Adrenaline (Speed Series Book 2)(32)

Shit. I totally forgot about Paislie being at the hospital.

“No ma’am, I do not.”

Janet held the front door open for me as I used the crutches to walk into the house. I’d gotten my cast off and had begun therapy a few weeks back. The first two physical therapists were idiots. The first one seemed to be more interested in my cock than she was getting my leg back in working order. The other one was so old, I was sure he was about to fall asleep during our first session.

Paislie was my only hope at returning back to racing. A heavy feeling rolled through my stomach as I remembered why she walked away from me in the first place.

The first thing I needed to do was tell her I was sorry for what I said to her.

“Come on, you need to do some walking. Help me make lunch.”

I followed Janet through the house and into the kitchen. When I bought this house, everything needed updating. Janet was in charge of all of it. The kitchen was her biggest project and I had to admit she did a great job.

Cream cabinets with black granite countertops were her first pick. I moaned internally as I thought about the hours upon hours she had me looking at backsplashes. I finally pointed to a random picture just to get her to stop. Tumbled stone she called it. It now graced the walls in the kitchen and I had to admit it looked damn good.

I perched my crutches up against the wall as I helped her get everything ready for lunch.

“Malcolm, I’ve never asked questions because honestly it’s none of my business, but I have to ask you something.”

As I picked grapes and set them in a bowl, I replied, “Go for it, Janet.”

“What happened to you that makes you push love away?”

My body froze. “What makes you think I push love away?”

Her eyes were on me and I could feel the intensity of her stare.

“You seem to forget I know everything that goes on in your life . . . probably better than you. I also hear things.”

I turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “You hear things? What kind of things?”

She smirked as she went back to making the sandwiches. “Oh you know, Dalton making arrangements for . . . visitors. Ashley, Emmit’s sister, and her visits to you. Those kinds of things.”

“You knew about Ashley?”

Janet let out a dry laugh. “What do you pay me for, Malcolm? Do you know how many times I had to cover for you? Like the one time you flew Ashley in for a . . . visit . . . and Emmit almost walked onto your bus with his little sister in there. I intercepted him, because if he ever found out, you’d have gotten two broken legs at the hands of one very pissed off brother.”

My mouth fell open. “Wow. Janet, you’re like Super Woman.”

She nodded. “Yes, I am.”

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her brown hair that was sprinkled with bits of grey throughout. “I love you like you’re my mother. Thank you for always taking care of me.”

“Don’t change the subject,” she barked as I dropped my arms to my side.

With a shrug, I said, “I’m not interested in love. It’s not something I want.”

“Really?” she questioned as she sliced avocado and placed it next to the lettuce. “Pop that bread down in the toaster, will you?”

Doing as she asked, I nodded. “Yep.”

She wiped her hands on a dishrag and turned to face me. “What was her name?”

The heaviness in my heart came back as I lifted my head and looked out the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Casey was her name. We started dating our freshman year of high school.” My hand came up to the back of my neck as I tried to rub the immediate tension out. The memory came back as if it had just happened. I could smell her perfume, like she was standing right next to me. “She had been at a football game and I just found out I was being moved up to the Xfinity Series. I couldn’t wait to tell her. After the game, I pulled her under the bleachers and told her. I always knew a part of her hated I did it because she was always afraid I would get hurt. But she knew how much I loved it.” I smiled as I remembered her launching her body against mine as she hugged me.



“Oh my gosh! Malcolm, this is the best news ever!”

I held onto her tightly as she hugged me for what seemed like forever.

When she stepped back, she shook her head. “You’re going to become so famous. People will go crazy when you drive around those tracks.”

I laughed as I took her hands in mine. “Let’s hope. I’m not starting out driving full time. I have to work my way up and earn that, but this is a great move. I’m one down from the big times, Casey. This could change our future.”

She nodded enthusiastically. “I know.” With a huge smile on her face, she pulled me closer to her. “Let’s go to the cabin. I want to be with you. Let’s celebrate by making love.”

I placed my hand on the side of her face. “Sounds like a f*cking amazing idea.”

Our cabin was six miles outside of Waco and was on the old dairy farm that was my grandfather’s. The cabin Casey and I would go to was the old original cabin. It was our spot and the place where we made love for the first time over a year ago.

Casey grabbed my hand and pulled it to her lips. “Malcolm, do you see us getting married someday?”

I turned to look at her quickly before looking back at the road. My heart felt as if it froze. Casey mentioning marrying her had me a bit freaked out, but I knew I cared about her. Hell, she was the only girl I’d ever loved. “Yeah, I see us getting married someday.”