Short Track Lovin' ✅

Chapter 26: Atlanta

March 2017

She walks down pit road, smiling as she waves to a couple different people throughout the garage area before reaching her stall.

The conversation with Chase earlier in the week seemed to set a lot of thoughts and things in motion, as she made the decision to come back racing sooner than expected. A simple phone call to Kyle and he was easily to put everything in place for her to be behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota Tundra for the rest of the season, as originally scheduled. The phone call had resulted in a slight grumble from Erik who had been told he'd get to run instead, but he was easily accepting as he was glad to see her get a shot.

"Are you sure you're ready to come back this weekend?" Kyle asks as he walks over to her. She looks up at him and quickly shakes her head yes. If she wasn't ready, why would she had set this in motion for this weekend? "So everything is squared away with your brother?"

"My cousins have no issue with sitting with him during the weekend while I'm out racing," she starts. "Then once he's better, he's expressed interest in coming out so I easily accepted." Kyle smiles as he was glad to see everything work out, though admitted a tinge of worry on the second thought. There had been a lot of things that had happened through the past several months. Was he ready for everything that could come as a result?

"And how's things with Chase?" The question only caused her smile to increase in size. After earlier in the week, it seemed everything was back on track there.

"Let's just say that we talked everything over – Chris included – and are back together. It feels just as wonderful as it was before, and just as close. I know there may be a couple hiccups of trust at times, but I trust in what we have." Kyle smiled back in return as he had hoped the pair would find their way back to each other. From what he could tell, they deserved to be together.

"Well, I'll leave you to get ready for practice then. If you need any advice or anything, don't hesitate to come over and ask." She easily accepts as she watches him walk away.

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She then leans back against the wall, waiting for her name to be called. Thus far, the weekend had gone amazing. She practiced well in each of the three sessions, and managed to qualify 10th for the race that afternoon. After watching how crazy the XFINITY race with the different grooves, and the strong performance by her boss, she was excited to get going that day.

"Nervous?" She hears as she glances over to see Christopher. She just shakes her head no as she glances out towards the track.

"I feel good about things going into today," she comments as he simply smiles in return. She reminded him of when he was a rookie, and he could only remember how that experience went.

"That's a good feeling, and you've looked great all weekend. Just remember to not get ahead of yourself, and watch when you're making moves. You don't want to be too aggressive early." She then looks over, remembering how Christopher's race went last year. It was certainly full of lessons to learn.

"Talking from experience?" Christopher shakes his head yes. He just wanted to forget about how last year went already, and get this year started on a much better note. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

"Anytime. I want to see you do well." She smiles back, hoping for the same thing. It wasn't every day you got to the opportunity to drive for a team like Kyle Busch Motorsports. She knew if she could make this go well, it may lead to a lot of opportunities moving forward. On the flip side, screw up and you may not be able to land your feet again.

"So, did I do a good job in the booth?" She hears as an arm wraps around her shoulders. She looks towards the face, smiling as she leans in for a quick kiss. This was certainly what it was all about.