Page 41 of Grounds for Love

Chapter 13

Rod

“Okay,you’vebeendating Jennifer for almost three months. When are you going to make an honest woman out of her?”

I frown at my sister as I walk by her desk, completely ignoring her question. Unfortunately, Barbara follows me into my office. I can see how this morning is going to go.

“Well? I see her car at your house overnight more and more. Has she moved in with you? I know that’s the way it’s done these days, but you’re old. Rod, you really need to put a ring on it before you croak.”

I roll my eyes and pick up a folder to start work. “To answer your questions, no, she hasn’t moved in and no, I haven’t asked her to marry me. We are what we are and that’s the way we want it. Everybody in this town had better stop butting into our lives.”

I’m literally saved by the bell when the phone in the outer office rings. I smile smugly and Barbara huffs, “This conversation isn’t over.”

Oh, yes, it is. I have been thinking of asking Jenni to move in. I would have already done so, but I’m not sure how she’ll take it. She has a whole closet in my bedroom to herself that she refuses to use. Instead she has two hangers in my closet “for emergencies,” she says. She has a whole sink and vanity in the bathroom that only has a few of her things in one drawer. She even has her own showerhead and niche where she only keeps travel size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and her body wash.

That doesn’t sound like a woman who wants to move in. Honestly, I don’t really know if I want her to. The last woman I lived with…

“Hey, Uncle Rod, do you have a minute?”

I look up to find my brother’s youngest son, Case. Of all Blake’s sons, Case is the one I’m closest to. I think because he had so much competition for his father’s attention at home, he sought me out as his own. “For you, always. Come in, young man.”

“I need your opinion. I’ve been asked to drive in a celebrity invitation race in Charlotte at the Motor Speedway.”

“That’s great.”

Case has always been into fast cars and even faster women. He started out with a go-cart when he was six, moved to dirt bike racing, then on to cars. He earned his place in NASCAR and drove for years before surprising us all and retiring from racing. Even more surprising was his move back to Faire Island and reopening the garage in town.

“So, what’s the problem?”

“It’s not like a regular season. It’s just one race. I’d have to get some track time in between now and then. I guess that wouldn’t be hard to do, but I’d be gone for two weeks.”

A brow raises. “I still don’t hear a problem.”

Case sighs and rubs his chest like the answer is going to hurt. “As much as I love racing, I don’t know if…”

It clicks. I give a nod and finish what he can’t. “Ah, I see. You went out on top and you’re thinking maybe you’ve lost your edge. And you’d probably see people you’d rather not.”

Case gives me a smile that I know the girls in his young life and the women of today can’t resist. “I knew you’d get it. Hearing you say it makes me realize how conceited it sounds. It shouldn’t matter if I win or lose, it’s the money being raised for pediatric cancer research that’s important.”

I can hear in his tone that he wants to do it, but something is holding him back. “Who’s driving?”

Case shrugs. “A few Hollywood actors that have experience on the track. Ryan Busch and Kurt Martin have already signed and Jo Jo Cicarelli, Jimmie Wallace, and Bubba Stewart have been invited.”

Bingo.

“Wow. That’s quite a lineup. You and Ryan Busch have history. Will you be able to handle it?”

Again with the shrug. “It’s been a long time. I hope we aren’t still young hotheads beating our chests over a woman.”

Yeah, they did that. It made all the national news. “Didn’t he marry that woman?”

“He did. And he divorced her less than a year later.”

I chuckle. It amazes me how disposable some people think marriages are. In my time, you got married expecting it to be hard and you stuck it out. Unless they die… I jerk myself back to the present. “Seems like you should be thanking him for taking the bullet on that one.”

Case had fallen deeply in lust with Cindy LaJoie. Unfortunately, Cindy fell in lust with Ryan’s purse and standings in NASCAR and thought he’d give her more air time. She chose Ryan and Case was torn up about it. I’ve always wondered if that’s why he retired so early. Once he beat Ryan on the track, he lost his passion for racing. I can see why he wouldn’t want to race again. Even for a good cause.

I stare into his eyes to gauge his reaction. “Can you handle it if Ryan wins?”

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