The Good Race: Book One of the Grayson Falls series

by A. M. Mahler

  Jackie could tell she wasn’t really offended. She rather seemed to be enjoying their verbal sparring.

  “He was haughty, and he cared too much about his social status. When he proposed to Elizabeth, he focused on all the reasons she was wrong for him. That’s romance? That’s what women want?”

  “He was persistent in his pursuit of her, despite the differences in their social status.”

  “Please,” Danny scoffed.

  It was then that Jackie caught his attention. His gaze seemed to drill right through her. Her breath caught and she scurried off. She took the stairs two at a time to the third level and found the most secluded table she could. She dropped her books and pulled out her portable CD player, ready to settle in for another Saturday afternoon surrounded by books.

  “Hello,” came a deep voice behind her.

  Jackie closed her eyes and took deep breaths. Her brother had all the social skills; she had all the anxiety. She opened her eyes and found Danny sitting across from her.

  “Are you all right?”

  She nodded her head with a jerk, but it left him unconvinced.

  “You look like you plan to be here for a while.”

  She answered with a shrug. She knew it seemed as if she was nearly disabled by shyness. Why couldn’t she just be normal?

  She felt him study her for a long moment, and she was surprisingly able to hold his stare. He had nice eyes. She’d noticed that right away when he’d stopped her suitcase from beaning her in the head.

  “Okay,” he said standing up. “You are clearly looking to be alone, and I’m obviously not getting anywhere. So…”

  He started to walk away. Before Jackie realized what she was doing, she blurted out, “What are you doing in the library anyway?”

  He stopped and turned back to her, wide-eyed.

  “She can speak!”

  He sat back down and smiled.

  Jackie clamped her hands together in her lap when she realized they were beginning to shake.

  “Of course, I talk,” she practically spit out.

  “Only to your brother.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Am I not allowed to be?” he shot back.

  “You don’t…” She trailed off and looked down in her lap when she felt her face flame.

  “Seem like the type to go to a library?” he coaxed.

  She shrugged in response.

  “Ah, we’re back to not talking, are we?”

  She scowled at him and stuck her headphones on, apparently to end the conversation.

  Instead of getting discouraged, Danny laughed. He propped his feet up on the chair across from him and opened a book.

  She thought he might try to wait her out. He seemed to have a radar for her. He always seemed to sense when she was around, and then he found her within seconds. Jackie wasn’t sure what to make of it. She couldn’t figure out why he was still sitting here pretending to read. She had just read the same line in her book for the fourth time, so she knew she wasn’t getting anything accomplished, either.

  What was a guy like him—who obviously hated this school—doing having an intelligent conversation about the character traits of Mr. Darcy? What did he think of Elizabeth? Had he read Pride and Prejudice because he wanted to, or because it had been assigned? What other books did he check out?

  When Danny caught her looking at his stack of books, he dropped them onto the floor with a smirk.

  Jackie went back to her reading and tried to frown, but damned if the corners of her lips didn’t twitch.

  AFTER THAT FIRST encounter in the library, Danny and Jackie fell into an odd routine. Over the next few weeks, they shared the same table in the library three days a week. Jackie never spoke, but Danny began to speak to her. He talked about what he was reading. When he recognized what she was reading, he talked about that. After the first week, he noted that she no longer put her headphones on, and he took that as a good sign. He made sure never to arrive at the table first, but to let her get settled. He was afraid if she saw him already there, she might pick another table, but she never moved once he sat down.

  One day, he gave up all pretense of reading and propped his chin on his hand, just studying her.

  She began to fidget when she felt his gaze, and he grinned.

  She looked up at him, blushed, and looked back down again quickly. Then she propped her forehead in her hand and tried her best to hide her face. When she couldn’t take his scrutiny any longer, she slammed her book down and glared at him.

  “What’s wrong, beautiful?”

  “Don’t call me that,” she snapped.

  He raised his eyebrows at her tone. For someone so quiet, she had a bit of a bite.

  “What should I call you, then? Alluring? Lovely? Splendid? No, they won’t work. What’s wrong, splendid? That sounds ridiculous. What’s wrong, beautiful? You see, that works just fine.”

  “How about using my actual name?”

  “You’ve never offered your name to me,” he pointed out.

  “You really don’t know my name?” she asked as if she didn’t quite believe him.

  Of course, he knew it. Everyone did. But the point remained: she hadn’t offered her name to him.

  “I just know that you’re the great Ryan Willis’s sister.”

  “Insulting my brother won’t get you far with me.”

  “I imagine lying won’t either, so I’d rather stick with honesty. Your brother and I don’t really get along.”

  “So, I’ve heard.”

  “So, since you haven’t provided your name, I’m just going to go with Gorgeous.”

  “Jackie!” she huffed. “My name is Jackie.”

  “I know,” he smirked.

  Jackie snorted in indignation.

  “The whole school is talking about how Ryan Willis left for the summer and came back with a hot sister—who just happens to be Jimmy Reilly’s daughter, hated rival of Toby Willis.”

  “It wasn’t like that,” Jackie said heatedly.

  Danny shrugged. “I don’t follow stock car racing, so I only know what I hear around school. I am sorry you lost your dad, though.”

  “Thanks,” she said quietly.

  “Is it true you and Ryan didn’t know about each other?”

  Jackie had been on her guard whenever she heard questions surrounding the accident. Cooper always seemed to get them in just when she had begun to relax, but Danny sounded like his interest in her was more than stock car racing.

  “We knew each other from the circuit—our dads were rivals after all—but we didn’t know we were related, no. I lost my father and gained a brother in the same day. It was a little overwhelming. It just so happened that our dads were next to each other on pit road that day. We were both there, as we always were in the summer, and when the accident happened…”

  She had such a faraway and pained expression on her face that Danny felt compelled to reach out and take her hands. He didn’t question the impulse. He wasn’t known to be a ladies’ man and he didn’t have a ton of experience with girls, but it just felt like the right thing to do.

  “The car slammed into the wall on turn four after thirty laps. Then it burst into flames, which was unusual because they don’t often do that. When my dad didn’t get out of the car like he always did, I didn’t think about anything. I just started running down pit road into the infield.

  “Ryan grabbed me before I hit the track. He had his arms locked around me from behind, and we both fell to our knees. I fought him, screaming and crying, trying anything I could to get to my dad. Ryan did the right thing holding me back. They said my dad died on impact—that he had a heart attack—but the car wasn’t performing right. It just…I don’t know, I’m not an engineer. And they did say he had a heart attack.”

  “I’m sorry you had to watch him die.”

  “I’ve never spoken about that day, not even to Ryan. I guess I didn’t need to talk to him about it because he was there. I’ve been houn
ded by the press, but Ryan and his dad did a good job of keeping them away from me for the most part. It’s all been so strange. Toby was named my legal guardian. Everyone thought it odd at the time, but no one knew it was because Ryan and I were brother and sister.

  “Toby and my dad were best friends once, and apparently, a woman—our mother—came between them. I guess my dad wanted me to be with my brother. Ryan says he’d always heard some rumors around the circuit about our mother, but my dad was always mum when it came to her identity. But Toby knew.”

  “How do you feel about being landed at Trent?”

  She snapped out of her memories and looked up at him. She had tears in her eyes.

  Suddenly, all he wanted was to put his arms around her. He wanted to find a way to make those tears stop. They seemed to cut right through him somehow.

  “I don’t know really,” she answered, wiping her eyes. “Toby’s my legal guardian and this is where Ryan is, so this is where I ended up, too. An uncle I never met talked about fighting the guardianship, but after a sit-down with Toby, he was convinced that this was for the best. Now I get to be with my brother—who is close in age to me—and stay safe at school.”

  “Finding out Willis is your brother must have been overwhelming,” Danny noted.

  “How do you—” she broke off in surprise. “We’re opposite personalities. It took a little while for us to find a rhythm. He’s been my rock. Anything unpleasant that’s come my way, he’s dealt with it. I don’t know how, since he’s only seventeen, but he has. Whatever I need, he’s taken care of it. He’s loud, and I’m not. He’s the night life and I’m quiet mornings. He’s stood in front of me and up for me when I’ve needed someone most. And I guess I’m just not ready to step out of his shadow.”

  Danny found himself wanting to be the one standing up for her. He wanted to be her rock. Nobody had ever leaned on him. He didn’t have anyone that needed him. His mother was dead. He had no siblings, and his father didn’t want anything to do with him. When he wasn’t at Trent, he was stuck in summer camp. He hadn’t laid eyes on his father in over a year. Even if Danny tried to reach out to him, he usually found him unresponsive.

  “What’s your favorite color?” he suddenly asked her.

  She frowned. “My favorite color?”

  “I want to know you, Jackie,” he confessed. “Tell me the things I can’t find on Google.”

  “Well, I like green,” she hedged.

  “Favorite book?”

  “The Great Gatsby.”

  “A fellow traveler,” Danny nodded. He figured she could probably identify with Jay Gatsby. He was lonely and naïve, and he craved a life he didn’t have—a dream that could never be his.

  “Don’t end up dead in a swimming pool.”

  “I’ll try my best.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  They both seemed startled by the comment, and Danny decided to push past it as fast as he could. “Favorite movie?”

  “The Princess Bride,” she answered immediately.

  “Oh, God, really?” He cringed. “I’m not sure this relationship can work. Dare I ask your favorite band?”

  “I don’t have one,” she said, smiling, and Danny almost forgot his train of thought. Her smile lit up her whole face and even reached those beautiful eyes.

  “How could you not have a favorite band?” He was aghast. What teenager didn’t have a favorite band? It was practically unheard of.

  “I don’t really listen to music,” she shrugged. “I usually just end up listening to whatever Ryan puts on.”

  “What’s in your CD player there, then?”

  “White noise, ocean waves, sounds of the forest, that kind of thing.”

  “I’m going to make you a music mix,” Danny announced.

  Jackie’s eyes widened in surprise. “A what?”

  “A music mix,” he repeated. “I’ll burn you CDs of all sorts of different music. Then you’re going to listen to them and tell me what you don’t like. Then I’m going to take that stuff off and add different stuff on the next CD. And I’m going to keep doing that until you find bands you like. Music should be a part of every teenager’s life.”

  “What’s your favorite band?”

  “I’m not going to tell you. I’ll put it on there and see what you think of them.”

  “I guess if you feel this is something you need to do…”

  “This is a world-class music school,” Danny said. “This is a part of your education, something you’ve been sorely lacking in so far. I’m going to turn you into a music lover, just you wait.”

  “Now it’s my turn to ask you a question,” Jackie said hesitantly.

  “Shoot.”

  “It’s kind of personal.”

  “Okay.”

  “Why do you smoke pot?”

  “Why do I what?” He was absolutely stunned by her question, and Jackie’s face flushed. But she didn’t back off, and he admired her for what that must have cost her.

  “Ryan said you got busted with pot last year. Why do you do drugs?”

  “I don’t.” He shook his head fast, as if the faster he did, the more she’d believe him. He now regretted all his stupid stunts in the past. He never expected his chickens would come home to roost.

  “So, you didn’t get busted with pot?”

  “I got busted for possession of marijuana. I wasn’t smoking it. I don’t smoke that shit, or anything else.”

  “Why did you have it then? Were you selling it?”

  “I think I liked you better when you were silent,” he grumbled. “I had it because I wanted to get caught with it. I wanted to get kicked out of school, but it didn’t work.”

  He could tell she was trying to decide whether or not to believe him. Each second she didn’t get up and bolt from the table he considered a victory.

  “You were deliberately trying to get kicked out of school? Why?”

  “Army life’s not for me.”

  Jackie looked thoroughly confused. “I’m not sure I understand that.”

  “All right,” Danny said. “Maybe that was a bad reference. But it’s like that guy on M*A*S*H. Ever see it?”

  Jackie shook her head.

  “There’s this TV show called M*A*S*H. It ran in the seventies and eighties. It’s not on anymore except in reruns. It was about an Army medical unit in Korea. There’s this guy called Klinger, and he got drafted into the Army and hated it, so he was always trying to do things to get thrown out. He wore dresses and all sorts of stuff. That’s me. I’m Klinger.”

  “You like to wear women’s dresses?” she asked with a straight face.

  He decided two could play at that game. “Do you have any I could borrow? I’m partial to square-cut necks and no sleeves.”

  Jackie’s eyes widened, then they broke out into laughter.

  “I’m really glad you talked to me today.”

  “I couldn’t take your creepy stalker looks anymore,” she admitted with a smile.

  “Well, well, look who’s coming out of her shell now with the snark,” Danny laughed.

  Her insult didn’t bother him at all. He thought she might actually be enjoying his company. Maybe he could get her out of her comfort zone even more. He just had to figure out a way around her brother.

  Five

  WHEN RYAN ENTERED the Grill, he made a beeline for Cooper, who was sitting alone at their usual table. He turned his chair backward and straddled it, then noticed Cooper’s fierce scowl.

  “Whoa,” Ryan said. “What’s got your panties in a bunch?”

  Cooper nodded his head toward the other side of the room and Ryan followed his stare. His jaw dropped when he saw his sister sitting with Danny McKenzie.

  “What the hell?”

  “Exactly.” Cooper continued to scowl in Jackie and Danny’s direction.

  Several things were surprising about this new scenario. First was that both his sister and Danny seemed totally oblivious to what was going on around them. He wa
s talking, and she was laughing and smiling.

  Second, Cooper looked like he wanted to kill Danny—seriously kill him. He made no effort to hide it, either.

  Ryan was beginning to wonder if Cooper was fixating on Jackie, but his friend hadn’t made any inappropriate moves toward her, so he had to assume that Cooper was respecting the boundaries that he’d put into place about dating his sister. Regardless, he’d start paying a little more attention, just in case.

  “I’ll be right back,” Ryan muttered.

  He walked across the room and tapped his sister on the shoulder. “Jacks, can I talk to you for a sec?”

  He didn’t spare a glance for Danny when his sister told him she’d be right back. Instead, he led her out of the Grill and away from any potential eavesdroppers. Once outside, he couldn’t help but note that Jackie still kept her smile. It even seemed to reach her eyes. Had they ever had that much life in them since her dad’s accident?

  “What’s up?” she asked.

  “That’s what I’m asking you,” Ryan replied. “Didn’t I warn you about him?”

  “We’re just having lunch,” she answered.

  Ryan was surprised to see she rolled her eyes at him.

  “How do you know him? You don’t have any of the same classes.”

  “We met in the library.”

  Jackie looked back at the Grill to where Danny was burning music onto a CD for her latest round of musical education. “He’s not what you think, Ry. He’s smart and funny. I like him.”

  Ryan put his hands on his hips and tapped his foot as he thought over the situation. He took what he knew of Danny—his reputation and the rumors—and tried to fit that to the person Jackie was talking about. They just didn’t mesh. On the other hand, Jackie was clearly into him, and she didn’t really socialize with anybody but her brother—and on a handful of occasions, Sophie. He wondered briefly if this was what a parent felt like, trying to weigh whether to clip her wings or let her give flying a try. She didn’t know everything there was to know about the guardianship, though. He took it very seriously.

  Finally, he relented. “I got my eye on this, Jackie. I don’t trust him further than I can throw him. I trust you. But if anything happens to you—at all—I’m going to turn him into a grease spot.”