“It’s weird in a way, isn’t it? I mean, that was just us. I swear, it happened so fast.”
We both laugh at the memory.
“Remember when Hannah punched that kid in the eye because he said you were a slow poke?” Tommy recalls.
I bend over with more laughter.
“I do! And then I lapped that dude—twice!”
“Bad day for him, man. Baaaaad day.”
We simmer in our memories for a few minutes. We’ll watch the race upstairs, close enough to hop down to the track if anything happens but high enough for a good view. And three weeks from now, the roles will be reversed as Bristol sits in the booth with our family and I start my fourteenth season on the circuit. It’s a big year for me. I’m four wins away from passing the all-time record. I’ve still got a lot of years in my body, plenty of time to make that record stick—make it impossible to take down. I’m sure Quin will try. He’s got his work cut out for him, though. He’s gotten used to coming in second.
I haven’t slowed at all, but sometimes I want to. It’s not that I want to stop racing. God, I don’t think I’m capable of that. But I don’t want to miss the other things. I want to spend weeks at the beach with the kids. I want to fly off for a weekend with my wife and worship her at some resort that doesn’t allow kids because damn, that woman needs a break. I want to put on the Santa suit and climb the damn mountain every Thanksgiving; take over the duties full-time from Tom when he’s done playing the role.
We’ll get a good break in a few months when Hannah’s show opens in Phoenix. The last one she held sold out on opening night. The gallery commissions twenty new pieces, and I think these are better than the others. She’s found her niche, creating mixed media that is so unique and like looking at life through her eyes. It’s youthful but timeless the way she blends black and white photography with plaster and light. Her work is in about a dozen restaurants around the state, and even though Vegas offered to feature her in the Bellagio, she turned them down. We just don’t have a taste for that place.
“They’re getting started. We should go up,” Tommy says, nudging my shoulder and pulling me from my thoughts.
I smile and nod, motioning for him to head up.
“I need a minute.”
He gives me a look that says he understands then turns to head up the outdoor steps to the viewing balcony. I step up to the edge of the pit row road, lined with concrete barriers and the smoothest dirt we could truck in from around Arizona.
Everyone’s road is different. How we get from our beginning to our end isn’t a straight line, but if it were, how boring would that be? Our roads come with curves and accidents and lots of intersections—turning points. Mine is a roadmap that stretches on and on for days. It’s practically a cross-country highway that cuts through mountains and blasts over rivers. I haven’t driven it alone, though. I’ve never been alone, even when I thought I was. Hannah was there.
Hannah’s always there.
She always will be.
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Begin Your Binge with Varsity Heartbreaker
Lucas Fuller is a lot of things.
He’s the boy next door.
He’s the first crush I ever had.
He was my first kiss.
He’s also the only person who has ever broken my heart.
For two years, I’ve wondered what happened to the us I used to know.
We were best friends, and then suddenly…we weren’t.
I tried to run away from it. I even changed schools just to make the hurt disappear.
But no matter how hard I tried to not think about Lucas, I just couldn’t stay away from the high school quarterback with perfect blue eyes and so many secrets.
I’m back. We’re seniors now. We’ve grown—all of us. And Lucas Fuller might be different, but I’m different too.
This is my time to take risks, to experience life and to fall in love for real.
I want Lucas Fuller to be a part of my story, but I know for that to happen, I need to know the truth about our past.
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Acknowledgments
Wow. This series was everything!
I truly hope you have enjoyed this journey. I took this series on as a challenge to myself. I wanted to capture true love as well as the born obsession of racing. I have a best friend who loves racing to her core. And this series was inspired by her and all she taught me. Of course, along the way, some Earnhardt biographies, and Tony Stewart, helped form the focus of this story and Dustin Bridges. My car-obsessed brother is at the heart of every book that deals with an engine. And my son and nephew have a lot to say about Supras.
Hannah and Dustin have become family to me. I think it will be hard to drive around Arizona and not see them everywhere. Almost all of the places I took you to in this book are inspired by or are real places. I’ve tinkered with names and moved a few things around for fictional purposes (shout out to anyone who gets the Minder Binder reference) but the heart of my home is in this series. Driving fast goes along with the desert. I defy you to hit an abandoned road out here and think otherwise. Just don’t get caught. ;-)
I have a lot of people to thank for helping me get these babies over the finish line. (Get it?) As always, Autumn, you steer me in the right direction. I am forever grateful for your expertise, but even more for your friendship. Aly Stiles - you are more than a critique partner, you are literally a life coach. I’m not sure I know how to write without Rebecca Shea sitting across from me at a Panera or without Jennie Marts joining me to sprint. My betas for this baby, Jen and Shelley, you were patient and guided me so much. And Brenda Letendre, YOU were — once again — my Rusty Wallace. You kept me going when I was running on empty, and this book shines because of your editing. I’m so deeply proud of it, and I have you—all of you—to thank for that.
Mom and Corinn, bless you both for your mad proofing skills. And for your calm at the last minute when I needed it. You made me feel ready, if I ever truly feel ready at all for a book release.
Readers! Thank you for being excited. I believe in this series, and that’s because you give me the confidence to just go for it. You’re the best readers in the world, and I write for you!
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review, talking about it with a friend, forcing it in someone’s hands, shouting about it out the car window—pretty much anything. (Only kidding a little.) My readers are the only reason I get to do something with these stories in my head, and I am profoundly grateful.
And yes, I hear you—Bristol needs a book . . . I’m on it. ;-)
About the Author
Ginger Scott is a USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Amazon-bestselling author from Peoria, Arizona. She has also been nominated for the Goodreads Choice and RWA Rita Awards. She is the author of several young and new adult romances, including bestsellers Cry Baby, The Hard Count, A Boy Like You, This Is Falling and Wild Reckless.