A NASCAR Holiday 2: Miracle SeasonSeason of DreamsTaking ControlThe Natural

by Pamela Britton

  “I haven’t talked to him yet, but I bet he’ll say yes,” Beth said. Annie had stayed with the Wagners before.

  “Yippee!”

  Beth smiled at Ellie. “You might call a local hotel to see what’s available. With everyone leaving here you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding accommodations, but the sooner the better.”

  “Uh, yeah,” Ellie responded. “Good idea.”

  Two hours later Annie was in the van with Beth and the boys, headed for Charlotte.

  “I was able to get us a suite at the Stanford,” Ellie told Aidan. “Their last one.”

  “You mean we won’t have to sleep in the car?”

  “Who said anything about sleeping?”

  They dined in a quiet restaurant and were interrupted only once by someone seeking an autograph. Later they danced in the hotel lounge before going upstairs.

  The next morning, Ellie announced she was returning to San Francisco.

  “Why?”

  “Thanksgiving,” she said.

  “I was hoping you’d spend it with us.”

  She brushed her hand along his cheek. “That’s sweet of you, and I wish I could, but Thanksgiving’s a big deal for my mom, bigger even than Christmas. My dad died between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so Thanksgiving was the last big family occasion they shared together. She doesn’t talk much about him, but I know how important this holiday is for her. She’ll be really upset if I’m not there.”

  “I understand—” he wrapped his arms around her waist “—but I’m going to miss you.” He kissed her on the lips. “When will you be back?”

  “The week of the Christmas party.”

  “That’s not until the middle of next month.”

  “Knowing my mother, she hasn’t opened a single business envelope since I left, and I have a couple of meetings I have to attend. Annie asked me to take her Christmas shopping, so I’ll be back in time to do that before the party.”

  At his gloomy expression, she added, “It’s not like we’ll be incommunicado. There’s the telephone, e-mail, instant messaging. We’ll hardly know we’re apart.”

  He grinned up at her under knitted brows. “I can’t kiss you over e-mail,” he said. “I can’t—”

  She crossed his lips with her finger. “I’m going to miss you, too. More than you can imagine. But it’s only for a few weeks.”

  “A few weeks,” he repeated. “Why does it sound like an eternity?”

  She kissed him then, and time stood still.

  ELLIE INVARIABLY FOUND San Francisco a beautiful, vibrant and friendly city, the place that in her mind was synonymous with home. But not this time. She felt like a visitor, a foreigner, someone out of place when she arrived there from Florida. She missed Aidan so much it hurt. She missed Annie, too. She’d always taken it for granted that she’d have children when she got married, but both had been abstract concepts somewhere off in a hazy future. Until now.

  In an ironic way her mother contributed to her feeling of being an outsider. Not surprisingly, among the dozen guests Estelle had invited to share their holiday dinner was an eligible bachelor, Chaz Howard. He was a nice enough guy, three years Ellie’s senior and a junior associate in a large, prestigious law firm. Chaz was good-looking, athletic, well-mannered and well-read. He and Ellie got along fine and could probably become friends, but there was no spark between them, not the kind Estelle was undoubtedly hoping to kindle. At the end of the evening Chaz invited Ellie to dinner the following week, but she declined. Maybe another time, they agreed.

  Fortunately there was plenty to keep Ellie busy while she was home. Her mother’s investments had done fairly well, but Estelle’s propensity for extravagant spending did more than keep up with her income.

  Ellie was also beginning to receive offers for Satterfield Racing; Mitch Fulton’s standing offer trumped them all. She’d assured her mother she’d get them the best possible price for the racing team, and, she told herself, she had a fiduciary obligation to do so. That meant selling to Fulton.

  There was a complication, however. One she had never anticipated. She’d fallen in love with Aidan O’Keefe. Fallen in love with the man and his daughter.

  Business was one thing. In this regard the right thing to do was clear and unequivocal. It came down to two people bidding for controlling ownership of Satterfield Racing. One offer was indisputably the better.

  So how was Ellie going to solve this dilemma? If she sold to anyone but Mitch Fulton, she would be selling for less than she could get for the team. And if she did sell to him she would be effectively betraying the man who had helped build the team and made it valuable. The man she loved.

  AIDAN AND ANNIE SPENT Thanksgiving with the Wagners at their house. Beth’s parents were there, along with some other friends and their kids, one of whom was a seven-year-old girl who bonded instantly with Annie, so the house was filled with noise and laughter. The family atmosphere was as warm as Aidan could ever hope for.

  Except, of course, it was someone else’s family, and Ellie wasn’t there.

  Recalling what he could of Walter’s comments about his sister-in-law, Aidan doubted Estelle would ever be the cuddly grandmother, so even if he and Ellie were to get married, Annie would not be blessed with grandparents like the Wagner boys were.

  That he was actively thinking of marriage both excited and worried him. Was he in love with Ellie? He’d experienced love once. With Jenny. And he’d expected it to last a lifetime. Ellie was nothing like Jenny. She wasn’t a cookie-baking homebody as Jenny had been. Ellie admitted she didn’t even know how to cook. Was it simply the allure of long-denied female companionship?

  Certainly that was an attraction. But what he felt about Ellie was more than physical.

  He thought about her constantly. Reminded himself a dozen times a day to tell her things, recount events past and present, ask her opinion about various matters, seek her advice. When he daydreamed about being with her it wasn’t just in the bedroom…well, not exclusively, anyway. He thought about the gold that glittered in her pale amber eyes when he touched her. The feel of her skin as his fingers explored her planes and curves. The surge of vitality that rocketed through him when he was in her company. The sweet sound of her voice. Even the way Annie looked up at her.

  Just because she couldn’t cook…

  They could still be a family, and who knows, maybe if she tried, she could learn to bake cookies.

  ELLIE WAS FEELING GOOD. She’d worked out a solution to the dilemma of Fulton’s offer. It wasn’t all that complicated and she wondered why it had taken her so long to figure it out. Have Aidan buy Estelle out first. There would still be a few kinks to iron out, like the size of his down payment, but that was negotiable.

  Ellie was sure she had a smile on her face the entire trip from San Francisco to Charlotte. It was a toss-up whether it was because of her brilliant strategy or anticipation of seeing Aidan and Annie again. Either were good reasons, and combined she felt just plain happy.

  She’d hoped Aidan would be able to meet her at the airport, maybe even wearing a black T-shirt and the tight-fitting jeans that molded to his very sexy body, but he was at a promotional event all day. He’d offered to have someone else pick her up, but she’d rejected the idea. She was perfectly capable of getting to where she was going on her own. She also didn’t have nearly as much luggage with her this trip.

  It was a little lonely in the terminal this time. No great milling crowds, no Aidan, no bright orange Corvette. But the porters were friendly and helpful. She got her rental car, had her luggage loaded and took off for Satterfield Racing.

  She parked in the nearly empty parking lot behind the building and, coming around the corner of the garage, heard voices. She was about to call out a greeting when one of them mentioned her name.

  In spite of herself, Ellie stopped and listened.

  “I heard she’s coming back for the Christmas party.” Ellie recognized the voice as that of Nell, the lobby receptionist
. “You think she’s going to announce she’s selling to Fulton?”

  “I sure hope not. If she does we might as well all start looking for new jobs.” It took a moment for Ellie to realize the second woman was Shirley, Walter’s secretary. “Fulton will probably fire half of us, and the other half will quit. No way am I going to work for the jerk, I promise you that.”

  “When she left here she had it pretty bad for Aidan, so maybe she won’t.”

  Shirley chuckled. “Yeah, he did a good job on her.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, nothing.”

  “Come on. You can tell me,” Nell insisted.

  “Well…” Shirley hesitated. “What I heard… Mace suggested he put the make on her, woo her, so she wouldn’t sell to Fulton.”

  “Aidan wouldn’t do that,” Nell objected. “He’s not that kind of guy.”

  “You ever seen him act around other women the way he was around her? You don’t really think he’s interested in a stuck-up California girl, do you? She’s not his type.”

  “You have a point there, but I just can’t see Aidan—”

  “Hey, he loves this team. He and Walter put a lot of time, energy and money into it. You think he’ll let this sweet young thing, who doesn’t know the difference between a spoiler and a sway bar, sell it out from under him without a fight? He knows he can’t outbid Fulton, so the only alternative is to make the prim Ms. Satterfield refuse to sell to him.”

  “He does have team loyalty, but still… You don’t think Aidan’s really interested in her?”

  “He’s a man, so I’m sure there’s a certain attraction, if you know what I mean, but he’s not about to take her home to play mommy with his little girl. He’s got better tastes and higher standards.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  “THANKS FOR DOING THIS,” Aidan said, and placed his hand on Ellie’s shoulder, preparatory to drawing her into his arms.

  She hadn’t called the night before and hadn’t answered her cell phone. He’d left messages at the hotel, but she hadn’t called back. She’d just shown up this morning to take Annie Christmas shopping.

  She eased away from his attempted embrace. He told himself it was because his daughter could come bouncing out of her room any minute.

  “Beth usually takes her shopping with her, but Annie insisted you had to do it. I have to warn you, she’ll run you ragged.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  But she didn’t sound all that enthusiastic about it, either.

  “If you’d rather not—”

  “I said I’m glad to do it, Aidan.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong.”

  His expression was leery, uncertain. “You could have fooled me. Why didn’t you return my calls last night? I was going crazy worrying about you. Is it something I did or said? Something Annie—”

  “I’m ready,” Annie announced as she emerged from her room wearing red cowboy boots, tucked-in jeans and a bright red sweater. “Can we have pizza for lunch?”

  Ellie’s face, so somber a moment earlier, was now beaming at the girl. “Pizza’s a great idea. What kind? Pepperoni?”

  “I don’t want any of that green stuff on it. Yuck.”

  “Bell pepper,” Aidan supplied.

  “Pepperoni, hold the pepper. Got it. Okay, grab your coat, kid, say goodbye to your dad, and we’ll be on our way. We have a busy day ahead of us.”

  “Any idea what time you’ll be home?” Aidan asked.

  “When we get here,” Ellie said casually. “Shopping is very serious business. It can’t be rushed.”

  Aidan accompanied his daughter to the hall closet, where he helped her into her green quilted jacket and red knitted cap. The weather had turned sharply colder in the past few days.

  “You girls have fun,” he said, giving Annie a peck on the cheek. He wanted desperately to kiss Ellie, too, but she turned away before he could make the overture.

  He watched them walk down the path to Ellie’s rented car.

  What the devil was going on?

  Had she decided to sell to Fulton but was afraid to tell him? He hoped that wasn’t the case, but if it was, he couldn’t imagine her not having the courage to own up to it. Probably in a very businesslike fashion.

  I want you to know, Aidan, this is nothing personal. It’s simply a business decision.

  The past three weeks since the end of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season had been busy ones for him. He’d been on the road a lot at various sponsor events, but that wasn’t unusual. More important, he’d been exploring ways to raise the cash needed to up his ante to the Satterfields. He had a reasonable offer for his RV. He didn’t relish the prospect of staying at hotels for the upcoming season, maybe the next two, or giving up the lease on his private jet, but they would be well worth the inconvenience if he could get control of Satterfield Racing.

  He still wouldn’t be able to match an all-cash offer, but maybe, if he could sweeten his down payment and match Fulton’s bid, Ellie and her mother would be willing to accept his terms.

  Ellie brought Annie home later than he’d expected, and he was disappointed when his daughter told him they’d already had supper. He’d gotten a couple of thick steaks out of the freezer, thawed them, cut them into smaller chunks, then marinated them and made shish kebobs, one of Annie’s favorites, with fresh mushrooms, small onions, green and red bell peppers and cherry tomatoes. It would all keep until tomorrow night, he told himself, but even if it tasted as good or better, it wouldn’t be the same. Not for him.

  “Go brush your teeth, honey,” he told Annie, “and get ready for bed.”

  “I’ll be going,” Ellie said.

  “Hang around,” Aidan said. “We need to talk.”

  “I have other plans,” she stated.

  “No, you don’t,” he countered quietly but firmly. He didn’t want to alarm Annie to the friction between them.

  Ellie glared at him. He tried to read her expression, but the signals he was getting were mixed. Anger, hurt, contempt, mortification.

  “Besides,” he said, “I’m sure Annie would like you to help tuck her in.” He hated using his daughter this way, but he didn’t have any choice. “Wouldn’t you, honey?”

  “Yes, please,” Annie said. “We really had fun today. We went to—”

  “Shh—” Ellie put her finger up to her lips. “It’s a secret, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Annie smiled up at her father. “You’re going to really like it, but I can’t tell you what it is, ’cause it’s a secret.”

  “Going to surprise me, huh? I can’t wait. Now, why don’t you get into your pajamas, then Ellie and I will tuck you in.”

  “Do I have to? I’m not tired.”

  “You have to.” He gave her a hug and a kiss in her hair. “Now go on.”

  “Oh, okay.” She trudged heavily off to her room.

  “Little Miss Drama Queen,” Aidan said fondly. “Take off your coat,” he instructed Ellie.

  “I really—”

  He shook his head. “No games, Ellie. At least have the courtesy to talk to me.”

  He’d never been this domineering with her, this arrogant, but he wasn’t going to let her walk out on him without an explanation.

  She slipped out of her cashmere coat and draped it over the back of a chair.

  Ten minutes later, the rituals of childhood bedtime completed, Annie was in her room, her door closed.

  “What do you want to drink?” Aidan asked. It wasn’t a question of whether she wanted anything, just what it would be. “I have beer, wine, Scotch and bourbon….”

  She shook her head.

  “Coffee, tea, soda, even milk, if you prefer.”

  “Decaf coffee, if you have it.”

  “Come on out to the kitchen while I fix a pot.”

  She sat on a stool at the counter. He got out fresh beans and ground them.

  “Tell me what’s going on, Ellie.” He measured out a lighte
r portion of pulverized beans than he would normally use for himself into the paper filter of the coffee machine. “What happened in San Francisco?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You left here a few weeks ago after we’d spent the most wonderful night together, and now you’re treating me the way you did the night you arrived, like hired help. What happened to you in San Francisco? Did you meet someone else, someone with more money and sophistication? Someone your mother would approve of?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course not.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” he repeated, still managing to keep his voice low. “Is that what I’m being, Ellie? Ridiculous? You don’t understand, do you? I’m in love with you. I thought you were in love with me. You certainly acted that way, but then you’re the real drama queen, aren’t you? Yeah, how ridiculous of me to think that behind all those poses, all those Hollywood airs, there might actually be a real person there.”

  She averted her head and didn’t answer.

  “Why have I become the enemy?”

  “I don’t like being played for a fool.”

  He frowned. “Now it’s my turn to ask what you’re talking about.”

  “You’ve been cozying up to me, wooing me, in the hope that I won’t sell to someone else.”

  His stared at her openmouthed. Someone had overheard Mace and him talking. Never mind that he’d rejected the advice.

  “Who told you that?” he demanded.

  “Does it matter?”

  He took a long, deep breath. “Since you apparently believe it…no, I don’t suppose it does.”

  The coffee machine sputtered to a finish. He poured two cups, moved one toward her, took down the sugar bowl from an overhead cabinet, went to the refrigerator and got out the container of half-and-half, set it in front of her, as well. All the busywork done, he picked up his steaming mug, held it between his hands and leaned against the counter by the stove.

  “Are you going to?” At her questioning glance, he added, “Sell to Fulton?”