Page 61 of Too Fast To Fall
Emilio prayed that something out of his control, like strategy, didn’t end up hurting his race. “Keep me posted.”
“It’s all about managing your tires for now.”
That much he could do. “Yeah. Got it.”
Focus. Everything you need is already inside you.
Piper hadn’t been able to sit. So she paced. This was not a relaxing way to watch a race. She’d been having heart palpitationsand sweaty palms from the opening lap, and they were now only on lap thirty-eight. There were twenty-eight more to go. Nowonder Ximena didn’t enjoy coming to the races. It could be incredibly stressful. Then again, thiswasexciting.
“Tell me about your dog treat recipe,” Harmony said.
“Now?” Piper asked. As soon as the word was out of her mouth, she remembered that Nom Nom was a sponsor, and she should probablyplay nice. “I’m sorry. I just get a little wrapped up in the race.”
“Oh, me, too.” Harmony turned to her dog. “I’ve just never seen Gumdrop like something so much. Gus loves them, too. And we’vebeen working on a treat recipe for eighteen months and haven’t gotten where we need to be.”
Piper couldn’t evenbeginto think about this. She returned her attention to the TV screen before her, consumed with worry about Emilio. God, she hopedhe could hold on. “We’ll chat about it when this is over.”
Emilio came into the pits for what would hopefully be his only tire change of the race.
Xander would stay out for another two laps, so he’d moved into third place. Hopefully, Emilio would slot back into fourth,then regain his podium position when Xander came in for fresh tires.
He zipped up to the waiting mechanics. They jacked the car. The instant Emilio heard the right rear wheel gun, he knew therewas a problem.
His heart seized in his chest. Fractions of a second ticked by like entire hours. And all he could hear was the halting grindof a jammed-up wheel gun. “Fuck!”
“No! No no no no no!” Piper screamed at the TV. “That did not just happen. What a nightmare!”
“Oh, God,” Harmony said. “That’s terrible.”
Piper’s heart dropped to her feet as her eyes scanned the screen, back and forth, back and forth. Emilio came back on track.Into sixth place. She couldn’t even begin to express how horrible this felt. The way her stomach wanted to reject its contents.The way she couldn’t make her mouth close. The way she couldn’t stop sweating. And that washerreaction.
What was Emilio feeling? He’d worked so hard, and she knew he had hoped this weekend would see a big leap forward.
“What happened?” Emilio asked over the radio, struggling to keep his composure. Mishaps did happen, especially in the pits.They were frustrating as hell, but equipment made mistakes. Humans made mistakes. He made them all the time.
“Sorry about that, Emilio,” his engineer said. “Wheel gun issue. But I think we can make up at least one more spot. Maybetwo. Just keep going.”
He had every reason to be discouraged. Beat down. But if the team thought he could make up a spot or two, he would try likehell.
And now he had a third thing to remember today:Focus. Everything you need is already inside you. Just keep going.
Piper had so manyfeelingsas she watched Emilio come across the finish line in sixth place. Disappointment, for sure. Not in him, but in the circumstances.He’d tried in earnest to pass several cars, but there just hadn’t been the right opportunity. Xander finished in fourth.
“Quite a race, huh?” Harmony said. “So exciting.”
“It’s the highest the Mega cars have finished this year. You must be a good-luck charm,” Piper said. She wanted to put a positivespin on it, even when she felt unsteady. These races were so nerve-racking when you had a personal connection to the driver,and she couldn’t deny she and Emilio were about as intertwined as could be right now.
“I guess we’ll find out next week in Monaco.” Harmony glanced at her phone. “I have to run, but I’d like to get your cellnumber so we can talk about the dog treats.”
“We can just talk about it at the next race.”
Harmony stood and looped Gumdrop’s leash on to her wrist. “I’m interested in your recipe, Piper, if that wasn’t clear. AndI didn’t grow my company fast by waiting for anything, so I’d like to chat as soon as possible.”
Oh. Wow.Despite the talk back at Ximena’s about expanding her dog treat business, this was a lot for Piper to process, especiallywhen all she could think about was getting to Emilio and talking to him. Hugging him. Telling him she was proud. “Sure. Readyfor my number?”
To Emilio’s great surprise, the media pen wasn’t terrible. The only things Emilio got asked about had to do with that day’srace, and although he’d lost his position after the wheel gun issue, and slipped down into sixth, the reporters all wantedto talk about his big move coming out of the first turn. He took a deep breath. Today wasn’t everything he’d wanted, but itwas still positive.
Now all he wanted was to get to Piper.
