by Amy Gregory
Carter couldn’t look away from her as Joey grabbed her bike and she hopped off. She took her gloves and goggles off, then her helmet. She pulled her hair out of her jersey that she’d tucked into her sports bra at the last minute. He had chuckled earlier as she explained to him with a dramatic flair how much she hated to ride with it out because it got tangled and in her face. As she let the sheet of gold fall down her back, the crowd let out another cheer, obviously realizing it really was a woman that had been on the bike doing all the amazing tricks she’d pulled.
The announcer walked up beside her, “First, let me congratulate you on all you’ve accomplished over the course of your career.”
“Thanks,” she answered in a shy, quiet voice.
She had told Carter this was the source of the biggest fight Brody and she had about doing this job—how Brody never could get it through his thick head how petrified she was to talk in front of people. Watching her from a distance, Carter couldn’t help but see how child-like she appeared. She was scared to death, shuffling her feet, clutching her helmet to her like a safety net, and her voice was barely a whisper into the microphone. All he wanted to do was go rescue her.
“That was amazing. How’d you learn that?”
“With lots and lots of practice and with a great teacher.”
Carter smiled, hearing the pride in her voice when talking about her brother. Even though the guy was being an ass to him, it was evident how much he loved his sister and Carter couldn’t hold that against him. They would just have to work it out between themselves at some point, because he was not about to put Molly in the middle and make her choose.
“So you’re saying, kids don’t try this at home.”
She shook her head and with a stronger voice pled with the kids in the crowd, “No, please don’t.”
“Well, thanks for being part of the night.”
“Thanks for having me.”
She grinned nervously as she walked toward Carter. He motioned for her to come closer to him. As she walked slowly to him, she bit her lip and Carter let out a sigh, loving that gesture and look of vulnerability on her face. He hooked his finger in her pants and pulled her the rest of the distance to him, then grinned at her, half proud, half wanting to choke her. “You pulled a fast one on me there, Gorgeous.”
Molly giggled nervously as the rest of the guys started giving Carter crap, Eli laughing and smacking his back. “Sterling, that was freaking amazing, you be nice to her.”
“You were already nervous, I didn’t want to scare you more,” she answered him. He could see she was anxiously stifling a fit of nervous giggles.
“Uh huh. It’s a good thing you’re so damn cute.” He leaned down to kiss her then held her tight. “It was amazing and I’m very proud of you, but…” He pulled her away to grin at her, “you scare the absolute shit out of me.”
The guys around them all started laughing. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make you worry.”
Still holding her at arm’s length, he gave her a worried look. “It gets even worse, doesn’t it?”
He could see the mischief in her eyes as she shook her head while biting her lip again. She wrinkled her nose. “Uh huh.”
Carter grinned, letting her off the hook then pulled her close for another kiss. “I adore you, Gorgeous.”
Chapter Nine
After a late night of racing, Carter and a handful of others often decided to hang around the pits and leave first thing in the morning instead of driving exhausted. Usually they chose to relax, catch up with each other, and simply enjoy a few minutes of down time. Like most nights after the races, several other riders, their wives or girlfriends, and mechanics had joined in.
The circle was growing rapidly and Carter watched as Molly slowly but surely sunk back into her shell, reverting back to the shy girl he’d met only days ago. With one hand, he tugged her arm, and with the other, he patted his thigh, offering for her to sit on his lap. He had honestly expected her to look to Brody first, an automatic gesture seeking his approval, but she didn’t. Instead she smiled as she tentatively got up from her chair and sat down sideways across his legs. He knew she was tired, but when she melted against his chest, he thought he’d died and gone to heaven.
Eli walked up with his iPod and speakers. “Hey D, you going to dance with me?”
“Um, here? Seriously?”
“Why not?”
“Well, because everyone is just sitting around, and contrary to popular belief, I try not to make a spectacle of myself.”
“You do?” Joey looked at her.
Molly flipped him off.
Joey chuckled at her nonverbal response. “Save that invitation for your boy.”
“Classy, Joe. Real classy.” She shook her head in disapproval. Carter and she both snickered when Brody smacked Joey on the back of his head.
“Okay.” Jesse started their made-up game of Top That again. The objective was to show no hesitation when it was your turn to answer. The current subject for this round was song titles by the Beatles. So far Jesse and Molly were neck and neck. “So, what’s another song?”
“What category was it?” Carter asked.
“You get side-tracked by Joey’s comment, Sterling?” Eli smiled at him as Carter turned red, embarrassed mainly for the sweet soul sitting on his lap who tried even harder to curl into him. He wrapped his arms around her instinctively. Dylan and his fling of the night sat down to join in the rapidly growing circle. Carter felt Molly’s breath on his neck when she tucked herself closer yet. He let out a heavy sigh and threw a warning glance at Dylan. He knew by not wanting to look at the man, she was trying to avoid him. He placed a kiss on her head and rubbed her back, comforting her so she’d stay put on his lap and not retreat to the safety of her motorhome.
“Rock ballads,” Jesse answered, laughing at his buddy.
They all started again, throwing out names of good songs, trying to one up each other as to who could keep the game moving with the best song titles.
“Okay…new game,” Dylan shouted out.
“Not your stupid injury game.” One of the other riders shook his head. “Who wants to be reminded of being hurt and on the sidelines?”
“Oh come on, it’s been forever since we’ve thrown that one around, and we have new people this time.”
“What kind of stupid ass game is that?” Brody growled.
“Well,” he started, “We all have had injuries and have the scars to prove it. We just shoot out our best ones to see who’s toughest. I’m waiting for someone to beat the one that took out my knee.”
Carter heard the sharp breath Molly sucked in when Dylan started describing the game. She began to discreetly sit up, keeping her head down. Carter’s nerves went on edge, especially after looking across the circle of chairs to see Brody, Erin, and Joey all staring straight at Molly. Carter felt her tense up, and the more in depth Dylan’s explanation got, the straighter she sat up on his lap. He could tell she was ready to bolt.
Molly sat stock still, and when general questions came her way, she shrugged her shoulder but never answered outright, seeming to let Brody and Joey do their best to field the game. Carter kept a firm and protective grip on her. He never let his eye contact drop from Brody and Joey, silently praying they would give him some bit of information or a signal—anything to clue him into what was going on.
About three rounds in, Dylan asked her directly about her shoulder. Carter had been wondering about the scar himself, but when he felt her suck in a deep breath and go stiff as she tightened her grip on his forearms, he somehow knew it wasn’t from racing. Watching Brody, it looked like someone had sucker punched him.
Carter patted Molly on the back. “Hey, Gorgeous, I wanted to show you my calendar before you leave so we could figure out when you can meet me at my folks’ house.”
She accepted the opening and jumped up as fast as she could. Carter squeezed her to him as they walked away from the group that was making her so obviously unc
omfortable—away from Dylan and away from whatever it was that had her so visibly shaken.
Carter had an arm around her as he guided her silently to his motorhome. He unlocked it and opened the door, leaving it open a crack after they walked in. Carter sat her on the couch, and Molly stared at her hands in her lap while he went and dug around in the fridge. She didn’t say a word as he sat down beside her and opened a bottle of water. She waited as he set it on the coffee table in front of her. With all the courage she could gather, Molly looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears.
“This isn’t the way I wanted to have this conversation. I knew I’d have to talk to you about it soon, but not like this. Not so serious and not with me in tears. I hate crying, especially in front of other people, it’s so…weak. I just feel so blind-sided.” Molly’s head dropped as she said the words, unable to watch the expression on Carter’s face. She hated him seeing her this way.
Carter took her hands in his, and she wanted to look back up at him, but she was running the gamut of emotions—scared, shaken, distraught, every synonym in the book. Talking about her past was something she didn’t do—ever. They hadn’t known each other long enough or well enough to dump that kind of emotional baggage on his doorstep. Talk about trial by fire, this was going to send the man screaming for the hills.
She couldn’t bring herself to face him, the shame was too heavy. “I don’t even know where to start, Carter.”
She felt her knuckles being lifted, then lightly kissed by his warm, soft lips. “Take your time, Gorgeous. It’s okay. When you’re ready, just start at the beginning.”
Molly opened her eyes, only to watch the tears fall in her lap. Her eyes closed again with the deep breath she struggled to take in. “I didn’t move in with Brody so he could train me, Carter.” Even in her own ears, her breathing was jagged. She forced the next sentence out. It would be the hardest one, the rest would tumble out, if she could just get the first words out.
“I moved in with the Nolands to…” She paused for several long seconds. “To…escape.”
She felt the tension in Carter drop on her like a lead weight. When she finally found the power to look up at him, the devastation on his face crushed her. She alternated between watching his Adam’s apple as he swallowed hard and trying to decipher his horribly sad eyes. He didn’t pressure her to continue, he just waited patiently for her next move.
She’d been drawn to him from the minute she met him. There was a connection so instant, so strong she could feel it with her entire being. For the first time in her life, she didn’t try to wipe the tears away or flee the conversation. Instead she let her eyes close and her head drop and just let the story out.
“I started racing when I was very little. I grew up on tracks, like you, I’m sure. When I was nine, my mom died.” She heard the sharp intake of air Carter took, felt him squeeze her hands, urging her on, but he stayed silent.
“After that my biological father, Ray, started drinking, a lot. Then he…” Her head lowered even further. “He started…um…” She looked up at Carter, her lip in her teeth. “He started smacking me around. Over time it just got worse and worse.”
Molly went on, explaining to Carter how her maternal grandparents were already gone and Ray’s parents didn’t believe her. So she had no one. Molly continued with the whole ugly tale of all the hospitals and lying to doctors. How easy it was because she raced and no one ever really questioned it. They just assumed there wasn’t any other reason for all the broken bones, arms, wrists—ribs, plus the countless stitches she’d needed over time.
“Finally one day Ray screwed up at a track. George worked on the amateur circuits back then, I’m sure you probably remember. Later, I found out he’d known and had been trying to get me help. He had a friend that was a lawyer and the two of them had set it up with James and Karen, they were just waiting on proof. One day Ray got really mad at the track and lost it. I guess George and his attorney had never thought it would end up that bad…that when Ray finally got caught, it would be so close. George said when I didn’t show up for one of my heats, he knew.
“I never asked what happened at the track that day. All I know is that I woke up in a hospital several days later. George, his wife Eileen, James, Karen, and the lawyer were all waiting.
“They put him away on attempted murder. I think that last time was more serious than anyone really let me know. And I guess the surgery was pretty hairy. So he got put away and I got to live. I guess we’re even.” She took a shaky breath. “I owe everything to the Noland family, to George and Eileen. I have no doubt in my mind I would not be here today without all of them.”
During the whole, ugly story, she’d been looking down, watching the tears fall and shaking as she held on tight to his hand. “Can you promise me something?” she asked in barely more than a whisper.
“Anything.” His voice proved he’d been shaken to the core.
She looked back up at him, her eyes pleading. “Can you please not treat me any different than you have all weekend? I’m not fragile, Carter, I’m all healed. I have the most amazing family and friends now, and…and I have you. Please? Promise me?”
“Oh, baby.” He pulled her to him. He held her so close to him that it was as if he was hanging on for dear life. “I promise. I promise to love and protect you too. Oh my God.” He took a deep breath. “You really are the most amazing woman in the world. I just don’t know how you got through all that, Gorgeous.”
“I knew God had something better for me.” At that admission, her tears started again. He held her as she cried and then cried some more, until at last there weren’t any tears left. He left her side only to get a cold cloth and something for the headache that was throbbing. Molly finally felt some relief after over a decade of silence—silence that was completely of her own will. She knew the Nolands were there for her, they were her family. They cared for and loved her as their own and protected her with a vengeance.
It was just different laying out the whole sordid mess for Carter. As she lay on his couch drifting in and out of sleep, she felt him take her shoes off, place a pillow under her head, and cover her up with a blanket. When he sat back down next to her, he whispered loving words and gently stroked her hair until at last she fell asleep.
The door of Carter’s motorhome was left open a crack, and Brody peeked in to see Carter sitting on the edge of the couch, running his hand through Molly’s hair. From Brody’s side, Erin pulled the door open a couple of inches further then grabbed his elbow. “She’s asleep, Brody. Don’t go in there like a bull in a china shop.”
“Well, he should have brought her to me by now. What do you expect?”
“I expect you to calm yourself down and not to act like a total ass. I know it will be hard for you, but you can at least try.”
Brody turned to his girlfriend with a curled lip and rolled his eyes. He didn’t care if he acted like an asshole, a prick, or any other of the colorful terms Erin and Molly had thrown at him over the last three days. They could hate him for all he cared, but at the end of the day, Molly would be taken care of one way or another. It was his job, and he’d do it—not this guy.
Talk about shit hitting the fan. First the call from his dad and then that jackass Dylan had to bring up her shoulder. And just to make his life worse, Molly had to find herself a boyfriend. Wasn’t that the damn cherry on top? A boyfriend. Oh, God. He rolled his shoulders at the thought.
He watched Carter lean down and kiss the side of her head and tuck the blanket up closer to her chin. Then he leaned over and grabbed his phone and keys off the table. Brody stepped back from the door when Carter went to push it the rest of the way open.
“Oh, good, I was just coming to find you guys.” Carter climbed out of the motorhome and gestured to the sleeping woman on his couch. “She cried herself to sleep. I didn’t want to wake her, especially with the headache she had.”
“That’s okay. Carter, thank you so much for getting her out of the
re. I have a feeling she told you everything?” Erin asked before she closed the gap and offered Carter a hug. Brody held in the glare as Carter nodded as he hugged Erin back.
“Are you okay? That’s a lot to take in.” She patted his arm.
“Oh God, don’t worry about me. I can’t believe she’s been through all that. It broke my heart to hear her tell me. I knew there had to be something, some reason you were so protective of her, Brody. Well, both of you. But in my worst dreams, I never saw this coming.”
“Yeah…well.” Brody’s attention darted between Carter and the open door. “Mind if I go on in? I need to get her home.”
“Don’t wake her, Brody. Really, she’s fine here on my couch, she’s sound asleep. She’s safe, I promise.” Carter raised his hands in surrender. “I won’t touch her, but she’s had a rough night and she just needs to rest.”
Before he could argue, Erin chimed in. “Oh, Brody. Let her be. She’s okay. We can trust him.”
“How do you know?”
“Brody…stop it.” Erin smacked his arm, scrunching her eyebrows. She wasn’t joking and he could tell she was starting to really get pissed. It took a long time, but once Erin was pissed, she’d be hell to live with. And unfortunately, that was the last thing Erin needed with everything else. Brody let out a breath and conceded, only for Erin.
“Fine.” The word was forced, just like his hand. Something he was getting damned sick of lately. “This is a one-time thing,” he warned, before rattling off his cell number for Carter, watching as he entered it in his phone.
