Page 157 of Twisted Trails
“What if I wanted to help Finn with his junior team?”
“A junior team?” I squint at him. “With what juniors?”
“He hasn’t told you?”
“No?”
“Huh.” Dane scratches the back of his neck. “Well, yeah. Finn’s got plans. He’s had them since way before we got back. He wants to start a junior team, and I saw the mockups, the proposals, stats, all of it. It’s good, Al. It’s really fucking good, and yeah, he is a dick for what he did to you, but he’s still my best friend. We dreamed about this once, and he never stopped working toward it.”
There’s a beat of silence as I let that settle, let it swirl with all the tangled things I feel about Finn.
“And when I think about a nine-to-five in a suit…” Dane adds, “… or being back here, training, doing the season, working toward something that matters, I wantthis.”
“With the guy you punched in the face?”
“Oh, shut up, you know I love him. I just love you more.”
“I know.” I smile, warmth spreading in my chest. “And I love you for it.”
“If we get backing from Dad, we might actually pull it off. Not only juniors, but we could sign you, and even Mason. It doesn’t have to be Crews Racing 2.0. We could do whatever we want, we could…”
He trails off when I grin at him too hard, because my heart is so full. I haven’t seen Dane this excited about something in ages.
“Fuck, I think we’ve both changed in the last few weeks.” He huffs.
Change used to feel like betrayal and losing pieces of myself just to survive. Now it feels like choosing better pieces.
Stronger ones.
Softer ones.
“We did.” My lips twitch. “Okay, I’m in, and I might know someone who could be the team physio.”
He squints at me, his ears turning red. “She said she was done.”
“Because she was bored, not because she was over it. As if Piper wouldn’t jump at the chance to babysit us professionally.”
That earns me a full grin. “So, what now?”
I let the question hang in the air, and let the possibility stretch out because I’ve spent so long in fight mode, it’s almost terrifying to hope again.
Taking a deep breath, I smile as I say, “Let’s see if Dad answers his phone this early.”
Dane beams, then he pulls me into another hug. He kisses the top of my head, and my heart, for the first time in so long, feels like it belongs in my body again.
He pulls back and grabs his phone, thumb already scrolling for the contact, then dials our father’s number, and for once, I don’t brace myself to talk with him.
I lean back on the pillows and let it ring.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Alaina
“Oh my God, it’s really you!”
A high-pitched voice screeches behind me in the gondola line, too loud and way too close. I spin around on instinct, one hand halfway to my pocket like I’m about to throw hands or maybe grab my race pass. Instinct doesn’t care which.
Shit. Did someone recognize me?
