California Girls

“I don’t know anything about that.” She picked up her beer bottle. “Tell me.”

“My dad’s older brother John was a rebel. He raced motorcycles and disappeared for months at a time. No one knew where he went or what he did.” He looked at her. “All this was before I was born. Apparently he was a legend in the family. So one time he came back with a lot of money. Like a couple hundred thousand dollars. In cash.”

“Where did he get it?”

“No one knows. He bought some land in Sunland and put in a motocross track. The sport was just getting going then. By the time I was seven, he had added a couple more tracks and the concession stands.”

“Your empire,” she teased.

“I like it.” He grabbed a rib. “My dad took Glen to try out the bikes when he was nine. I remember being really upset because my mom said I had to wait until I was his age to ride a bike. Glen went a couple of times and hated it. I begged and begged and my mom finally relented when I turned eight. My uncle set me on my bike and I was hooked.”

“When Glen first told me who you were, I looked you up,” she admitted. “You’ve won a lot of championships. You were a big deal.”

His mouth turned up at the corner. “I like to think I still am.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“Yes, I do. I worked hard and I had some breaks.”

More than that, she thought. The motocross circuit was grueling, with twelve races over four months. The racers crisscrossed the country with as little as a week between some races. Not much time for bodies to heal and equipment to be repaired.

In addition to being physically fit and skilled enough to compete, the riders had to have sponsors. The bikes and gear weren’t cheap, nor were entry fees or transportation. Daniel had been on top for three years before walking away a winner.

“What made you give it up?” she asked.

“I knew the odds of something going wrong. I meant what I said—I was lucky. There were pileups that I avoided and even when I couldn’t, I managed to walk away. But eventually everyone has a bad crash and I didn’t want to stick around for mine. It’s a young man’s game.”

She wanted to joke that he wasn’t that old now, but she knew what he meant. Every professional athlete paid a physical price for being the best. Motocross was no different.

“Back to my uncle,” he said. “I was in my last year of racing and talked to him about buying into the business. I had plans to expand what he was doing, and we were both excited about that.” Daniel’s expression sobered. “He had a massive stroke and died in his sleep. No one saw it coming and we were all devastated.”

“You especially,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. Me, too. I still miss him. He was a great guy. He believed in me from the first. Anyway, he left me pretty much everything. Glen got a hundred thousand dollars, but that was it. He was pissed because he thought we should have both been left half. He threatened to sue the estate.”

“But he’d never had anything to do with the business. You’d been involved since you were eight.”

“He didn’t see it that way. He ended up not suing, though. I suspect a couple of lawyers told him he didn’t have a case.”

She groaned. “I can’t believe I was so incredibly stupid as to think he was a decent human being.” She scooped up more shrimp. “I know what it was—I felt like he saw me, which probably doesn’t make sense to you. You’ve never been invisible, but trust me, it’s not fun. Even with my parents. Finola is my mom’s favorite and Zennie is so my dad’s. That left me with exactly zero parents. I’m not trying to say poor me or anything like that, but when I met Glen, he seemed to be really interested in me. I guess I was wrong about that.”

“Whatever happened in your relationship isn’t your fault. It’s all on him.”

“While I’d like that to be true, we both know that in any relationship, both parties are to blame.”

“That’s pretty rational for less than a week into the breakup.”

She sighed. “I know and in a way, it’s really sad. I mean if I can think that clearly, doesn’t it mean that I was a whole lot less in love with him than I thought? In some ways that’s worse. I should still be crushed and hysterical, but I’m not.”

He glanced at her quizzically. “I didn’t know you had curly hair.”

“Oh.” She touched the now-dry curls. “I usually blow it out straight.”

“Why? The curls look great on you.”

“Thank you. Glen didn’t like them.”

Rather than comment on that, Daniel rose and walked to the refrigerator. “Another beer?”

“Yes, please.” When he was seated, she said, “I appreciate you not judging me for being so stupid about your brother.”

“I can’t explain Glen, but I do know he’s going to be sorry he lost you.”

“I can only hope,” she said lightly. “Now let’s see... I’ve whined about my family, my ex-fiancé and pretty much everything else. I’m going to be done now. Let’s talk about happy things.”

“You mentioned you had to move. What’s up with that?”

“Not a happy topic.”

He waited.

“Fine,” she grumbled and explained about the lease. “I’m looking for something now. It’s just I need it so fast. No way I’m moving in with my mom. When Finola gets back from Hawaii I might ask if I can crash in her guest room for a few weeks while I get it all together. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out, I swear.”

Daniel studied her for a second, then nodded. “I know you will. Now about those happy topics, I bought us tickets to another Dodgers game.”

“You did? Yay! I can’t wait. I had such a good time.”

“Me, too.”