Page 58 of An Uncertain Road

Finally, she threw her arms around him, and Jensen reveled in the feeling of holding her once again. She mumbled something against his neck, but he couldn’t hear her. Putting as little space as possible between them, he pushed back to examine her face, praying he would find the glow of love.

Instead, he found eyes glowing with mirth. It started with a giggle and soon turned into a full-fledged laugh.

He wasn’t sure he understood the humor in almost losing her, though. “What’s so funny?”

“Jensen, I only turned down the job because I thought leaving racing behind was the best way to prove you’re more important to me than anything in this world. We’ve both been trying to sacrifice for each other, and we didn’t even recognize it.”

Realizing she was right, merriment welled up in his chest too. “So does that mean you’ll drive for our team? And maybe even consider spending time with a grumpy old mechanic?”

She rested her head on his shoulder as she responded. “You don’t know how happy driving and working alongside you will make me.”

Hesitating, he reached for the answer he was desperate to hear. “And do you think you can come to return my feelings?”

She turned her face up to reveal a brilliant smile. “I already do. Jensen, I’ve loved you since the moment you kissed me on the porch in Bretton Woods. You’ve proven to me that being in love doesn’t mean giving up control of my life. God is the only one who can control anything, anyway. There’s nothing but freedom in loving a good man like you.”

He crushed her to him, sharing an endless number of kisses until her lips were swollen and her cheeks pink. He grinned. “You look thoroughly well-kissed. Want to go announce the good news to the team now?”

Her cheeks flushed an even deeper pink as she tried unsuccessfully to straighten her hair and make herself look as though they hadn’t been doing what they had. “Yes, I’m ready. You know, Beth will never let us forget that she was right this entire time.”

Grinning, he pulled her up and steered them back toward the shop. “It took a number of our family members to convince me you might return my feelings, so I think they’ll all feel as though they played a part.”

She offered a shy smile, a look he wasn’t used to from Flora. “The same with me. Why did it take so much trouble for us to believe in each other?”

He tucked her hand through his arm as they approached the shop door. “We both had a few things to overcome. But now, thanks to God’s perfect plan, we don’t have to wade through our problems alone anymore.”

She rested her head on his shoulder again. Could a heart explode from the amount of love filling it? “No, we’re not alone.”

All the members of the Harrison Goods racing team turned to watch them enter the shop.

Jensen couldn’t help grinning as he gently pushed her to stand in front of him. “Gentlemen, I have good news. Allow me to announce the driver for our team, Mrs. Flora Montfort. She’s the most qualified race car driver I’ve ever seen, and I can’t wait to start tallying up victories with her.”

The men cheered, and many stepped forward to welcome Flora with excitement. Jensen stood back and watched her in her element, talking cars and racing set-ups with a crew that respected her. For the first time since Gregory died, the future felt hopeful and bright.

A hand on his shoulder turned Jensen’s attention away from Flora to find Sam standing next to him. “Sam, what brings you here?”

The younger man looked sheepish, and Jensen realized they had some things to work through, the same as he and Flora had. Sam pulled Jensen away from the others a bit. “Mr. Harrison asked me to come. He’s offered me a job running operations here at the shop. But I needed to make sure you and me are on good terms before I accept. Jensen, I’m sorry I doubted your loyalty to your team. I can’t believe I ever believed you would sabotage them.”

There was nothing but warmth in Jensen’s heart as he listened to Sam’s genuine apology. He was ready to forgive the past and move forward. He pulled Sam into a hug. “Apology accepted. Now I don’t want to hear another word about it. We all made mistakes on the tour. And we all have another chance to do it right next time. I’m thrilled to have you on our team, Sam.”

When they separated, Sam was beaming. “I’m going to go talk with the others. Are you coming?”

Jensen nodded, but he paused a moment, looking over the scene before him. There stood the woman he loved—who loved him back—in the middle of the racing shop where he was going to begin work. The difference between this moment and two months ago was night and day. Before Flora, he’d been lost in self-pity and unable to accept God’s love or anyone else’s. Now he could recognize the gift he’d been given in the Harrison family. They might not have been his by blood, but they were still as loyal and loving as any family could be.

Not only that, but he had a future, faith to sustain him, and a career where he could thrive on the horizon. The twists and turns of his road in life had been difficult to navigate, but God had led him through to a better place than he ever could have imagined.

Reaching Flora’s side, Jensen took her hand in his and let hopes for their shared future swell in his heart. For the first time in years, he could look forward with confidence and put their dreams into motion. And all of it was possible with Flora by his side.

CHAPTER 26

The jail in Syracuse, New York, smelled like the darkest, dampest alley in Paris.

Flora sat on a rough wooden bench that was scarred with the carvings of what looked like hundreds of prisoners before her. Across the ten-foot jail cell, Sam sat on an identical bench, using a sliver of wood to add his name to those already chiseled into the seat. He looked as if he didn’t have a care in the world. As though he could sit there as long as it took for help to arrive.

Waiting for Jensen to eventually get them out of this mess wasn’t appealing to Flora, though. He was busy managing the three teams Harrison Goods was fielding in this street race. It could be hours before he learned where she and Sam were and came to save them.

She jumped up and returned to the corner of the cell closest to the door leading to the front of the jail. Ignoring their cellmates, two men who smelled strongly of some kind of drink she never wanted to experience, she banged on the bars until the door opened. As soon as a uniform started to appear, she launched into the argument she’d tried on every officer involved in this debacle.

“Excuse me, but you have no reason to hold me or my partner. We were only driving that fast because we were in a car race. It’s sponsored by the American Automobile Association, and your department should have been informed it was happening today. You have no grounds to hold us.”