“I think I mentioned that I’m surrounded by arrogant men.”
“That you did. I hope you aren’t too disappointed if your brother doesn’t win.”
“I’m pretty sure he will. He was so close last year. And he’s made some adjustments to his car and team that will make him unstoppable this year.”
“What kind of changes?” Jared asked.
“None that I can share with the competition,” she stated.
“I wasn’t looking for you to share secrets,” he said.
She nodded and changed the subject, but underlying the small talk was the knowledge that they were both a big part of two different teams and they both wanted their driver to win the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Championship.
CHAPTER FOUR
ANNIE’S CELL PHONE rang as soon as they entered the Daytona city limits, breaking the tension that had sprung between her and Jared. She glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Dave. She was tempted to ignore it, especially since she knew that her last comments to Jared had reminded them both of the reality of their lives at the track?the fact that they were both affiliated with rival drivers. But Dave wouldn’t call unless it was something important.
“I have to take this,” she said to Jared. She wanted to pretend she was just Annie and not a Jenner, but she knew that wasn’t reality. She was a Jenner and that was going to play a part in any relationship she had. Not just with Jared but with any man she dated.
“No problem,” he said, lowering the volume on the radio.
“Hey, Dave, what’s up?” she asked, thinking he’d probably had a last-minute media event for the next day that he wanted her to photograph.
“Daddy’s having some chest pains. We don’t know what’s going on, but Dr. Rivers thinks it might be a heart attack. We’re en route to Florida Hospital Oceanside.”
She wasn’t sure she heard her brother right. She’d seen her father a few hours earlier. He’d been fine. There was nothing the matter with him.
“Annie, did you hear me?”
Her hand was shaking. “Yes. Where did you say you’re taking him?”
“Give the phone to Jared. I’ll tell him where to meet us.”
She did as Dave suggested, and Jared just looked at her, but she couldn’t say anything. Didn’t want the words my father’s having a heart attack to come out of her mouth. She didn’t want to believe them or think that they might be true. She was vaguely aware of Jared talking to her brother. Vaguely aware of his deep voice saying things, and then there was silence. And all she heard in her mind were Dave’s words. They echoed over and over until she wanted to scream.
She tightened her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms, and the pain was a careful reminder that this wasn’t some kind of bizarre dream that she’d drifted into.
She couldn’t cry and felt numb from the inside out. But she was breathing heavily again. Too fast. She needed to calm down. She held her breath, hoping that would help, but instead stars danced in front of her eyes and she was very afraid she was going to pass out.
And she didn’t want to do that.
Jared put his hand on the back of her neck, urging her head forward as he maneuvered the car off the highway and onto the shoulder. “Breathe.”
She forced herself to calm down and breathe. “I’m not normally hysterical.”
“You aren’t hysterical now. Here’s your phone,” he said, handing the unit back to her.
She tossed it into her purse without looking at it. She just stared at her lap, kept her head down and breathed. With each inhalation she took in the reassuring scent of Jared.
His hand was on the back of her neck, stroking over her skin. His touch was a soothing rhythm that helped her calm down and allowed her to come back to herself and shake off the panic. There was nothing she could do about what had happened to Daddy, until she got to the hospital and heard what a doctor had to say.
“We’ll be with your family in a minute.”
Her family, she thought. They were going to be very emotional. Dave’s wreck would still be in the forefront of everyone’s mind. The way it was in hers. And she was sure the media would get wind of her daddy’s heart attack.
And she’d be back in the center of the storm like she’d been at the infield care center.
She wasn’t ready for that. But this was life. It didn’t follow any carefully ordered plan, no matter how hard she tried to make it. Her life had never been contained inside the nice neat box that she longed for. Her life was never about any quiet moments of normalcy.
Dave always asked her what normal was. But she knew there was a real world where people didn’t deal with… She stopped herself.