Page 53 of Black Flag

He nodded. “Yes...but you’re the general manager and well,I have to race so you get this one.” His smile matched his brother’s.

“That’s hardly fair.”Tommy walked by and smacked the back of my head.

“I think it’s fair.”Jameson kicked his leg out tripping Tommy. He fell forward into a set of reartires.

“Jerks,” I grumbledreferring to him and Tommy.

“I love you!” Heshouted before climbing inside his sprint car.

I found Emma whereSpencer said she was, enthusiastically waving the flag for the B-Feature event.The rumbling in the distance of the cars lining up for the A-Feature caught myattention for a moment. When I turned around, I noticed Emma wasn’t doing a badjob. More importantly, she appeared as though she was having a good time.

Charlie walked past,his cell phone in hand.

“Who are you talkingto?” I asked. He never talked on his cell phone unless I call it.

“How the fuck should Iknow.” He grumbled throwing his free hand up in the air. “I don’t know howthese people get my number.”

“Who?”

“The person on theother line,”

“Oh,” I shook my headtrying to make sense of all this. “Why did you fire Hank?”

“Sway, life isn’talways shits and giggles.” His eyes narrowed making me feel like a child.“Sometimes you have to be the bad guy...orthe shit.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” theperson on the other line must have said something because Charlie was nowglaring at his phone. “Who the fuck is this?” he paused and then said, “oh...well yes, I know a Logan and no youcan’t talk to him...Why?...because he’s six fucking years oldasshole, that’s why!”

Seeming annoyed, hehung up.

“Where’s the littlebastard Logan?” Charlie shouted.

“Try under thegrandstands!” I yelled watching him disappear into the crowd.

And to think, we stillhad to get through the feature event and the concert afterwards.

Emma continued to flagthe rest of the race and actually did a good job. I ran around after Charliemaking sure no one else was fired; called Hank and gave him his job back andwarned Logan to stop stealing people’s phones, especially Charlie’s if hewanted to see seven.

By the A-Feature event,I was exhausted.

I forgot all about theexhaustion when a familiar sight, something I hadn’t seen in years, appeared.Jameson Riley, in a fire breathing winged sprint car, made his way onto hishome track with the sounds ofWelcome to the Jungleblaring over thespeakers.

I listened carefully asthey announced the starting line-up, knowing the way my heartbeat would quickenwith the mention of his name.

“Ladies and Gentlemen...your starting line-up for the World ofOutlaws...inside on the pole forthe tenth time this season we have theEdanManufacturing double zero of Jimi Riley! On the outside we have none other thanhis son, NASCAR Winston Cup driver, and the owner of this fine facility,driving the JAR Racing Simplex number nine...JamesonRiley!”

The crowd roared tolife, screaming in contrast to the thunderous rumbles of the track. My heartpounded watching the cars come by for the four-wide salute, a tradition createdby the World of Outlaws where the cars line up four wide and make a lap thatway prior to throwing the green flag. All the drivers then stick their handsout the side and wave to the crowd.

“This is soexciting!” Emma yelled over the thunder of the engines.

It was exciting. In allthe years my dad owned this track, I’d never been up here when the World ofOutlawswereon the track.

The standard protocolfor the A-Feature event are the introductions, the 4-wide salute, fireworksgoing off and finally the cars doing their warm up laps.

Every time Jamesonpassed by the flag stand, he’d throw the car in sideways spraying dirt up forthe fans.

Fans were screaming,engines were revving, vibrating my entire body. Now I’ve never been pregnantbefore. And I was only fifteen weeks but in that moment, as Jameson passed bythe flag stand once more and revved his engine...I felt our child inside me move. It was just a flutter, asthough someone flicked my stomach but I knew it wasourbaby, kicking tothe sound of daddy revving his engine.

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