“Will do,” Harlyn chuckled.
I closed my eyes and slept.
That was the only damn thing I could do.
*
Mave
“Your mom really doesn’t need to go to the store.”
Delaney sat at the kitchen island next to Harlyn. “You try telling her that.”
I leaned against the counter and sipped on my lemonade. “Good point.” Delaney’s mom was amazing to help get Roc’s house set up, but I also found out you didn’t really tell Susan what to do. “At least she took my money to pay for everything.”
Delaney laughed. “She’s bossy, not stupid.”
“You should have just given her Dad’s credit card.” Harlyn grabbed the bottle of open wine and refilled her glass. “He’s going to be mad when he finds out you gave Susan your money.”
“Well, if he wasn’t passed out on the couch then I would have asked him.”
Harlyn had volunteered to sit with her dad while we got the house situated, and of course, he had fallen asleep.
“Are you sure it’s okay that he’s sleeping so much?” Harlyn asked.
Delany and I both nodded. “His body has a lot of healing to do. Sleep really is the best thing for him right now,” I reassured Harlyn.
“But isn’t he going to get weak?” Harlyn sipped her wine. “The man drives me crazy so him not being all up in my shit at the shop is great right now, but honestly. In all honesty it’s kind of crazy to see my dad, who is always on the go, taking a nap in the middle of the day.”
“I promise there isn’t anything more wrong with your dad. His body went through some traumatic stuff and just needs to reset and heal.” I glanced at him in the living room.
I could understand why Harlyn was so concerned. I remember when my parents started declining in their health. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Though, my parents were in their seventies when I started noticing their age.
Harlyn needed to understand this was just temporary for Roc right now. He was in good shape before the accident, and he just needed a good bit of time to heal.
“I am surprised he isn’t watching qualifying.”
Harlyn turned to look at the TV. “It just started. I was going to wake him when they mention King Racing. Remy told me they won’t be running for about an hour. They’re going through pro stock right now.”
“Swear you two speak a different language.” I shook my head and looked at the TV.
Roc’s house was absolutely amazing.
The lower level was basically all open except for a bedroom and bathroom that were off the left of the kitchen. Susan had led the charge of moving everything into the downstairs bedroom and making everything as accessible as we could for Roc.
Bathing wasn’t even going to be too hard for him since the shower was large enough for a shower chair and no ledge to step into. I should be able to just roll him in and give him a decent sponge bath.
“Well, you’re about to spend a considerable amount of time with Roc so you’ll start understanding what we are talking about in no time.” Harlyn winked and tipped her glass toward me.
“I’m just learning all of this stuff, too. I swear, when Jay first talked about the race crew and everything, it felt like he lived in an alternate universe.” Delaney shook her head and laughed. “Hell, sometimes when I talk to Frankie, I still get lost on what she is all saying.”
Harlyn raised her hand. “Girl, that woman is on a different level. Sometimes, I think she knows more about that car than Brooks does.”
“She probably does,” Delaney laughed.
“Cummings Racing. Or King Racing as they go by now.” The asshole chuckled. “Now there is a race team that takes a licking and keeps on ticking.”
Harlyn jumped up and sprinted into the living as the announcer started talking about the race team.
She woke up Roc and plopped down on the couch next to him. “Wake up, old man. They’re talking about the team.”
“After Brooks and his dad, legendary dragster Roger Cummings, split ways, things seemed to be looking up for the rookie.”
“He’s not a fucking rookie,” Roc grunted. “How the fuck long does one need to race before they stop calling him that?”
“Apparently, longer than he has been,” Harlyn snickered.
“You’re right, Don. After winning two races, Brooks seemed to be unstoppable.”
“But then tragedy struck last week when the whole race team was involved in an accident that left everyone banged up and Roc Krinston with two broken legs. King Racing is here this weekend continuing to fight for the AC Cola Series cup with their Car Chief Frankie Jensen leading the way.”
“Whoop!” Harlyn shouted.
“I hope someone is recording this for Frankie,” Delaney laughed.
“I’m sure her brothers are.” Harlyn cleared her throat. “I am too.”
“Shut it,” Roc grunted. “I wanna hear what else these assholes have to say.”
“You have to wonder if this team really has what it takes to make it the long haul. We’re halfway through the season and the team seems to be falling apart.”
“Falling apart?” Harlyn scoffed. “They’re talking like the accident was something we wanted to happen.”
“Well, today will be the first step to see if King Racing actually has what it takes to bring home the AC Cola Cup.”
“Terry McDougal and the Plot Line Crew might have something else to say about that.”
The TV faded to an oil commercial, and Harlyn pointed the remote at the TV to mute it.
“Thanks for waking me up for that shit-show,” Roc grunted.
“The best part of that is the team is going to win this weekend and prove that King Racing is not falling apart.” Delaney walked back into the kitchen and sat down at the island.
“It’s nice that you are so optimistic, but one of the things with drag racing is you never really know who is going to win if everyone is running in tip-top shape.” Harlyn folded her arms over her chest and sat back into the couch.
“But not everyone runs tip-top?” I asked.
Roc and Harlyn turned around to look at me.
“Ideally, everyone will be,” Harlyn replied.
“The top five teams ideally do run great.” Roc curled his lip. “McDougal is our biggest competition, and the only reason we’ve been beating him is because we have that car running the best it has ever ran before.”
“So, we need to pray McDougal pops a tire and Brooks beats him?”
Harlyn tapped her nose then pointed at me. “Now that is the kind of thinking we need.”
Roc shook his head and turned back around. He apparently didn’t appreciate my sense of humor as much as Harlyn did. “McDougal hasn’t made it to the finals in the last two races. Right now, he is the one who is falling apart, not us.”
The front door opened and slammed shut. “We’re back!”
“Back?” Roc asked.
“Susan and Christy went to the store to get stuff for stuffed peppers.” Harlyn tossed the remote to Roc. “We figured we needed to feed you.”
“I had food in the fridge,” Roc argued.