"How could she have done that?"
Marsha shrugged. "I can"t begin to understand her. You know what happened after that. The town took him in. He joined the Hendrix family and started riding a bike as part of his physical therapy." She closed the alb.u.m and looked at Charity.
"He"s never forgotten what happened. How his mother simply left him. He believes it"s because he wasn"t whole."
Broken, Charity thought. He described himself as broken. Less than. As if anyone who really knew him could find him wanting in any way. But he wouldn"t believe that. And proving himself meant just what he"d said. Being worthy.
She stood and clutched her hands to her chest. "Oh no. He really does have to ride in the race, doesn"t he? It"s not about winning, although that would be nice. It"s about healing."
"Not being broken," Marsha agreed.
Charity brushed the lingering tears from her face. "I told him I wouldn"t be with him if he rode. I told him..." She covered her face. "Why was I so stupid?"
"A question people in love have been asking themselves for thousands of years."
Despite everything Charity laughed. She lowered her arms. "Is this you trying to help?"
"Do you feel better?"
"I don"t know. Is it too late?"
"Do you really think an argument is enough to make Josh fall out of love with you?"
"No, but I made him feel bad. He has to race. Of course he does. He"s not going anywhere afterwards. Why couldn"t I see that?"
"Maybe you haven"t had anyone to believe in before."
She hadn"t, Charity realized. Until now. "I believe in you," she told her grandmother. "And I love you."
Marsha smiled. "I love you, too. Now I think we have a race we need to get to."
Charity nodded. They both hurried out of the house. There were throngs of people even on this quiet residential street. Marsha led the way, weaving through the crowds and slipping easily through clean, tidy alleys.
"Don"t worry," her grandmother told her. "We have plenty of time. They can"t start the race without me."
When they came out on the main road, they found themselves among a mult.i.tude of cycling enthusiasts.
Marsha turned and pointed. "The bike race starts over there. Put on your official ID and you can get right to the starting line." She checked her watch. "You have five minutes before I make a few introductory remarks and Pia starts things."
Charity hugged her. "Thank you so much."
"You delight me, child. Now hurry."
Charity pushed her way past families and couples, slipping into the tiniest openings, excusing herself when she b.u.mped into someone. It was bright and hot. How did anyone ride a bike in weather like this?
She pushed and wiggled and darted her way through to the beginning of the race. Here the crowds were even thicker and there were barricades in place to keep everyone back. Probably so the line didn"t get covered with enthusiastic viewers.
Charity ran up to a deputy and smiled at the young woman as she showed her official ID. "Hi. I"m Charity Jones. I"m the-"
The deputy grinned. "I know who you are. You got the hospital to come here. They"re putting in a special children"s wing. My cousin has cancer. Not having to drive so far all the time is going to be great."
"That"s great. Um, can you help me get through?"
"Sure."
The deputy pulled back the barricade. Charity slipped through the opening and ran to the starting line.
There was an actual line on the street, along with TV cameras, reporters and photographers, and the athletes.
Charity saw Josh at once. She called his name, but the sound was lost in the crowd. She looked at all the racers, and knew she couldn"t simply walk into the middle of them and have a personal conversation.
The loudspeakers crackled, then she heard Marsha being introduced. There wasn"t much time.
She took a step onto the street. At that moment, Josh turned and saw her.
He was wearing sungla.s.ses, so she couldn"t tell what he was thinking. Before she could decide what to do, he was already weaving his bike through the other compet.i.tors and moving toward her. She hurried toward him.
"We don"t have much time," she said, speaking quickly. "I know I"m distracting you, but I had to come and tell you I was wrong. I was wrong to tell you not to race, wrong to tell you I wouldn"t be with you if you did. I love you, Josh. This is who you are. If you really love me and want to be with me, then I"m the happiest, luckiest woman alive."
He took off his sungla.s.ses and she saw the love burning in his eyes. "You mean that?"
"Of course. I"ll go anywhere, just as long as we can be together." She glanced toward the start line. "You"d better get ready to race."
"What if I don"t win?" he asked.
"Then you"ll keep trying until you do."
He bent down and kissed her. "I do love you, Charity."
"I love you, too."
He returned to the pack. She stepped back and seconds later a gun went off. The race had begun.
PIA JOINED CHARITY AS they watched as much of the race as they could. The sun rose in the sky, the day got warmer and Charity began to worry.
"Do you think he"s drinking enough?" she asked her friend. "It"s really hot."
"He"s fine. He"s a trained athlete. Come have a taco. You"ll feel better."
"I can"t eat while Josh is racing."
"You think going hungry will help him?"
"Maybe."
Pia sighed. "Save me from ever being in love. It makes people stupid."
Charity grinned. "It"s worth it," she promised.
"Like I believe that."
When the course took the riders up the mountain, Charity and Pia went back toward the park to wait for the final leg of the race. Her ID got them in close to the finish line. She paced restlessly, wanting to know how Josh was doing, hoping he was kicking b.u.t.t.
He needed this win, she thought, seeing the truth of it now. Not to have another trophy, but because he had something to prove to himself.
A gasp from the crowd told her that the lead riders had been spotted. Charity ran down to the edge of the street. She leaned as far forward as she could and watched.
A lone man on a bike rounded a corner. He was going as fast as the wind, pedaling easily, as if nothing about the race had bothered him. As if this was what he was born to do.
Even with him wearing a helmet and dark gla.s.ses, she recognized him and screamed his name.
His head came up.
She waved, laughing, waiting for him to go zooming past her. Instead he slowed, then came to stop right in front of her.
"What are you doing?" she demanded, as he put his foot on the asphalt. She pointed to the finish line, a scant hundred yards away. "Go."
People around them started screaming. Josh ignored them all.
He pulled off his gla.s.ses. "How you doing?"
"Josh! This isn"t funny. Move." She glanced over his shoulder, knowing the other racers would appear at any second. "Just finish. You can win. Then we"ll talk."
"We can talk now."
She shrieked. "No! I said I was wrong. I said I loved you. What more do you want?"
"You," he said. "For always."
"Yes, yes. You can have that. Now go. Cross the finish line. It"s right there. Can"t you see it? Hurry."
"You"ll marry me?"
The man next to her turned. "For G.o.d"s sake, lady. Marry him already."
"I"ll marry you," she told Josh. "We"ll figure it out. Your racing career."
"I don"t want to race, Charity. I meant what I said. I just needed to bury a few ghosts."
She saw two riders round the corner.
"Go!" she yelled. "You have to go now."
He slipped on his sungla.s.ses. "You told me you didn"t care if I won."
"I was wrong! I"ve said it five billion times. Now would you please go win this race so we can get on with our lives?"
"Sure."
With that, he pushed off.
Charity didn"t even breathe as he picked up speed, then crossed the finish line with seconds to spare.
The crowd exploded into cheers and laughter. Charity tried to make her way to Josh, but there were too many people between them. So she waited while someone popped bottles of champagne and the reporters asked their questions. She watched Josh be the center of the universe.
Then she heard something strange. A few feet away a woman turned and yelled, "Where"s Charity? Pa.s.s it on."
The man behind her called out the same thing and it continued until the man in front of her looked over his shoulder. "You Charity?"
She nodded.
"Got her," he yelled. "Come on, honey. Get up there with Josh. He"s waiting for you."
She was pa.s.sed through the crowd until she found herself standing in front of Josh. He held a huge trophy in one hand and wrapped his other arm around her.
"Finally," he said. He turned back to the reporters. "Okay, guys. Ask away."
"Quite the comeback, Josh. You training for the Tour de France?"
"No. I"m done. This was a one-time race for me." He kissed the top of Charity"s head, and held her closer. "My life is here."
She wrapped her arms around his waist and felt her love for him grow until she couldn"t contain it. "You can race if you want. We"ll work something out."
He stared into her eyes and smiled. "No. I want to run the racing school and be with you. You"re my home, Charity. You"re where I belong."
"I belong with you, too," she told him.
"Which is really good, because I"m not letting you go."
ETHAN HENDRIX WATCHED his best friend kiss the girl. It had taken Josh long enough, but he"d finally found what he"d always been looking for. Pleased, Ethan turned away to head back to his office.
Life was nothing if not interesting, he thought as he took a single step. Then something bright and red caught his eye. A color of hair he hadn"t seen in a long time.
He turned to get a second look. To be sure. Then he swore softly.
Liz was back.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5480-4.
Also available from Susan Mallery and HQN Books.
Hot on Her Heels.
Straight from the Hip.
Lip Service.