Fuel To The Fire (New Adult Contemporary Romance) (13 page)

“Goodbye
Danny I—”

That’s
all I can manage. A sudden torrent of pain and anguish comes spewing out. I
don’t even realize it until we’re heading back, but I have managed to drop
Danny’s urn somewhere outside the chopper. I look at my empty hands, then back
to Rachael. She reads me like a book.

“You
dropped it on pit row. I saw it hit. Pretty funny actually. Looked like a
miniature smoke bomb going off.”

“Oh
shit! I didn’t...was there anybody down there? I didn’t hit anyone with it did
I?”

“Not
square on the head you didn’t,” Rachael replies with a smile on her face.

“Okay,
who’d I shower with Danny’s ashes?” I reply.

“Well I
couldn’t be sure, because we were flying pretty high, but you dropped it on the
Team Panata pit area and you showered a half dozen crew members who were there
working on one of their cars.”

I laugh
in spite of myself. “It’s gonna take them a month to get Danny’s ashes out of
their engine. He never could stand Panata. I guess he finally got the best of
them. Too bad he couldn’t see it.”

“Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming
stationary… that’s what gets you…”  Jeremy Clarkson

Carrie

Daytona
500 February 17
^th
2013

“What’s
so funny?” Rachael asks after we land and get clear of the chopper’s blades.

“I was
just remembering the last time you and I were in a helicopter flying to this
track.” I reply as we walk across the landing area.

“The
dumping of the ashes.” Then she laughs. “Who would have thought when you were
dumping Danny’s ashes on the Panata’s that 12 months later you’d be working for
them.”

“Yeah,
who would have thunk?”

We hop
into a waiting cart and head towards the Panata pit box. Harvey disappears for
a minute then comes back with two headsets. He hands me one.

“Now
both of us can talk to Marco,” he explains.

“You
sure I should be part of this?” I ask reluctantly accepting the headset.

“I’m not
sure, but he is. Marco’s been asking for you ever since the race started. Just
set your radio for channel forty-four. Now let’s go win us a race!”

Harvey
sprints for the spotters stand with me hot on his heels. I’m a little nervous
talking to Marco. I just don’t think that the middle of the Daytona 500 is a
good time to make up.

I’m out
of breath when we get up to the top of the stand, so I take a moment before
tuning in to channel 44. When I finally do, Harvey and Marco are already
talking. It appears that he and Ariel are going to be working together during
the race. Then out of nowhere, Marco addresses me.

“Carrie,
you on yet?” he asks.

“I’m
here Marco. I am so sorry I—”

“You
don’t need to say a thing Carrie. After everything you went through with Danny,
of course it looked like I was doing the same thing. No need to apologize. I’m
just glad you’re here with me today.”

The
radio goes strangely silent. I’m just about to say something when I hear a gasp
followed by groaning.

“Marco,
are you okay?” I shout.

“That
wasn’t me Carrie. You’d better check Harvey I haven’t heard a word in the last
couple minutes.”

“Got
it.”

I pull
my headset off and look around. Last I saw he was going to the other end of the
stand to talk to Ariel’s spotter. At the end of the stand there seems to be
some sort of commotion. Fearing the worst I run to the edge of a crowd of spotters.
There laying on the ground clutching his chest is Harvey. Heart attack? I grab
my personal radio and call Rachael.

“Rach,
get your stuff. Harvey’s having a heart attack.”

“On my
way!” she shouts.

I kneel
down beside our spotter. He is conscious, alert, and in obvious pain. “Hang in
there Harvey, Rachael’s on the way.”

He opens
his eyes. “Carrie,” he points to the headset in my hands. “You have to do
it...”

“What?”

“You
have to spot for me...”

“What?
No way, I can’t do that any more than you can do my job!”

“I’ll
help you.” I look up and one of the other team’s spotters has knelt down beside
me. He offers his hand. “My name’s Hank, I spot for Irwin Fletcher. I’d be
honored to help out.”

I take
his hand. “Thank you Hank. Thank you so much.”

Just
then Rachael runs up along with two track guards, presumably to help carry
Harvey down to the ambulance. As she takes over I stand up and put on my
headset.

“You can
stand over here with me,” Hank says, pointing the way.

I wave
to Harvey as they take him away. What horrible timing. There’s no way I can do
what he does for Marco. I join Hank by the rails and look down at the cars. I
click on my radio and address Marco.

“Hey uh
Marco, Harvey’s gonna be fine. I’m going to talk you through this with a little
help from Fletcher’s spotter.”

“You’ll
do great Carrie. I trust you.”

“I just
wish I trusted me. Okay so what’s next? What do I do?”

“I’m due
at some point to change out these tires and to refuel. You have to find out
when that time is. You’ll also have to warn me when I’m about ten stalls away
from out pit box and let me know if I’m coming in too fast.”

“How
fast is too fast?”

“Keep me
at 50.”

“Crap...what
else?”

“You
gotta keep me informed as to where the other guys are that concern me and let
me know if there’s debris on the track or a wreck I need to avoid. You gotta
guide me around the track basically.”

“Okay.”

I feel a
tap on my shoulder. It’s Hank. “The leaders are heading in. Tell your guy to
come in. He’ll need to refuel and change the tires.”

“I have
to tell him that?”

“Your
pit crew will do the work. Just tell him to come in and make sure he doesn’t
come in too hot.”

“Got it.
Thanks Hank.” I focus back on Marco. “Hey Marco, come one in. Everybody’s
coming in so if you do it now you won’t lose your position.”

“Yes
ma’am.”

By the
time the race is halfway finished I am drenched in sweat and a nervous wreck. I
feel like I’m the one out there driving the car and not Marco. The amount of
information I have to give him on a minute to minute second to second basis is
overwhelming.

By the
time the race is down to the last fifteen laps I have guided Marco around five
spinouts, three wrecks, five more trips to pit row, and even guided him through
tandem racing with Irwin Fletcher. I know the position of every contender. Then
with five laps to go Hank cuts his ties.

“Ma’am,”
he says, “It’s up to you now. I gotta focus on my guy so the gloves are gonna
have to come off. You’re a smart woman and you obviously have a connection to
your driver. You’ll be fine. You’re doin’ great, spotter!”

I know
what’s expected of me. I leave Hank’s side and go back to my spot on the other
end of the stand. Now we’re truly alone. “Alright Marco, let’s bring this
home!”

“Roger
that!”

Marco
has slipped back to ninth position. I just missed moves that a couple cars put
on him while I was focusing on something else. Chalk that up to being
inexperienced.

I’m just
about to tell Marco to make a move on the number 91 car when I notice the fifth
and sixth place cars starting to get a little rough with each other. Then the
number 123 car decides it’s a good time to make his move and decides to split
them right down the middle. It almost worked. For whatever reason the number 27
car didn’t see the car moving up on his right. He moved high to give the guy he
was fighting with a bump and ended up sandwiching the 123 car. All three cars
spin out and into the wall just before turn number three. Marco is right in the
middle of that straightaway and dangerously close to the wall. If he keeps his
same line he’s bound to tangle with the cars that just plowed into the wall.
Time to earn my keep.

“Marco
there’s trouble in turn one. You gotta break low on my count or you’ll end up
in the middle.”

“Too
much smoke Carrie, I can’t see a damn thing. Sure you want me to break down?”

I can
hear the tension in his voice. He wants to keep his current line and I can’t
let him.

“Three...you
gotta trust me on this one Marco...two...Shit, hold up!”

Dammit!
The freaking second before I’m going to tell Marco to make his move the number
00 car decides to pass him low and inside. If he moves now he risks wrecking
with the 00 car. If he stays where he’s at in the line he’ll hit the other
cars.

“What do
I do...I’m almost at the smoke Carrie and I can’t see a damn thing...” I can
hear the panic in his voice. If I was his regular spotter he’d be all calm and
collected because he’d know that his spotter will get him out of the jam.

Suddenly
I get an idea. “Okay Marco, you’re gonna have to trust me on this one.”

“Tell
me.”

“Go high
on my mark. Three, two, one...mark!”

The
number 45 car is on his high side. Yup I just sent him into another race car on
the hope and a prayer that the guy in that car will react like I think he will.
And he does. Not only does he not want to be put into the wall by Marco, but
he’s pissed that Marco just ran into him so he overreacted and pushed hard back
against Marco’s car. It has the desired result. It shoves Marco hard down low
and Marco’s car just slips down behind the guy who was just passing him on the
inside. But the momentum pushes Marco a little lower, just enough to clear the
guys car.

“Floor
it!” I shout at the top of my lungs.

Marco
hits the gas and slingshots right by the faster moving 00 car. Marco didn’t
have the power or speed to slingshot around the 00 car as he was passing him so
I used the 45 car to push Marco into position to slingshot around him. With
that extra push and position Marco was able to pass the 00 car and steer clear
of the wreck on the wall.

“Ballsy
move, spotter!” I glance up and it’s Alanzo, Marco’s crew chief.

“What’re
you doing here?” I ask. He never comes up to the spotter’s stand.

“Just
checkin’ on my new spotter,” he replies. “Can you bring him home?”

A huge
smile breaks out across my face and for the first time all day I actually feel
confident. “No problem!” I reply. “No problem at all.”

Marco
has just cleared turn four and is in the number four position thanks to the
wreck on turn three. “You still with me?” Marco asks.

“I’m
here.”

“No more
bumper cars, you hear?” he says with a laugh.

I smile
as I scan the track. Time to move him up into third. By the time three more
laps are ticked off, Marco is in second and just getting out of turn two. He’s
got about a lap and a half left to his career as a NASCAR driver if he doesn’t.
Fortunately, the third place car does it for us when the front of his car is
suddenly billowing out thick black smoke. As he moves down and inside and off
the track Marco flies by and is just a couple car lengths behind the first and
second place cars. This is gonna be a finish for the ages, whatever happens.

For the
rest of the second to last lap, Marco stays on the second place car’s bumper.
He’s drafting the guy despite the man’s best effort to keep him from doing just
that. With only one lap to go it looks like no one is going to be changing
position here and that means Marco is toast. I’m going to have to do a Hail
Mary, that’s all there is to it. It may cost him a very respectable third place
finish but anything less that first for Marco is as good as coming in last.
It’s first or nothing. What the heck are we going to do? Suddenly I have an
idea. But I gotta talk to Alanzo so I don’t tip my hand to any of the other
drivers.

“Marco
I’m gonna leave you for about thirty seconds, then I’ll be back.”

“Make it
quick then.”

I switch
channels and call Alazno. “What’s up Carrie?”

“Do the
other teams and drivers know that I’m the one that is spotting for Marco?”

“Of
course.”

“So then
it won’t be a surprise if I make a really stupid mistake then...”

“Pretty
much.”

“Is
there a channel that I can
accidently
broadcast on and everybody will hear me?”

“Sure,
switch to TAC 88. What do you have up your sleeve?”

“Can’t
tell ya. It’s gotta fool everyone.” I reply, praying desperately that this will
work. I take a deep breath and switch to TAC 88. “Hey Marco it’s me. I’m having
problems with my radio so I had to switch to this one.”

“I don’t
think that’s such a good idea...” He begins.

“Sorry
you’re breaking up I can’t hear a thing,” I lie. “Just static. I’m going to
assume you can hear me so here’s what I want you to do.”

Over the
next two laps I feed Marco false information and bad advice and I watch the
other cars and spotters reacting. Marco is about to lap the number 78 car. As
long as that guy follows race etiquette he’ll move high and let Marco pass him
in the groove. That will give Marco enough speed and power to overtake Irwin
Fletcher. That was all we needed. Number 78 just had to do the right thing and
we’d be home free but he doesn’t do it.