Chapter 1
Levi
You know the funniest of guys are usually the ones with a lot of skeletons to hide, and a lot of demons that scream to get out. With laughter and sarcasm as a coping mechanism, only the ones that pay very close attention get to see behind the walls that have been erected over the years.
I saw a quote once. “I grew to understand that people don’t always build walls to keep others out. It’s done out of necessity to protect whatever is left within.”
That can pretty much sum me up. That’s me, Levi James. I’m the jokester. I’m the free spirit. I have a lot of demons and a whole lot of baggage. Many have no idea about it, though. I like it that way.
Growing up wasn’t easy for me. Without my friends, whom I call family, I wouldn’t be here. All the nightmares during the day would have given me many reasons not to fight for the light and to die in the dark.
But… my family.
The people that I’ve chosen to be my parents. The people that chose me and I chose right back to be my sisters and brothers. Also, the people that I met later that encouraged me to follow God. Those people are my heroes.
Daily.
They are the ones that give me the best life. They are the ones that keep me in the light.
“Levi, what time are you leaving?” Ron says as he stands in the doorway of my office.
“I’m wrapping up now, man. I didn’t think this contract would take this long.”
Ron Sparks is my business partner. He helps me keep all the contracts and finances straight through my racing name. We started Clover Racing several years ago. Being fifteen years older than me and having a dad that ran a company his whole life, he knew a few things about what it would take to help me in this part of my career. All I knew in the beginning was that I could go fast. On a bike, in a car, on my feet, whatever. I like speed. Speed is my way out.
It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I was always running from something. Well someone. My father wasn’t someone you would call daddy. I have called him by his name since the day I started talking. That was at five years old. There wasn’t any reason to talk before that, and if I did, I’m sure my teeth would have come out sooner than they did. My mother had the back hand of Satan. She’d knock the spit out of your mouth even after you swallowed it all.
“It has a lot of words, that’s for sure.” I look up to see humor on his face. He knows I hate to read over these things. I trust his judgement, but he makes me read every word before I sign them. He said, “Never sign anything, Levi, until you know every word that it says.” I haven’t been screwed over yet, but that isn’t because no one has tried. It is because Ron reads them then makes me read them. He catches the things that I won’t go for and then makes me find them. 99 percent of the time, we agree on what isn’t going to fly.
“Come on dude. Read the thing. Sign it if you agree with everything and then let’s get on the road. We need to look at the track before you get on it.”
I have a small street race tonight. I got roped into this race by a guy here in town that thinks he has something to prove. I should have walked away. I did walk away, but then he started talking about issues that don’t sit well with me and now… I need to shut him up. He isn’t the rider. He hired someone for that. He’s just the one with the deep pockets that wants to take my money and slander my name.
“We already know what the track looks like Ron.”
“I know that. You know I need to make sure this jackass hasn’t put anything on it or something though. He’s got a grudge against you. I won’t put anything past him.”
“I know. Give me five minutes, and I’ll be ready to go.”
He walks back to his office, and I go back to reading the contract.
Fifteen minutes later, we are at my house, getting everything loaded up. Dale Johnson comes around the end of the trailer, and I stick my hand out to shake his.
“Everything good to go, Dale?”
“Yea man. The bike is in tip top shape. You shouldn’t have any problems smoking this guy tonight.”
“That’s what I like to hear, brother. Thanks for everything.”
“You know it. I’ll see y’all there.”
I nod, he climbs into his truck, and backs out of the driveway. Dale is the best mechanic that I know. I’m biased, but who cares. He’s been with me from the beginning, just like Ron. Dale is a couple years older than me and this business saved us both.
He didn’t come from a very good family either. While it wasn’t as bad as mine, it wasn’t all that great either. Ron pretty much saved us both. He gave us something to work toward. He gave us a purpose to keep going.
I ride.
Dale works on what I ride.
Ron manages us all.
It works out perfectly.
I go looking for Ron after putting my gear in the truck. We still have an hour or so before it’s time to head out. We like to get there before dark to see the track and to make sure no one goes onto the track before the race. It’s necessary.
You’d be surprised by what we’ve seen in the name of winning. Some people are just ruthless savages.
He’s sitting at the bar in my kitchen, talking on his cell. “Yea, I know. Levi is ready though. We sent the contract just a little bit ago.” I continue to listen to his side of the conversation as he goes over everything with our attorney. I knew who it was by the look on Ron’s face. While my attorney is good, he isn’t Ron’s favorite person. We only have him because he knows a lot about what we need.
“Yea, look over everything and make sure it’s all ready to go before we get ready to fly out. I don’t want any issues with any of it.” Ron doesn’t wait for a reply before he hangs up and I know my attorney probably called him several names on his end of the line. Ron doesn’t care.
“Any issues?” I ask, while grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge.
“Nope. And there better not be.” I smile, with my back still turned.
“You know we need him Ron. Don’t make him make mistakes by being an ass to him.”
“He needs someone to jerk a knot in his ass. That’s what he needs.” Ron shakes his head as he takes a pull on his own water bottle. I chuckle and keep all other thoughts to myself. Me saying anything else isn’t going to change a single thing.
“You ready to go? I don’t want to sit around here for an hour. Everything is loaded up.”
“Yea, let’s head that way.”
~
As soon as we get to the track, Ron looks everything over. He walks over the black top several times, looking at every inch before he is satisfied. This is a ritual. One that will never change. Thank God.
About the time he finishes, the other team pulls up. I actually expected them to already be here when we arrived, but to my surprise, we were the first ones to arrive.
“Looks like they are ready,” Ron says.
“So am I.” I don’t know who this guy is that I’m racing. I don’t really care. I just want to prove myself, get my money, and head home. I’m getting up early to take care of things before I go see my family. This race needs to go quickly.
I notice the deep pocket douche get out of his truck, and I just watch him. I’m not going to be intimidated by him. He can’t even get on the bike to race me himself. After everything I’ve been through, not a lot intimidates me anyway. He finally looks my way and throws a smirk at me. I raise my eyebrows and the little grin disappears. I don’t change my look. It gives me immense pleasure to know that he knows what’s up. You can’t rattle the cage of Levi James. You aren’t that powerful.
We have a couple hours before the race, so I get comfortable at our trailer. Usually we have lots of fans come by and want an autograph. I have a team that sets all that up and gets the merchandise together. It usually runs smoothly.
~
“Thank you, Mr. James,” a lady says as her son stands next to her with a poster in his grip. I just signed it and he basically snatched it from me when I handed it back. “My son is a huge fan of yours. Thank you for being a positive role model for boys. It sets my mind at ease to know he’s following you and not some of those other people out there.” I look at her son and raise my eyebrow. That gets a little smile out of him.
“What’s your name?” I’m going to make the boy say something now. Knowing how he idolizes me, he needs to feel comfortable. I’m just a normal person.
“Chance,” he quietly says.
“That’s cool. I have a brother named Chance.”
He lights up a little. “Really? I didn’t know you had a brother.”
I chuckle. “I keep my personal life private. It’s how you survive in this business, but yea. I have lots of family. We all just like to keep to ourselves.”
“That’s cool.” He’s smiling. I’m sure he feels important now, knowing something that many don’t know. Chance is famous himself, so he will have no problems if our connection gets out. He’s the only one that I will ever say out loud in public, though. We’ve all agreed to say as little as possible about each other. Just to keep the press at bay. Those snakes can be ruthless.
Of course, back home, people know me and my connections to them. Conerly is a small town, but for the most part, people stay quiet.
“Thanks for your support, Chance. Do you race?”
“I ride. Mom won’t let me race yet.” He glances at his mom and then back at me. His mom has a little smile on her face. It gives her considerable pride to see her son excited about something. You can tell.
I wouldn’t know what that felt like. When Ron came into my life, I left my parents behind. I’m waiting for them to show up any day now, wanting a hand out. I’ve been waiting for several years really. Surprisingly it hasn’t happened yet. That doesn’t mean it won’t. They aren’t dead yet.
“Listen to your mom. I can tell she knows what’s best for you. When you do start racing, take it in small steps. For starters, just learn how to ride good.”
“Yes sir.” It’s never easy hearing anyone call me sir, but after all this time, I’ve learned to take it in stride. I am old to most of these kids after all.
He and his mom walk away and the next person in line steps up. I go through the motions of signing my name on everything that is thrown at me, but the boy, Chance, is never far from my mind.
I’ve been called a role model several times. Micah has tried to help me accept it. It took some time, but she’s shown me that people only see the good that I show them. I used to think that everyone could see the scars on my body from the monsters that are my biological parents, but they can’t. I know that, because I prevent anyone from seeing them. I never take my shirt off in public, and I’m always conscious of everything around me. I am good at keeping the terrible things hidden from those that I don’t want to show. It’s just part of my lifestyle. It’s who I am.
After several hours of signing, it’s time to get ready to race.