“I know.”
“Where are you taking me?” Savannah’s voice trembled as she reached for the door handle. She was truly fearful of him.
Beau stopped the vehicle in the middle of the street and put it in park before turning to face her. Savannah pressed her body against the door, as far away from him as she could.
“Hey. You’re safe with me, I promise. If you want me to take you home, I can. Or if you can trust me, I want to show you something.”
“I...”
“It’s okay, Savannah. I can take you home.”
Beau began to turn around, ready to put the truck in drive and do a U-turn in the middle of the street. But she reached out with a hand that felt colder than ice and latched onto his arm.
“No. I’m sorry. I just...I freaked out for a minute. I’m okay. I’d like to see whatever it is you want to show me.”
“Are you sure? I really don’t mind.”
“Yes. Please.”
Beau wished his truck had a bench seat so that he could scoot her closer to his body and offer her his warmth and strength, but he was content with watching her settle back into her seat as if the last five minutes hadn’t occurred.
One thing struck him, though; she was hiding something. Whatever it was, kept her in fear and Beau wanted nothing more than to rid her of it.
With the truck in drive, Beau continued down the road until he came to a newly paved side road. It had been covered in dirt and pits until recently when Langley Racing took over the land. He followed the road until he came upon the track.
“Should we be here?” Savannah asked as she leaned forward in her seat and took in the darkened area.
“Yep,” he told her as he reached across her and opened the glove box, searching for his badge. When his fingers found the plastic card, he closed the box and continued toward the chain-link gate. He scanned his badge across the security reader and waited for the gate to open before proceeding inside slowly.
He drove them around the track and through the pit until he reached the tower.
“Come on,” he said as he parked the truck and turned it off. Quickly he exited the vehicle and jogged over to Savannah’s side, opening her door before she had a chance.
“Where are we?” she asked as she fell in line beside him, both of them making their way to the large viewing tower.
“This is Langley Racing. Tate and her fiancé Noah opened it a couple of months back.”
“Noah Langley. The driver?”
“One in the same." They approached the door and he swiped his card to disengage the lock. Beau gestured for her to go inside and he flicked on the light as he closed the door behind them.
“Stairs or elevator?”
“How many floors?”
“Technically five, but it may feel like six or seven since we’re at a higher elevation.”
“Elevator,” she said with a laugh and Beau guided them toward the doors. They opened right away and the two of them slipped inside. He noticed Savannah moved to the far back corner and he stepped to the opposite end near the front. They were as far apart as two people could be in the car.
It took only a minute for the elevator to ascend to the top, and soon, they were exiting. Savannah headed toward the large wall of windows, but that wasn’t Beau’s destination.
“This way,” he said as he opened the maintenance door. “I probably should have asked, but are you afraid of heights?”
“Heights?” she questioned as she turned back toward him, finding the door to the outside wide open. “No, I’m not.”
“Good. Ladies first,” he said as he waited for her to join him on the platform. There was a ladder that would take them to the roof of the tower.
Savannah was a good sport as she laughed every time her heeled foot would slip on one of the rungs. Beau was glad he went after her, just in case she fell.
She waited for him to make it to the top and then she followed as he walked toward a small storage unit. When Tate built the tower, she created a little haven for her and Noah to enjoy after a long day on the track. They retrieved the chairs and blankets in the shed, then set them up in the middle of the tower.
Beau knew that it was the perfect spot. From their height and location not a tree was in sight. It was an endless view of the star-lit sky surrounding them.
“Wow,” Savannah whispered as she leaned back in the chair and tilted her face toward the sky.
There was very little moon that night, just the slimmest crescent hanging in the darkness like the edge of a thumbnail.
“Pretty spectacular, huh.”
“It’s...it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. When I was little and I would visit my grandparents, they’d point out all of the constellations in the sky. I think the only ones I remember now are the big dipper and Orion’s belt.”
Beau chuckled as she tried pointing them out. It was easier when there was ambient light from a city, but in an open sky like this one, there were so many smaller stars visible that it was harder to see the bigger ones.
“Did you grow up here?” she asked after she scooted down in her chair and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.
“I moved here when I was thirteen. Mom was with husband number six, I think. Then we kind of just stayed. Which was surprising because up until then, we’d moved twice a year. I met Tate in school and we’ve been friends since.”
“Did you always want to be a mechanic? Or was it something you fell into?”
“It wasn’t even on my radar. But Tate needed help with the shop, so I stepped up.”
Beau knew that he was being vague with his answer. Most people were surprised to learn that he had a mechanical engineering degree and graduated top of his class from Virginia Tech. The government had recruited him to work on biometric weaponry, but when Tate called him, he knew his dreams would be pushed to the side. He didn’t regret it, but most people didn’t understand his dedication to his friend. Not even Tate understood most of the time. So, it was easier to tell people that his job as a mechanic fell into his lap and that was that.
“What about you? Did you always want to be a veterinarian?”