Page 43 of Shifted

Dalton stared at his brother. He hadn’t even heard him come back into the trailer.

Rory continued, “You’re giving up because you’re tired. I get it. We all get it, but Greer is offering us a way out. Maybe it’s a slim chance, but it’s better than giving up.”

“Is it?” Dalton asked. “Is it really better than packing it in? I’m not so sure. We don’t even own the majority stake anymore, so what the fuck are we fighting so hard for?”

“It’s our company,” Rory countered. “Dad built it, but you’ve kept it alive. Hughes Racing is us. You can’t give up on us.” He sat down hard. “I know. I know you gave up your career because you found out Dad was about to lose the whole business, which meant my career and Jordana’s would be over as well. You didn’t hesitate. Yeah, Dad was sick but you gave up everything for the business. For Jordana and me. I know you paid his bills with money from your race wins and you kept Dad afloat for at least six months before you came back.”

Dalton’s heart sank. He’d never wanted anyone to know that.

“What?” Jordana mumbled. “What do you mean?”

“Dalton knew Dad was falling apart before any of us knew he was sick. He paid all the bills from what he made racing so that you and I could keep going. So that Dad could save face. Then he gave up his entire career to take over.”

“Is that true, Dalton?”

He stayed silent. Rory needed to stop talking. This information wasn’t going to help anyone, and Greer certainly didn’t need to know it.

“He also paid for your college and your early racing days. Dad didn’t pay for anything. Dalton paid for all of us. Whatever we needed.”

“Rory—” Dalton warned.

Jordana said, “Is it true?”

Her eyes looked so sad it made his heart hurt. “It’s not important.”

“Yes, it is,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.

“Jorry,” he said, using the nickname they’d used when she was a little girl, “I left all of you guys with him, and I shouldn’t have. He wasn’t good at being a dad. So I helped out when I could. That’s it.” He’d felt so guilty when he’d discovered their father had no money to help Jordana with school. He’d realized then that his leaving had cost all his siblings big time. He had always been the one to hold their father’s feet to the fire. He made him do the right things when it came to the family, but he’d been younger than Jordana was now. Being the responsible one all the time had been too much, and he needed to get out. To be his own person. It had taken years before he realized how his actions had affected the rest.

“He saved the house and kept us all in food and clothing. Sorry to tell you, Jorry, but it’s time you learned the truth. Dalton kept us going. Not Dad. Never Dad.

“If I did such a great thing,” Dalton asked Rory, “then why did three of you fall apart? Where are Niall and Cormac? They should be here, and they aren’t. I didn’t save anyone. I just prolonged the agony. Maybe now it should be over. Then we can all move on.”

“I don’t want to move on,” Jordana said bluntly. “I want to race for Hughes Racing. It’s been my dream since childhood. I’m not giving up on it. I know I don’t have the right to ask anything else from you, Dalton, but please don’t give up.”

The crushing weight he’d been silently carrying for years had just become public and had tripled in size. He couldn’t turn her down. She was his baby sister. He dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling of the fancy trailer they couldn’t really afford. But again…Dad.

He mouthed an obscenity at the world in general, but mostly for this messed up situation, and finally gave in. “I don’t know how long we can function, but you’ll race this season or for as long as I can float it.”

Jordana threw her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug. “I owe you, big brother.”

He hugged her back. “No, you don’t. Just go out and have fun. Rory will coach you, and if you don’t mind, I might stick my nose in now and again.”

She stepped back. “I’d like that.” Turning, she grabbed Rory’s hand. “Come on, we have to discuss strategy, and I want to talk to Mario about car setup. Let’s grab Gus, too,” she said as she pulled him out of the trailer into the rain.

He turned to Greer. “You still need?—”

“I need to stay. Jordana is right. If we can prove someone else sabotaged the wing, there’s a chance you can still get paid.” She held up her hand, warding off his protest. She clarified, “It’s a slim chance, but it exists. I still have to investigate whether you like it or not. Wouldn’t it be better if you helped me rather than work against me?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. She was right, as much as he hated to admit it. “Murder is a whole different level of investigation.”

“Yes, it is, but I’m not investigating a murder. I’m looking for a saboteur. I’m just an insurance investigator doing my thing. That’s all people will see. That’s all they need to know.”

He frowned. She looked so good it was killing him. Best to remember she’d dumped him, crushed him. And yet, here he was thinking about how good it would feel to pull her into his arms. Maybe Rory wasn’t the only Hughes with an addiction.

“By the way, I think you’re wrong,” Greer commented as she brushed some stray hairs out of her face. “There’s no way they could’ve planned Moore’s death. Someone wanted him to crash. I agree with that part. The whole wing was moving, so you’re right, it wasn’t just one screw. But there’s no way they could have counted on a major accident. He might have come in early or had a small mishap and sat out the rest of the session. It’s not murder. It’s manslaughter or wrongful death at best.”

“It doesn’t matter what you want to call it, it’s still murder in my book. My driver lost his life. We need to find out who loosened the screws so we can’t be blamed for it and the right person goes to jail.” He’d just used “we.” There was no point in denying that Greer was staying, but he needed to lay out some ground rules.

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