Page 53 of Race to the Beach

She was surprised that he was still going to the garage when he knew that without the part, there was no way of entering the car.

Maxi:Thanks.But I’m not going to the garage.

Owen:Come on.This is the last day.

Maxi:And there’s no radiator.

Owen:It’s too soon to give up hope.

Maxi rolled her eyes.She wondered if Owen was always so optimistic.She’d rather deal with reality, and it said there wasn’t going to be any racing for her.

Owen:Meet me at the garage.Please.

She hesitated.She really didn’t want to go and let him see how disappointed she was, but she also wanted to see him.Her time on the island was quickly running out.

Maxi:I’ll see you soon.And don’t forget the milk and sugar.

Owen: *thumbs up emoji*

At the garage, she got to work.She didn’t know why, other than it would save her time when she made it back to Virginia.Owen was busy with the fender.It was painted and didn’t look too bad, considering not long ago it looked more like a crumpled pop can.

It was a few minutes before noon when Maxi heard a cart pull up.She turned to Owen.“Who do you think that is?”

He sent her a grin.“Why don’t you go find out?”

“Owen, what are you up to?”

His only response was to broaden his smile.

When they stepped outside, they saw Birdie walking up the driveway.“Oh, good.You’re both here.”She looked at Owen.“There’s a package in my cart.Would you mind getting it for me?”

Owen nodded before setting off toward the road.

Birdie set her sights on Maxi.“How are things coming along?”

Maxi shrugged.“We’re at an impasse.”

“Oh no.That’s not good.”Birdie went on to talk about the race and the rumors she heard about who would win it.

Owen returned with a big box in his arms.He was still grinning.He must know what’s in the box.Did he peek?

Birdie looked at Maxi.“You better not stand around.It’ll take you some time to install the radiator.”

Maxi was about to tell her she didn’t have a radiator when she replayed Birdie’s words in her head.“Wait.Are you saying a radiator is in that box?”

Birdie smiled and nodded.

Maxi didn’t understand.“We’ve been trying to find one that could be here today, and we struck out.How did you get it?”

“Well, I saw Owen’s post on social media.And I know a person who knows a person on the mainland.Anyway, it’s here now.”

Maxi turned to Owen.“You knew about this and didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t want to get your hopes up too high in case there was a problem getting it here in time.”

Maxi hugged Birdie and thanked her profusely.In the meantime, Owen took the box into the garage.Before leaving, Birdie decided to take a look at the car.When she stepped into the garage, she gasped.

“What’s wrong?”Maxi asked.

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