Chapter Four — Jack
I couldn’t help but grin big when I crossed the track. The kids were there waving and yelling at me—the crew could hardly contain them. I ran over and scooped up little Ricky in my arms—the boy was growing like a weed. “Fitzie! Fitzie! You were awesome! You went so fast—and no cops were chasing you this time!” I rubbed his head and put him down.
Ricky’s mother, Elaina, smiled and hugged me. “You looked great out there, Jack. So happy for you.”
“Thanks. It feels good to be legit for a change.” She laughed at that and then a tall kid stepped out of the group. His face was familiar but I couldn’t believe it was my young friend, Andre. “Hey, ‘Dre! Wow, look at you!” Although he was taller and thinner, Andre had the same round face and lopsided grin as he always had. He didn’t make eye contact at first, but fiddled with the zipper of his jacket.
I reached out, put my hand on his shoulder and said in a softer voice, “Hey, it’s good to see you, man.” That was my way of saying, “No hard feelings. We’re cool.” Andre wiped at his eyes and I pulled him to me and whispered to him, “It’s okay, man. You’re going to be okay. I promise.”
He didn’t say a word, but he nodded and I hoped he believed me. I was living proof that things could get better—you just have to try, and never give up. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good, doesn’t hurt like before. I still have to go to the hospital every week for rehab, but I’m feeling a lot better.”
“He’s doing wonderful. His doctor says he is a miracle kid.” Elaina patted Andre on the back and smiled at him. “It sucks that he has to go across town to get treatment, though.”
“It’s all good. Listen, Jack, I want to say sorry. I’m sorry I did what I did, hanging out with those guys. You know I appreciate what you tried to do.”
“I know that. No hard feelings, Andre. I’m glad you’re still with us. I guess you and I are both very lucky guys.” His dark brown eyes were all serious. He nodded and that was it. That was all that needed to be said. Andre was just a kid, a kid that made a mistake and it wasn’t entirely his fault. I had empowered him to do so.
“Who wants to see my new car?” Amongst a chorus of excited shouts, I led the kids and Elaina across the track and into my car’s garage. “Here she is.” I proudly stood in front of her. I’d privately named the black Camaro, “Angel”, after my Angel of Mercy, Mollie. On her hood, in glossy yellow paint, was the number 27, and her sides featured the names of my sponsors. Every time I won a race, I had to mention the names of these sponsors and I practiced privately, because I planned to win a lot. I opened the car door and let the kids take turns sitting behind the wheel and once they had permission from Elaina, the camera crew took some footage featuring her and Ricky.
“Aw, where are the keys, Fitz? I want to hear it crank up!” Ricky’s little, brown hands clutched the wheel tightly as he showed me his gap-toothed smile.
“I have them right here, but if you want it cranked up, you’ll have to hop out. Can’t let you crank this one, little buddy. You don’t want to get me fired, do you?”
“No way! This is cool!” Ricky scooted over into the passenger seat and I slid in on the driver’s side.
“Are you buckled up and ready?”
“Yep! Crank it up, Fitz! Vroom! Vroom!”
I turned the key in the switch and Ricky’s eyes got big at the sound of Angel’s engine purring. “Woo hoo! Let’s go for a ride!” I waved Elaina over to the car.
“Is it okay to take him around the track once? No racing, just a regular ride?”
“Sure, but you know the rest of these kids are going to want to go, too. I brought six of them with me. You got time for all them to take a spin?” Elaina laughed at me.
“Yeah, I’ve got time, but keep everyone off the track and in the pit, okay? No one can be on the track when cars are running.”
She patted the door and said, “Sure, I’ll keep them here. They can watch from the fenced-in area.”
I buckled up and took Ricky around the track. The kid loved every minute of it. I fiddled with my radio, pressing the button on the mic and flipping the switches. “Faster Fitz, make it go faster!” I goosed the car a couple of times, but true to my word, I didn’t speed or fly around the track. When we got back to the pit, Ricky unloaded, full of excitement, and another kid climbed in. I got a kick out of the variety of reactions I got. I think Andre was more stoked than Ricky.
“Aw, this is so cool, dude. Check it out. Is that a nitro switch?” I laughed aloud. “No, I don’t have nitro in this car. This is pure speed. No nitro, just a finely tuned engine. We work on it six to eight hours a day, constantly improving it, tightening up connections, modifying parts. Driving is only a small part of what we do here.”
“Man, I’d love to drive this sometime.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure you would. I’ll tell you what—when you get your driver’s license, I’ll let you drive it around the track. Okay?”
“You promise, man?”
“Yes, I promise.”
I pulled off the track in front of the pit. The kids clamored around us and the camera crew took picture after picture. It felt good to finally show them something good—show them that I could do something good. I hoped it would inspire them to keep trying and to dream big.
Amongst hugs and high fives, the kids piled into Elaina’s minivan and I watched them drive away, happy that they’d stopped by. As soon as their vehicle was in the distance, I reached for my cell phone and called Dr. Hopkins. Mr. Jernigan had tracked the number down for me. That guy had proven to be worth his weight in gold. I hoped I paid him enough.
“Hey, good morning! This is Jack Fitzgerald. Is this Dr. Hopkins?”
“Good morning, Mr. Fitzgerald. I sure didn’t expect to hear your voice on the other end of my phone. How may I help you?” I heard the uncertainty and caution in his voice. I couldn’t blame him. I had a rough history—hopefully he’d hear me out and look past my background.
“You may not have heard about this, but I’m actually racing legit for Stockton Racing—on their new reality show called Redemption Road.”
“That is good news. I’m happy to hear that you finally found your calling.” He sounded cautious—I could tell the doctor didn’t know what to say.
“Working for Stockton has improved my financial status like even I can’t believe, and I want to pay it forward. I want to make a gift to the Village Clinic. Those families over there need you, Dr. Hopkins. People like me need you.”
A long silence passed between us then I heard the older man sigh. “Mr. Fitzgerald, I poured the past twenty years into that clinic, and I love the people of the area, but it is closed now. I can’t limp along from grant to grant anymore. I ended up spending all of my time looking for money instead of taking care of the patients. I had to let it go. I’m sorry, son.”
I genuinely felt that if anyone cared about little Ricky or ‘Dre, it was Dr. Hopkins—but I heard the sadness and uncertainty in his voice. “Let me ask you this, Dr. Hopkins. If money were no object, would you still be at the clinic?”
“I don’t think you understand how hard it was for me to walk away. I don’t think I could do it again.”
“Yeah, I get that. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like, putting your whole heart into something and then having to leave it. But I’m asking you, if money was no object, would you still be there?”
“I guess if I had the money I needed to pay my staff and cover the bills when we didn’t have our grants, then yes, I guess I’d still be there. However, I can’t go back to just scraping by, Mr. Fitzgerald. Look, I believe deep down you are a good kid, I always have, but I don’t think you can help me. We’re talking about a sizable chunk of change to keep that clinic open.”
I didn’t argue with him—wasn’t about me, or what he thought about me. This was one hundred percent about the kids and their families—about Andre, who needed him. “I get that. Exactly how muc
h do you need, Dr. Hopkins?”
“Honestly, I’d need thirty thousand dollars to catch up and stay current.” He laughed softly, regretfully. “I know you want to help and I thank you for that, but that’s an impossible number for most of us. Thanks for calling me, Mr. Fitzgerald. I’m glad to hear you’re doing so well.”
“No, wait! Don’t hang up. I have that—I can do that! I have to work the rest of the day. I get off the track around four, but what about this evening? Can I stop by then?”
“Sure you can, but I just want to make sure—this is legit, right? You know I can’t—I won’t accept any kind of drug money.”
I didn’t mind him asking. I knew he would eventually. “No, no, Doctor, this is completely legit, and to prove it, I’ll bring my boss with me. He can tell you more about Stockton Racing.”
“All right, then,” he said in a quiet voice. “Let me give you my address.” I wrote down the address and stuffed the slip of paper in my pocket.
“Okay, got it. I’ll see you this evening, probably around five or six.”
I heard Dr. Hopkins sigh on the other end of the line. “Thank you. Thank you for this.”
“It’s no problem at all, Dr. Hopkins. Sorry I couldn’t do this sooner.” I hung up the phone and stood smiling at nothing.
“Hey, Fitz! Quit your fucking daydreaming and come on. We’ve got work to do! We’re filming today!”
It was Dixie, her hands on her hips. “Be right there.” I had to make one more call.
“Yeah, I need to order some roses. Big, red roses.”
Chapter Five — Mollie
My condo was perfect. I’d discovered that I loved furniture shopping, and the plum-colored, tufted sofa and black and white chevron chair were a perfect match for my personality. Subtle, with a splash of flair. Or at least that’s what Natalie had said when she picked them out for me. That girl was a godsend. I didn’t know the first thing about decorating, but she had the condo looking fabulous in no time.
Living with Natalie had been wonderful, but I knew it was time to stand on my own two feet, and buying the condo was my first step. Everything seemed like it was going well, except for the Dylan/Jack situation, and I was terrified Jack would do something stupid and lose his chance at changing his world—and the father thing was still eating at him. Good thing was, I got to see him for a few hours after work—except for the days they were filming—and at least I knew he was still talking to Dr. Gray on the phone. I was glad they’d finally let the babysitter go and the guys now had a little more freedom.
I continued to get texts from Dylan—mean, hateful texts. I ignored them, and God knows I’d never tell Jack. I knew Dylan was hurt and had no other way to deal with it. I tried to tell him so many times that we were just friends, but he must’ve taken it all wrong and I knew I’d played a part in that as well with those hot kisses and dinners out. I just wished I’d stayed away from him in the first place—I knew he’d never have my heart.
He’d seemed to be such a nice guy, and I thought I might have cared about him in a girlfriend/boyfriend kind of way, but that never happened. Honestly, even if Jack wasn’t in the picture, I wouldn’t have had those kinds of feelings for Dylan. I’d never told him—but as I got to know him, it became apparent to me that he was too much like my father, and the outburst at Callaghan’s proved it. I could only imagine what life would have been like with him. Sure, at first he’d be full of love and kindness, but I could just see that the first time we argued about where to send the kids to school, or where we’d live, he’d withdraw his affection. I hated that about him—and my father. They didn’t get that when you actually love someone, it comes with no strings attached.
Despite the fact that the dozen red roses were slowly dying on my counter, I still smiled every time I walked past them—that had been a nice surprise from Jack. We’d made plans for him to see the condo later that night, since it was his birthday and the producers had said he could celebrate off-site. I wanted to take him out to a nice place for dinner, but he insisted on staying in and cooking for me. I didn’t even know he could cook, but I guess he wanted to show me his prowess in the kitchen—not just the bedroom—although I’d been waiting for that juicy tidbit for a while.
“I got bad news,” he said. His voice sounded deep and husky on the phone.
“Oh, no, you’re not coming?” I let out a long sigh. My heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces. I wanted to see him so bad. “It’s okay, I mean—”
“—yes! I’m coming over. Bad news is that I haven’t had a chance to get groceries, and I’m starving. I’ll bring some take-out.”
“I can cook you something real quick. It’s not a problem.”
“Nope. It’s my night, my rules,” he teased. “I’ll be there in about an hour. Just have to get some stuff squared away here. Can’t wait to see your new place, babe.”
“Can’t wait to see you! I’ll be waiting…” I cooed over the phone, and tried to sound as sexy as I could. I hoped it worked.
“Sounds perfect, babe. See you then. I…uhm…I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetie. Bye.” He hung up and I just stood there for a few minutes, nervously drumming my fingers on the counter. I looked around my new place and felt so happy with it, so I didn’t know why I was so nervous for Jack to see it. He was coming to see me, after all, to celebrate his birthday, not to give me a critique on my home furnishings.
I looked at the poor, wilted roses. I didn’t want to toss them out, even though they were more than a week old. Instead, I changed the water and dropped a crushed aspirin in the vase. I didn’t know if that really prolonged their lives, but I wanted to keep them as long as I possibly could. I gave the condo another once-over and went to take a shower. Tonight was going to be great. Me and Jack, alone. Mmmm…my insides tingled just thinking about him.
I showered and shaved as quickly as I could and hurried to get finished, because I didn’t want any surprises while I was getting dressed. I slathered on my favorite vanilla berry lotion and thought about Jack, and how he’d changed so much. He’d not only become more mature, he’d also softened up a bit. Not that he wasn’t a softie before—because he was—with the right person—but now he seemed to think about things before he did something crazy. In the past, he’d been like a wild child who only seemed to care about himself, and I wasn’t sure if it was the racing contract that had changed him, his age, or the fact that his mom was gone—but whatever it was, I liked it.
I finished up my makeup and slid the top I’d chosen over my head. I spritzed and straightened my hair then looked through the closet for something nice, but casual, to wear. “Ugh! It’s his freakin birthday!” What was I thinking? I pulled my top off again and slid into a pink and black teddy that Natalie had picked out for me and some black lace panties—I thought he might enjoy a little lace after all the stress of Redemption Road. I checked myself in the mirror and gave myself a nod of approval, just as the doorbell rang. I sprayed on some of my favorite perfume, grabbed my pink, silk robe and ran to open the door.
“Jack?”
“Yes, Molls. It’s me.”
I opened the door and practically choked when I saw the most beautiful man in the world standing in front of me. His hair had grown out a little more and was slicked back. He wore a black t-shirt with dark blue jeans—they fit him in all the right places—and he held a beautiful bouquet of red roses and a paper bag from the nearby deli. I opened my mouth to speak and closed it again. Then I smiled, unable to speak.
“Molls, you all right?”
“Uhm…yeah. You look amazing. Happy Birthday! Come in! Come see the condo!”
“You’re beautiful, Molls. Did I catch you in the shower?” he asked as he stepped into the condo. “Your place looks really nice. Wow.”
“Thanks.” I’d hoped he’d like it and I’d actually thought of him while I was out buying furniture, but I didn’t let anyone know. I had dreams that one day this would be his home as well.
My robe accidentally slid off my shoulder. His eyes widened and he hurried to put the bag and roses on the counter. Next thing I knew, I was in his arms and his soft lips were on mine.
He slid his hand under the belt and untied it. “Mmm, baby, what do you got here?” he teased as he ran his hands across my shoulders. He let the robe fall to the floor. I felt my face get hot, and within a second, his hands and lips were all over me. “Oh, my God, babe. You look amazing,” he breathed. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you, too. Aren’t you hungry?” I whispered. His lips expertly kissed my neck on my sweet spot. “Mmmm…” He knew where all my sweet spots were and my panties were now fully soaked.
“Hungry for you, babe.” He lifted me up and carried me down the hall. I laid my head on his hard chest and breathed in his yummy man smell. “One of these rooms is your bedroom. Which one is it?”
I nodded toward a closed door and shut my eyes tight as we entered the bedroom. “Mollie, you’re nuts. You are fucking crazy, silly girl.” He laid me down on the bed and looked around.
“I’m your biggest fan.”
“Oh, my God! I can’t believe you did this!” I’d plastered posters of him at Redemption Road all over the walls. Pictures, glossies, and some cups on the dresser with his face on them.
“I don’t like to sleep alone, Jackson.” I giggled. “I love you.”
He looked around again, shook his head and smiled. “I love you, too, Molls, but you are one crazy girl.”
“Crazy for you. Now, come fuck me, baby. I’ve missed you so much.” He slid off his shirt and I noticed he must’ve been working out, because his broad chest was cut and the muscles in his arms were more pronounced. “You’re so hot. What did I do to ever deserve you?”
“You’re an angel in disguise—and I think the question is…what did I ever do to deserve you?”
He slid his jeans off and I laughed. “You are not wearing French fries on your boxers are you?”
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