Page 198 of Black Flag

Another hour later, wewere eating our cold dinner in front the fireplace.

Tonight was our lastnight here before we had to leave for Vegas for the championship banquet.

We had chosen a smallbed and breakfast on the water in Cannon Beach Oregon but we hadn’t left theroom since we arrived. Currently in a battle of names for our flailing spaz, Itook a moment to watch Sway. Naturally, she was beautiful but it was more thanthat. She seemed different now, her smile exuded contentedness.

“Harley?”

I laughed. “You’rejoking, right?”

“Clearly,” she murmuredtaking a sip of her hot chocolate, her finger dipped inside the cup to scoopsome whip cream into her mouth.

It’d justbeganto snow again, Sway and I had moved from the bed tothe chase lounge situated in front of the large windows overlooking the beach thatwas coated with a light powder. We hadn’t bothered to put clothes on, justwrapped ourselves together inside a warm blanket.

“I love the snow.” Swaywhispered playing with my fingers.

I turned my head,inhaling a deep breath as I kissed her hair. “I know you do.”

A few moments ofsilence passed and I suggested another name.“Stone?”

“What are you?” sheturned in my arms to look up at me incredulously but giggled. “Who names theirchild that?”

“Some people do.” Ishrugged with a chuckle of my own.

“Not us.”

Eventually ourconversation drifted and we simply laid there listening to the crackling of thefire and watching the snow. I knew we’d decide on a name eventually but forright now we agreed to disagree. To me, just being there with her was enough. Icould forget about everything around me, the past, the present and the futureand just live right here in this moment with my wife.

“Did you ever thinkwe’d finally get here?” she asked softly.

I brought our handstogether over her belly. “I always knew we would, honey.”

24.PaceCar - Sway

Pace Car – The carwhich leads the field to set the pace before starts and restarts aftercautions.

It was adorablewatching Jameson during the championship week in Las Vegas. His usual arrogantdemeanor had vanished as he tried to down play everything. Whenever confrontedwith the media, the quiet hesitant way he took everything told me he wasnervous.

Jameson stayed back inthe shadows, or at least he tried. Everyone was quick to praise Jameson Riley thedominant beleaguered rookie but what about Jameson Riley the man behind thewheel?

Had they forgot he evenexisted at all?

Maybe.I was actuallypositive some had. They wanted to believe he was that mythical creature thatdominated and raced the flawless season. If only they understood the struggles,the tragedies, the overwhelming weight he carried to do so they wouldn’t thinkhe was so mythical. They would see he was just as much of a human as anyoneelse.

But I saw the man Ialways saw.My husband.

He was humble, alluringand it was charming. I couldn’t get enough of him. I stayed close by his sidethe entire time like the proud wizard I was, my arm tucked inside of his. Ifelt like Pricilla Presley and Jameson was Elvis at the attention we were receiving.The only difference being my hair wasn’t pined up in that ridiculous beehiveand Jameson wasn’t sporting side burns that resembled handle bars, but theattention was the same.

The crowning of thechampion started on Wednesday and began with the NASCAR Street Tour followed bya Pit Stop Tour. The next was a charity event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Theydo tours of the speedway and a family feud-style game show, which was hilariouswatching Tate, Bobby and Jameson joking around with each other in front ofhundreds of fans. They all seemed to have formed a bond over the last fewmonths and it showed.

Thursday was the awardsluncheon. This was an industry/media event that included presentations to thechampion crew chief, champion sponsor,RaybestosRookieof the Year and the most popular driver. For the third year in a row, Tate waschosen as the most popular driver, for good reason. I had a feeling he’d alwaysbe a fan favorite.

The drivers in the top tenthen do a lap down the Vegas Strip in their race cars which included a pit stopalong the route and two burn-out sections for the drivers. Jameson enjoyed thispart the best, as did his wife. The guys messed around bumping and bangingagainst each other for entertainment value.

After the lap was a fanevent the featured question-and-answer session with the drivers.

Friday was the day ofthe ceremony and the crowning of the Winston Cup Series Champion driver...my husband.

Van was kept busy thatweek. He really couldn’t leave Jameson’s side these days but Jameson was modestabout the sudden fame and insisted Van stay close to me. I was amazed to seehow many fans wanted pictures with me as well.

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