Page 11 of Be Still My Racing Heart
Blake reaches over and gently squeezes my hand. “That’s not true, Ryder. My brother believes in you, and by extension, my father. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been offered a spot on the team. Teague refused to drive for Morrison Motors unless you came along. That’s how much Teague values you.”
“I’m grateful for Teague and what he did for me. There are people who don’t hold my history against me, but it’s been few and far between over the years. However, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t in the back of their minds.” I don’t bother to tell her that during my first year driving for Morrison Motors, some car parts went missing, and her father accused me of stealing them. Bennie was ready to throw me to the wolves, but Soup stood up for me. It was later discovered that a member of the pit crew had been stealing the parts, but the damage was done. I lost respect for Randall Morrison—and Bennie—after that day.
Standing front and center in my boss’s office, facing accusations for a crime I didn’t commit, I realized at that moment that Randall Morrison would always view me as a thief.
I haven’t spent much time at Randall Morrison’s home apart from the occasional cocktail party, and most of my interactions with him occur at his office or at the races if he shows up. Still, I can’t help but marvel at his palatial house every time I see it. It’s at least six or seven times the size of mine, and he lives alone. Well, alone as one can get with a full-service staff at your beck and call.
“Mr. Stone, how kind of you to join us for ourfamilydinner,” Randall says with a strained smile as he shakes my hand.
“I invited him, Dad. He’s practically a brother to Teague, and….”
“He better be nothing more than a colleague to you, Blake,” Randall says, interrupting her and casting me a stern look in the process. His expression conveys it all—Blake is off-limits.
I feel every vertebra in my spine lock into place as it stiffens under his mild, but silent rebuke. My teeth begin to grind as I fight back a retort. Moving my jaw from side to side to relieve the tension, I finally relax it enough to force out, “We are just friends, Sir. She’s been very helpful in getting me settled in at Play It Forward, just like you asked her to do.”
My words seem to appease him for the moment, but then Blake has to go and add fuel to the fire: “However, if I wanted to be more than friends with Ryder, you wouldn’t have a say. Our relationship—whatever it turns out to be—is none of your concern. Can we please enjoy a peaceful dinner?”
“Teague is in the dining room. Blake, Sweetheart, why don’t you join him and allow me a moment to speak with Ryder in private? We have some business to discuss.” Randall’s tone is almost sickly sweet, but Blake sees right through it.
“Then I should be there since you want me to take over the company, right?” she asks just as sweetly. Her willingness to defend me is quite appealing, but I don’t want her to jeopardize her relationship with her father over something that does not, and should not, exist between us.
My hand rests against the small of her back, gently guiding her toward the dining room. “It’s all right. We’ll only be a minute.”
With a pointed glare at her father, then a sympathetic look aimed at me, she acquiesces and gives Randall and me a moment alone. He invites me into his study down the hall, leaving me no choice but to follow.
The moment the door to his office clicks shut, the polite smile slips from his face. “I heard that you invited Blake to the training this morning to drive a few laps.”
I lift my shoulders half-heartedly. “You heard correctly. I didn’t think it would matter who drove the cars, and Blake knows how to handle herself.” The only two people who knew about the invite were Soup and Teague. Soup wouldn’t have said anything, but Teague would have since he doesn’t want me anywhere near his sister. “I didn’t see any harm in her joining us.”
He laughs without mirth. “You don’t see the harm? You were about to give her a taste of something she can never have, Ryder. She can’t run the companyandrace because she won’t have the time. I don’t need her daydreaming about men and cars when she has greater responsibilities. Blake doesn’t needanydistractions.”
It’s clear that Randall has lumped me into the “distraction” category.
“Blake is a competent woman, Mr. Morrison. I can understand her need to choose between racing and running your company when the time comes. What I don’t understand is why you’re stopping her from doing what she loves until it’s time for that to happen. Why do you support your son’s dreams, but not your daughter’s?”
Randall sits behind his desk and swivels in his chair. “I support both my children in whatever they choose to do if they want it bad enough. Blake didn’t. That’s all you need to know, Ryder. I have to ask. Why do you even care? It’s not as if I’ll ever allow you to ever date my daughter.”
I’m unable to stop my hands from balling into fists, and Randall notices, eyeing my clenched fingers. With a barely controlled calm and through gritted teeth, I ask, “Why not? Am I not good enough for your daughter? Will you always see me as a criminal?”
Randall walks around his desk and stands in front of me, taking my full measure. “Ryder, I’ll admit I’ve made mistakes, including accusing you of stealing from me. That was wrong of me to do without proof. For that, I am sorry. I’m sure that if you had a choice, you wouldn’t have helped your father steal cars in your youth. But you did steal them and that isn’t easy to forget. While it took a lot of guts for you to do the right thing and testify against your father, you didn’t do it until you were caught red-handed. You do the right thing when it works in your favor, which is why I expect you to do the right thing now and walk away from Blake. Pursuing her is not in your best interest.”
“That was a long-winded way of saying you don’t think I'm good enough for your daughter.”
“I don’t want you to date my daughter because when she is the head of the company, stocks will plummet if she’s in a romantic entanglement with you. I’m sure you’re a good guy at heart, but the investors will wonder if their money is safe.”
There it is.Once a thief, always a thief.
I dip my chin once and purse my lips. “I understand. Above all, your goal is to protect your wealth. It doesn’t matter if it costs you your daughter’s heart or mine. I’m from the wrong side of the tracks, and even though I went from rags to riches, I’ll always be ‘less than’ in the eyes of the shareholders. I’m not currently dating your daughter, but I’d like to. She’s a grown woman and can make the choice for herself.”
As I turn around to see myself out, Randall calls my name. “Ryder, if you pursue my daughter, be prepared to lose everything. Ask yourself: Is she worth losing your career?”
Shaking my head as I reach for the doorknob, disappointment flows through me that Randall would resort to threats to get his way. I don’t bother dignifying him with an answer as I walk out the door with his question lingering in my mind.“Is she worth losing your career?”
When I’m halfway down the hall, I hear Blake’s boisterous laugh from the dining room. It’s infectious, and I can’t help but smile.
I mumble, “There’s only one way to find out.”
Blake
