Revved Up Hearts Read online

  “Okay.”

  “Will you walk with me?”

  “Sure.” They walked down pit row in silence. It was pretty clear the Jeremiah was preoccupied. It was awkward. “So, did you see this morning’s paper?”

  Jeremiah groaned and looked toward the heavens. “Yes, and if I could get my hands on that woman, I’d strangle her.” He looked down at Dawn. “Has Bryan seen it?”

  “Yes. He was actually the one who showed it to me.”

  “Ouch!” he exclaimed. “How did he take it?”

  “With some good-natured teasing. He said he would’ve fired me if I had started the fight, but he couldn’t blame me for defending myself. He laughed and said he was glad we were friends.”

  “Nothing negative?”

  “Not really. Just the teasing, but it was all in good fun. Ted asked me to autograph the picture, but I wouldn’t”

  “Ted is a moron.”

  “No. He was just teasing like everyone else. I just told them they had better be able to take what they were dishing out.”

  Dawn wasn’t able to stay and watch Jeremiah’s race. She had to call Bryan’s fan club headquarters in Charlotte to schedule some appearances in California, the next stop on the NASCAR schedule. After that, Dawn read some of the rulebook that Jeremiah had brought her. Then she went back to her hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool. Dawn was just walking back into her room when the phone rang. “Hello,” she answered.

  “Hello, beautiful.” It was Jeremiah. “Where have you been?”

  “The pool. What’s up?”

  “I wanted to ask you to dinner tonight. I know this great little Italian place that overlooks the ocean. Care to join me?”

  “That sounds nice.”

  “Great. I’ll pick you up in an hour.”

  Jeremiah knocked on the door of Dawn’s hotel room exactly one hour later. Dawn opened the door, and what she saw made her mouth drop open. Jeremiah stood there in black dress shoes that were so shiny she could see her reflection in them, black dress slacks with a razor-sharp crease, a maroon tie over a crisp, white button-up shirt, and a black suit jacket. Silver cuff links shone at his wrists. He held a single long-stemmed yellow rose in his right hand. His dark hair still looked a little damp from his recent shower. “Wow!” Dawn said. “You look fabulous.”

  “Thank you,” he said as he looked her over. “You look pretty good yourself.”

  “Thank you. Come on in. I’m almost ready.” She turned and walked into the room. Jeremiah followed. She wore a dark-green dress that went just below her knee. The low back and then straps made her back, shoulders, and neck look amazing. He wanted to kiss her neck, but he knew she wouldn’t appreciate that. They didn’t have that type of relationship. Not yet anyway. He looked at her backside but quickly looked at her legs. She wore black stockings with no shoes. Did she not know what that view did to him? Probably not, he thought to himself. She is so innocent and goodhearted that she probably didn’t know how pretty she was.

  She turned to face him, and he was embarrassed that he had been caught looking at her that way. Now he could take a better look at the front of the dress. The curves at the top of the dress came up high enough to be modest. A cross pendant hung just below her collarbone.

  “Jeremiah, are you listening to me?” Her words jolted him out of his thoughts about her.

  “What?”

  “What were you thinking about? You didn’t hear me till the third time I asked you.”

  “I was just thinking about how beautiful you are.” It was an honest answer.

  “Thank you. Now, which earrings do you like the best?”

  Then he noticed that she was holding up two sets of earrings. “The dangly ones.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “No. I don’t know. I don’t know these things,” he said as he threw his hands in the air. “Ask me about racing or something else that I do know something about.”

  She laughed at his reaction. “I was just teasing you. How did you do in the race today?”

  “Second. I would’ve won, but I got passed on the last lap.”

  “So you and Bryan will start right next to each other Sunday?”

  “Yes. He’ll be on the outside of the second row, and I’ll be on the inside.”

  Dawn nodded as she finished putting in her earrings. “Is it true that a lot of celebrities go to the Daytona 500?”

  “Yes. Last year Dwayne Edmonds was the grand marshal. I got to hang out with him and Willie Simmons.”

  “Really! Who’s going to be there this year?”

  “Tony Summers is supposed to be the grand marshal. You never really know who’ll be there until you show up for the drivers’ meeting.”

  “Why do the movie stars go to the drivers’ meeting?”

  “The grand marshal goes because he is part of the race and needs to know what is going to happen. As for the other celebs, they want to meet us just as much as we want to meet them. The drivers’ meeting is a good place for that because it’s the last time we get to relax before the race.”

  “That makes sense,” she said as she checked herself in the mirror one last time. She walked to the edge of the bed and slipped into her high-heeled shoes. Then she turned to him and said, “I’m ready if you are.”

  “I’m ready. Have I told you that you look great?”

  “Yes, you have.”

  “I mean it. It’s not just flattery.”

  “I know. Thank you,” she said as she walked past him. Then she turned back to look at him and flashed him her best smile. “Just make sure I meet Tony Summers.”

  The Italian restaurant was very upscale and elegant. It was semi-dark with white linen tablecloths and candles on all the tables. Soft violin music played in the background. A maître d’ in a tuxedo with tails met them at the door and escorted them to their table. He held Dawn’s chair for her and then placed a napkin in her lap. I’ve never been treated like this before, Dawn thought. Since Jeremiah couldn’t drink alcohol and Dawn simply didn’t drink, they ordered a bottle of sparkling cider. “What do you think of this place so far?” Jeremiah asked when they were alone at the table.

  “I love it. The ambience is great.”

  “One of the drivers owns this place. He lives in Daytona during the off-season. He came in here once and found out that it was going to close. He loved the place. So he bought it and left the owners in charge to run it.”

  “Really? Which driver?”

  “It’s a secret. He doesn’t want a lot of people to know. He wants it to stay a nice place, and he’s afraid that it’ll become a NASCAR hangout. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but he wants this to be a place where he can come to get away and relax.”

  “Everybody needs a place like that where they can let their guard down and be themselves, not what other people think they should be.”

  “Exactly,” he answered.

  “What’s your getaway place?” she asked.

  Jeremiah didn’t answer right away because the waiter had returned with their salads. “Let me see,” Jeremiah responded when the waiter left, “I think my getaway place would have to be Montana. Even though my parents aren’t together anymore, I can go to either of their houses and just be Jack’s son or Lorrie’s boy. They’ll tell me when I’m acting like a bigheaded celebrity and tell me to stop. The people in my hometown are the people who knew me when I was just a kid. Nothing keeps you humble like running into your third grade teacher at the grocery store, and she remembers the time you threw up in front of the whole class.”

  “Did that really happen to you?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. I got really nervous while doing my very first show and tell.”

  “Poor guy.”

  “Thanks for the sympathy.”
He grinned at her. “What about you? Do you have a getaway place?”

  “The old place back home. My dad grew up in a little house with no electricity or running water. You’ve heard of growing up dirt poor, well that is how my dad lived. Anyway, we still own the land and house, even though no one lives there. There’s forty acres with a natural spring but mostly woods. Dad carried water from the spring into the house every day. I love to go up there and walk around. There is a big rock on the hill behind the house. I go up there and just sit. It’s so quiet. I can think or just clear my mind.”

  They talked until their entrees arrived. Jeremiah ordered garlic shrimp scampi, and Dawn had the chicken alfredo. It was delicious. Jeremiah offered to give Dawn some of his shrimp, but she couldn’t take it because she was allergic. “That was great,” Jeremiah said as he leaned back in the chair when he was finished. “Would you like some dessert?”

  “No, thank you. I couldn’t possibly eat anything else.”

  “Well, they have the best chocolate cake here. I can’t come here without having a slice.” Jeremiah said as he motioned for the waiter.

  “Jeremiah, have you noticed your admirer?” Dawn asked.

  “What?” Jeremiah looked around.

  “You probably can’t see him because he’s kind of behind you, but there’s a little boy, who looks to be about nine. He hasn’t taken his eyes off of you since we got here.”

  “Really?” Jeremiah turned around and spotted the brown-haired kid. When he did, the boy quickly looked away. Jeremiah looked at the little guy’s parents and motioned the boy over. At first the boy shook his head no, and his face turned beet red. Then his father took him by the hand, and they walked over to Jeremiah and Dawn’s table . At first, the little boy was too shy to even look at Jeremiah. “Hey there, buddy. What’s your name?”

  The little boy continued to look at the floor. The boy’s father gave him a gentle poke and told him to talk to Jeremiah. “Forgive him,” the dad said. “He’s shy, but he’s your biggest fan.”

  “Wow. My biggest fan! I’d really like to know his name.” The boy muttered something but never looked up. “I’m sorry, man, but I didn’t catch that. I can’t sign an autograph if I don’t know who to sign it to.”

  That got the boy’s attention, and his head snapped up. “My name is Martin.”

  “Nice to meet you, Martin,” Jeremiah said as he extended his hand to him. The boy looked at his father to make sure it was okay. When his dad nodded, Martin grabbed Jeremiah’s hand and shook it vigorously.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Jones.”

  “Mr. Jones?” Jeremiah looked around. “Is my dad here? He’s the only Mr. Jones I know. I’m Jeremiah.” Jeremiah was rewarded with a huge grin. “How old are you, Martin?”

  “Ten.”

  “Are you married?”

  “No! Girls are gross!”

  “Not all of them.” Jeremiah looked at Dawn and winked. Then he turned his attention back to Martin. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

  “Either a doctor or a race car driver.”

  “What about a doctor who takes care of injured race car drivers?”

  Martin’s eyes got big as saucers. “I never thought of that!” he exclaimed. “Would you let me take care of you?”

  “I hope I never get hurt, but if I do, you can definitely take care of me.”

  “Did you hear that, Daddy? I’m gonna be Jeremiah Jones’s doctor.”

  “Yeah. That’s great son,” the dad said.

  “Do you have something that I can sign for you?” Jeremiah asked Martin.

  “Yes!” the boy said as he handed Jeremiah a trading card that had Jeremiah’s picture on it.

  “He has carried that card with him everywhere since we got to Daytona, hoping to meet you and get you to sign it,” the dad said.

  Jeremiah pulled a pen from his suit jacket, signed the card, and handed it back to Martin. “There ya go. Anything else?”

  “Would it be too much trouble to have my picture taken with you?” The shyness was gone now.

  “No problem at all.” At that, the dad went back to their table. He came back with a camera and Martin’s mom.

  “Thank you so much for all this,” she said. “It’s so nice of you to take time away from your evening for my son.”

  “No problem at all. I always try to do everything I can for my fans.”

  Martin stood right next to Jeremiah and smiled his biggest smile as Jeremiah put his arm around him. Martin’s dad took the picture. “Thank you, Jeremiah. Thank you so much.” Martin said.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “What about one with the whole family?” Dawn asked.

  “Sure,” they all said at the same time. Dawn took the camera from the dad. Then Mom and Dad went to stand behind Jeremiah and Martin. They were all smiles as Dawn snapped the picture.

  “My friends are not gonna believe this!” Martin exclaimed.

  “They will when you show them the picture,” Dawn told him when she turned the digital camera around and showed him the image on the screen.

  “Oh, wow! Dad, look!”

  “Wow. We’ll take this home and have it blown up to an 8x10. You can take it to school and show it to everybody.”

  “I can’t thank you enough,” Martin’s mom said as she took Jeremiah’s hand and held it. “You haven’t just made my son’s day; you’ve made his whole year.” The lady had tears in her eyes.

  “Anytime. I love doing it.”

  About that time, Jeremiah’s cake arrived. The family said thank you one more time and then left to let Jeremiah enjoy his dessert. Jeremiah took Dawn by the hand and looked deep into her eyes. “Thank you,” he said.

  “For what?” Dawn asked.

  “For understanding. The last girl I went out with never would’ve let me interrupt our date to spend time with a young fan. She never would’ve pointed Martin out to me, not to mention let me talk to him and sign an autograph. You even offered to take a picture. ”

  “She sounds very selfish.”

  “She was. She had to be the center of attention at all times. Her time with me was her time, no one else’s. She would’ve been here for my visit with Martin, but she would’ve sat there with her arms crossed and done nothing but glare at me. She would never have made a scene in front of them, but now they’re gone, she would’ve been giving me a major cussing right now.”

  “I don’t like her. I don’t know her, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t like her if I did. How long did you date her?”

  “Not long. Only about a month, I think. It didn’t take me long to realize I wasn’t going to put up with that. I don’t want to talk about her anymore. It’s spoiling my appetite,” he said, just before taking a big bite of chocolate cake.

  After dinner, Jeremiah and Dawn walked out on the restaurant’s balcony, overlooking the ocean. The full moon was high in the night sky. Its reflection shone brightly on the water. The gentle sound of the waves crashing on the beach was so relaxing. A cool breeze was blowing, and a jazz band could be heard from somewhere in the distance. It was breathtakingly beautiful. She leaned on the railing to take it all in.

  “What are your plans for this week?” Jeremiah asked as he joined her at the railing.

  “Bryan has a couple of sponsor appearances and a photo shoot, but other than that, my week is free. I have a cousin who lives in Orlando. I may go see her one day. What about you? Do you have any plans?”

  “Nothing. I’m gonna hang out and take it easy. It may be my last chance for a while.”

  “I understand,” Dawn said as she shivered. This may be Florida, but it was also February.

  “Are you cold?”

  “A little.”

  “We shouldn’t have come out here. Take this,” he said a
s he put his jacket over her shoulders. He kept his hands there and rubbed lightly. “Better?”

  “Much.” Dawn leaned in closer as she put one arm around his waist and put her head on his chest. “Thank you.” They stood like that for a few moments just enjoying each other’s closeness, listening to the music and the ocean. Dawn could feel Jeremiah’s heartbeat. Everything seemed to just come together all at once. It was the most relaxing thing Dawn had experienced in a long time. Jeremiah’s hand had drifted down to Dawn’s back, where he held her loosely.

  “You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Jeremiah whispered.

  “I am.”

  “There is only one thing I can think of that would make this even better.”

  “What would that be?”

  “I’ll show you,” he said as he tipped her face toward him. She looked deep into his green eyes then at his mouth as he lowered his head and brushed her lips with his. He lifted his head just enough to look into her eyes. He gave her a moment to decide if she was going to let him continue. She looked at him for another second but then dropped her head and took a step back. Jeremiah let his arms drop to his sides. “Did I cross a line?”

  “No,” she said as she shook her head. “Part of me wants to kiss you again, but I can’t.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

  She looked at him and shivered again. “Yes, but it’s cold out here. Can we go back inside?”

  “Of course,” he said as he put a hand on the small of her back and led her inside. They went back to their table where Jeremiah ordered them coffee. He sat back in his chair and waited. She had been looking down, smoothing out the linen tablecloth. She’s doing it again, he thought. She’s nervous, so she’s not looking at me.

  She looked up at him. “This is difficult,” she said with a sigh.

  “Take your time,” he told her.

  She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and began. “I was engaged. I was a good girl. I didn’t date much in school. I couldn’t let that interfere with my studies. I had to get into a good college. I did. Once out of Mom and Dad’s house, I tried to be wild—drink and party—but I couldn’t. My parents raised me in church. I would go to the frat parties and drink a little, but I would remember how I was raised, feel guilty about how I was acting, and leave.”