Page 38 of An Uncertain Road

She bit her lower lip, a gesture that made Jensen’s heart lurch. She was still not convinced. “That confetti is usually everywhere. I don’t know how I could have overlooked it.”

He wasn’t going to change her mind right now, so Jensen leaned back and scanned the map, making sure he knew where they needed to go to return to the tour route. The drive back to the small town seemed to take forever, even though they were traveling faster than on the way out. Finally, buildings that looked familiar appeared on the horizon.

Jensen broke the long silence. “We’re almost there. The turn is before you get into the town itself.”

Flora slowed the car as they neared the buildings. To Jensen’s surprise, the intersection where they needed to turn was completely clean and unmarked. Flora remarked on it first. “There’s not a shred of confetti. I’d think it blew away, but this has been the calmest day of the entire tour, no hint of a breeze at all.”

Flora turned the car around the corner at a crawl, all of them scouring the roadside for signs of the markers. But there wasn’t a thing.

Beth leaned out over the edge of the car to look closer. “Perhaps the officials missed this turn. They could make mistakes like the rest of us.”

It was a kind and generous sentiment, but Jensen’s thought went in another direction. “Or it’s another instance of someone connected to the race trying to stop others from succeeding.”

Flora’s eyes were sad when they turned to meet his gaze. “Damage to private property, removing markers, underhanded tactics. I hate to think someone on the tour would hurt their fellow teams and the reputation of motorists like this.”

No matter his opinion on racing in general, Jensen could agree that it was bad sportsmanship, at best. Dangerous at worst. “We better get to the next stop as soon as possible and pray nothing else goes wrong.”

Taking his cue, Flora accelerated, and they completed the leg in decent time, considering the hours they’d lost. But the day wasn’t without its failures. They arrived at the hotel in Concord to learn that they had lost two positions.

Looking discouraged, Flora dropped onto the Decauville’s running board, her face in her hands.

She needed comfort. But what words did he have that could take away the sting of failure? Yes, they had a few legs left in the tour to make up some ground. But with most teams still having the full points for every stop, the Harrison Goods team couldn’t seem to advance from the middle of the pack.

Instead of trying to say the right thing, Jensen sat down and squeezed into the narrow space, pressed against her. There were several moments of silence, then, without warning, she leaned into him and let her head rest on his shoulder.

It was a nice feeling, reminding him of the warm contentment that washed over him when he held her hand before the Mount Washington race. Despite the care the Harrisons had shown him over the years, Jensen couldn’t remember a time when someone had touched him with this kind of complete trust.

He could get used to it.

All too soon, an official came to check the Decauville, and Flora stood to greet him.

Jensen wandered along the line of cars, letting the pleasure of her closeness roll around in his mind. Unfortunately, Archie would choose that moment to find him, ruining Jensen’s peaceful mood.

“Ah, Jensen. Dropping a spot again? You must have had another slow day. You’ll notice that my team maintained third place with little effort. Poised to make a run for the win in the last few days, I’d say.”

As always, when Archie opened his mouth, Jensen wished he could put his fist in it. But starting a fistfight might very well get the Harrison Goods team docked points by an official, and they couldn’t afford that. “Good for you, Archie. Now leave me alone.”

Jensen picked up his pace, but Archie fell into step beside him. “I see Mrs. Montfort’s car is still running. I presume you haven’t chosen to accept my generous offer, then.”

Jensen shook his head. “And I never will. I may have to face dire consequences, but I can’t stop you from doing what you want with the information you have.”

After days of worrying over what he would do when Archie confronted him again, the response slipped out without warning, and Jensen found he meant it. It was time to face the choices he’d made in the past. If only he could do it the way he’d prefer.

Archie looked thoughtful, which was never a good thing. “That’s very true. You can’t. But since you don’t see fit to help me, I suppose I’ll have to take more drastic measures.”

“Fine. Send a letter to the Harrisons. Or better yet, call them on the telephone in the hotel so they’ll know right away. Just get it done.”

“Oh, my friend, this is far from over, even if I reveal your little secret.”

Jensen’s heart plummeted, its pulsing almost drowning out Archie’s words. “What do you mean?”

Deadly serious now, Archie leaned in close. “Mr. Dorman isn’t just interested in me winning this tour. You know he has a personal issue with Mr. Harrison. He wants your team eliminated, with no hope of even finishing. That’s what will satisfy him. That’s what he’s paying me for. And that’s what he’s going to get.”

The truth was loud and clear in Archie’s words. Mr. Dorman was set on completely humiliating Mr. Harrison, most likely to stop him from pursuing racing ever again. “How far are you going to go to appease another man’s thirst for revenge, Archie? Sure, we never got along well, but you don’t hate me enough to do real harm, do you?”

Archie rounded on Jensen, his eyes flashing with an intensity Jensen had never seen in him before. “Of course I do. You didn’t have to endure what I did as a child, always under the thumb of a father who was never content that I’d done enough. You were Mr. Harrison’s pride and joy right alongside his own children. And for no reason. It’s not as though you showed any passion to succeed, any skill or talent worthy of his doting.”

Swallowing hard, Jensen heard loud and clear all the things he had never spoken but had certainly thought about himself.