Wanting It All

Chapter 2

Kayley

I had never been so excited in all my life. I had worked for years to prepare myself to be a mechanic in racing's biggest corporation and here I was, on a scholarship to work on an actual team for a full season. I couldn't wait to show them what I could do.

"Kayley what the hell is taking you so long!" My dad yelled from his recliner in the living room. "I told you I wanted a beer three minutes ago!"

If it weren't for the fact that he was my daddy I swear I could kill him. He didn't have a care in the world that I was headed out of town for almost a year. Ever since Matty died daddy had taken up a new method of healing. Didn't matter that it made him mean as hell and heavy handed when I wasn't doing what he thought I should or wasn't movin' fast enough for him.

Most days I just tried to keep my distance, but as I finished packing my things into my bag I walked out of my bedroom to fetch him a beer before he rung my neck for keepin' him any longer.

"Here daddy," I said as I handed him his beer. "Don't forget I'm leavin' today."

He squinted his eyes up at me as I opened the blinds over his recliner. "Yeah, yeah. You'll be back in no time, a girl like you wasn't meant for a race track."

I tuned him out. This was the usual path our conversations went down. I had learned over the past several years just to tune daddy out when he said something I didn't like, it didn't do me any good to let it get to me.

"Well if you need anything Mrs. Thomas next door has offered to help out and I will keep my phone with me as often as I can." I said dismissively as I grabbed my bags and started toward the door.

Daddy waved me off as he took another swig of his beer and sunk a little deeper into his chair.

The fresh air and sunshine on my face made me feel like a brand new person as Preston pulled up on the curb in his Mustang. I swung my bags into the trunk and jumped in beside him.

"Hey baby girl," he smiled as I settled in and reached for the radio.

"Hey Prestino," I said smirking as he tickled me for calling him his least favorite nickname.

"So are we going straight to the airport first or did you wanna stop and grab a bite?" he asked as he started down the road.

"The driver, his team, and the scholarship committee are supposed to meet me at the airport at 8, so we should probably head on. I ate before I left the house anyway." I thanked him for thinking about me as we approached the highway.

Of all the things to be nervous about I was most anxious about seeing Jackson James again. I had watched him on television for the past few years while I'd been going to tech, keeping up with his career. He was still one of the best drivers in the sport and at such a young age had already put three championships under his belt. I knew the chances were slim of me working alongside him, but I was excited to finally get to show off what I was capable of and even more excited to see him again.

The scholarship program I won would guarantee me an open position as a mechanic for up to one year on an active pit crew. For me, it meant an opportunity at the best internship I could've asked for. Jimmy was upset about losing me for a while, but he was excited for me to. Where my daddy had the tendency to shoot down my dreams and aspirations, Jimmy and Preston were constantly building me up and encouraging me that I could succeed. I don't know where I would be without them. Hell, I don't know how I would've paid to go to college without them.