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People were starting to notice them and he didn’t want their conversation overheard so he led her back across the pavement to the hauler and opened the door. She climbed inside and he followed her.
“I know you didn’t just call me a cheater. I had nothing to do with Tucker’s problems.”
“Yes, you did. Rob thinks that you’re going to give him a job now.”
“Well, I’m not. I never promised him a job or told him to do anything crazy like this.”
“Dave…”
“Listen, let me run this race, win the championship for Daddy, and then I’ll go and straighten this entire thing out.”
“Win the championship for Daddy?”
“Yes. It’s what I’ve wanted since February.”
“I think that you aren’t going to feel like the real winner unless the field is full of all of the competitors. Not just the ones you think you can beat.”
“That’s not fair, Annie.”
“Life’s not fair, Dave. And I expected better of you. If you’re not going to the officials, then I will.”
“I can’t believe you’re going to turn your back on your family,” Dave said, grasping at straws.
“I don’t think I am.”
She walked out of the hauler and he lowered his head into his hands, letting her words echo in his head. What the hell was he thinking? Of course he had to take the steps necessary to clean up this mess. He’d never be able to live with himself if he didn’t.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE FIRST PERSON that Annie saw when she left Dave’s hauler was Tucker.
She went over to him. “Can we talk?”
“Sure.”
“I…I’m sorry I didn’t believe you or Jared when you said something about sabotage.”
Tucker gave her a weird look and she realized she was making no sense at all. But she wanted to give Dave time to do the right thing.
“A lot of people still don’t believe me so don’t sweat it,” he said. “I think I owe you an apology. I was pretty rough on you when I first suspected someone of tampering with my car. Jared put me in my place though.”
“He did?”
“Yes. In no uncertain terms, he told me he trusted you,” Tucker said.
And she’d told Jared he wasn’t worthy of her trust. She’d chosen her family and loyalty to them over taking a chance on him. Because she felt safer with her family, they’d always been there for her. And she was afraid to give Jared the same trust. She was afraid to trust him not to just let her walk away.
“Listen, I just learned something that I think we need to take to the officials.”
“Annie, you shouldn’t be involved in this,” Dave said, coming up behind her.
“Dave, I’ve made my choice.”
“So have I. Tucker, let’s talk in my hauler,” Dave said in a no-nonsense voice.
She knew immediately that her brother was going to do the right thing. Tears stung her eyes and she turned around to hug him.
“What about?” Tucker said.
“I know who messed with your car,” Dave said, dropping his arm from around her.
“Who?”
“Not out here,” Dave replied. Tucker walked to Dave’s hauler and opened the door.
The two men climbed into the hauler and Annie followed them.
“Okay, who was it?”
“A guy on your team,” Dave said. “Rob Mandelay.”
“My catch can guy?” Tucker asked. Tucker’s fists tightened at his sides and he glared at Dave. “Kind of convenient that it’s one of my guys.”
“I know it sounds far-fetched, but trust me on this.”
“Why would he do that?” Tucker demanded.
Dave looked sheepish but Annie felt proud of him. He was doing the right thing, just like she knew he would. She knew she was going to have to do the same thing with Jared. Go and find him and try to make up for the things she said last night.
“He wanted a job with my team and thought that proving he was loyal to me would help his chances.”
Tucker cursed. “Billy thought it had to be someone on our team because he didn’t remember seeing anyone in another uniform in the garage. But we couldn’t figure out who would do something this stupid. The crew gets financially rewarded if we win the championship.”
“I’m sorry,” Dave said.
“Why? Did you ask him to do it?” Tucker asked.
“No,” Dave answered. “But I was glad that you were out of the race.”
“Heck, if something like this happened to you I’d be happy to.”
“Want me to go get an official?” Annie asked.
“No. I think Dave and I will handle this.”
