“It’s perfectly safe,” he said as he tightened a strap on her shoulder. “Bryan and a lot of guys do this every day, and nothing happens.”
“I’ve seen stuff happen,” Dawn said.
“Okay, stuff happens. But that is what all this equipment is for. Even if you flip or hit the wall, you’d be so secure in the car that you’d barely move. You’d walk away.”
“That’s not very reassuring.”
“It’s true,” Bryan said. He had been leaning against the pit box, watching Dawn get ready and listening to the conversation. “People get hurt by bouncing around the car on impact. You’ll be secured to the seat, which is welded to the roll cage. That’s part of the car’s frame. If we had an accident, you’d be sore the next day, but no major injuries.”
“In my head, I know all the facts, but in my heart I’m scared to death. I thought about calling my mom this morning, but I figured she would talk me out of it. I’ll call her later.”
“You’re talking about later. That’s a sign that you are being positive,” Bryan said. Dawn just looked at him and smiled.
“Okay,” Ted said as he tightened the last strap. “You’re ready to go.”
Dawn’s feet felt like they were made of lead as she walked down pit road to the car.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Bryan asked.
“Yes. I need to understand what you do and what you experience.”
“The guys think you’re really brave. My last personal assistant, before my wife, would not do this. He refused.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You’re making huge brownie points with the crew.”
“Great. Tell that to my mom at the funeral.”
“Stop it. Everything will be fine.”
“I believe you, but can I pray before we go?” Dawn asked.
“I never get into the car without praying first,” Bryan answered. “Guys, gather round. It’s time to pray.” The crew joined Dawn and Bryan. They formed a circle, joined hands, and bowed their heads. Bryan prayed, “Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for bringing the crew back together for a new year of racing. Thank you for the new friend you have brought to us. Calm her fears as she embarks on this new adventure. Guide my hands as I hold the wheel. You are in control. Be with the crew. Please keep us all safe. We love you, Lord. Your will be done. Amen.”
“Amen,” Dawn said. She looked up and saw Jeremiah standing a few feet away. When he saw that she was finished praying, he walked over to her. “I can’t believe you really came,” she said to him.
“Are you kidding?” he said as he gave her a hug. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“Great, more witnesses,” Dawn said as she threw her hands in the air and walked past him to the passenger side of the car. She stopped, turned back, and asked, “Are you here to encourage me or to watch me embarrass myself?”
“I’m here to support you no matter what,” Jeremiah replied.
She looked at him with a huge smile then quickly stopped smiling, shook her head, and said, “Enough of that. I have to get my race face on.” That made them all laugh.
“You’re being positive again,” Bryan said as he came to stand by Jeremiah. Dawn had noticed things were thawing between the two men. That was a relief.
“I am trying to be positive. I really am. I just go back and forth between excitement and pure terror.”
“I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you or cause you to doubt me. And you can still back out anytime,” Bryan said.
“I know.”
“Are you ready?”
Dawn took a deep breath, held it for a second, and then released it slowly. “Yes,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Then let’s go.”
Dawn took another deep breath a few minutes later, as the race car she was sitting in started to move. “Oh, Lord,” she prayed, “protect me. I hope this is your will. And if it’s not, protect me anyway, and let me live to regret it later.” Then she took a moment to take it all in. She had given her camera to Ted. He was supposed to take as many pictures as he could. Another crewmember was shooting the whole thing with his video camera. Dawn looked around the inside of the car. It wasn’t like a normal car—mostly just the bars of the roll cage and a few gauges. She had learned that it didn’t even have a speedometer. The crew chief determined speed by knowing how long the track was and how long it took to go around it. Then he told the driver the speed over the radio. The car didn’t have a key either. The driver used a switch to start the engine.
“One last chance to change your mind,” Bryan told her.
Dawn looked outside the car and watched the bleachers and people go by. She wondered what it would look like at 150 mph. There was only one way to find out. She took another deep breath, grabbed a hold of the bar in front of her, said another quick prayer, and nodded.
Dawn thought it was exciting to watch a car go around the track at more than 180 mph, but it was no comparison to being in the car.
“Breathe,” Bryan said. Until that moment, Dawn hadn’t even realized that she was holding her breath. She let it out with a loud whoosh. “I’ll go around the track the first time at highway speed to help you get a feel for what is going on. After that, I’ll speed up a little at a time. Just say when, and I’ll maintain that speed. If you decide you’ve had enough, let me know, and we’ll stop.”
“Okay.” The first lap went by with no problem. It was nothing more than being a passenger in a car on a casual Sunday drive. No big deal.
“Here we go!” Bryan said as he brought the car out of turn 4. Dawn watched Bryan put more pressure on the gas pedal and felt the car lurch forward. Still not that big of a deal, Dawn had gone this fast on the interstate. But she could feel when the car hit a speed that she was no longer comfortable with. They were out of turn 1 when Dawn heard 130 over the radio. “You okay?” Bryan asked. Dawn could only nod her response. The car accelerated again.
“One-forty.”
“When we get out of turn 2, I’m going up by the wall if that is okay with you.”
“Sure,” she somehow managed to say.
“One-fifty.”
Dawn was beginning to feel comfortable with the situation, but her heart really started to beat when Bryan took the car up the embankment toward the wall. She was close enough to touch it. And at 150 mph. She didn’t know how Bryan, Jeremiah, and the other drivers did this every week.
“You’re very quiet. Are you still okay?”
“Yeah. Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“About how you and Jeremiah do this with forty-one other cars on the track.”
“Are you enjoying yourself?”
“This is awesome!” Dawn shouted. “I can’t believe that I didn’t want to do this!” She looked toward Bryan. It was hard to see him because of all the restraints that kept her from moving, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see that he was smiling.
“That’s what I want to hear. Let’s celebrate by seeing what this baby can do!”
“Oh, yeah! Hammer down!” By now they were back into turn 4. A little thing like a curve didn’t bother Bryan. He floored it. As they came out of the curve, they heard “160” over the radio. They flew down the front straightaway. Dawn couldn’t focus on anything—not the wall, the seats, the road, nothing. As a wave of nausea hit her, she remembered what the redhead had told her yesterday. Dawn focused on the scoring tower in the middle of the infield, and the nausea went away.
They went around the track two more times and hit a top speed of 164 mph. The whole ride took less than ten minutes, but it was ten minutes Dawn would never forget. Bryan brought the car down pit road, and the crew gathered around as soon as it came to a stop. They all had huge smiles on their faces. “D
id you have a good time?” Ted asked as he stuck his head inside the car to help Dawn unbuckle.
“It was terrific!” She got halfway out of the car and sat in the window. She wasn’t sure that her legs would support her if she tried to stand up. Several of the guys patted her on the back, and they were all asking for details. “My heart was racing, but Bryan kept me cool. I could hear our speeds, but it didn’t feel like we were going that fast. The ride was so smooth. I thought I would be terrified when he took me right up to the wall, but I wasn’t.” Dawn could tell that she was talking as fast as the car had been going, but she was so excited that she couldn’t help it. “At times I was holding my breath, but I didn’t want it to end. It was by far the biggest adrenaline rush I’ve ever had. I didn’t want it to end. It was wonderful.” Everyone applauded and cheered. “And I want to thank all of you guys for talking me into this and for being here with me, encouraging me and cheering me on. It was great.” That brought another round of applause from the crowd. This must be what Victory Lane feels like. Thank you, Lord, for letting me experience it safely, she silently prayed to herself. Then Dawn noticed Jeremiah standing at the back of the crowd. When he saw that she had noticed him, he stepped up to stand beside her.
“I’m glad you conquered your fear and had a good time,” he told her.
“Me too. Next time, I’m going with you.”
“Really?” he asked. His excitement was written all over his face.
“If you want me to.”
He put a hand around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. He gave her a quick kiss and murmured “It’s a date” against her lips.
Word quickly spread about Dawn’s wild ride, and everyone in the garage area congratulated her. All the crew went to eat Chinese food for lunch and Dawn went along. Ted paid for her meal, telling her it was his way of showing how proud he was of her. That afternoon Dawn went back to her hotel room and called home. When she told her parents what she had done, they thought she had absolutely lost her mind. Both said they wouldn’t do it for all the money in the world, but her brothers thought it was really cool. They wanted to know if Dawn could arrange it for them when they came to visit. Dawn said that she would try. Dawn told them all that she loved them and asked them to tell everybody else back home that she loved them and was thinking about them. Almost as soon as Dawn hung up, the phone rang again. It was Bryan.
“Good afternoon,” he said. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing. I just talked to my family back home. I was thinking about watching some TV. Do you need me for anything?”
“Yeah, I do.” I need you to come over to my motor coach. There are some people here that you need to meet.”
“Okay. I’ll be right over.”
When Dawn got to Bryan’s motor coach a few minutes later, he opened the door before she could knock. “Man, you got here quick. Come inside, and meet my wife.”
Dawn wasn’t quite ready for that; it shocked her for some unexplained reason. Dawn had spoken to Bryan’s wife, Valerie, over the phone, but she was nervous about meeting her face to face. Dawn took a deep breath and walked up the motor coach steps. Valerie Richardson was sitting on the sofa. She stood to greet Dawn and extended her hand. Dawn could tell Valerie was assessing the woman who would be spending a lot of time with her husband. “Hello, nice to meet you,” Valerie said.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Dawn answered as they shook hands.
“Please, have a seat.” Valerie sat and motioned for Dawn to do the same. “Would you like something to drink?”
“A Mountain Dew would be nice.”
“Bryan, get Dawn a Mountain Dew please. And bring me one, too.”
“Okay,” Bryan answered from another part of the coach.
“Bryan tells me that you are from Arkansas. Is that right?”
“Yes, ma’am. Jasper, Arkansas.”
“Please don’t call me ma’am. I’m younger than you.”
“But you’re my boss.”
“No. I’m not. Bryan is,” Valerie said with a smile. “I got out of the racing business when I had Lena.”
“Bryan showed me some pictures of her. She is so cute.”
“He is very proud of her. I would introduce you to her, but she’s asleep.”
“Here ya go, Dawn,” Bryan said as he entered the room and handed Dawn her drink. He handed a can to his wife. Then he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and went to check on the baby.
“So, you were saying,” Valerie continued after she took a sip of her soda, “that you are from Jasper, Arkansas. What part of the state is that?”
“In the northwest corner up in the Ozark Mountains. It’s not far from the Arkansas-Missouri border and only about an hour drive to Branson, Missouri.”
“Really? Bryan and I want to go there sometime. Is it as fun as they make it sound?”
“Yes. I like the shopping more than anything. They have the greatest outlet malls up there. I’ve never seen a show that I didn’t really enjoy. Let me know when you want to go, and I’ll set it up for you.”
“You would do that for us? That would be great.”
“Sure. No problem.”
“Thank you. So what did Bryan tell you that you’d be doing for him?” Valerie asked.
“My job will be to set up personal appearances and make sure he gets to them on time. I’ll make sure he has plenty of pictures to sign and pens to sign with. He also wants me to keep the motor coach clean, do his laundry, and cook for him.”
“What!” Valerie exclaimed.
Dawn was speechless.
“Bryan Lucas Richardson, get in here right now!” Valerie yelled.
“What?” Bryan said as he ran into the room.
“Did you tell Dawn that she would have to clean this motor coach, do your laundry, and cook for you?”
“Yeah. So?”
“You were supposed to hire a personal assistant, not a maid.”
“But I need someone to do those things for me.”
Valerie gave Bryan a look of “I can’t believe you just said that” and then turned her attention to Dawn.
Oh, no, thought.
“I know I just said that I wasn’t your boss, but that was before I found out that he told you to do all that stuff for him.” She looked at him again with a look of total disgust. “If you would cook for him every now and then, I would appreciate it. It will make me feel better when I’m not around to know that he was eating healthy. But as for that other stuff, you don’t have to do it. Bryan wants everything done for him so that he can ‘concentrate on racing,’ but it’s just an excuse for him to be a slob.”
“Wait a minute—” Bryan tried to cut in.
“Oh, it’s true, and you know it,” Valerie countered.
With that, Bryan went back into the other room. As he left, Valerie turned back to Dawn. “Back to what I was saying. If you happen to be doing your own laundry and want to do his as well, that’s fine. Or if this coach gets so messy that you can’t stand the sight of it—and it will—then clean it up for your own piece of mind. But don’t feel obligated to do it.”
“Okay.”
“And if he gets pushy about it, let me know, and I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay,” Dawn said again.
“I think we’re gonna be good friends,” Valerie said with a smile.
“I think so, too.” Just then, Bryan came back into the room carrying his daughter. “Dawn, this is the other person I wanted you to meet, my eight-month-old daughter, Lena Violet.” The little girl was just precious. She had dark, curly, brown hair and green eyes. A couple of teeth could be seen when she smiled at her daddy.
“Bryan, she is adorable. Will she let me hold her?”
“Probably. She usually isn’t shy around new people,” he said
as he handed the baby to Dawn. The little girl looked up at her for a moment of uncertainty and then smiled like she had always known her.
“You are so cute. Yes you are. Yes you are. And you smell so good.” Dawn cooed to the baby. Lena Violet laughed and then started playing with Dawn’s watch.
“If you think she smells good now, you should be here a couple of hours after she eats. You won’t be saying that then,” Bryan joked.
“Bryan, do you change dirty diapers?”
“I try, but I’m no good at it. The smell gets to me.”
“Well, at least you try. A lot of men don’t,” Dawn commented.
“Other than that, he’s a great father. He feeds her and bathes her. He stayed up with her all night when she was sick. And they play all the time,” Valerie bragged on her husband.
“That’s sweet. She sounds like a blessed little girl,” Dawn said as she looked at the baby in her arms. Lena was still trying to get Dawn’s watch off her wrist.
“So, do you plan on having kids someday?” Valerie asked.
“I gotta find the right guy first. I’ll think about kids after I find Mr. Right.”
“Speaking of that, Bryan says that you and Jeremiah Jones met your first day and have become close.”
“We’ve gone out a couple of times, but it’s not serious.”
“That’s not the rumor going around the garage.”
“What? I haven’t heard anything,” Dawn asked.
“Rumor has it that he watches for you to come into the garage area and out of our garage stall so that he can talk to you. The grapevine says that he likes you a lot.”
“That’s news to me.” Just then, one of the race cars fired up nearby, and the noise startled the baby. She started to cry. “Don’t cry, baby,” Dawn said and tried to rock and calm the little girl. It was no use. The baby wanted her mother.
Revved Up Hearts Page 6
