“Little fucker. He’s two seconds from being taken to the pound.”
Emmit laughed and gave Deuce a rub down before looking back at me. “So, how did the first race feel after being gone so long?”
With a cocky smile, I shrugged. “It’s like riding a bike.”
“How’s your leg?”
“Hurts like a son-of-a-bitch.” There was no sense in lying to him. I knew he would see right through it.
“Taking anything?”
I shook my head.
Emmit nodded and took a look around. “Do you miss it?”
With a smile, he glanced back my way. “Ya know, I thought for sure I would. That thrill you get from racing around the track. God how I’ve loved that feeling for so damn long.”
I chuckled. “Tell me about it.”
His eyes turned serious. “Addie’s pregnant. We’re expecting another baby to arrive on Valentine’s Day.”
I stood up and reached my hand out. “Holy shit, dude. Congratulations. Planned?”
He shook my hand and smiled bigger. “Yep. Not the due date though. That was all Mother Nature on that one.”
“You hoping for a boy or a girl?”
With a shrug, he replied, “Don’t care, as long as the baby is healthy and Addie has a smooth pregnancy. I’ll take whatever he gives us.”
I sat across from him and laughed. “Damn. It’s crazy to think you’re gonna have another one.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. To answer your question though, I do miss racing, especially the adrenaline rush I got out of it. But I don’t really know how to explain it, the rush I get from being with Addie and Landon is ten times better. It’s different . . . but so much better. I think the decision I made was the best decision of my life.”
“Really?” I asked as I thought about how happy Emmit looked. There was something so different about him. He seemed at ease.
With a slap of his hands on his legs, he pointed to me and said, “So, let’s talk about you.”
I held out my left arm and said, “Got another tattoo. That’s about all that’s new in my world.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I didn’t get a phone call asking me to fly here because you got a new tattoo.”
I leaned back and stared into his eyes. “Who called? Dalton?”
“Yep.”
“Asshole.”
Emmit let out a small laugh. “He cares about you, Malcolm. Your whole team cares about you and he said you’re not focused at all.”
“Well fuck, what does he expect! I’ve been gone for a few months. I came back and won my first fucking race. Give me a damn break.”
He remained silent as I sat there and let the events of the last week replay in my mind. I knew what I wanted and I was miserable because I didn’t have it.
I stood up and cursed.
“Fucking hell. I can’t do it, Emmit. I thought I wanted this. It was the only thing I ever knew. The only thing I ever thought I was good at. Then she came into my life and turned it fucking upside down. I can’t eat, sleep, or think straight. She’s got me hiring a damn private detective to follow her.”
“What?” Emmit asked as he stood up. “You didn’t.”