All the air left my lungs as I grabbed onto the counter top to keep from falling over. I slammed my hand over my face and dragged it down. What in the hell? Adaline hadn’t been with another guy. Holy fuck did I mess up. I quickly made my way after her.

I stepped out between the buses and glanced both ways. My heart stopped the moment I saw Adaline talking to Malcolm. He looked over her shoulder directly at me as he smirked.

Malcolm looked back at Adaline and nodded as he put his arm around her and led her back to his bus.

I was frozen in place. Opening the door to his bus, Adaline walked into it while Malcolm turned and gave me a smile that would forever be etched in my memory.

The door to his bus shut as I stood there like an idiot and watched the door for Adaline to come back out. I felt numb as I walked back to my bus before I stopped walking.

“Fuck that.”

I started running over to Malcolm’s bus. Pulling the door open, I stumbled inside the bus only to find Adaline talking on the phone. Her eyes widened as she looked at me with her mouth gaped open. Looking to my right, Malcolm sat on the sofa with his arm around some girl.

“What are you doing here?” Adaline asked as I looked between her and Malcolm.

“I um . . . I saw you walk in here with Malcolm and I thought—”

Adaline lifted a finger for me to stop talking. “Yes. I have the locator turned on. Nothing. Okay, I’ll have to just buy another one I guess. Thank you so much.”

Hitting End, Adaline walked over and handed Malcolm the cell phone. “Thank you for letting me use your phone.”

Adaline looked at me with a disgusted face. Making her way over to me, she pushed me as hard as she could, causing me to stumble. “You asshole! You really thought I would just stop at the first guy I saw and fuck him?”

“Well no, but I saw you come into his bus and my mind started racing.”

Tears fell freely from Adaline’s eyes and it felt like someone had stabbed my heart with a knife. “I lost my cell phone. I was going to ask you to use yours but we got to talking and well, I saw Malcolm and asked if I could use his phone. Fucking around is not my thing, Emmit. That’s your m.o.”

Adaline pushed me out of the way and took off again. Only this time, I didn’t go after her. I closed my eyes and dropped my head as I muttered, “Fuck.”

“Lewis, this is going to be the one and only time I’m straight up and honest with you,” Malcolm said as I lifted my eyes to look at him.

“You are a damn good race car driver. Probably the best I’ve ever seen and I will deny I said that until the day I die. But dude, you are handling this all wrong. Fucking other women to try and forget the love of your life will never work. Trust me. It. Doesn’t. Work. Stop approaching your feelings for Adaline like you do a race. Listen to your heart, not your head.”

I opened my mouth to talk, I was rendered speechless. Squeezing my eyes shut, I opened them again and said, “Who the fuck are you, and what did you do with asshole Malcolm?”

With a shrug of his shoulders, Malcolm said, “I have my moments. Now go back to your bus, focus on the race and worry about the rest tonight.”

Not knowing how to even respond to Malcolm, I slowly made my way out of his bus, but not before turning one more time and looking at him. When he blew me a kiss, I huffed and said, “Asshole, I’m not going to let you lead one fucking lap today.”

Malcolm laughed and called out as the door shut, “That’s the Emmit I know and love!”

WRINGING MY HANDS TOGETHER, I sat next to my father as I watched Emmit race. The rain had caused a three-hour delay, but once they got to racing, Emmit had been leading a good portion of the day. Looking over to my father, I gave him the look. The look that silently asked if he thought Emmit might win.

I knew better than to ask the question out loud. First off, Emmit started in the pole position, and for him to actually win the race as well wasn’t really a common thing. Second, Daddy had called for four tires when mostly everyone else took on two. Emmit fought to get back into the lead and was currently in second place, behind Malcolm Wallace, who was hell bent on keeping his position.

Emmit’s spotter started talking over the radio. “Number twenty-three is one length ahead on the outside.”

Emmit came over the radio and said, “I don’t give a fuck where he is. Just tell me who the fuck is around me. I don’t give two flying fucks who is in front of me and what the fuck they’re doing.”

I shook my head and smiled. “I see his temper hasn’t changed any.”

My father huffed as he said, “Calm down. Keep your cool.”

His spotter came back over the radio. “Coming up on slow traffic. Keep your line. You’re gaining on twenty-three.”

“Fuck,” Emmit said as came up on Malcolm. Sitting up, I held my breath as they approached the turn.

I grabbed onto my father’s arm as I watched Emmit go for the lead. “Twenty-three is going high, go low.”

Malcolm came down and bumped Emmit, causing him to go loose.

“Shit!” I said as I closed my eyes and looked away.

“Motherfucker. I want to talk to, Wallace.”

“Emmit,” my father said in a warning voice.

“Just wanting to say hi is all.”

A few moments later, my father said, “You know you can’t.”

“Fine, tell that motherfucker he cut me off and pay back is a bitch!”

With that, Emmit made a move to the outside.

“Bumper . . . door . . . clear!” Emmit’s spotter said as Emmit overtook Malcolm for the lead.

Emmit was silent for the next twenty-five laps as he led. He had pulled five car lengths ahead of Malcolm and was gaining.

“Man’s on a mission,” Daddy said as he sat and watched Emmit do what he did best.

As I glanced down, I saw Ashley and her two friends. I couldn’t help but stare at Cookie. The insane amount of jealousy that was building up caused me to look away.

“Green flag, no traffic!” the spotter called out.

“Take it easy, Emmit. You’ve got this.”

“Is Addie still there?” Emmit asked as my father and I looked at each other.

“Yeah she is,” Daddy said.

I couldn’t help but notice how my heartbeat increased and my hands shook. To know that Emmit was about to win a race and he was thinking about me did something to me. Smiling, I looked back at the track and watched as Emmit took the checker flag. Everyone started going crazy as my eyes never left Emmit’s car, even when Daddy hugged me.

I smiled until it felt like my cheeks would be frozen in that state; I watched as Emmit did his normal victory spin outs and then took the checkered flag and drove down the track.

“Come on, he’ll be looking for you in victory lane,” Daddy said as he took my hand. Shaking my head, I pulled my hand back.

“Daddy, we’re not together anymore. I don’t think he’ll be looking for me.”

My father gave me a look of disappointment. “Adaline.”

Ashley and her two friends started toward victory lane. “Oh, I’m going to try like hell and kiss Emmit while the cameras are on him!” Cookie said as she skipped by.

Narrowing my eye at her, I said, “Okay, I’ll go.”

I stood off to the side as I watched Emmit crawl out of his car and hold up his fists and yelled out, “Yeah!” The camera crew was there waiting and ready to talk to Emmit. I couldn’t help but glance over at Cookie standing slightly behind everyone and behind Emmit’s sister.

The last time I stood in victory circle, Emmit had won his first NASCAR race and he had searched the crowd for me. This time, he went straight to the camera and began talking as he took small sips of something someone put in his hand. Robert reached over and changed out Emmit’s baseball cap to another sponsor’s hat.

My lower stomach tightened as I watched Emmit’s every move. His sweat-soaked hair peeking out from under the baseball cap lit a fire in my body that I tried desperately to ignore.