Page 118 of Down & Dirty

CHAPTER 37

CORY

“What are you smiling about?” Billy asked, as I walked back into the garage, scrubbing a towel over my head after taking a quick shower.

“Whataren’tI smiling about?” I laughed. I pulled on the dress shirt I’d brought with me, buttoning it as quick as I could. “I’m running late to get Micah.”

Billy’s face scrunched up. “You’re picking him up?”

His shock was amusing. “Yeah, Skylar’s meeting with an asthma specialist, so I get the honors.”

Even running a few minutes behind, I knew better than to be worried. “From everything Sky tells me, Geena won’t have him ready when I get there. Even if I’m late.”

My friend tugged the rag from his back pocket, eyeing me over the bike. “What’s that like? Being part-time dad to someone else’s kid?”

“It’s great.” I hesitated, thinking of how to put this. “It sucks dropping him off for days at a time. And I hate that when he’s gone, all the little things we do have to wait. Like,” I leaned on the bike between us, “we do puzzles. Micah loves ‘em. And I do too, I guess. They’re kind of soothing. But anyway, when he’s gone, they just sit on the table, half done. And it sucks. ‘Cause it’s like we have to keep taking time outs fromourstuff so he can see his dad.”

When I looked back up, Billy was frozen, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly ajar.

“What?” I asked, glancing behind me.

“You. Holy shit. You really like this dad stuff.”

I shrugged, a warmth feeding into my blood stream. “Yeah. He’s a good kid.”

“Do you want more? Like, of your own?”

My smile broke across my face before I’d even considered what to say. Micah wasn’t mine, but he also wasn’tnotmine. I didn’t feel much of a separation anymore. But the idea of more kids hit a sweet spot inside me.

“I think I would, yeah.” It wasn’t something I was thinking about any time soon. But theactof making babies with Sky was already a good time, following through on that and getting a little kid of our own would be pretty amazing. Half her, half me. I could almost picture them.

Billy scratched his head. “I gotta get out more. You look like a guy who just won the lottery and you’re about to go pick up someoneelse’skid. What the hell am I doing with my life?”

I let out a hearty laugh. “Please. I’ve been telling you that for years.”

“Yeah, but before, we were both sorry losers. Now you’ve gone and fucked up the whole balance.”

I finished buttoning my shirt. “Sorry to upset the force, bud. Let me know when you want to double date.”

“When I find a woman, I’m sure as shit not introducing her to you. Your fancy ass and model face would have her rethinking her decision faster than I could get the bartender to bring me a beer.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, man.Con-fi-dence. Say it with me,” I ribbed, rummaging in my bag for my wallet.

“It’s not just that. You’ve got the juice. You’ve put your money in the right places. When it comes time, you’ll be able to settle down with Sky and Micah in some plush neighborhood. I bet you’ll even have a gate, you elitist prick.”

Nowthatwas hard to imagine. I was a backwoods kid. There was nothing about the McMansion neighborhoods popping up in Maine that appealed to me. But Billy’s words rattled something loose.

I wanted to give Skylar and Micah a good life, the kind of life they deserved. The kind Tommy had never given them. When we’d started all this, I was planning to cut bait from racing on a high note so my modeling contracts would last a little longer, buying me time to figure out what to do next. But now the idea of walking away from all that money felt like I’d be putting that life I saw for us at risk.

“I need some big wins this season,” I sighed, thinking out loud, as my good mood slipped through my hands. “At least top tens, and a few podiums.”

Billy eyed me, puzzled. “You looking to oust these youngsters?” He waved a hand at the empty garage, laughing as we both looked over the vacant stations for the rest of the team. “Something tells me they’re not the only ones who might give you a run for your money.”

He was right. Part of my job was to help the team score points, to block and tackle for the rest who were far more likely to win than me. But if I didn’t make sure I was covered in the post-race wrap up reels, I’d quickly become useless to Harmsch, Eleet, and the rest all over again. It was my pretty facecombinedwith my record that had landed me on their radar. If I stopped winning, I’d fall off it just as fast. If anything, sticking out another season after this one would be even better. Give me more time to find some other sponsorships.

“You saw how well last week went,” I said, keeping the defensiveness from my tone. I needed Billy on my side for this. His careerwas tied to mine, so keeping me racing was in both our best interests.

“Yeah man, I did. But this is going to be a long season. Let’s pace ourselves a little.”

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