Page 45 of Dirt Driven

He smirked, rearranging his features as his laughter returned with a sigh. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”

“No, we wouldn’t.”

That night at Devil’s Bowl, Caden’s winning streak came to an end and our daughter’s magic fairy dust worked. The image of Bristol standing on the top wing with Rager holding her up will forever be one of my favorite memories.

Pressure Compensator – A device that equalizes the internal pressure of the moto with the external pressure of the environment.

LAKE OZARK SPEEDWAY

ELDON, MISSOURI

“I wanna do the pill draw tonight!” Pace yelled, tossing himself on the ground. “It’s my turn.”

“No, you did it the other night. It’s Knox’s turn.” I didn’t want to break it to him but I drew dead last for the third time this year with him doing the pill draw. Dude was fired from it.

“No, Bristol did it the other night.” Right. How could I have forgotten? She’d spent more time trying to make her dress twirl if front of the fans than she did paying attention to the pill draw.

Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair. “Fine, whatever. It’s your turn then.”

He stomped away from me, every bit of his mama’s attitude. And so did the little bro throwing a fit on the bed all over his diaper being changed. Listen, I’ve never been good at changing diapers. I actually hate doing it, but with Arie being gone and you know, needing to pull my weight as a dad this week, I had to do it. Pretty sure Hudson felt the same way about wanting his diaper changed.

“Will you hold still?” He didn’t and screamed at me, kicking his legs. “Why are you crying?”

“No!” Hudson screamed louder. I wanted to scream in his face and tell him he was the reason I had a vasectomy, but it wouldn’t be the truth. I had one before he was born and Arie was pregnant with our fourth kid in three years.

“Daddy.” Pace pulled on my shirt. “I can’t find my shoes. Where are they?”

“I don’t know, P. Maybe in your bed again?”

While I wrestled with Hudson and his inability to reason with me, Pace went to the back of the motor home, ripped his mattress off his bunk bed and threw his hands up without looking. “I don’t see them! I need them!” Yes, he screamed all of this at the top of his lungs. Usually Pace was levelheaded. More so than Hudson, who couldn’t be reasoned with at all most days, but Pace had a fuse. And when it was lit, he exploded. Over simple things like losing his fucking shoes.

“Did you check by the door?”

“Yes!” He threw his arms up. “I can’t find them.”

“Here.” I shoved a pair of shoes at him. “Wear these.”

“No.” He slapped them out of my hands. “Those are girl shoes.”

I nearly lost it on the boys. Aside from Knox who was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling and tripping everyone. I picked his limp body off the floor and set him on the couch next to Rosa, who by the way, hadn’t done shit this morning but watch me try to control the kids.

Knox lifted his head and smiled. “Hi, Daddy.”

I’d literally been here all morning, stepping over him and now he says hi? What a weird kid. “If you find Pace’s shoes, I’ll give you five dollars.”

He stared at me. Of course he didn’t know what I was talking about. Dude was three and five dollars meant nothing to him. Offer candy and he’d do anything you wanted.

“You know, I don’t mind,” Rosa said, crossing her legs and cracking open a White Claw.

“Mind what? And it’s ten in the morning. Why are you drinking?”

“Open relationships. And I’m drinking because you’re stressing me out. Have you ever watched these kids alone?”

Blank stare. That was all I had to offer her. Not only did I not know how to answer her, it dawned on me that I hadn’t watched the kids alone before. About then, Hudson slapped me across the face. Arie really needed to come back soon. I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle three kids and Rosa. Luckily Arie took Bristol with her, but I wished she would have taken Hudson. She did not give me an option though.

Said some shit about needing girl time with her daughter. I think it was a set up from the beginning. And Rosa wasn’t helping the situation at all.

Outside the motor home, Sway found me. “Need help?” she asked, her smile bright though she looked as if she hadn’t slept much last night.

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