Page 29 of You Wish
“So they just left Jake?”
“No, they took him with them, but he spent more time with a nanny than with them. They were always busy traveling and said it was too difficult to bring him along. And at that time his sister was nearly through high school and preparing for college. She was a doting sister who always looked out for him. A second mom, really, and that was a lot of responsibility to put on a teenager.”
Something Georgia knew firsthand. It was one of the things that had allowed her to open up to Jake so quickly. Their shared dream for something bigger was what had originally brought them together. In the end, it had been what drove them apart.
“That’s awful.”
Or was it? Georgia had come to realize that everything happened for a reason. Had her mom shown up more, then Georgia wouldn’t have formed the strong bond with Connor. The sacrifices were hard but worth it.
“Keep in mind, I didn’t raise my son like that. I raised him to be a good and present person who would have made an excellent father. But he always wanted more than this small town. And he did it at the expense of his family.”
“Then why did they have kids?”
“Because that’s what a good politician does. It looks good on one’s social résumé,” Joy explained. “So Nic and I offered to take him in, and they jumped at the chance. I think that’s why he finds it hard to commit to, well, anything other than his job. He’s afraid that he’ll eventually be left behind. It also made him a people pleaser. That kid once asked me if his dad would have wanted him if he’d been a better son.”
“That breaks my heart.”
It also explained a lot about Jake.
“Me too. But it helped him with his racing. He listens to his coaches, follows advice to get better, always advancing his career and becoming the best. It will win him the championship. Mark my words.”
“Oh, I believe it.”
Georgia didn’t just believe it; she could already see him on the podium at the end of the year. She’d been following his last few races and for the most part he’d been off, distracted by something. But he knew it, he’d lock back in and go all the way.
“I just hope that when it’s all said and done, he doesn’t regret all the sacrifices he’s made to get there.”
“Like what?”
“A normal childhood for starters. Nic took him to a go-kart track when he was seven and it was instantaneous. He knew what he wanted to do. But it cost him. He was homeschooled, never went to prom, traveled with his team, which made for zero consistency. Then when he was eleven, he was picked up by Nova and moved into the dorms at their training facility.”
Georgia sat back in surprise. This was new information to her. “That’s so young.”
Then again Georgia was just twelve when Connor was born and she went from a carefree kid to a caretaker. It was something she and Jake had bonded on. Growing up fast. She just hadn’t known how fast. And while she knew some of the story, Joy was telling her parts of his life she’d never heard before. Parts that broke her heart.
She knew he wasn’t close to his parents and lived with his grandparents, but she never knew the why. When she’d ask him, he always deflected.
“We made a lot of sacrifices along the way too. Racing isn’t a cheap sport and unlike a lot of his peers, we weren’t independently wealthy. That’s why it was so important for him to get into a training program because the team covered everything. Training, housing, food, equipment, specialists. You name it.”
“That’s a lot of money to put into an eleven-year-old.”
“They look at it as an investment. All they need is one from the program who goes the distance, then they have their next World Champion. And with that comes tens of millions in endorsements and sponsors.”
“How did he get to go to college?”
“Nova had a training program at the University of Texas, Austin. He was able to do both. It was important to us that he had a degree to fall back on.”
“Did he graduate?”
“Shouldn’t you know that?”
“No. We lost touch my junior year.” When she walked away forever. Never intending to see him again. Funny how life works.
“Well, I’m happy you two found each other again.”
“Just a project.”
“So you said. Well, be warned when he sets his sights on something, he doesn’t stop until he wins.”
