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“He’s not like that. He has plenty of NASCAR connections. And he has no aspirations to be a driver.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“What’s this really about, Dave?”
Her brother shrugged. “Look, maybe I just can’t separate MacNeil from Aldridge. They are a team and I’m used to working against them on the track and off.”
“Jared’s nothing like Tucker.”
“No?”
“Tucker’s much more gregarious. Jared seems that way but there’s a…wall of reserve that he doesn’t let many people see behind. He’s trying to open himself up to the family, Dave.”
“You seem to know Tucker pretty well.”
“He’s Jared’s best friend. He’s not as bad as you think he is. But I don’t care if you like Tucker or not.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that you should give Jared a chance.”
“No, thanks.”
“Dave?”
“I’m not interested in discussing this anymore. Tell Mom and Dad I had to run.”
Dave walked away and Annie watched him leave, feeling a sad ache in her heart. Jared returned a few minutes later.
“Where’s Dave?”
“He had to go. Thanks for taking us to dinner tonight.”
“You’re welcome. I think your mom and dad enjoyed themselves. Your dad is even warming up to me a little. I wouldn’t say he actually likes me but we found some common ground.”
“Talking about owning cars and running a team?” she asked.
Jared shrugged. “It’s a start.”
THE NEXT WEEKS FLEW BY with more tension than Annie had experienced in a long time. She couldn’t believe it was May. Annie had always liked coming to Richmond and this year was no different. Tucker had been careful to treat her more like Jared’s girlfriend than Dave’s sister, which she appreciated a lot?especially when Dave was being difficult.
Dave acted as if she’d committed the deepest act of betrayal by continuing to date Jared. In fact they hadn’t spoken in the last week because of the fight they’d had in Talladega.
Her respect for Tucker had grown as he’d endured rumors and innuendos about his tires and the resurfacing of the old stories from his rookie year when he’d been a bit of a maverick, always shooting off his mouth and getting creative with the rules.
She’d spent the morning in the garage photographing the crew getting the car ready for the race. Dave wanted to devote a chapter of the book to Vinnie and her father’s crew chief, Pete Boscom. But right now Annie was standing outside Dave’s hauler waiting for him to get back from the media center so she could make peace with him. She didn’t like it when they were fighting.
“Annie, you got a minute?”
She glanced over to see Dave’s assistant holding a clipboard. “Sure, Mel, what’s up?”
“Um…we got a couple of questions this week about you and team owner Jared MacNeil.”
Annie wasn’t surprised. She’d been accompanying Jared to a few social events and the media had picked up on it, putting pictures of the two of them together on the society and sports pages.
“What’s the problem?”
“Everyone knows that Dave and Tucker are rivals, and with you dating MacNeil…”
“What do you want me to do?” she asked, not sure where Melissa was going with this.
“Well, Dave is not saying much. But Tucker has been saying what a great gal you are and all that stuff.”
That explained so much of the argument she and Dave had last week. “Could you ask Tucker to tone it down a little?” Melissa requested.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Annie said. This was what she’d been expecting from the first. “I was actually hoping to talk to Dave. Will he be back here soon?”
“Yes,” Mel answered.
Melissa left a few minutes later and Annie leaned against the hauler waiting for her brother. He showed up about ten minutes later. He stopped when he saw her standing there, then opened the door to the hauler and motioned for her to enter before him.
She rubbed her hands down her arms, climbed up the steps and entered. She sank down on the long bench and tried to think of the right words to apologize for a fight she wasn’t sure she’d started.
But Dave just sat down next to her and threw his arm around her shoulder. “I hate it when we fight.”
“Me, too,” she said. “I’m sorry if I’ve done anything to complicate your life.”
“Are you happy with this guy?”
“This guy? He has a name.”
“I know what it is,” Dave said, pulling his arm away from her and leaning forward, bracing his forearms on his thighs.
