane. It’s not all about driving a fast car, isn’t that right, Sloan?”

“That’s right,” I agreed, trying to ignore the cameraman who was five feet away and snapping pictures. Doing my best to act casual, I squatted down a few feet in front of Eli. “What do you say, champ? Want me to teach you how to change a tire?”

Eli looked up from the ground with wide eyes. There was a hint of a smile on his face as he slowly nodded.

“Can I help too?” Marcus asked excitedly.

Instantly, Eli stiffened.

“We’ll take turns, Marcus. I’ll have you stand right over here,” I said, pointing to a spot far enough away from the car so I didn’t have to worry about him accidentally touching Eli. “After Eli changes a tire, you guys can switch places, and it will be your turn.”

“Sweet!” Marcus said and jumped up in the air. Eli remained quiet but seemed to relax.

Taking the lead, I grabbed an impact wrench, then sat down on the ground next to the car. Patting the spot next to me, I motioned for Eli to sit down.

“The guys in the pit crew have an extremely tough job,” I told him. “I used to work with a pit crew a long time ago before I started racing. It might not be quite as fun as driving a fast car, but it has its own kind of excitement. Guys in the pit have to work under pressure at lightning-fast speed, which is part of the reason they need to use these fancy tools.”

“What is that?” Eli asked, pointing to the impact wrench.

“It’s a kind of wrench that uses compressed air to remove and replace lug nuts as quickly as possible. But I have to warn you. It’s loud. You might want to cover your ears.”

Eli’s eyes grew impossibly wide once again as he quickly held both hands over his ears. I mouthed the word ‘ready,’ and he nodded his head rapidly. I smiled, pleasantly surprised at how much I was already enjoying this, and pressed the wrench to one of the lug nuts. In five seconds, I had all but one of them removed, deliberately leaving it for Eli to practice.

“Who’s making all the racket over here?” I heard Kallie say from behind me.

Feeling like I’d connected with a live wire, electricity sparked through my veins at the sound of her voice. I slowly turned to meet her gaze. She smiled brightly, and my breath caught. She was so goddamned beautiful—like a deity I secretly worshipped. Any thoughts about changing a tire were stolen right out of my head as I watched her with pure male appreciation. Bright green eyes sparkled back at me. I returned her smile, immediately noticing the rainbow hair was back. It wasn’t braided today but pulled up into a high ponytail, allowing the Skittle-colored strands to flow with the golden blonde hair down past the base of her neck. All I could think of was the candy commercial, and it made me want to tasteherrainbow.

Setting the impact wrench on the ground, I stood to greet her. Leaning against the hood of the car, I raked my gaze over her body. Clad in tight jeans and a wispy yellow tank, the sun glinted off her large gold hoop earrings, making her look like a sun-kissed gypsy.

“Why, hello there, Rainbow Brite.”

“Hello, yourself.”

“Feeling optimistic today?”

“Maybe,” she replied coyly, and her face turned a pretty shade of pink. There was a hint of mischief in her voice, and I couldn’t help but think she might be flirting with me. That was definitely a good sign. It meant she probably wasn’t upset with me about last night.

“I heard you made a mess of yourself,” I said, motioning toward her hands.

“Hardly. Just a bit of grease that washed off easily enough. What did I miss?”

“Nothing much. I’m just teaching the boys how to change a tire. Isn’t that right, Eli?” I turned around only to find Eli picking up the impact wrench. “Eli, no. Don’t touch—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Milo lunged forward to take the wrench out of the boy’s hand. In the process, he grabbed hold of Eli’s arm. I froze, immediately recognizing Milo’s mistake. Instantly, Eli began to scream—but it wasn’t just any scream. The sound from his mouth was the most gut-wrenching thing I’d ever heard. It was grief, fear, and hurt all rolled into one.

All at once, everyone scrambled to calm the screaming boy. Colton roughly pushed Milo away from Eli to make room for Rylee. She was at Eli’s side in two seconds flat, ensuring a safe distance as she whispered soothing words to him. Kallie stood wide-eyed, clearly in shock over the rapid shift of events, while I looked around for the photographer. Thankfully, he seemed just as stunned as the rest of us and had lowered his camera. However, the photographer was here on our dime and was the least of my concerns.

“Kallie, where’s the press?” I asked frantically.

“They aren’t here yet. I told them eleven o’clock. I figured that would give us time to get acquainted with the boys first.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing I needed was a write-up about a kid who’d lost his mind while he was on my watch.

It seemed to take forever but was realistically only a few minutes before Eli quieted. Appearing satisfied that he was okay, Rylee turned to Kallie and me.

“Colton and I are going to take Eli up to the box and get him something to eat and drink. He needs a break. Do you mind staying here with Marcus?”

---