Falling Fast (Falling Fast #1)

by Tina Wainscott

  “I named him Slobberbuckets,” Cody cut in, nodding with pride.

  Harley was in heaven as Mia’s fingers moved to his chin. “Does he slobber?”

  “Only a little,” Pax said. “He had some kind of tooth infection early on, and, yeah, he was a slobberbucket. But not so much anymore.”

  “He’s a pit bull,” Cody said, clearly proud of the dog. “They’re not all mean, y’know.”

  Harley rolled onto his back and offered up a lean belly colored in a black-and-white pattern. He twisted his head and gave her an imploring look.

  Mia laughed, giving the dog exactly what he wanted. “I gather.”

  Pax shook his head as he took in his dog. “Harley, you’re embarrassing yourself. Have you no dignity?”

  Harley looked over at Pax and whined, then gazed lovingly at Mia again.

  “Nope, not a bit,” he groused.

  Raleigh laughed. “You’re just jealous.”

  Pax rubbed his chin. “You may be right, my friend. You may just be right. Offering my belly and begging doesn’t work that well for me.”

  “Mm, I doubt that,” Mia said, coming to her feet after one last long tummy rub. “Congratulations on reopening this track.”

  “Thanks. It’s been quite the challenge. Turns out the bleachers are probably scrap metal, thanks to vandals who played demolition derby here a few years back. We hoped to fix them, but the more I test them the more I suspect they’re not salvageable. We just keep finding more things to deal with.”

  “Like having to remove a hundred pounds of honey from the announcer’s booth?” Raleigh said, because he wanted his friend to know that he was paying attention, even if he wasn’t out here doing the work. Which made him feel like a shit of a friend.

  “Yeah, that was fun.” Pax saw Mia following Cody toward the storage building. “Go ahead and see if you can find some helmets that fit you.”

  Raleigh took in the things that still needed doing. Painting the concession building and the tower. Bushes that needed trimming. Weeds that needed killing. “When I get done with the cottage, I’ll come help out.”

  “That’d be great. I won’t even ask you about racing here—how about that?”

  “Deal.” Was that why he’d been avoiding this place? “Your dad coming around on you reopening?”

  “Now that it’s actually happening, he hates it even more. But I get more shit about my business partner.”

  “That’s right. I forgot Wade was that girl’s dad.” Raleigh tried to picture the petite blonde who’d moved to town to live with her father the same summer he’d met Mia. The rumor was that she was too much for her mother to handle. “Gretta, Emma—something like that, right?”

  “Gemma,” Pax said, his mouth curling into a snarl. “We agreed never to bring up her or that whole episode. Thing is, he wasn’t the adversary. I mean, he supported his daughter, sure. I wouldn’t have respected him if he didn’t. Good thing Gemma’s never come back. That would be…well, a lot of things.”

  “Especially since you had the hots for her.” He remembered the girl with the flared black miniskirt, patterned black-and-pink stockings, and boots chatting up Pax about his car. How he’d watched her walk back to her friend with the same spark Raleigh knew was in his eyes when he looked at Mia.

  Pax rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, didn’t matter in the end. She ditched the goth-candy look I found so intriguing to fit in with the popular crowd at school. Went out with my brother. And then tried to destroy him.”

  Raleigh had been serving his sentence when the girl accused the captain of the football team of date-raping her. By the time Raleigh was released, the rape charges had been dropped, and Gemma Thornton had returned to her mother in New York City.

  “I feel like a NASCAR racer!” Cody came out of the building with a red helmet on his head.

  Raleigh stepped forward and tightened the helmet. “You look like one, too. I’m going to take a few laps with you, but if Mia’s okay with going over eighty miles an hour I’m sidelining you.”

  “What? That’s not fair! I’m almost twelve! Practically old enough to get my learner’s permit.”

  “Not nearly practically,” Raleigh said with a smile he was trying to hide. “And as a practical adult I can’t run you faster than that.”

  Mia touched Cody’s arm. “He’s playing it safe because of what happened with me. You can’t really fault him for that.”

  Yeah, Raleigh faulted himself enough for everyone. He gave Mia a subtle thank-you nod as Cody did his best slumped-shoulders-of-disappointment walk over to the car.

  Raleigh picked up the second helmet and faced Mia. She stepped up in front of him, and he settled it on her head. Then he leaned close to secure the strap. Damn but he wanted to duck in and kiss her.

  Not the reckless guy anymore. Stay in control. “Feel good?” he asked.

  “Very,” she said, her soft gaze on his. Then she patted the sides of the helmet. “Apart from having what feels like a bobble head.”

  He couldn’t resist touching her chin, though. “It’ll keep you safe.” He slid on his helmet, used to it from his motorcycle days. “Ready?”

  “Very.”

  She was talking about going fast, right? She followed Raleigh to the ‘Cuda.

  Pax let out one of those ear-piercing whistles as Harley tried to jump into the car, too. “You’re coming with me, bud.”

  The dog let out a whine but followed dutifully.

  “He’s just adorable,” Mia said, watching them depart. Pax wore a faded pair of jean shorts and sneakers, walking with his cowboy swagger.

  “You are talking about the dog, right?”

  Mia shot Raleigh a wry grin. “Of course.”

  Damn. He’d been jealous there for a second. And he’d let it show.

  He turned onto the track, his heart thrumming at all that beautiful asphalt. If only they’d had something like this back then. But the past is the past. He kicked it, and everything came back: the feel for the car as it gained speed, the way the handling changed, and how it took the turns.

  He checked on Mia throughout that first lap, slowing a bit when her smile disappeared.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She took a deep breath, and her smile returned. “Yeah. You can go faster.”

  He continued watching her, inching faster mile by mile. Not fast enough yet for a true thrill, but both Mia and Cody were taking it in with big smiles on their faces. They both let out a woot when he took the turns faster and faster. They weren’t banked, like the big tracks, but the tug on his body was still gut-tightening. Satisfying. After they’d run a dozen or so laps, he slowed to a stop, put the car into park, and opened his door.

  “Where are you going?” she asked as he came around the front of the car to her side.

  “You’re driving.”

  “What?”

  “Then you can go as fast as you’re comfortable going. You’ll be in control.” He opened her door, bowed, and gestured for her to exit.

  “Seriously?” She took his proffered hand and let him help her to her feet. Anticipation glowed on her face.

  Raleigh escorted her around to the driver’s side, got her settled in, then leaned in to adjust the seat. Which put his face inches from hers. “About right?”

  The engine rumbled, the perfect backdrop for the hunger rumbling through him.

  Her smile drilled right down to his gut. “Yeah. Perfect.”

  Did he recognize the same battle in her eyes that was going on inside him? Lean forward. Kiss her.

  Cody made some noise in the back, no doubt watching the tense moment. Thank God for the kid, Raleigh thought again. He pointed out the basics. “Just do what feels comfortable. Ease in.”

  Unlike the way they’d proceeded seven years ago. He moved back before he fell to temptation.

  She slid him a glance. “You’re sure about this?”

  “Absolutely.” He looked at Cody. “And just as sure that you should go hang o
ut with Pax and Harley. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty more opportunity to come here with me.”

  Cody’s frown transformed to a smile. “I will?”

  He’d said that, hadn’t he? Committed, and you didn’t uncommit when you made a promise to a kid. “You will.” He tilted the seat forward, and Cody scrambled out, somewhat mollified.

  Raleigh dropped into a passenger seat in which he’d never sat.

  She wrapped her fingers around the wheel, her right hand over the shifter, and took a deep breath. “All those years ago, I wanted to drive your car so bad. Not in a race, but just drive.”

  “You should have asked.”

  “I wasn’t ready. I was already moving so fast.” She gave him a meaningful look. Sneaking out. Participating in street racing. Making love. Yeah, she’d moved damned fast for a girl just testing out the world. “It was enough to be in the passenger seat.”

  She faced ahead, a picture of total concentration, and shifted into drive. Before long, they were approaching the turn.

  “Ease up on the gas as you start into the turn. Then increase the speed midway and gun it coming out.”

  “Wow. There’s so much power.”

  “Open her up.”

  She slowed down instead. “I’m afraid if I go over the line I won’t be able to pull back.”

  “I’ll make sure you don’t fly off.” But only if he could keep himself from spinning out of control.

  She faced the stretch of track ahead, her lower lip pulled between her teeth. Took another deep breath. And let the car fly. He watched her complete focus, the wind whipping her hair around. The racer’s high lit her eyes, breaking her out into a wild grin. She let out a whoop as they topped ninety, probably without any idea how fast she was going. The needle inched higher. Higher.

  That’s when he saw the panic set in. Her face morphed into a mask of fear.

  “Talk to me,” Raleigh said.

  “I just had a flashback. The crash. Well, right before it.”

  “Slow down. Ease through the gears. You’re fine.”

  She nodded jerkily, her chest rising in rapid puffs. “All of a sudden it was dark, there was a crowd alongside the road, and I could see Cassidy’s car moving closer. Closer.”

  “Nobody else is here.” He stroked her arm now, bringing her back. “Breathe deep.”

  “I’m good now.” She came to a stop, but her face was pale. “That was crazy. I went from feeling fantastic to fearful in…well, zero to sixty seconds, as you might say.” She covered his hand with her left one. “Thanks for talking me down.”

  “I knew you’d get it under control. You want to head back?”

  She took another deep breath. “If it’s all right with you, I want to do it again. I felt the fear and the joy of doing something meaningful. The fear won that time. I want the joy to win this time.”

  God, the way she was looking at him…“Go for it.”

  That was exactly how he felt, being with her again. Joy and fear.

  She let the car fly. Determination set her jaw tight. As she made the turn, the high took over again. She smiled, relaxed her shoulders and jaw. Sank into the experience. And she was beautiful, even with the scarred part of her face in view. As she hit ninety again, she let out another whoop and maintained speed until the finish line came into view.

  “I get it,” she said. “I totally get why you raced. I mean, it was thrilling to be in the passenger seat, but I think a lot of that was being with you in the car. But driving is a different thrill. The adrenaline. The wind. The engine. Everything.” She smiled. “And you in the car, too.”

  Dammit. That’s when Raleigh knew he still loved her. Loved the way she embraced life, conquered her fears. And that smile she’d shot him…hell. He was falling fast all over again, with the brakes nowhere in sight.

  Chapter 9

  Mia kept the glow of driving Raleigh’s car into the next several hours of labor as they painted the back two rooms. He let her drive to the hardware store to buy replacement baseboards and more painting supplies. It was safer to think that it was Raleigh trusting her with his baby that gave her the thrill.

  What’s really giving you that thrill is just Raleigh.

  Being with him was like racing on that track. Going fast. An element of risk. Of doing something she knew she probably shouldn’t.

  By the time they’d eaten buffalo wings out on the deck, she was on overload from her feelings and the work.

  “Let’s play Frisbee!” Cody said, racing off the deck, launching himself into the air before landing hard on the sand.

  She wished she’d captured that moment of midair, his arms and legs akimbo, on film. She’d been so distracted that she hadn’t thought about taking pictures.

  Raleigh stood. “You coming?”

  “You go. I like watching.”

  She put the “extra” wings in the fridge for Rose and grabbed her phone. There was a missed call from her mother, but Mia wasn’t ready to check the voice mail. She leaned on the railing and took pictures of the two, the setting sun as backdrop.

  Cody caught sight of her. “Hey, come on out!”

  The need to play rumbled through her the way the ‘Cuda’s engine had. Play. Live. She kicked off her sandals and jumped off the top step of the deck.

  Raleigh tossed the disk at her. “Let’s see what you got.”

  She missed it, then tried to emulate how they’d been throwing it. Not very well.

  Raleigh came up behind her. “I’ll show you.” He wrapped his arms around her from behind, bending her arm in toward her body, then shoving it out. “Let it go nice and smooth at the very end of your reach.”

  She wanted to lean back against him and breathe him in, but she followed his instructions. The disk flopped to the ground. He snagged it and demonstrated a perfect throw, sending it right into Cody’s hand. Cody shot it back, and she jumped up to catch it. And missed again.

  “Maybe I should just watch.”

  Raleigh pressed it into her hand. “You can do it. It just takes practice.”

  True to his word, she did get better. After a while, they formed a triangle and tried to outshoot one another. They laughed at one another’s misses, falls, and really bad shots. The sun, even lower on the horizon, warmed her face. The sand squished between her toes. She felt alive. Carefree. Vibrant. For the first time since…

  Since that magical summer. And, just like that summer, every time her and Raleigh’s gazes met, her stomach took a tumble. Or maybe it was her heart.

  “Come on, kiddo,” Rose called from the deck, shading her eyes. “You got an early day tomorrow.”

  “Can’t I…” Cody’s expression wilted. “Oh, yeah. I’m s’posed to help Mr. Scott with his fence.”

  “Money in your pocket.” Rose shifted her gaze to Raleigh as they all came to the deck. “I hear George Morlen’s clearing his land for a horse barn and corrals. Does that affect where you live?”

  “No, he’s not doing anything near my property.” Raleigh turned to Mia. “George is the man I bought the acre my cabin is on from. The one who let me use his Airstream.”

  “Is that by the lake?” Rose asked. “He finally going to do something with that?”

  “Not far from it,” Raleigh said. “But I don’t think he’s messing with the lake.”

  Rose looked a little relieved. “Probably for the best. Lakes bring gators, and I’d sure hate to see someone lose an arm to one of the beasts. All right, see y’all later.”

  A few minutes after Mia closed the door behind Rose and Cody, she said, “Oh! I forgot to give Rose the wings.” She grabbed the bag and ran out to catch Rose climbing into the old truck. “Here, we had extra.”

  Rose looked surprised as she took the bag. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  Mia lifted one shoulder. “We ended up buying more than we could eat.”

  Rose opened her mouth but paused. Finally, she said, “You’re a good person. Like Raleigh.” Her eyes seemed to assess Mia. �
��Don’t break his heart, y’hear? I know you wouldn’t mean to, but it’s easy to let your heart blind your mind.”

  “I…I won’t,” Mia stammered.

  She started the engine. “Thanks for the wings.”

  Mia walked back through the house, finding Raleigh on the deck staring at the Gulf. The sun was just disappearing below the horizon. The waves rolled in, washing up on the beach. As they receded, they were like fingers curling in, calling to her.

  The sight of Raleigh did the same, his broad shoulders and strong back making her ache to come up behind him, slide her arms around his waist, and rest her cheek there. But Rose’s warning echoed. Getting involved was a bad idea. She had a job in Minneapolis. And while he could establish a business anywhere, he had Cody and Rose to watch over. Mia couldn’t hurt them by taking Raleigh away.

  As if he would go.

  So she stood beside him instead, curling her hands over the wood railing. “We made good headway. I think we should call it a day.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her. “You sending me off?”

  “Yes. No.” She gave her head a shake. “I feel like I should. Being with you is like driving your car today. It makes me not care that we have no future together. It’s pushing me to beg you to stay here tonight. Not because I don’t want to be alone but because I want to be with you.”

  She traced her fingers up and down his forearm, a safe part of his body. “Not be with you that way—I mean, I do want to be with you that way, but I don’t, because it will hurt too much when I have to leave. Oh, God, I’m rambling.”

  He brought his hands to her face and gently stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. “I know what you mean. But I don’t want you to hurt because of me, Mia. Never again.”

  She’d admitted to wanting him, and he said he knew what she meant. Did that mean he wanted her, too? Given what she saw in his eyes, she had to guess that he did. “Are we feeling this way because we want to relive those beautiful days? Or because we didn’t get to say goodbye properly?” she asked.

  “Maybe both.”

  “Maybe we need each other to heal the scars on the inside.”

  He stepped closer, his thighs brushing hers. “How do we do that?”