Page 64 of The Legend
Lilyrolled her eyes. “Yes, ask me!”
“Lily AnneWest—” she started giggling. Her hand flew to her mouth to stop herself. “Areyou going to let me finish?”
“Yes.” Shesqueaked wrapping her arms around her knees pulling them against her chest.
Laughing,I looked down at our hands again. “All right,” I inhaled with an embarrassinglyshaky breath. “Lily Anne West...willyou marry me?”
Lily wasquiet for a moment before tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. “Yes.” Shewhispered launching forward into my arms. Wrapping them around her tightly, Iburied my face into her neck breathing her in. “I love you.”
She pulledback, grinning widely. “I thought you were never going to ask me and I love youtoo.”
“Why wouldyou have thought that?”
“Castentold me when you bought the ring. I was beginning to think you bought it forsomeone else.”
“Thatfucking brat,” I was ready to kill him. He always did shit like this. One timemy dad bought my mom a necklace for her birthday only to have Casten tell hertwo months earlier. He couldn’t keep secrets but then again neither could mymom.
“Oh, he’scute,” Lily flipped her hand as if this was no big deal and focused on thering, “leave him alone.”
“Not youtoo...” I groaned thoroughly annoyed with mybrother and his way to captivate everyone including my girlfriend. “You do realizehe was charged with starting a riot recently?”
“Me too what?Andno he wasn’t. That was Tommy. Casten was never formally charged with that.”
“Why doeseveryone think he’s cute?” Regardless of my little temper tantrum, I placed thering on her finger, smiling. “And he should have been charged with it. Hedestroyed my parent’s house.”
“Casteniscute. And his careless happy attitude for everything makes him adorable. Butyou...” she took my face between her hands, “youare what I want. Your sexy,” she bit down on her lip, “confident, staggeringlygood in bed...and the love youhave for racing makes me love you all the more.”
“Why wouldloving racing make you love me more?”
“Out ofeverything I just saidleaveit to you to focus onracing.”
“Naturally,”I grinned.
She shookher head amused. “Yet another reason why I love you, silly boy.”
Leaningback on my elbows, I grinned. “So you’ll be my wife?”
“Absolutely”
So weplanned a wedding. Or I should say the girls in the family planned the wedding.I just did what I was told. My only condition was that it happened in Novemberduring the break between the World Finals and my parent’s anniversary.
Planning awedding and finishing up an 82-race season was not ideal for a number ofreasons. If I had my choice, we’d be going to Vegas but Lily wanted a wedding,so that’s what she got.
Theweekend before the World Finals in Charlotte, I was at my wits end and lookingfor a private sanctuary, the sprint car shop was always a good idea.
I wasfrustrated by the time I reached the shop with all the wedding planning. Icouldn’t understand why this was all so hard. I mean, it’s a fucking wedding.It’s supposed to be about two people in love and wanting to spend that timetogether. Why did we have to go through all this bullshit to do that?
I wasrelieved to see Lane’s truck parked outside the shop when I pulled into theparking lot. I needed someone normal to be around. For the last few weeks, hewas helping us out in the sprint car shop since his season racing dirt bikeshad ended for the winter.
Lane wasin there changing out the gears for me so we could get the car loaded forCharlottes 4-night show. He was still racing on the GNCC (Grand National CrossCountry) motocross series but just finished the final round last week.
The thingwith Lane that I appreciated most was his willingness to help no matter what.All you had to say was “Hey, can you...” you didn’t have to finish the sentence and he was already asking howhe could help.
“Can you handme that control arm?” I asked him setting my beer on the wing. I usually had aton of guys here helping me but most of them, Tommy and Willie included, werewith my dad in Texas.
Everyonein the shop loved to watch him at Texas. He owned that place on any givenweekend just like he did Bristol and Richmond. I’ve never seen someone throw a2400 pound cup car sideways into the concrete corners and still manage to keepit under control as my dad did. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t do in a racecar and he proved that countless times. Looking around the shop at all thetrophy’s told you that.
“Yeah,”Lane placed it next to my feet. “You know...” he began—his eyes on the wheel. “If you don’t want me to help youwith the cars, I don’t have to.”
