Page 68 of False Start

“So, I let you handle this?” I clarified. Ashley was always happy to see Trent, but the vibe I got off of Tom wasn’t nearly that inviting.

“Yep. And then we’ll take a nice, leisurely walk around the solar system.”

I grabbed a bottle of water, readying my body for a humid, hot walk. “How far can the solar system really be?”

“Team All Gas, No Clutch!” Ashley waved. “Got time for a mid-race interview? We have fan questions.”

Trent shot me a wary look, but I smiled encouragingly. Of course, in all the previous rally interviews, I hadn’t seen any fan questions before. But with Trent in the race, who could blame them?

“I’d be happy to,” Trent said, his lips sliding into an inviting smile. “And then maybe you could do us a favor?”

“We’re not in the business of doing favors,” Tom answered crisply as he stood up from the picnic table.

“What do you need?” Ashley asked, unaffected by Tom’s surliness.

“We may have lost our route book at the bar last night. Do you happen to have another?”

“Sure thing,” Tom straightened. “Five points.”

“Fantastic,” I breathed, holding out my hand for the book.

“Now wait a minute,” Trent said, batting my outstretched hand. “That’s a lot of points.”

Tom shrugged. “Seems fair. You all lost your guidebook. There’s got to be repercussions.”

“No one’s ever lost their book before?” Trent asked.

“They have.” Ashley cut in before Tom could reply. “And there are consequences, but maybe we could negotiate something instead of five points.”

“Another task?” Tom raised an eyebrow.

“Another task.” A cheshire-cat like grin spread over Ashley’s face.

I groaned. “This doesn’t sound good.”

Ashley hopped off the table, grabbing a spiral notebook beside her and flicking through the pages. Tom angled himself so we couldn’t catch a glimpse of what was written on those pages.

“How about this one?” she whispered, eyes lit with excitement.

Tom shook his head. “Too easy. This one.”

Ashley rolled her eyes. “No, we took that one out because it got demolished.”

“This, then.” Tom smacked his finger against the page. “It’s perfect.”

Ashley nodded before closing the book. She tucked it under her arm and pulled a route book off the table. “Team All Gas, No Clutch, in exchange for a second book, you’ve incurred a mandatory stop.”

She unclipped the pen from her notebook and opened the guidebook to day four, scribbling a location on the bottom. “I hope you brought your swim gear.”

She handed over the book and I read the stop. Natural Slide, Alabama.

“And if we’re not up for a swim?” I asked.

Trent plucked the book out of my hands. “She doesn’t mean that. She can’t wait to swim.”

TWENTY-TWO

TRENT

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