Fast Track (21 page)

“The medical
team is tending to him now,” Avery said, pointing to the
screen.

The drivers who
hadn’t been involved heeded the red flag, and people were rushing
the track. Medics, pit crew, people Anna didn’t know or care to
know. The only person she cared about was being pulled from his
car. They had to pull back the crushed roof to help him escape, but
at least he was conscious. They put him on a stretcher and braced
his neck, but when the camera zeroed in on his face, he was
responding when they questioned him, so Anna assumed that was a
good sign.

“I’m going to
call his family,” Ty said, getting to his feet. “His father gave me
his business card when we met at Jimmy’s. I want to make sure they
keep us apprised of his condition.” Ty looked at his daughter.
“Should I call the airport, honey? I can have them prepare the
jet-”

“No.”

Anna was still
numb with shock, but she knew one thing: She didn’t want to see him
in that condition. Maybe she was a coward, but she couldn’t sit by
his bedside playing the dutiful girlfriend when she couldn’t get
past the fact that he had done that to himself. He made the choice
to get into that car knowing he was putting his life at risk.

Every race had
the potential to end this way, or worse. Maybe he wouldn’t be so
lucky next time. Could she really stand to live that way, with her
heart in her throat every time her boyfriend… fiancé… husband went
to work? If they had a future together, Justin could very well be
her husband someday, the father of her children. How could she
explain to her babies that their daddy had died in a race? Not in a
tragic traffic accident, not hit by a drunk driver, but killed in a
race because he couldn’t resist the lure of chasing the next
thrill. Not even for them.

Avery got up
and knelt in front of her daughter. “Honey, I think Justin would
want to see you. He’s going to need you.”

“No, he doesn’t
need me,” she whispered, looking at her mother but not really
seeing her. The only things she saw were the flames shooting out of
those cars, scraps of metal flying through the air… “He
needs
to race. He doesn’t need me.”

“Come on, sis,”
Nick said, grabbing her shoulder. “That’s not fair. He can love you
and love racin’.”

“But maybe I
can’t love a man who can’t make that choice.” Anna hated that it
came down to that, but she couldn’t imagine living that way for the
next five or ten years until Justin finally decided he’d had
enough.

“Hey, come on,”
Nick said, reaching for her hand. “You and Justin are good
together. Don’t throw that away because of one stupid accident.
Chances are all those drivers will walk away from this and be just
fine. Hell, they’ll probably be back out there next week, ready to
do it all again.”

“That’s the
problem, Nick,” Anna whispered.

Justin cursed when he
tried to shift and his cracked ribs screamed in protest.

His sister,
Dee, smiled. “Don’t expect to get any sympathy from me. How many
times do you have to get busted up before you realize you’re too
old for this?”

“Too old? Hell,
I’m just getting started.”

As far as he
was concerned, he was in his prime. By the time he left racing, the
name Justin Hunt would be synonymous with racing royalty. Not
because of his family name, but because he was one of the best to
ever grace the track. He still had a lot to prove, and he wasn’t
going to let one little accident keep him down for long.

“Where the hell
are the doctors? I wanna get out of here.” He was bandaged,
bruised, and sore, but he could rest at home. He had staff to take
care of him there. The food was better and the TV was bigger.

“Just slow your
roll, hot shot. They’ll spring you when they’re ready and not a
minute sooner.”

Justin posed
the question that had been on his mind since they brought him in
last night and insisted on keeping him for observation when they
suspected a slight concussion and internal bleeding. “Has anyone
heard from Anna?”

His sister
started fidgeting with his blankets instead of looking him in the
eye. He knew he was in trouble. “Answer me, damn it!”

“Her father
called just after the accident. He spoke to Dad, but…”

“But what?”
Justin’s stomach roiled as his mind flirted with the worst case
scenarios.

“Anna was at
their house for dinner. They were all watching the race…”

“And?”

Justin could
only imagine what she must have thought, how she must have felt
when she watched his car spin out of control on that track. He
imagined how he would feel if their situations were reversed and he
had to watch her car lose control on a busy freeway. Helpless and
terrified, that’s how he would have felt.

“According to
Ty, she went home as soon as she found out you were gonna be okay.
She said she needed some time alone, to think.”

“She needed
time to think about what, whether she still wants to be with me?”
He knew that test would come eventually. Crashes were an inevitable
part of his job, but he thought they would have more time to build
a solid foundation before she had to decide whether she was really
ready to sign on for the trials that came with being his
girlfriend.

“I asked to
speak to her mother. I thought a woman to woman chat might give me
some insight.”

“And?” Justin
reached for his sister’s hand, wincing when pain shot through his
abdomen. “Tell me what Avery said.”

“She just said
Anna was pretty upset. She was worried about you, obviously, but
she didn’t want to come to the hospital even though her father
offered his private plane.”

“Damn.” He lay
back against the pillow and closed his eyes. He couldn’t believe
one insignificant accident had cost him the best thing that had
ever happened to him.

“I’m sorry,
honey,” Dee said, rubbing his forearm. “I know that’s not what you
wanted to hear, but maybe it’s best you guys figure this out now,
before things get too serious.”

Justin tilted
his head to the side and opened his eyes. “I love her, Dee. For me,
it doesn’t get any more serious than that.”

Dee stared at
him, obviously in shock. “But you haven’t known her that long.
You-”

“I’ve known her
long enough to know she’s the reason I never wanted to get married
before. I’ve been waiting for her.”

Tears sprang to
Dee’s eyes as she covered her mouth. “That’s the sweetest, most
romantic thing I’ve ever heard you say. We were beginning to think
you’d never find the right girl, Justin. You’re the best uncle, and
I just know you’ll be the best daddy to your own kids someday.”

“Not if I can’t
have that with Anna.” He couldn’t even imagine sharing that
experience with anyone else. “I need her in my life, Dee. What the
hell am I gonna do?” He lifted his hand to his bandaged head, but
his ribs screamed for surrender. “Son of a…”

“Do you need
something for the pain?” Dee asked, jumping up.

“You can’t take
anything for this kind of pain.” He rubbed his chest. “I have a bad
feeling I just might have to learn to live with this.”

***

Anna felt
restless at home, so she went to her parents’ house, hoping for an
update on Justin’s condition. She’d been watching the sports
channels and reading the reports online, but according to industry
experts, it was a minor accident that landed a few drivers in the
hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Just another day at
the track, but for her, it was more. Yesterday was the day her
dream of a future with Justin died, and nothing would erase that
accident from her memory.

“Good morning,
Anna,” Megan said. She stood at the kitchen counter pouring orange
juice, looking comfortable in cut-off jean shorts, a pink tank top,
and flip-flops. Her face looked freshly scrubbed, and her long dark
hair was pulled up in a high ponytail.

Anna lingered
in the doorway, uncertain if she wanted to invest energy in making
small talk. “Hi, Megan. Are my parents around?”

“I’m afraid
not. Your mother went into the office early, and your dad said he
had to go to the studio for a while.”

“Is Nick down
at the barn?” Anna knew her brother usually came up to the main
house for one of Hazel’s omelets with hash browns before he started
his day.

“Your mother
said he had a meeting in Kentucky today…” She frowned, as though
trying to remember the details of the conversation. “Something
about the Derby, I think.”

“Yeah, one of
Nick’s horses took the top spot last year.” Anna walked toward the
coffee maker and poured herself a cup. “It’s crazy that his horse
racing and breeding business earns him a small fortune every
year.”

“Is that so?”
Megan asked before taking a sip of her juice.

“Yeah.” Anna
took a fortifying sip of the steaming brew. She wanted to believe
she was out of sorts because she’d left the house before her
caffeine fix, but she knew that wasn’t the reason. She couldn’t
wipe the image of Justin lying in some hospital bed out of her
head. “Nick doesn’t do it for the money. He does it because he
loves it. Money just happens to be one of the perks of owning some
of the most sought-after breeding horses in the country. And when
you win the Derby, well, that just raises their value to a whole
new level.”

“I can’t say
that I know a lot about horses.” She smiled. “In fact, I know
nothing about them.”

“Stick around
long enough and I’m sure my brother will teach you more than you
ever wanted to know.”

“I doubt that.”
Megan moved to the huge walnut table in the middle of the kitchen.
Reaching for a banana from the fruit basket, she said, “It’s pretty
obvious your brother doesn’t like me.”

“He’ll come
around,” Anna said as she sat beside Megan. It might be nice to
focus on someone other than Justin for a while. “So, tell me more
about yourself.”

“There’s not
much to tell.” Megan shrugged. “I’ve lived in L.A. most of my life.
I hosted an entertainment show there before I left…”

“Celebrity
Flash. I remember watching your show a time or two. You were really
good.”

“Thanks.” Megan
dipped her head as a blush stole over her high cheekbones. “I
really loved my job, but… things didn’t work out. It was time to
try something new.”

“So, that’s why
you came to Tennessee? You were ready for a change of scenery?”

“That, and like
I said last night, I thought I might be able to have a relationship
with my father if we lived in the same city.”

Anna covered
Megan’s hand with her own, sensing it had been a while since
someone had shown her compassion. “If you don’t want to talk about
it-”

“It’s okay, I
don’t mind.” Megan looked at their joined hands before continuing.
“I went to my father’s house, and he was there with his wife. They
tried to get me out as quickly as possible, before their kids came
home. Apparently, I’m his dirty little secret. The wife knows about
me, but the kids don’t, and that’s the way they’d like to keep
it.”

“I’m sorry,”
Anna said, sliding a paper napkin across the table when she sensed
Megan may need to shed a few tears.

“I don’t need
that,” Megan said, setting the napkin aside. “I learned a long time
ago tears don’t change anything, so why bother?”

Anna was
curious about the claims her brother had made, but she didn’t feel
she knew Megan well enough to pry.

“How’s Justin?”
Megan asked, withdrawing her hand. She picked up the fruit she’d
set aside earlier and began to peel it. “Is he out of the hospital
yet?”

“I don’t know.
I haven’t spoken to him.”

“Why?” Megan
took a bite of her banana as she looked Anna in the eye.

“I don’t think
I’m cut out to be a race car driver’s girlfriend.” She sighed as
she sank further into her seat. “It would make me crazy, worrying
about him.”

“Huh, so I
guess you think just because you two aren’t a couple you’ll stop
worrying about him?” Megan finished her breakfast and got up to
toss the remnants away. Bracing her hands on the counter behind
her, she said, “I hate to tell you this, but it doesn’t work that
way. Brock and I broke up a year ago, but I’m still on the edge of
my seat every time I watch him race. It goes with the territory. If
you really loved someone, you don’t want to see them get hurt.”

Since Megan may
be the only person who truly understood what Anna was feeling, she
felt compelled to ask. “Is that the reason you and Brock broke up…
because of his racing?”

Megan laughed.
“No, I could have dealt with that. He was putting pressure on me to
set a wedding date, and I just wasn’t ready. I was going through a
lot at the time. My mom had just died, and my half-brother
contacted me out of the blue… a brother I didn’t even know I
had.”

“Wow,” Anna
said. “And he couldn’t understand you needed a little time to work
through all that?”

“It wasn’t his
fault.” Megan crossed her arms. “We’d been together a long time.
He’d been trying to convince me to set a wedding date for a long
time, before all of that happened.”

“Why were you
so reluctant?” Anna knew she had no right to ask, but she couldn’t
help being curious. “Did you have doubts about him?”

“No, I had
doubts about me.” She grinned. “I don’t think I’m cut out for
marriage. When I was growing up, my mom went from one bad
relationship to the next, hoping she’d eventually find someone
willing to take care of her. I vowed to learn how to take care of
myself, so I’d never have to depend on someone else.”

“That makes
sense, I guess,” Anna said. “But don’t you ever get lonely?”

Megan’s eyes
seemed shuttered when she replied. “I have a full life. Friends,
boyfriends, a job I love. Why would I be lonely?”