Page 30 of Fighting For Light
“Fine, let’s get going,” she sighs. I drop my arms from around her and slide my hands over her ribs to her plush hips and thighs, squeezing them before I let go.
I help her off the counter and finish getting everything locked down so that if I turn, cups and plates or the food in the fridge don’t come flying out. I start the truck and get the AC pumping so she’s not sitting in the heat for long. She stands off to the side while I walk back and forth, putting her things in the trailer, already breaking a sweat even though it’s about midnight. “Go ahead and get in, gem,” I tell her. She grabs her bag and hauls herself into the truck.
Sometimes, it’s easier to drive at night with little to no traffic. That, and I know Reece wants to get out of here. Not one of our finest moments as a team. Reece is already hooked up by the time I drop the gooseneck. He stops and rolls down the window. “I’ll see you in Dallas,” he calls out. I nod, and he stays there for a minute. I hop down from the bed of the truck and walk up to the window, sensing he doesn’t want to yell whatever he’s about to say.
“Thank you, Kai. He’s gone for good. I told the team owner, and he was okay with the decision. Our new teammate will meet us in Miami.”
“It’s going to kill our score,” I say.
He sighs and rubs his chin. “Then we better place top three and hope we can hold on until freestyle.”
“You got it, coach.”
“Alright, I’m going to head out. Catch up with me.”
I nod and return to my truck to do one more walk around the trailer before hopping into the drivers seat.
“You still have this?” Cordelia says, holding up the rabbit’s foot she gave me when we were teenagers. I leave it at the center console right below the radio. Sometimes, I hold it in my hand when we’re on our way to a race.
“I keep it with me,” I tell her. She smiles at me, then rubs her thumb across the soft fur.
“So, what did Dad want?”
“Nothing. We’re getting a new teammate in Miami, so we have to hold our place somehow by placing top three in the race.”
“That’s going to be hard by points alone.”
I check my mirrors and ease the truck forward. “It is what it is. We don’t have a choice.”
The radio plays softly in the background. Once I get us on the highway, I turn it down and ready myself for the five different conversations we need to have. I still haven’t figured out how to approach the conversation about my family. I think that one will be the worst.
“How am I going to tell Dad?” she whispers. “I can’t bring myself to disappoint him. He’s the one good parent I have. I’m aware that this is all a shock, and now we’re getting married. Is it right to tell him that the baby isn’t yours, too?”
I don’t answer her because I know what lies and deceit do to a family. So my answer is yes, tell him the truth, but he can be rest assured she and the kid are taken care of. I will do whatever it takes for them. I’ll hire an army if I have to. He may not see it that way, though. Hell…she may not see it that way.
We sit in silence, driving along the relatively lonely highway. There is a trailer behind us and ahead of us as we make our first stop in Dallas. This all feels backward. I’m still reeling at the fact that Cordi ismine. She wants tobemine.
“What are you thinking about over there?” she asks.
I check my mirrors and change lanes. “I’m thinking about how we’ve done all of this backward. I haven’t even taken you on a date.”
“Oh,” she says shortly.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I realized that I need to do a few things.”
“Oh.”
I laugh and glance at her. “Is that the only word in your vocabulary now?”
“No, I …we are different now, and you keep leaving me speechless.”
“I’d rather leave you breathless if I had a choice,” I mutter.
She groans, and I peer at her again. “What?”
“You really need to watch what you say around me unless you’re going to make good on your promises. I am pregnant, and there are a lot of hormones flying around.”
“Oh,” I mutter. She bursts into laughter.
