die when they race illegally. And I send him home.”
Cody grinned. “Sometimes me and Raleigh go there and drive fast when no one else is around.”
“Well, not too fast.” Raleigh watched Mia’s face at that bit of news. Would she be shocked that he dared still drive fast? But no, it wasn’t shock or derision. It was…hunger. The same that he’d seen all those years ago when he told her about the thrill of racing.
“Wanna go for a ride?” Cody asked while Raleigh was still considering the wisdom of offering.
“She probably wouldn’t feel comfortable,” Raleigh said, though he might have meant himself. “Bad memories and all.”
“But you’re not racing against another car,” she said, that fire growing. “Just going fast.”
“Let’s go!” Cody jumped up and pounded his feet on the boards. “We haven’t gone in a while. And we need a break, anyway.”
Raleigh gestured toward the table. “We just took a break.”
But Cody was pulling Mia to her feet, and she was laughing at his enthusiasm. “Can we, Raleigh? Can we, can we?” he asked, his hand still wrapped around Mia’s.
Raleigh met her gaze. “You sure?”
She nodded. “Yes.” She laced her fingers through Cody’s, but her eyes were still on Raleigh. “Do you know, that summer was the first time I’d ever gone fast? And I haven’t gone fast since then. I haven’t felt that thrill, that wild sense of freedom.” Her eyes sparkled. “I want to feel that again.”
Was she still talking about driving in a car? “All right, let’s go fast.”
Cody whooped and raced off to find his sneakers. They closed up the house and headed to the ‘Cuda. Raleigh felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu with her sitting in the passenger seat, running her fingers along the interior lines of the car as she took it in. “She’s a beauty.”
Good thing Cody was there, or he might have leaned over and kissed her. He’d done that every time he’d gotten in on the driver’s side, letting the momentum carry him into her space, where he couldn’t resist capturing her mouth. It was almost like remembering scenes from a movie, actors who only looked like them.
“This is the first muscle car I’ve owned since the crash. Well, for the first year I was out, I had a bike.”
“Motorcycle?”
“No, bicycle. Then a motorcycle. Then I bought a cheap car that wouldn’t even think about going fast. But one of my clients brought this car in for some work, and, man, I fell in love with her.” He ran his fingers along the top of the leather wheel. “Turned out he needed to sell her, so we did some bartering. I’ve been doing work on her when I can eke out the time.”
She took in the updated interior. “It looks perfect.”
“There are things you can’t see. I’ve had her for sale, trying to raise money for a down payment on the garage, but no serious takers so far.”
“That would be sad to sell it. Her. And now you won’t have to.” Then she gave him a puzzled look. “You rode a bicycle? From your trailer?”
He shrugged. “Didn’t have a license for a year. Part of the conviction.” Okay, he hadn’t meant to bring that up. But he wouldn’t talk about—
“You must have had to leave by five in the morning to ride that far,” she said. “And on roads without bike lanes. In the rain and cold weather. Raleigh—”
“This is supposed to be a fun ride. Let’s not dwell on that.” Her sympathy, considering the price she’d paid. He couldn’t even comprehend it.
Instead of finishing her sentence, she stroked his arm. He felt that soft touch throughout his body. Compassion, understanding.
He fingered the key Pax had given him, a gleaming temptation every time he pulled out his key ring. Dumb to even coil it onto the ring in the first place, but there it was. He wrestled his phone from his pocket and called Pax. “Anyone out at the track right now?”
“Just me and three-eighths of a mile of fresh asphalt waiting for someone to lay down some rubber.” Pax let that settle, pushing Raleigh to continue.
“I’m thinking of taking you up on that offer.”
“Tuning?”
He glanced at Mia, who was clearly intrigued. “Just driving fast. Reliving old times.”
“Come on down,” he drawled.
“The kid’s with us. That okay?”
“Sure, just put a helmet on him. Us? Who’s ‘us’?”
“Mia.”
“Ohhhh. Sweet.”
Yeah. Sweet. “See you in a few.” Raleigh paused. “Thanks.”
“Dude, I have ulterior motives. Get you hooked into racing again.”
“You sound like a