Keanna
Elijah’s eyes light up when I walk into the kitchen on Monday morning. “Bah!” he says from his seat in his high chair. He wags a fist at me. “Bah!”
Bah is my little brother’s word for everything he doesn’t know how to say yet. Currently he says mama and bye bye and moo and bah.
I bump my fist into his. “Right back at you, little man.”
“He has a lot of energy for someone who’s been awake since four in the freaking morning,” Mom says. She gives me an exasperated smile from where she stands at the kitchen sink, her hands hidden by soapy water while she washes out Elijah’s baby bottles.
“Four in the morning?” I say with my baby voice as I put my hands on my hips and stare at Elijah. “Why can’t you just enjoy sleeping, little man? One day you will be old and you’ll wish you could sleep all morning.”
“Bah,” he says, his chubby cheeks smiling up at me.
“Are you excited for summer?” Mom asks me as I pour myself a cup of coffee.
“Kind of. I’m mostly excited because it’s Monday.”
“Monday?” she says, lifting an eyebrow. Then it dawns on her. “Ah! Of course. Jett’s coming home.”
I grin as I pour some creamer into my coffee mug. “One weekend down, nine more to go. Ughhhhhh…”
“Aw, honey, it’s not that bad,” she says. She moves some bottles over to the counter to dry them off, and I notice a little paint stuck to her hair by her ear. Mom’s side business is upstairs in the studio. She paints inspirational canvases and ever since the baby has been born, she finds weird times in the middle of the night to work on them.
“Well, it feels like an eternity to me,” I say, sipping my coffee. “I can’t stand when he’s gone.”
“Maybe you can go with him a few times,” she offers.
I nod. That’s the plan, but I’m always so busy at the track and helping with my brother and Jett’s little sister. They all say they can spare me for a few days, but I’m not so sure about that.
I’m about to say something more when the back door flies open and my dad rushes inside, the phone pressed to his ear. He’s only thirty six years old, but he seems at least ten years older as he stares straight ahead, his attention focused on the conversation. His brow creases together and he sighs. “I don’t know what the hell will happen,” he says, heaving yet another sigh. “Let me talk it over with Jace. Okay, Meredith. I’ll get back with you.”
Mom swings around, her eyes wide. “That was Meredith?”
He nods. “You’re not gonna believe this shit.”
I’m pretty sure the only Meredith we know is the wife of the guy who owns Oakcreek Motocross park, which is an hour or so away from here. Normally, I wouldn’t think twice about a conversation involving some woman I don’t even know, but my dad looks seriously concerned, maybe even worried.
He kisses Elijah on the head and then kisses his wife and it makes me melt a little inside, knowing that they can be married for so long and still be so in love.
My mom and dad aren’t my real parents. They’re Becca and Park—high school sweethearts just like Jett’s parents. They’re also best friends with Jett’s parents and together they own The Track, which is a motocross facility located smack in the middle of our houses. They adopted me two years ago after my real mother asked them to look after me for a week and then never came back. Becca has always been a mom figure to me, so after a while, I started calling her that.
We eat breakfast and I attempt to feed Elijah, even though he’d rather wear his food, and Dad tells us what’s going on. Apparently last night the police raided Oakcreek Motocross Park and arrested David Surly, the owner. Then they also arrested the guy who owns Three Flamingos Motocross Park. Dad says they were apparently part of a long investigation by the government and they were finally caught and arrested on charges of money laundering and conspiring together.
David’s wife Meredith claims she knew nothing about it, and because of this, the police let her go for the time being. She called my dad in a panic because Oakcreek is having an amateur motocross series this summer and she has no idea what she should do. Cancelling all of the races would mean losing a lot of money, but she has no idea how to run the place without her husband.
“Pathetic,” Mom says over a sip of her coffee. “If you boys disappeared one day, Bayleigh, Keanna and I would have no problem running the place by ourselves.” She looks over at me and winks. “Girl power.”
Dad chuckles. “Not to worry, love. Jace and I run a clean business. We pay a shitload of taxes on it, too, but at least we’ll never get arrested.” He shakes his head. “Idiots.”
A little while later, Jace and Bayleigh come over and they meet with my parents to talk about the drama. Apparently Three Flamingos’ management team is also freaking out because they too have a summer series to put on and they can’t run it without their owner. Not even an hour later, my dad gets another call confirming that the police have seized both properties for the investigation, so no one will be racing there for a long time.
It’s actually kind of interesting listening to them talk about it, and I realize that owning a business comes with a shit ton of responsibility. Usually I just work at the front counter and do small things like occasionally take a deposit to the bank. I don’t even think about all of the accounting and shit that goes into owning a business. I’m glad my parents and Jett’s parents are doing everything by the law.
I get so caught up in the drama discussion, that it actually startles me when our front door opens.
“Hellloooo,” a voice rings out. I freeze when I recognize Jett’s voice, and then all at once I melt into a puddle of happiness. How the hell could I forget that his plane was about to land? Oh my God!
I throw myself off the couch and jump over mom’s feet in my mad haste to the front door. Jett’s standing there wearing black basketball shorts and flip flops with a blue lightning bolt Team Loco shirt.
He grins at me in this way that makes my whole body tingle and he opens his arms. I dive right into them. He smells like airplane, but I don’t care. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him and feel him chuckle against my lips.
“Miss me?” he says.
“You have no idea.” I gaze up into his eyes and kiss him again.
“Jett, you won’t believe what just happened,” Jace says from the living room. Hearing Jett’s dad’s voice makes me suddenly remember that both of our parents are sitting just twenty feet away and that I just performed this huge display of affection right in front of them. I step back and release Jett’s shoulders, feeling a blush slide up my cheeks.
“What’s up?” Jett says, snaking his arm around my waist. He kisses the top of my head.
Dad and Jace exchange a humorous glance. “You’ll probably want to sit down for this.”
***
It’s my third Monday waiting for Jett to get home from his race. He should be in a great mood this time because he’s won the last three races in a row, so he’s on top of the scoreboards for Team Loco. But honestly, I don’t care about any of that right now. I’m stuck at work, and it’s slow as hell, and all I want to do is be with my boyfriend.
I check the clock on the wall and wonder why time is going so impossibly sluggish. His plane landed an hour ago, so he should be here soon. I would have gone to pick him up, but my parents are so unbelievably busy with their babies and their business, so I’m working the counter more than usual. The guys are working with the staff at the two motocross tracks that got shut down. Since they always presell race fees for the series, they’re all trying to figure out a way to host both track’s races here at The Track instead of cancelling it all. I’m not exactly sure how that will work since we have our own races and clients to attend to, but luckily, that task isn’t on my shoulders. I just stand here, take the money, and answer the phones.
Normally, I’m happy when there’s no customers because I can watch Netflix on the shop’s computer, or read a book or something. But today, I would love to have a stream of riders coming in here because standing here waiting on Jett is the worst thing ever.
When a black town car pulls into The Track’s driveway, I lean over the counter, trying to see if it’s Jett. Most people arrive with dirt bikes in tow, so my chances are good. Sure enough, the door opens and my crazy hot boyfriend steps out, looking tired, but still handsome as always. He takes his suitcase from the trunk then jogs up to the building.
“Babe!” I squeal as I run into his arms. I miss him so much when he leaves on the weekends, but our reunions are always pretty wonderful.
“I missed you,” he says between kissing me. His suitcase drops to the floor and I’m lifted into the air. I wrap my legs around his waist and he carries me over to the front counter, setting me down on the stainless steel surface. He doesn’t let go, though. He holds onto my hips and pulls me toward him while we make out. When I’m sitting on the counter, I’m an inch or two taller than he is, so I slide my fingers through his hair and hold him close.
“I’m so glad you’re finally here,” I say, closing my eyes when he kisses my neck. He runs his tongue down my skin and I gasp.
“I’m all yours for four days,” he says, his voice low and hungry.
He pulls me off the counter, holding onto my hips like he owns me. I love it.
He presses his forehead to mine. “Let’s go to the breakroom,” he says, a sly smile spreading over his lips.
My toes tingle at the very idea of it. The breakroom has a couch and a lock on the door.
“I’m the only person working today,” I say, pouting my lips.
“Five minutes,” he whispers just before he leans in and kisses my neck again, the stubble on his chin sending chills down my flesh.
I moan at the feeling of his body pressed so close to mine and I want him so badly. But I also don’t want to upset my parents for skipping out on my job.
“Five minutes?” I say, giving him a coy grin. “That doesn’t sound too appealing for me.”
“Ten,” he says, winking at me. The desire in his eyes is so strong I can practically feel waves of heat rolling off his body. I missed him bad, and I definitely want his body on mine, somewhere private.
I can’t help but grin. “Okay.”
I take his hand and walk him down the hallway, my heart pounding quicker with every step. I reach for the door handle and then bells jingle in the distance.
It’s the sound of a customer coming in the front door.
Jett curses under his breath.
I groan.
“Hello?” Some guy says. “Anyone here?”
I turn around to Jett, who takes my face in his hands and pulls me in for a quick kiss.
“No worries,” he says, smacking me on the butt. “I’ll still want you like crazy when you get off work.”