Race to a Happy Ending

Chapter 12

The next several weeks went by uneventfully. Cameron had had four successful races in a row and he was starting to feel more comfortable with the new team. He knew a win would be right around the corner, if they continued to run as well as they had been. Kate had made a quick weekend trip with him to the race in Virginia and enjoyed being a supportive partner in that area of his life. He told her he enjoyed having her there with him and it made the race weekends that much more enjoyable. They both wished she could travel with him full time, but her job didn't allow her time off to do it, except on rare occasions. Cameron told her, one of these days, he was going to make her quit her job and come work for him.

By the end of the summer, Cameron and Kate's relationship was in full swing. They spent most of their time together. Kate had finally gotten his office organized and she had started helping his sister with some of the fundraising for his charitable foundation. She also helped his mom with the Cameron Clayton fan club. Everyone at the shop had gotten used to seeing Kate around and they missed her positive personality when she wasn't there. Kate figured Cameron was giving her all these jobs at the shop to get her used to the idea of working there, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to quit her job at the bank, yet. She enjoyed the work and liked being responsible for herself.

They continued running together, and now that the weather was warm, they'd made several trips to Lake Norman on the boat. Those days on the lake, were some of Kate's favorite. She loved being in the water, especially when she was with Cameron. They'd become friends with another couple in the race circuit and spent time with them on several occasions. It was nice having someone to interact with who understood, a little bit, of the NASCAR way of life. Kate was quickly adjusting to the hectic schedule, and was actually coming to enjoy it.

Cameron continued to shower Kate with all kinds of gifts and flowers. She was the envy of all her co-workers, because the she had flowers delivered almost on a weekly basis. She was quickly becoming very spoiled and it made her feel special to have someone care so much about her. It had been almost a year since they'd met and things were going very well for Kate and Cameron.

One Friday evening in September, while Cameron was running a race in Atlanta, Kate was getting ready to go for her usual run. It was a tad later than she normally ran, but Kate figured she'd have just enough time to finish her run and be back at her apartment by dark. Cameron preferred her to run at the fitness center when she ran by herself, but it was such a nice evening, Kate decided to run outside and enjoy the fresh air.

What she didn't know is that a stranger was lurking in the woods, waiting for her return. He'd been watching her for the past several weeks and had been waiting for the right time to make his move. Unbeknownst to her, tonight was the right time. After an almost hour run, when she came around the corner of her building, she stopped at the bottom of the stairs to catch her breath. The sun was just going down and she held onto the railing to do a few last stretches before going upstairs to her apartment. The stranger came up behind her and put his arm around her neck and jerked her to the ground. It all happened so fast, and caught Kate so off guard, that she barely had time to let out a small scream before he reached around from the back and stuffed an old hankerchief into her mouth to muffle it. He straddled Kate's back and threatened her by wielding a knife up to her neck, while taping her wrists together behind her with duct tape. He jerked her up, quickly by her ponytail, and pulled her, while she tried to drag her feet and fight against him, to the woods beside the apartment complex. As they entered the wooded area, Kate continued to try and fight him. He hit her hard in the face to try and quiet her muffled screams and still her from fighting back. She heard a car coming around the corner and tried to spit out the foul tasting rag in her mouth so she could scream loud enough to be heard. She could hear a car door closing in the distance and felt rushed to try and draw any attention she could. This could be her last chance. The man pushed her to the ground, all the while Kate continued to kick. She began to cry and turn her head as he continued to attempt to assault her. She got the rag out of her mouth and screamed. She hoped her panicked scream could be heard. The last thing Kate remembered was him hitting her across the face and she went out cold.