The Good Race: Book One of the Grayson Falls series

by A. M. Mahler

  Toby looked over at Ryan. “Maybe I didn’t do the best by you, sending you off to Trent all those years. I just thought there were too many ways for a boy to get in trouble on a race track, and racing was all I knew how to do. Dammit, I about shit a brick when Daisy dropped you in my arms and then walked away. I didn’t know a damn thing about kids. I hadn’t ever thought of having any with the life I led, but there you were. Trent was better than what I thought I could give you on the circuit, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to give up my own flesh and blood.

  “Was Jimmy killed on purpose? Hell, I don’t know. Who would have been best served by that? Jackie got all his money. Why was he was trying to shake off Mason Energy? Maybe they did something he didn’t like. Maybe he was tired of saying their name every time a microphone was shoved in his face. It sure beats the shit out of me. Jimmy wasn’t perfect, and neither am I. Maybe I could have been a better father. Maybe I could have been a better friend. But living in the past gets you nowhere, and regrets only weigh you down. All I’m sure of is, at the end of the day, when I’m standing at the pearly gates, I’ll know in my heart I ran the good race.”

  Twenty-Four

  NATALIE PAUSED IN her kitchen painting when she heard a knock on her front door. She put her roller down and listened as the knock came a second time. There was no need to be nervous. Eric had made modifications to her security system, and she knew it was activated. She always had it on when she was in the house. One alarm went to the police station and U.S. Marshals bureau; the other one went to Eric. She didn’t understand why he was so intent on ensuring her peace of mind. Didn’t he know? She’d always live in fear. She’d always be looking over her shoulder.

  After she had met Ethan, she had watched videos online about how to change the look of your face with makeup. She didn’t want to be so obvious that the people in Grayson Falls who knew her commented on it, but she wanted to be just different enough so someone from her past wouldn’t recognize her as Sarah Currie.

  When the knock came again, she went into her kitchen and checked her video monitoring feed. It was Ethan, and it looked like he had a dog with him. She walked to the front door, disengaged her alarm, and swung it open. The German shepherd at his side stood statue still. He was a beautiful dog; big and built.

  “Hey, Nat!” Ethan greeted her enthusiastically. “I was on my way back from the airport with Bravo. He just landed. I thought I’d stop by and introduce you. Can we come in?”

  Natalie eyed the dog, who was staring at her in return. He seemed to be waiting for something. She was surprised when Ethan put his hand on her shoulder. “Bravo, this is Natalie. She is your friend. This is your friend, Natalie.”

  She tried not to be nervous when the big dog approached her and began to give her a good sniffing.

  “Don’t be afraid,” Ethan said. “He’s just getting your scent. He’ll associate your scent with a friend. Bravo’s a good friend to have.”

  “I bet.” When the dog seemed to be finished, she stepped back and let them both into the house. Between Ethan and his dog, the living room seemed to shrink in size.

  He looked around in much the same manner as Eric had, with a keen and professional eye. “Bravo, clear!”

  The dog immediately ran off, running from room to room. When he was done, he returned to Ethan’s side and barked.

  “Everything’s good.”

  “He’s a very talented dog. Will he let me pet him?”

  “Absolutely. He loves getting loved up.”

  Natalie leaned down and scratched behind Bravo’s ears. Before she knew it, she was rubbing his neck and accepting frantic kisses.

  Ethan laughed and stood up, wiping off her face where the dog had gotten a little too fervent.

  “So, is your backyard fenced in?” he asked.

  “Yes, it is,” she answered, cocking her head to the side. She furrowed her brow as she began to follow him around the house. He looked in the kitchen and the bathrooms, poked his head into her bedroom, then stopped at the second bedroom, which was currently full of boxes.

  “So, I’m not usually so pushy. In fact, I mainly like keeping to myself. My mother would hit me upside the head if she heard me impose this way, but I was wondering if you would be interested in renting out this second room to me. I’m neat as a pin, clean up after myself, and I can also cook.”

  “Oh, Ethan, I don’t know.”

  Was she even allowed to have somebody move in? Her understanding was that the Marshals Service checked in with her, but the point of WITSEC was to give a person a whole new life to live on their own. She should be able to have friends, take vacations, work, and date.

  “I should have been more specific,” Ethan said. “Would you be willing to allow a trained combat and security professional and his dog—which can kill people at the sound of a command—rent a room from you? Bravo’s really easy to get along with. He’ll even stay off the furniture.”

  When she didn’t answer right away, he continued. “It’s crowded at Jackie’s right now. Ryan, Eric, and Emma are there, and you have the lovebirds, too. It’s like a hostel, and Bravo and I really like our quiet. I’ll drive over every day to do the farm work. I know I want to get a place of my own here, but I hadn’t thought about where. Jackie even offered me some acreage on her land to build, which I think I want to do, but that will take a while. What do you say?”

  Natalie looked from her brother to Bravo. It was obvious that they both knew who the other really was, and Ethan was offering her more protection and security without telling her that he knew her former identity. It should have been weird, to be so accepting of someone she had just met, but she knew in her gut that she would feel much safer having Ethan and Bravo in the house.

  “Oh, and I play the guitar,” he said. “But I won’t do it when you’re home if you don’t like it. Otherwise, it’s just me, my truck, my dog, and my books. I really don’t have anything else. All of it will fit in this room.”

  “Well, I do like dogs,” she smiled, reaching down to love up Bravo again, who wagged his tail and basked in the adoration.

  “He’ll stay off the furniture unless you invite him. He sleeps in my bed. If you invite him on the couch with you, he’s a champion cuddler.”

  What did she have to lose, really? Nothing. But she had everything to gain. Two more protectors in the house and she would also get to know her long-lost brother.

  “I’ll have to move all the boxes up to the attic,” she said. “I can get started on it tomorrow.”

  “Fantastic. I’ll help. We’ll just bunk on the couch tonight.”

  That night, for the first time in years, Natalie slept through until morning without waking up once.

  “I’VE HEARD SPEEDING tickets have gone up recently,” Jackie said, glancing at Danny over the rim of her morning coffee as she leaned against the kitchen counter. It was a Saturday morning, and the covering practice was staffing the hospital, so Jackie had weekends off. “Apparently, lots more people are getting busted for speeding than before.”

  “Yeah,” he replied absently, scanning the newspaper. “According to the records Norrie pulled, that’s true. I haven’t have figured out why, though.”

  She chuckled and moved to the table to sit down across from him. She propped a slipper-clad foot up on the chair. “Well, there are a lot of out-of-towners getting busted here, too.”

  He finally put the paper down and looked up at her. “How do you know that?”

  “Norrie.”

  His girlfriend and his receptionist had gotten to know each other pretty well since Danny had taken over as police chief. Sometimes, Norrie brought lunch over to the hospital and they ate in Jackie’s office or out back on the patio. In the beginning, Jackie had suspected that Norrie was fishing for information on the new doctor and police chief. Jackie was discovering there was no bigger gossip in town. In fact, Norrie had even set up a Facebook page for the town and kept it updated with all the goings-on of the more notable residents.
Danny and Jackie, as new residents in prominent positions, were a hot topic.

  “Okay.”

  “Do you know why so many people are speeding now, or even who it is that’s getting caught?”

  “No, I haven’t gone over it.” He pushed the paper aside and picked up his coffee, leaning back in his chair. Jackie was certainly enjoying her little game of cat and mouse.

  “Well, I think you might be surprised by how many women are in there.”

  He rested his elbows on the table and leaned toward her. “All right, Sherlock. Let’s have it.”

  “They want you to be the one to pull them over. They’ve all heard about the new hunky and single police chief in Grayson Falls. Women from three towns over are zipping down here.”

  “You’re making that up,” he scoffed.

  “Go check the records, Chief Hottie.”

  “Chief what!?”

  “That’s what they’re calling you,” she sang.

  “I’m not single.”

  “You’re not married, either,” she pointed out, and inwardly winced.

  It wasn’t something that they had discussed. It seemed like an unspoken promise between them, but they hadn’t talked it over. When they were younger, that had been her teenage fantasy. They would graduate Trent, go to college, get married, and have kids. But then things had changed. They had only just reconnected. They were in a good place right now, living together, building a life together. Wouldn’t marriage be the next logical step?

  “I am not on the market.” He rose from his chair and moved toward her. He took her hand and pulled her up, leading her over to the couch. “I haven’t been on the market since I saw you almost kill yourself with a Kate Spade suitcase.”

  “You’ve hardly been a monk,” she said. “Maybe our hearts were in different places, but we were both with other people along the way.”

  He paused before replying. “I’m going to ask you a question, and then we are never again going to mention you and anyone you may have been with before me.”

  She rolled her eyes, but the laughter died when she saw that Danny had suddenly become very serious. “What’s wrong?”

  “I hate myself for asking about this because I know it isn’t true, but it just got under my skin. I’ve tried to let it go, but I just can’t.”

  “Well, tell me what it is,” she said, running her fingers through his hair. “Hopefully, I can put your mind at ease.”

  He took her hand and interlaced their fingers, bringing their joined hands in between them. “When I went to New York to clean out my apartment, I met Ryan at a bar. Of all the places in New York, guess who walks into that one? Cooper Eden.”

  “Cooper?” she asked, surprised. “Did he know you two were there?”

  “I don’t think so. Anyway, he zeroed in on me, and of course, came over to the table. He was there for all of forty seconds, but in that time, he insinuated that you and he hooked up in college and that you just didn’t want to say anything. His exact words were that he liked being your dirty little secret. It bugged me. It bugged Ryan, too, but he blew it off. I tried to, but I still think about it now and then.”

  “I told you I never hooked up with him!”

  “I know you did! And I believed you. Then he walked in, and I don’t know, maybe I was in a weird headspace, but he just had a way about him and—”

  “Cooper and I ended up at the same social function once in college. He stuck to me like glue the entire time, telling people that we were old friends from Trent, but using a tone that insinuated we had been more. He asked me to dinner. I declined. I didn’t see him again until years later when he and Ryan were meeting for drinks. I went to be a buffer for Ryan because he didn’t really want to go, either. I didn’t stay long. I don’t even think I finished my drink.”

  “I’m sorry. I know I’m an idiot.”

  “You are,” Jackie said with a shove. “Cooper has that creepy way about him, and he reminded me too much of our time at Trent. It hurt to think about when I didn’t have you. I tried to move on, but I could never fully do it. Sophie and I kept in touch over the years and that was another reminder of what I had lost when you left. It’s always been you, Danny. It always will be. I thought I had gotten over you, and then you were wheeled into my emergency room and I realized I still loved you. Well, I loved the boy I knew. When I asked you to come up here with me to heal, I thought, if nothing else, we could at least reconnect. You were the first real friend I ever had. You’re what I’ve been looking for all this time. I never felt complete before you. I feel whole again, Danny.”

  He lifted their joined hands and kissed her fingers. “I know how you feel. You were the first person I ever loved, Jackie. You were the first one who ever cared about me in any way. That was a hard thing to lose. When you asked me to come up here, it was a no-brainer for me. I’d have followed you anywhere, Jacks.”

  When he leaned forward to kiss her, the doorbell rang. He groaned and she squirmed away to answer the door.

  She looked outside to see an older man, who was impeccably neat. He was wearing a US Navy hat. When he removed his aviator sunglasses, she drew her breath in sharply. The resemblance was very strong.

  “Danny, I think your father is here.”

  “WHAT THE HELL?”

  He got off the couch, moved to the front door, and opened it. He stood there for a moment and just gaped at his father.

  “Daniel.”

  “Sir.”

  They hadn’t seen each other since prom night. His father had dumped him into military school, and there had been virtually no contact since. The Army had notified the commander when Danny was shot, and a message came back to say that his father wished him well and hoped he recovered soon. Danny remembered at the time thinking that maybe an aide had sent the response.

  He looked at the man who he considered no more than a sperm donor. He looked old now, and pale. Maybe a little tired. He also remembered his father as being taller. Was he shrinking? How old was he now? Danny realized he didn’t even know his father’s age. He wasn’t sure when his birthday was, either. He had to be in his seventies now, at least. The more he had thought about it over the years, the more he’d wondered why his father hadn’t just given him up for adoption when his mother died. Why keep legal rights to a kid you weren’t going raise?

  “Let him in,” Jackie said quietly.

  Danny shook himself out of his reverie and stepped back to allow his father to come inside.

  The three of them stood there awkwardly. His father had a box in his hands.

  “Sir, this is my girlfriend, Jackie Reilly.”

  “How do you do?”

  “Commander,” she greeted him in return.

  Danny turned at the coldness in Jackie’s voice. He was surprised at the closed off look on her face, but his chest swelled with pride. She was angry with his father on his behalf. She looked like she had been waiting for this moment.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” Danny asked.

  “I didn’t want you to tell me not to,” his father said. He held out the box to his son, who took it warily. “I wanted to give you this. I also needed to explain, and to apologize. When a man is at the end of his life, he realizes how important his earlier choices were. I made a lot of bad choices out of fear and out of anger.”

  “What do you mean, at the end of his life?”

  “Lymphoma,” his father said simply. “I’m not responding to treatments anymore.”

  “Oh.” Danny couldn’t say anything else. How was he supposed to feel about that? Sure, he was sorry to hear of anyone suffering, but there was no love lost between them. There never had been.

  He took the box from his father and opened it up. What he saw made his stomach drop. It was their letters. A giant stack of tied-up envelopes. He walked to the couch and sat down, the box on his lap. He rubbed a hand down his face, and Jackie came to his side. She sat next to him, laying a hand on his arm. When he pulled the letters out o
f the box and she realized what they were, the tension in her mounted. Shaking, she stood up and looked at his father.

  “How could you?” she whispered harshly. “How could you do this to us? How could you do this to him?”

  She was enraged. His little introvert was ready to do battle on his behalf. Tears streamed down her face.

  “Why couldn’t you see what a wonderful person he is? I’ve never met anyone with a bigger heart than Danny. He has so much love to give and you…you shit all over it.”

  “Jacks,” Danny said, grabbing her hand. He wanted to calm her down, but she pulled away.

  “You put him away like he was an unwanted gift, never seeing that he was the best gift. Why couldn’t you have just given him up? If you’d let him go, he could have had a chance at an upbringing with loving parents. Instead of alone, always alone! When he was sick, whose tender hands took care of him? When he was scared at night, who fought the demons in his dreams for him? Nobody. Because you made it that way. And now this?” She swept her hand to the letters in Danny’s lap. “You didn’t even know me, and yet you unilaterally changed my life. I had just lost my father, and I was uprooted from everything I knew and dropped in Trent. I didn’t know anyone but my brother. I had never been in that kind of environment before, and who was there for me? Danny was. He was my first friend, my first love, and you took him away.

  “Well, the joke’s on you, Commander, because we found each other anyway. He has love now. He’s going to have a wife who loves and him, and we’re going to have lots of kids. He has family here, and it’s only going to get bigger. He won’t be alone again. We won’t be alone again.”