I shrugged. “No reason, just curious. Takes a lot of trust for someone to hand over a part of their life.”
Richard slapped me on the shoulder and laughed. “I do trust him. He’s a good man, Logan. I love him like a son.” His gaze turned serious. “Like I love you as a son. You’re an extraordinary young man. I’m glad you came back.”
Visions of Kassie floated through my mind. “Me too.”
We stared at each other for a few seconds, before he tapped his fingers to my helmet. “All right, enough talk. Get your ass out there and ride. We have four more days before we leave for Virginia. I have to make sure you’re ready.”
I strapped on my helmet and smiled. “I’m more than ready.”
Kassidy
The week had flown by so fast, and now it was time for the race. Logan glanced back at me from atop his motorcycle, his tinted visor shielding his eyes. I waved at him and tried to smile, failing miserably. I didn’t realize how scared I was to watch him race. Levi wasn’t there to tell me everything would be all right.
My father strolled over, lifting his sunglasses. “You okay, peanut?”
I swallowed hard. “Just a little nervous.”
He winked. “Everything’ll be okay. Logan’s got this.”
Yes, he did. But it was still scary, considering the last time he raced and all.
My phone rang and I quickly reached into my pocket to see who it was. I’d barely talked to my sister all week, since she’d been back at work. “So now you decide to call me back?” I answered, turning away from my dad for some privacy.
She sighed. “Sorry, Kass. I’ve been so busy this week.”
“What are you doing now?”
“I’m at the airport getting ready to hitch a flight to New York. Got a baseball game I have to cover.”
I wasn’t familiar with that many baseball players, but there were two I always envied her for getting to meet. “Please tell me you’re not interviewing Colin Ward or Bradley Thompson.” They were two of the best players in the major leagues.
She laughed. “Sorry, sis. But hey, since your birthday’s coming up, I’ll have them say it to you on air. How does that sound?”
“You’re the best,” I gushed. “I’d love that.”
“Then consider it done.”
The line grew quiet and my smile faded. “You doin’ okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I hate that men think they can take advantage of me.” Most guys only saw a blonde bombshell from TV. None of them knew how fierce she actually was underneath her perfect body.
“Unfortunately, Maddie, there are a ton of them like that.”
“Logan’s not,” she countered. “Why can’t I find a guy like him?”
“You will, I promise. I’ll help you.”
She burst out laughing. “You do that. I’ll be waiting patiently.” The racers revved their engines. “Uh-oh, sounds like you gotta go. Make sure you watch me tomorrow night.”
“Will do. Love ya!”
“Love you too.” We hung up and I got to my feet, my heart racing out of control.
Janie rushed over to me, her smile as wide as could be. “It’s time,” she squealed. The countdown began and the flags dropped, signaling the start of the race. The bikes were so loud, I had to cover my ears as they took off. My nerves balled up in my stomach, and I felt like I was going to throw up. “I guess you and Sean made it here all right?”
Her cheeks blushed red. “We got in kind of late last night and crashed.”
“I bet.” I snickered. “What does your brother and his friends say about you dating him?”
She shrugged. “My brother’s fine with it, but Mark’s pissed. I guess he sees it as Sean stealing me away from him.”
“Of course, he’d see it like that. He’s a jackass.”
“That he is.” She bounced in place and crossed her legs. “Think I’ll miss anything if I go to the bathroom?”
“No, go. They still have plenty of more laps to go.”
She took off out of the tent. “I’ll be right back.”
The riders raced by and I sucked in a breath as the wind whipped past. The track was huge, so I had to watch Logan on the monitors when he wasn’t riding directly by the tent. With each lap, he gained more momentum, inching his way to the front. Jacob and Mark were ahead of him, and so was Miller. With Logan being new to riding again, he had to start off in the back of the line. I knew he could make it to the top.
Sean walked over and smiled. “You look green,” he joked.
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks.”
He draped his arm over my shoulders and squeezed.
I slid away from him and realized what I did. Logan’s theories ran through my mind and I swallowed down the bile.
“You okay?”
I cleared my throat. “Trying to be. I have a lot on my mind.”