Page 102 of Aced (Driven 4)
A text from Colton: I’ll Follow You by Jon McLaughlin
He tries so hard to keep me above the fray. To do anything to help me hold on a little longer than last time. A message to tell me I’m not alone. That it’s okay.
A pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel.
You can do this.
Change is never easy.
Fight to hold on.
Fight to let go.
Fight because they’re your whole world.
“I STILL CAN’T GET OVER it.”
“Get over what?” I ask as I look from where Ace is passed out on my chest—mouth open, hands up, legs apart. Content as fuck. And thankfully asleep since he’s been running me ragged.
“You. A dad.” Becks chuckles with a shake of his head.
“Yeah well, he looks sweet right now . . . but don’t let him fool you. He’s a stubborn little cuss. He had me up to my elbows in shit earlier. Not a pretty sight.” Fucking disgusting. But shit, I’d do it a hundred more times if I could be rewarded by the soft smile on Rylee’s face when I looked up and saw her standing in the doorway watching us.
Becks throws his head back and laughs. “Fuck. I would have paid to see that.”
“No. You wouldn’t,” I deadpan, “but you do what you have to do.”
Becks nods his head and lifts his chin toward the pool deck where Rylee is reading. Baby steps. Tiny bits of her returning to me. “Haddie says she’s doing better?”
“One step forward. Three back.” I shrug. “But at least we’re moving, right? Just trying to figure out our new kind of normal or some shit like that.”
“And you’re hanging in there?”
“Most days,” I say with a laugh. “But God I’d kill to get on the track. I need some speed to clear my head and give me a chance to not think for a bit.”
“Not thinking is what you do best. You don’t need to hit the track for that.”
“Fuck off,” I say with a laugh. And regardless of my response, I welcome the dig. Need a bit of our typical banter to get a little part of my normal.
“Dude, you better watch your mouth or else Ace’s first word is going to be fuck. And while it would be funny as fuck,” he says, raising his eyebrows at the intended pun, “I think that might earn you a spot in the doghouse.”
“True . . . but fuck—”
“There you go again.” He laughs, causing me to just shake my head and sigh.
“This is going to be harder than I thought.”
“Most good things in life are,” he says with a lift of his eyebrows. And I stare at him for a beat, hearing what he’s saying. That shit’s tough right now but it’s all worth it.
Damn straight it is.
“Like I said, just say when and I’ll get the track time reserved for you,” he says as he stands. His unspoken, I’ve got your back, comes through loud and clear.
“Thanks . . . for everything.”
“No problem, brother. That’s what I’m here for.”
They’re gone.
