AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You only took a few laps around. Figures,” I hear Bud mumble under his breath. I ignore him and turn my attention back to Saint.
“You did well. How did the car feel?” he asks with his clipboard ready for notes.
“Honestly, it felt fine. Remarkably similar to what we had in the simulator. I was a little tight coming out of the corners, but nothing that seems to need to be fixed,” I explain as Bud approaches us.
“How could you tell anything? You were only at 120 in the corners. Freaking women. I swear, you’re all pansies,” Bud huffs back at me.
“I beg your pardon, but I think I did fine. I’m not done either. I wanted a little feedback, which you were not giving me on the com.” I place my hands on my hips and look at him. He wrinkles his face in disgust and turns away.
“Don’t worry about him,” Saint says as I shake my head.
“I’m not, but I need a crew chief I can trust, and he doesn’t seem to want me as a driver,” I comment back, shrugging my shoulders. “What else do you need from me?”
“Let’s get a feel for the wheel. I want to make sure the buttons are where you like them, the screens are in order for what makes sense for you as Bud asks for information,” Saint replies, and I nod quickly before our attention is pulled to a ruckus behind us. “Oh, for fucks sake.”
I glance at Saint and Mac, who are both focused on the two men walking towards us: Chad Adams and his crew chief Drake, who happens to be my ex.
“What are you two doing here?” Saint questions. “This is a closed practice.”
Drake smiles and turns his attention to me. “We know. Chad has the track as well. Good to see you, Haisley.”
“Wish I could say the same, Drake. What are you doing here?” I ask as Saint and Mac stare at the two men. Chad appears to be enjoying the confrontation.
Drake shrugs his shoulders. “As I said, Chad has track time now as well. Oh, didn’t you know that I was hired on at Wadsworth racing as well?” he questions arrogantly.
I shake my head. “Nope. Don’t really track you much anymore. Have better things to do with my time.”
Saint clears his throat and turns to me. “You know him?”
I nod. “Unfortunately, but that’s in the past. Right, Drake?”
“If you say so, sweetheart,” he replies as Bud descends from the pit box to greet Chad and Drake.
I turn to Saint. “For all that is holy, did you know they were going to be here today?”
Saint glances at Mac and Neil, who joined us moments prior. “No. I reserved the track specifically for you as a closed practice, so that no one could interfere.”
“Well, then how did they get an invite?” I inquire, watching my rival and teammate, along with my ex-boyfriend, laugh with my crew chief who hates women.
“That I’m not sure about, but I intend to find out as soon as we get back to the shop. Let’s not focus on them and get you back into the car. Let’s figure out how you want your configurations on the screen and your gears. Take your time, go at your comfort level, and use this time productively. Forget about them,” Saint tells me, and I nod and grab my helmet from the crew man I’d handed it to moments earlier.
“Okay, let’s do this,” I respond as I start to get into the car. Mac helps me with the restraint system, and I re-fire the engine. I get set and ready to go. Saint gives me the thumbs up, and I offer one back before pulling out down pit road. “Saint, do you copy?”
“I copy, Haisley. Everything good?”
“Roger, it is. I’m going to take some laps and then increase speed. What information do you need me to get from the screens?” I ask as I enter turn three.
“Just scroll through and let me know your water pressure; do you see the fuel gage?” he instructs as I attempt to scroll through the display.
“I see them, but I don’t like the area the button is in. I feel like I’m stretching my fingers to hit it,” I point out as I finally get to the water temp screen.
“Fucking women,” I hear Bud mumble over the radio.
“Is there a problem?” I ask back as I scroll to the lap time screen. I’m about to focus on increasing speeds when I see a car fly by me. “What the hell? I thought I was the only one on the track?”
“You’re supposed to be,” Saint answers back as Bud weighs in.
“What? Chad wanted to take some laps. I don’t see the issue. She’s gonna have to learn to have others next to her,” he barks back and laughs.
