Ignite

After a few moments of being alone together, it was time for Emmit to get back to work.

At the press conference it didn’t take long for a reporter to ask Emmit if his tears from earlier were tears of joy about winning the Daytona 500. Emmit glanced over to me and smiled. We had a few minutes alone before the interview and I was able to tell him I was eight weeks along. If asked, we decided Emmit would announce we were expecting.

Emmit’s eyes lit up as he smiled a drop dead gorgeous smile. He laughed slightly and looked over at me. “I’m sure winning had something to do with those emotions, but I’m pretty sure it had more to do with the fact that Addie had just told me she was pregnant. They were the first words out of her mouth after she walked up to me.”

Everyone let out some hoops and hollers as my father looked over at me. Smiling, I winked as he slowly shook his head and pointed to me as he mouthed, I love you.

By the time the news conference was over, I was exhausted and ready to head back to the bus. Ashley had finally made it through the crowd and to Emmit. She’d lost her friend Becca somewhere in the crowd but introduced me to her friend Janet.

“You must be so excited. To be married to the top NASCAR racer and be carrying his baby! That’s like so totally awesome!”

I couldn't help but smile as I nodded in agreement with Ashley’s friend, Janet. In that moment it hit me how much more mature Ashley was over her friends.

“So what are your plans for tonight?” I asked the girls.

Janet smiled, “Well, Ashley here has some secret date she isn’t telling anyone about.”

I peeked over at Ashley and watched her cheeks flush. “It’s not a secret date. It’s not even date.”

Narrowing my eye at her, I asked, “What is it then?”

Ashley gave me a nervous smile as she kicked at the ground. “Nothing really. Just an old friend who invited me to catch up. Someone from the old circuit.”

Taking her by the arm, I looked over my shoulder back at Emmit. He was doing another interview and not paying attention to us. “Ashley Lewis. You know your brother doesn’t want you running around with these guys.”

“It’s not like that, Adaline, my gosh. It’s just a friend who wanted to apologize for a misunderstanding the other day.”

My mouth dropped open as my eyes widened in horror. “No. Ashley, you cannot.”

Giving me a fake laugh, she looked at me like I was crazy. “I cannot what?”

“Malcolm?”

Ashley’s smile faded as she glanced over to Emmit. “It’s not Malcolm. It’s someone else.”

I knew instantly she was lying.

Closing my eyes, I let out a sigh. “Oh, Ashley honey, Malcolm Wallace is not someone you want to get involved with. I know you had a huge crush on him at one time, but if your brother ever found out.”

“Oh my gosh, Adaline! You sound like my mother. I'm perfectly fine, I’m an adult woman and I know what I’m doing. I have to go. Tell Emmit I’ll talk to him later.” Turning away from me, Ashley called out to Janet. “Janet, let’s go find Becca!”

“Ashley! Ashley wait!” I called out as I watched her walk toward the buses. Most of the drivers would be pulling away soon. I prayed like hell Malcolm had already left.

Rubbing my hand across the back of my neck, I let out a frustrated groan. “Adaline, why don’t you go back to the bus? I’ll let Emmit know where you are.”

Smiling, I nodded and kissed Kate Elliot on the cheek. “I think I will. I’m exhausted and who knows how long this will take. Is Johnny still at the bus?”

Kate shook her head. “No, Robert’s mom went and got him a little bit ago.”

I placed my hand on Kate’s arm and smiled. “Thank you so much, Kate. I’ll talk to you soon.”

With each step I took back to the bus, I had a dreadful feeling move over me and I wasn’t sure why. The feeling of someone watching me caused the hair on my arms to rise as I glanced around. At one point, I stopped and turned back to look at Emmit. He must have sensed it because he looked directly at me and held up his hand to motion five more minutes.

Thank God. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed.

Opening the door to the bus, I took a step in. “Lola?” I called out as I looked for her. Huh. That’s strange she isn’t here to greet me.

Johnny must have turned all the lights out in the bus before he left because it was pitch-black. “Lola!” I called out as I turned the kitchen light on and headed to the bedroom. When I didn’t see her on the bed, I panicked. Shit! What if Johnny left the door open and she got out?