1
Dale stared at the wedding books spread out across his dining room table. He shook his head in disgust and couldn’t figure out how he had gotten into this mess. “Do you want roses or tulips?
“I don’t care.”
“Black or white on the tuxes?”
“I don’t care.”
“Sunset ceremony or sunset reception?”
“I don’t care?” “Live music or deejay?”
“Again, don’t care.” Dale yelled across the living room as he headed to the basement.
“I don’t think Teresa would care too much for that attitude.”
“Fuck You.” She heard as he disappeared in to the game room and the music started blaring.
“Margo, why would Teresa care about his attitude?” Kelly asked walking in from the kitchen.
“Oh, no reason. You know how she doesn’t like his attitude.” She smiled her best fake smile.
“No, can’t say that I do.” Kelly eyed her as she flipped through another magazine.
“What do you think, roses or tulips? Ooo that dress is pretty.” Margo said as Kelly made her way to the basement stairs.
Kelly shook her head. “Don’t really care.”
Kelly heard Margo still talking even though there was no one in the room. She scanned the room and saw Dale’s silhouette sitting on the couch in the dark drinking a beer. He didn’t hear her come in over the deafening music. She walked over and sat on the couch next to him hitting mute on the remote. “So you going to tell me what the hell is going on?”
“How long you been here?” He asked shocked to see her.
“Long enough to hear you tell your fiancée to, uh, how did you put it?”
“Drop it Kel.”
“Can’t do that. You obviously don’t want to be marrying her, I don’t want you to marry her, so why are you marrying her?” “You don’t?”
“Hell no, I can’t stand her and I know you don’t love her. So what gives?” “Nothing. We are getting married.”
He wasn‘t so little anymore but he was still her baby brother. This wasn‘t working so she tried a new tactic. “Yeah, in three months. You ready for that? You ready to say I do forever?”
She watched him start to sweat and grab another beer, handing her one. “Yeah, yeah, sure.”
“Oh for petes sake, Dale Junior, you can’t lie, it’s me, your sister, Kelly. I know you better than you know yourself. So what is going on? I know as well as everyone that Tru is the one you want to be marrying so spill it.”
“Don’t bring her into this. Let it go.” He slammed the new beer and grabbed another one.
“No, I won’t, but I will for today cause I have to pick up Karsyn. I will find out and I won’t stop till I do.” She warned before hugging him and heading for the door.
He watched her go and wanted to call out to her to tell her the truth. Tell her he didn’t love Margo; tell her he wanted out of this marriage. Tell her how miserable he really was. He wanted her to tell him how to get out of this mess. Instead Dale threw the empty bottles into the trash and headed up to the guest room. That was where he had been sleeping for 3 months, since Margo moved in. If she wouldn’t get out of his bed then he would. He jumped into the shower and let the hot water wash over him. As he tried to wash away all the pain and worries of the past few months he remembered another night he had spent in that shower, although he wasn’t alone that night.
~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~
“Tru, hey Tru you home?” Dale headed up the stairs to the bedroom. “Tru, where you hiding baby?” He half sang as he walked down the hall. He heard the shower running in the guest room and pushed the door to the bedroom open. The room was lit with what had to be a hundred vanilla jasmine candles and his senses were completely overwhelmed as he really focused in on the area. The bed was made in black satin sheets and the red lace teddy lying on the bed caught his attention. He ran his had over the satin and lace and then slowly made his way to the bathroom. “Tru, what are you up too?” He didn’t know if it was the candles, the steam, or the fact of what was waiting for him on the other side of the shower door but he was suddenly very warm and he quickly stripped as the door slid open for him.
As he stepped into the shower he felt her hands run over his chest and across his shoulders, down his back. Her mouth found his neck and nibbled all the way down to his navel before she returned to his jaw. “Tru?”
“Sshh.” Her mouth found his passionately, she pressed him against the wall as his hands went to her hips and his tongue plunged into her mouth.
Wasting no time he lifted her and pressed her against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist and…
“Dale. Dale.”
Dale shook the thoughts from his head as he heard a pounding on the door. “What?” He shouted angrily, his thoughts of Tru were all he had left and she just interrupted that.
“Who should cater the reception?”
Dale hit his head against the shower wall repeatedly. “Why me, why me, why me?” He mumbled to himself. “I don’t give a shit. Leave me the hell alone.”
“Whatever.” She yelled. “Jerk.” She muttered under her breath and walked out of the room.
“Bitch.” Dale said as he slid down the shower wall and tried to get his thoughts of Tru back.
2
The next few weeks passed just as the previous months, slow and painfully. Dale never realized it was possible to be this miserable. He tried to hide it around his friends and family as much as he could, there was no need to drag any of them down. There were three people he didn’t try to hide from; and when they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time they really took a lot.
Dale walked towards the door of DEI. “Dale, we need to discuss your contract. We still don’t have your signature on it.”
Dale stopped and turned at the voice, a look to kill on his face. “Contract? Contract, you expect me to sign anything right now. What you haven’t forged my signature on that yet?” He muttered under his breath.
“Excuse me?” “Nothing. Gotta go.” He walked out the door without another word. He didn’t really care what they had to say or what they wanted. He jumped in his truck and sped out of the lot. He realized he couldn’t go home, Margo was there. He didn’t want to be around anyone so he couldn’t head to his friends. They would ask to many questions. His sister would never just let him be. He punched the steering wheel as he pulled his car onto the highway. 3 hours later he found himself staring out at the ocean. He sat and watched the sun set into the water. He had so much to lose yet lost so much trying to hold onto it.
Dale thought back to the day he almost let Tru go before he ever had her. It was only the second day he had known her, he didn’t even know her last name and he may have won at Talladega that weekend but that was the day she won his heart.
~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~
They stood in the garage area after the final practice before the race. “Tony that isn’t good enough. It’s Dega this car has to be perfect.”
“It will be. Chill.”
“Tony…”
“Dale, calm down, you aren’t helping matters. The car isn’t going to get fixed by you standing there screaming at these guys.” Tru said.
“Excuse me. It’s fucking Talladega. I own this track and I am not about to…why am I explaining this to you. What the fuck do you know about it?”
Tru looked at him shocked but recovered quickly. “You know what, fuck you. Your last name may be Earnhardt but it doesn’t mean shit to me. You may have all these little screaming girls convinced that you are God’s gift but to me, you are just another guy. I wouldn’t let them talk to me that way and like hell if I will stand around and allow you to treat me like some groupie slut. Go to hell, Junior.” With that she turned and walked away as the garage grew silent.
Dale watched her walk away stunned. No one, especially a woman, had ever talked to him like that before. Michael Waltrip walked up to him. “Never heard that from a girl have you?” Dale shook his head no. “Turned on like you’ve never been before aren’t you?” Dale shook his head yes as he watched Tru take her credientials off and throw them to the ground behind her. “Then go get her. Cause if you let her walk now, you will regret it tomorrow.” Dale looked at the guys and ran after her, stopping to grab her pass off the ground.
“Tru. Tru wait.”
She kept walking until a security guard stopped her noticing she had no credentials. “Excuse me miss. What are you doing?” “Leaving.” She stated as she made her way to the gate leading to the infield.
“Its ok Freddie, she’s with me.” Dale said running up behind her.
“No, I am not.”
Dale laughed. “Yes, she is.” He put her credentials around her neck.
“No, really, I am not.” She took them back off and started to toss them at him when he grabbed her arm. “Let go of me.”
He pulled her a few feet away from the guard. “Will you please chill and let me talk to you?”
“Why the hell should I? You are a total…”
“Jackass, I know, please let me apologize. Please.” She looked at him and he could tell she was actually considering walking through that gate still. This wasn’t a game to her. She meant every word she had said. Which made him want her even more. “Tru. Come on.” He took her hand and slowly pulled her towards the coaches. He waved to the guard who was smiling at the two of them.
They got to his coach and he opened the door allowing her to step in first. “So talk.” She said as he closed the door.
“No small talk huh?” She looked at him like she was getting ready to leave. “Ok, sorry. Look.” He led her to the couch. “Ok, so I can be a jackass I know that. Everyone knows that. I am sorry. You are right, I had no right to talk to you that way. I just get so irritated when the car isn’t running right and I know it should be. I take it out on anyone around and when you spoke up, I am not use to someone telling me to knock it off, especially a female, well, except for Kelly. Most women aren‘t telling me to fuck off.” He grinned.
“I understand, that car is your life but those guys were trying to get the car fixed and you just come out screaming. What was that going to fix? And I am not most women. I am not, what are you calling them now, pit lizards?” She raised an eyebrow. “I am not some slut who just wants in your pants and I am also not going to just stand by and look cute. That’s not who I am, I have my own mind and opinion and you don’t have to ask to get either, if you can’t deal with that then I need to go now.” She stood and headed for the door.
He watched her as she stopped and looked back at him waiting for an answer. “Trust me, I am figuring that out. And I know you are nothing like them.” He grinned and stood, walking towards her. “I don’t want them.” He reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I am sorry I yelled at you. I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again, I can be an ass, but I will try and control it more. Please don’t leave.”
She looked him in the eye and felt the heat between them. She knew that there wasn’t anything that was going to be easy about this relationship but she had a feeling it would be well worth the work. “So what do you want, Mr. Earnhardt?” She looked up at him innocently.
He looked at the spark in her eye and moaned to himself. “You are going to drive me crazy, you know that?” She just smiled as he brought his mouth closer to hers. He eyed her almost looking for permission. When he saw the fire in her eyes he let his tongue dart out and run across her bottom lip. She parted her lips and captured his tongue with her mouth and brought him in closer for their first kiss. Dale felt the spark from his toes all the way to his fingers. He pulled her closer to him and held on never wanting to let go.
~~~~~~~End flashback~~~~~~~~~
It was now fairly dark and he didn’t feel like going home so he found a secluded hotel on the beach and checked in. He didn’t have any luggage, no clean clothes, and he was alone. He swung open the balcony doors, breathed in the salty air and realized this was the happiest he had been in 5 months. “Your pathetic, Earnhardt.” He muttered as he fell onto the bed. His cell phone started ringing and he flipped it off. “Nope, not tonight.” He closed his eyes and remembered back to the night him and Tru had spent in a hotel much like this one in Key West last winter.
~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~
“So, what do you want to do first, Earnhardt? Dinner, dancing,”
“How about dessert?” He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, pulling her away from the vacation literature on the table. “We dance here.” He swayed them back and forth to the silence that filled their room. Tru threw her head back and laughed that laugh that made a full room turn and stare. Dale grinned.
“What you grinning at?” Dale didn’t speak, just picked her up and tossed her to the bed. She bounced twice, almost right off the bed and started laughing again as Dale pounced onto the bed, this time knocking her off onto her ass on the floor.
She hit the floor and started crying from laughing so hard. “Oh, shit. Baby, you ok.” He tried to hold back the laugh that over came him but couldn’t, especially once he heard her laughing. “I am sorry.” He leaned down to help her off the floor but instead she grabbed his shirt and pulled him off the bed and on top of her.
Clothing began being tossed all over the room and all laughing had ceased. They were completely into each other and no one else existed when they were in each others arms. Suddenly Dale stopped. “Why are we on the floor when there is a king size bed right there?”
“Cause you knocked me on my ass, remember?” She grinned.
He stood. “Well, by all means, let me make it up to you.” He picked her up off the ground and gently laid her on the bed. He bent down and kissed her collarbone as he knelt between her legs. She suddenly felt his warm breath on her core and about came off the bed as his tongue made contact with her sweet spot. She grasped at the sheets and thrashed on the bed.
Dale grinned at the reaction her body had to his touch. He had never been with a woman that made him feel so complete, a woman that made him want to love her, want to touch her. As wave after wave of satisfaction swept over her, he realized that knowing she was happy was enough for him. He pulled himself up beside her. She turned into him and pressed herself up against him, burying her face in his chest. He smoothed her hair. “I love you.” He whispered.
She pulled away from him and looked him in the eye. “What?”
“I do. I love you. I haven‘t said that to too many people in my life but there aren‘t any three words that I mean more when I think of you.”
She smiled and leaned forward kissing him. “I love you too.”
He grinned and pulled her back to him. He kissed her and rolled over on top of her. They spent the rest of the night in each others arms.
~~~~~~~END FLASHBACK~~~~~~~
The next morning, Dale sighed and rolled over staring at the alarm clock. He was afraid to check his phone. He could only imagine how many calls he had, he should have been at the shop an hour ago and he was still a 2 hour drive away from home. He flipped his phone and went through the messages as he got dressed. Margo, Ty, Teresa, Kelly. He deleted most but listened to Kelly’s.
“Dale, where are you? I know you are hiding and I know from who. I just wish you would tell me why. Dale Jr. I love you. Please, June. Call me.”
Dale climbed into his truck and headed back to Mooresville. He thought of calling Kelly but decided against it. He had made his bed and now he had to lay in it.
3
As the wedding grew nearer Dale decided that he had only made matters worse by going to the beach but if that wasn’t bad enough he knew what he was about to do would be worse yet. At this point, his life was miserable, why not make it worse.
Dale slipped quietly into the bar unnoticed and made his way into the crowd hoping to not be recognized by anyone. He knew this bar all too well and everyone in there knew him. It was her favorite place to be and she came here to sing every Tuesday night. He hadn’t been in there since the last time they went together, over 5 months earlier. He couldn’t help but remember the first night she convinced him to get up on that stage.
~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~
“Oh, get your ass up there Earnhardt. Everyone else is. Not like you are going to be alone. Look, Smoke, Happy, Mikey, Steve, Matt, hell, Gordo and Robby are even going. Come on.” She pulled him closer. “I will make it worth your while.” She ran her tongue along his ear.
“Sometimes, I hate it that you always get your way.” He kissed her. “I am so holding you to that later.”
She bounced up and down like a little kid and clapped her hands. “Yeah, I am getting some later.” He shook his head and smacked her on the ass before heading to the stage where the guys had already started.
We don't like to go out shoppin', don't care what's on sale
Just wanna sit with a bag full of chips watchin' the NFL
When you come over at half time, you say does this dress fit too tight
We just look you in the eye with a big fat lie and say
“Uh-Hu, looks just right”
Dale stepped up next to Kevin and Mikey threw his arm over Dale’s shoulder. Dale shook his head at the horribly off key sounds coming from the stage. He so didn’t want to be up on that stage but the truth was, as he looked back down at Tru, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for that girl.
Well that's the truth about men, that's the truth about us
We like to hunt and golf on our days off, scratch and spit and cuss
And no matter what line we hand you when we come draggin' in
We ain't wrong, we ain't sorry, and it's probably gonna happen again
Tru, Dee, Buffy, and the other wives and girlfriends laughed as they toasted their drinks and made fun of the guys. “Woohoo.” Tru yelled as Smoke grabbed the microphone from Kevin, stealing the spotlight.
We hate watchin' Steel Magnolias, we like Rambo and Die Hard IV
Jump up and down like fools when we see the new tools
At the Home Depot Store (“Hell Yeah, take that Johnson.” Tony yelled across the stage.)
We don't really wanna take you to dinner at some fancy restaurant
The only reason we do is ‘cause we know it leads to
The one thing that we all want
Well, that's the truth about men, that's the truth about guys
We'd rather pick guitars and work on cars
Than work on the problems in our lives
And though we might say it to you now and then
We ain't wrong, we ain't sorry, and it's probably gonna happen again
Well, if you wanna know what we're all thinkin', it's nothing too complex
It's just somethin' cold for drinkin' and a whole lotta “S” E” … Yes.
Dale looked out to Tru who had climbed up on her chair and was pulling Dee and Chandra with her. She winked as she raised her glass to him, dancing in her spot. He loved her outgoing carefree attitude, how her smile could light up an entire room, how you couldn‘t help but smile when you were around her. Hell, there wasn’t anything about her he didn’t love.
That's the truth about men, that's the truth about us
We like to hunt and golf and drive around lost
And scratch and spit and a whole lotta other disgusting stuff
And no matter what line we give you when we come crawlin' in
We ain't wrong, we ain't sorry and it's probably gonna happen again
We ain't wrong, We ain't sorry, and it's probably gonna happen
Sure it's gonna happen, you know it's gonna happen again
And that's the truth about men
The women stood hollering and whistling at the men as they took their bows, then found their way to their girlfriends and wives. Dale wrapped his arms around a still laughing Tru. “What do you say we get the hell out of here and you make it worth my while?” He wiggled his eyebrows as she licked up his jaw.
“With pleasure, Mr. Earnhardt, with pleasure.”
Her voice brought him back to the present. He would know it anywhere. She loved to be on that stage, loved the attention, the act, but he noticed something was gone. The spark in her eyes. She had by no means ever been overweight but she was never a size 4 either. She had always had a curvy, voluptuous figure but now she had lost what had to be 20 pounds, too much weight as far as Dale was concerned, the curvy figure he loved trailing his hands over was gone. She was still beautiful none the less and her voice was still amazing. He watched as she took control of the stage and belted out a song he had never heard her do before.
Making my way downtown
Walking fast
Faces passed
And I'm home bound
Staring blankly ahead
Just making my way
Making my way
Through the crowd
And I need you
And I miss you
And now I wonder....
If I could fall
Into the sky
Do you think time
Would pass me by
'Cause you know I'd walk
A thousand miles
If I could
Just see you
Tonight
It's always times like these
When I think of you
And I wonder
If you ever
Think of me
'Cause everything's so wrong
And I don't belong
Living in your
Precious memories
'Cause I need you
And I miss you
And now I wonder....
If I could fall
Into the sky
Do you think time
Would pass me by
'Cause you know I'd walk
A thousand miles
If I could
Just see you
Tonight
And I, I
Don't want to let you know
I, I
Drown in your memory
I, I
Don't want to let this go
I, I
Don't....
Making my way downtown
Walking fast
Faces passed
And I'm home bound
Staring blankly ahead
Just making my way
Making my way
Through the crowd
And I still need you
And I still miss you
And now I wonder....
If I could fall
Into the sky
Do you think time
Would pass us by
'Cause you know I'd walk
A thousand miles
If I could
Just see you...
If I could fall
Into the sky
Do you think time
Would pass me by
'Cause you know I'd walk
A thousand miles
If I could
Just see you
If I could
Just hold you
Tonight
He had moved to close to the stage and as she hit her last note her eyes locked on him. Shocked, she froze and as much as he didn’t want to take his eyes from her he quickly made his way out the door. He couldn’t face her not after the way he hurt her, he had only wanted to see her again.
As the music still played she ran off the stage and out the door but he was gone. Maybe she was losing it, maybe she had imagined him. No, he had been there, within arms reach. She couldn’t believe he had been so close, and now he was gone. Why had he come? Why now? He was getting married in 3 weeks, why come now?
“Tru? What is it? What’s wrong?”
“June. June was here.”
“What? What did he say?”
“Nothing, he took off as soon as I saw him. I don’t even know how long he had been there.”
“Why would he come here now, he had to know you would be here? You are always here on Tuesday’s.”
“I don’t know.”
~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~
“Why are you doing this?” Tru yelled at Dale across the room.
“Look, it just has to be this way.”
“No, no it doesn’t.” She noticed he hadn’t looked at her the whole time he was breaking up with her. “Look at me, damn it. Tell me you don’t love me.”
“It’s not about love, it’s bigger than that.”
“Bullshit. That is the biggest fucking bullshit answer I have ever heard. What, what is bigger than love, our love?”
“Please don’t make this harder than it is. There is no other way.”
Tru looked at him. Like hell if she would beg him to be somewhere he didn’t want to be. “Fine, if this is what you really want, then I won’t make it harder on you.” She said sarcastically as she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “I will get my stuff out when you leave for the track.” She fought back the tears, like hell if he would ever see her cry. “Goodbye Earnhardt.”
2 weeks later Tru was sitting in a local Mooresville diner reading the paper when she saw the announcement. ‘Dale Earnhardt Jr Engaged.’ “What?” She read the article and couldn’t believe what she was reading. She was even more shocked when he walked in with his buddies and sat in the corner booth they always sat in.
Pissed and hurt she gathered her stuff and her thoughts and approached the table. Throwing the paper down so the announcement was face up she looked at him. “Now it all makes sense. How long had you been seeing her behind my back?” He started to answer. “Don’t, it really doesn’t matter. You are a real bastard, I actually believed you loved me, thought we had something special.” She looked at him, noticing again how he wouldn’t look at her and noticing how tired he looked. Oh well, this wasn’t her problem anymore. “Go fuck yourself, Earnhardt.” She walked out the door not once looking back.
~~~~~END OF FLASHBACK~~~~~
That had been the last time they saw each other in person, until tonight. She still watched the races and kept up on his career. She couldn’t help it, she still loved him, she always would. And part of her believed that he still loved her. She always thought something was fishy with the way he just broke up with her out of the blue and this proved it. He wouldn’t have been here and wouldn’t have run unless he still felt something. She had to find out what was going on before it was too late.
4
Dale got home that night and couldn’t believe she had seen him. “How could you have been so stupid?” Dale muttered to himself. “She had come after me, maybe she does still love me.” He walked to the basement and grabbed a beer noticing how quiet the house was. “Thank God Margo isn’t home.” He sat down on the couch and thought of Tru. “Oh, knock it off Earnhardt, you are the reason she is sleeping somewhere else tonight and not with you.” He downed the beer and headed back upstairs. He ran into Margo in the hall. “I didn’t think you were here.” He looked at her before turning to his guest room.
“You going to sleep in there forever?” She watched him walk into the room.
He turned back in the doorway to face her. “What you think you can force me to love you?” He stepped towards her corning her against the wall his anger flaring. “I will never sleep next to you, never have sex with you. You will never have my children, I have three weeks to figure out how to make sure you never get a penny of my money. I will never love you.” He turned back into the room. “And no I won’t sleep in here forever. As soon as this wedding is over you will be sleeping in here and I will be back in my own room, my own bed.” He slammed the door and fell on his bed. He closed his eyes and pictured Tru. “What have I done?”
A few days later Kelly answered her cell phone. “Hello?”
“Kelly?”
“Yeah, who is this?”
“Um, it’s Tru.”
“Tru? Oh my gosh, how are you?”
“Honestly, I have been better. Can we talk?”
“Guess, I don’t have to ask what about.”
“He came and saw me the other night.”
“What? Dale came to you.”
“No, he came to the bar where I go every week to sing. As soon as he realized I saw him, he ran. Not a word. I don’t understand. He is getting married in three weeks, why would he come to where he knew I would be? The wedding is still on isn‘t it?” Tru asked hoping it really wasn’t.
“Yeah, unfortunately it is.” Kelly probably shouldn’t be telling her this but she didn’t care anymore. “I don’t know why he came to see you but it makes things even more bizarre.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, I was at his place talking about the wedding with Margo. He didn’t know I was there and it was very obvious he didn’t want to be with her. When I asked, he would tell me he wanted to be with her but he would never say he loved her. It’s obvious something is going on. I just don’t know what.”
“If he does love her and wants to marry her, fine, I will back off. But Kelly, I can’t just leave it alone if he still loves me, I can't just let him throw everything away. I love him so much.”
Kelly sighed. “I know, look, let me dig into this a little. I will call you in a day or two.”
“Ok, don’t wait too long. I only have two and a half weeks.”
“I won't. Take it easy. We will figure this out.”
“Thanks.”
Kelly hung up the phone wondering what the hell was going on in her brothers mind and she planned on finding out, one way or another.
Kelly spent most of the next two days talking to those closest to Dale. Everyone had noticed how crabby he had been lately but no one seemed to know why. It made sense that he was crabby when he and Tru broke up but if he was getting married and was happy with Margo then why hadn’t it let up? Dale wasn’t someone who would just get married for the sake of being married, he didn’t want to be divorced so the reasons behind this marriage were lost on most of his friends. What Kelly found most odd, however, was the reaction Ty and Teresa had to her questions.
“No, I haven’t noticed anything odd.” Ty said.
“I am sure he is just really nervous about the wedding.” Teresa said as she continued working on some paperwork, never meeting Kelly's stare.
“You have to be kidding? He hasn’t finished a race in I don’t know how long, he is completely depressed, and he and Margo fight all the time.”
“You know Kelly, I am sure you are only hurting Dale by doing this. He loves Margo and wants to marry her. How do you think this will make him feel?”
Kelly's eyes were wide with shock and she thought about yelling. Instead, she walked out and ran into Jade in the hallway. She told him what had just happened and the weird look on his face didn’t go unnoticed. “What? What do you know?" Jade shuffled back and forth and avoided her question. “Jade, it’s June’s life we are talking about, if you know something please tell me.”
“Look, we need talk, not here.” He whispered as he led her down the hall and out thedoor to the parking lot.
“Jade, are you sure? I mean, why? You had to have heard wrong.”
“Trust me Kelly, I have replayed that day over in my head a million times, wondering what could have happened, did I really hear what I thought I heard. I never said anything cause I had to be wrong. What if I am not? What if Ty and Teresa forced Junior to break up with Tru and marry Margo?”
“I admit, their reaction to my questions certainly fits that scenario, but why? What would they have to gain from it?”
“Maybe the question is what did they have to lose?” Tony Jr. said joining them next to Jades car.
“What?” Kelly asked.
Tony sighed and leaned against the car. “Sorry, didn’t mean to eavesdrop and I don't have an answer but I have been wondering what was going on for months. Junior loved that girl, he still does. He wouldn’t leave her for anything.”
“Well, he left her for something.” Kelly said getting agitated. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“It’s ok, what if they had nothing to gain but everything to lose? Do you remember how adamant Tru was about Dale’s contract?”
“Dale, you can’t sign that.”
“Huh, why not?”
“Look at how many personal appearances they have you doing in one season. That’s insane, when exactly are you suppose to have anytime for yourself let alone a personal life? I think you need to rethink this.”
“Tru is right.” Kelly said sifting through the pile of papers. “Have you read these?”
“Not all of them. I just figured I could trust whatever they came up with.”
“Well, how do you feel about 70 appearances a year?”
“What? The other drivers do about 40 or 50 maybe.” Dale grabbed the paper from his sister.
“June, you need to think this through. For your own sanity, what’s the rush? You have all season.”
~~~~~end flashback~~~~~
“So you think Ty was worried that Tru was a bad influence on Junior?” Kelly asked.
“Well, he had changed since they started dating.”
“Yeah, but it was all good. It’s not like she tried to change him.” Jade added.
“Oh no, I am not saying she did. I personally think she was the best thing to ever happen to him. She brought out the best in him and he wasn’t letting so many people walk on him.” Tony said. “He had changed for the better, for himself, not for them.
“Ok, so I can see where they might be threatened by her but that isn’t enough for them to force him to break up with her and it sure as hell isn‘t enough for him to agree to it, there has to be more.” Kelly said.
The three of them spent the rest of the evening discussing their options. As they started piecing things together they realized they didn’t know all that much about Margo and decided that was where they would start, get an much of a history as they could.
“I have a few connections and will see what I can dig up.” Jade said hoping his connections with Bud and Nascar could produce something. “If I can’t we may want to look to a private investigator.”
“Yeah, but only as a last resort. The less involved we can keep Dale, Ty and Teresa the better.” Kelly said hoping they could stop this before it happened.
5
Kelly and Tony barely let Dale and Margo out of their sight over the next few days hoping to overhear anything that could be helpful. They were sitting in the conference room at DEI with Dale, Margo, Ty, and Teresa talking wedding plans and the racing schedule. Tony and Kelly would sneak glances at Dale and Margo, who were sitting 5 feet apart and on separate sides of the table. The tension was definitely thick and Ty and Teresa just continued the conversation like nothing was wrong.
“Have you chosen a cake for the ceremony?” Teresa asked.
“Yeah, I was thinking chocolate and maybe a vanilla or lemon.” Margo said.
“Dale what do you think?” Ty looked at him noticing him roll his eyes.
“I don’t like cake.” He said fidgeting with his hands.
“That reminds me, Dale give me your credit card, I need to go shopping for shoes.” Margo said plainly.
“Get a job.”
“Dale, give her your card.” Ty scolded.
Dale looked at him like he was from another planet.“No, you pay for her to go fucking shopping, better yet,” He turned to Margo and stood. “go ask your daddy for the money.” Dale yelled as he stormed out of the room.
Kelly and Tony looked at each other, the break they had been looking for may have just fell into their laps. “Dale.” Kelly stood and ran out after her brother. “Dale wait.” She finally caught up to him in the parking lot. “Please, talk to me. What the hell is going on? Who is her daddy?”
Dale’s truck roared to life. “Doesn’t matter. None of it matters anymore.” And with that he pealed out of the lot and headed down the road.
Tony joined her a few minutes later. “He say anything?”
“Just that nothing matters anymore. Tony we have to do something he isn’t going to last much longer.” Kelly’s nerves were starting to get the best of her. “They say anything in there?”
“No, just wedding talk, probably cause I was still there.” Kelly sighed. “Look we will figure this out.” He threw an arm over her shoulders knowing the worry she felt for her baby brother. “I promise.”
The following Sunday Dale stood in the pits before the race staring at the red machine. He saw Margo walking towards him with Tony Sr. and Teresa. He looked back at the Bud car, beginning to despise the color.
Margo kissed him on the cheek for the cameras. “I will meet you in victory lane.” She then headed to the top of the war wagon.
Dale glared after her, despising everything about his life all of a sudden. “Don’t count on it.” He muttered under his breath.
Tony Jr. handed him his helmet, knowing full well that today would be another DNF for the Bud car. Dale had recently had a string of ‘bad luck’, as the media put it, plummeting in the points. Tony thought it really was bad luck in the beginning but now was realizing Dale just didn’t care anymore. Kelly was right, if they didn’t do something soon, he was afraid of what might happen.
Just as Tony had thought Dale ‘spun’ on the 100th lap and slammed into the wall. His day was done. Tony Sr. shook his head oblivious to anything. Margo headed back to the coach as Ty and Teresa met Dale in the hauler.
“What happened out there?” Ty asked.
“Don’t know, got loose. Guess that Bud car just wasn’t up to par today.”
“That car hasn’t been up to par in along time.”
Dale grinned. “Guess DEI just isn’t what it use to be.” He turned and walked off.
With only a week untill the wedding Tony and Kelly really hadn’t come up with much, other than Dale hated Margo and Ty and Teresa were definitly hiding something. Kelly was real close to calling a meeting and throwing accusations around about everyone but figured that wouldn't help in the long run. They sat at Tony Jr.s place waiting for Jade to get there, hoping he had better luck than they did. He came through the door and threw a folder onto the table.
“Huh? What's this?” Tony asked opening the folder.
“Our darling wife to be, is none other than Michael Monroe’s daughter. I knew the name sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it.” Jade said.
“Who is Michael Monroe?” Kelly asked grabbing the papers from Tony’s hands.
“He is the head of the Anheiser Busch racing relations. He basically runs anything that has to do with Bud Racing. He isn‘t DEI‘s contact, he has people under him but basically when it comes down to it, the only person above him is August Busch.”
“So August doesn’t have anything to do with the program?”
“No, August owns the company but has very little to do with the day to day running, he hires people to do that. August has the final say so, of course, but he doesn't get involved unless a problem is brought to him and that isn't something most people want to do.”
“So, what do you think is happening?” Tony asked still lost and confused.
“I don’t know, but knowing who she is, now,”
“Gives us a motive.” Kelly said finishing his sentence. “Maybe he threatened to pull Bud, which means Ty and Teresa did have something to do with it.” Kelly said sadly, she hadn’t wanted to believe that these two people she cared so much for could have something to do with all this.
“And that would be motive enough for Ty and Teresa to go through with it.” Jade said sitting across from them. “But would it be enough of a motive for Dale to go along with it?”
“I don’t know.” Kelly said as she stared at the paper.
“You think August knows?” Tony asked.
“No, August is too family orientated. The whole Busch family is. I can‘t see him being involved in something like this.”
Kelly jumped up, gathering the papers and headed for the door. “Where you going?” Tony asked.
“To talk to Junior. It’s time for him to admit all this, whether he wants to or not.”
6
Kelly knocked on Dale’s door one last time. "Where is he?" She gave up and headed home, only to find Dale’s truck in her drive and him sitting on her front step. "I was just at your place." As she got closer she noticed his pale face. "Dale?"
"I can’t do this, Kel." He said through ragged breath. His eyes were wide, beads of sweat rolled off his brow and he was obviously agitated, his leg bouncing uncontrollably.
"Hey," She knelt in front of him, running a hand over his forhead. "What’s going on?" He looked at her blankly. "Come on," She stood and opened the door for him. "Come inside. What can’t you do?"
He paced the floor like a caged animal. "Race. Live. Care. None of it matters without her."
She sat on the couch. "Come sit, please. I know who Margo is, please Dale, tell me what’s going on?"
"How do you know who she is?" He stopped briefly, turning to her.
"Jade, Tony Jr., and myself have been trying to figure out what the hell was going on for a few days now. Tru called me, told me about the night, at the bar. Jade found out whose daughter she is."
"Tru called?" That was the only part of her sentence he heard. His mind raced, she called, maybe she still loved him.
"Yes, June, she still loves you. She wants you back or at least wants to know for sure that you don’t love her before she just walks away forever. Let me help you, let me help you get back to her."
Dale started pacing again. Kelly was pretty sure he would spontaneously combust at any moment. "She still loves me?" He muttered to himself.
"I am right here, talk to me."
He took a deep breath. "Margo’s father went to Ty and Teresa and said that she wanted me. They basically laughed it off and said something smart ass like ‘so does half the female population.’ Well, he didn’t find it funny. In a nut shell, he told them that if I didn’t date his daughter, like she wanted, he would pull the sponsorship from the car and the team. When I told them no way, they were crazy, they said he would make sure that DEI was drug through the dirt so badly that no one would dare sponsor a car of theirs. I don’t know how but I guess the fear factor worked cause Ty and Teresa laid that guilt trip of this is your daddy’s company, we have already lost Pennzoil and may have to go to only two teams anyway, if we lose Bud we will have to close the doors." He said in his own mocking sarcastic voice. "Why do I have to be such a fucking pushover? What kind of man am I? I let them convince me to dump the only woman I have ever loved. The one woman who loved me for me and not the company or my checking account. The one woman that when I look at her I see our children." He was lost in his own thoughts of what he had done, what he had given up.
"Dale, Dale, stop. You are going to pass out if you don’t breath."
"What kind of man am I?" He stopped. "How could I do this to her?"
Kelly stood and walked to the kitchen, she came right back with two beers. "Here, calm down, it sounds to me like you have made your decision."
He looked at the label and laughed to himself. "Bud. Got any Miller?" Kelly eyed him, at least he still had his sense of humor. "Seriously, I want her back, but what do you think it will do to the company; to lose Bud."
Kelly sighed. It would definitely hurt. She knew that. She noticed the circles under his eyes and the tired far away look. "Look, how long since you slept? Go lay down for a few hours, get some rest and when you wake up, we will talk all this out." She stood and led him to a guest room not letting him argue with her. Her mind was reeling she needed to buy herself some time to deal with all this. "We will work this out in a little while. I promise." She turned off the light and shut the door behind her.
He laid down, no longer able to fight the exhaustion that overtook him. He smiled as visions of Tru appeared in his head and he let his eyes close.
"Dale where are we?" Tru looked out at the pond and watched as the full moon’s rays danced on the water.
"Daddy’s ranch. Pretty easy to get lost out here in the middle of 400 acres." He lowered the tailgate and spread a blanket in the bed of the truck. He spread out a picnic dinner and offered her his hand.
She took his hand as she climbed up next to him. "Wow, yummy."
"Yeah, was hoping I got your favorite dishes."
"Oh, yeah, the food looks good too." She grinned before leaning over to gently kiss him. "Looks wonderful. I am starved." They ate dinner and Tru then laid back on the blanket and stared up at the moon and the stars. "It’s gorgeous out here."
"It’s not the only thing." Dale who had stretched out next to her, propped up on his elbow, bent his head down to gently brush her lips.
She parted her lips inviting him to deepen the kiss and as he did so she pulled him down on top of her. After several minutes, Tru started pulling his shirt out of his jeans and over his head. Before she could get it completely off he stopped her. "What are you doing?" He looked down at her as his hand slipped under her shirt to her belly and traced small circles around her navel.
"Dale, I want you." She said matter of factly. "I am surprised we made it this long without tearing each other’s clothes off. I know we have only been on a couple of dates but why even kid ourselves anymore?"
"Tru, trust me there isn’t anything I want more than to feel your skin against mine, to be inside of you, but here?" He looked around at the dirty bed of the truck.
"Why not here?" She asked kissing his collarbone.
"I just thought our first time together would be somewhere romantic, somewhere clean, not in the back of my truck."
"Dale, look around, nothing could ever get more romantic than this, dinner, moonlight, the stars." She rolled him over and straddled his waist. "You going to make me beg?" She asked as she pulled the shirt over his head.
His hands ran up her thighs to her waist and pulled her shirt off her body. "Would you? On your knees?" He grinned as he traced the curve of her breast as it flowed over the cup of her bra.
She slid down his body leaving kisses along his chest. When she reached the button of his jeans, she looked up at him. "Oh, I might be on my knees, but I won’t be the one begging." She undid the button and slipped her hand down his pants, the only thing separating her skin from his was the fabric of his boxers. She could feel him getting harder and heard him take a deep breath. "You all right with this." She wanted to make sure he wanted this before it went any further. "We don’t have to if you don’t want to."
"Oh, baby, I want this, I want you." He wrapped his hands in her hair and pulled her back up to him plunging his tongue into her mouth.
She grinned as she pulled away from him. "Excuse me but I was in the middle of something." She slid back down his body and picked up where she left off. She pulled the jeans from his body taking the boxers with them.
"Not wasting any ti…" He started to speak as he felt her tongue lick the length of him before her mouth took all of him in. "Tru." She worked her magic on him until he pulled away from her and flipped her over onto her back.
"What are you doing? I wasn‘t finished." She asked as his hands found her jeans and pulled them from her body.
He didn’t bother to remove her bra. "Neither am I." He covered her body with his and looked down into her eyes.
She smiled. "Good." He felt her hand guide him to her opening and he pushed into her as his mouth found hers. She wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him to go deeper.
He watched her face as her eyes closed and she grasped at the blanket with one hand and wrapped her fingers in his hair with the other. He slipped a hand between them and found her sweet spot with his thumb and gently started rubbing it matching his strokes with his thrusts. He buried his face in her neck and hair as they both found ecstasy in each others bodies. He collapsed down on top of her as they both tried to calm themselves down.
He felt her kisses on his neck and smiled into her neck never wanting to let go of this moment. "That was amazing."
"It was pretty damn good." She said as she wiped the sweat from his brow. "Ready for round two."
"Already?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, by the time you get this truck back to your place we will be. Anyway, I would like to see you, don’t get me wrong the moonlight is beautiful but I really want to get you home and get you naked so I can look at what I am playing with."
"You are so bad." He paused grabbing his shirt and pulling up his jeans. "Will you hurry up and get dressed so we can go?"
She laughed out loud at him scurrying about and packing up the picnic. "Yes sir."
He sat straight up sweating, and feeling sick. He ran to the bathroom and knelt in front of the toilet. It would have been the third time today that he had thrown up, if he ate, but he hadn’t done that in two days. Instead, he just coughed until he could feel his throat becoming raw. He heard the water turn on behind him, then felt a cool rag being pressed against his forehead. She handed him a glass of water and after he downed it he pressed his head against his hands holding the cloth himself. "Kel, I have to get her back. I love her so much."
Her fingers ran through his hair and as her breath hit his ear he knew it wasn’t his sister. "I love you too." He turned to face her rubbing at his eyes, convinced he was dreaming. She kissed his forehead and smiled down at him. He started to say something and she put her fingers to his mouth. "Shh, come with me." She helped him stand and led him back to the bed, she laid down and pulled him with her. He rested his head on her chest and just wrapped his arms around her hoping he never woke up from this dream.
He awoke several hours later, still cradled in her arms. He felt more rested than he had in months and realized a couple of hours had to have passed. He felt her fingers running back and forth along the back of his neck and was afraid to look. As his eyes scanned up her body to her face, he was met with those beautiful brown eyes that he had missed so much. "You, your really here."
"I am right here. You feeling better?"
He nodded his head and tightened his grip on her waist. "I am now. Did Kelly tell you what happened?"
"No, she said you needed to do that."
Dale was afraid to tell her the truth. What if she didn’t love him after she found out? What if she thought less of him? What if she felt betrayed? Hell, he wouldn’t blame her if she did, he had been pretty shitty to her.
7
Tru sat not believing what she was hearing. Of course she believed him but it was so unreal. How? Why? "Tru, say something please." Dale begged of her.
"You really never stopped loving me?"
"No, God no. I love you with all my heart." He moved to her side on the bed and gently took her hand in his bringing it to his lips. "I will love you forever." He kissed her hand.
She smiled weakly and slowly stood. Her mind reeling from the news. "Shit."
She stared out the window as Dale watched her confused. He thought she would be happy, she had gone to Kelly, he thought she wanted him back. "Tru?" He slowly moved towards her stopping just behind her. "I don’t blame you for hating me. I know I betrayed you."
"I don’t hate you. For the past 6 months all I have wanted was for you to knock on my door and tell me that you still love me. That you wanted me back."
"Baby, I do. What’s wrong? Is it Margo? We will figure something out. She won‘t be around for much longer. I promise."
"It’s not that. Can I ask you something? Very personal." She never turned to face him she just stared out into the back yard.
Dale was completely confused. "Of course, you can ask me anything. You know that." He wrapped his arms around her waist relishing in the warmth of her body. He pulled her into him and breathed in the mixture of her hair and perfume.
Her head fell back onto his shoulder. "Did you sleep with her?"
"No, I couldn’t do that, I love you too much." He felt her body go limp then shake slightly. It was then that he realized she was crying. "Tru? What is it?"
She shook her head almost willing her demons to go away. "I almost wish you had."
"What?" He turned her around and saw the tears streaming down her face. "Tru? I…I have never seen you cry."
"Yeah well, I don’t do it often." She wiped at the tears and walked away from him, not wanting him to see her this vulnerable.
"I don’t like it." He said as she sat back down on the bed. "What is it? Why on earth do you wish I had slept with her?" He stopped and looked at her, the realizations of what could have her so upset hitting him all at once. "Tru? Oh. You. Oh." He paused. "Who?"
She looked up at him. "It only happened once. I was so pissed off at you that night. I thought you stopped loving me, hell, I thought maybe you never really did love me. I ran into him that night after I left the diner, he had seen the announcement asked if I was ok. I didn’t even want it to happen but you had obviously moved on, so I…I didn’t go looking for it. I swear God Dale I am so sorry." She was rambling so quickly she was on the verge of hysteria.
"Who?"
"It doesn’t matter." She said not wanting to cause any trouble, him know would have no good outcome.
"It was Smoke wasn’t it?"
She looked up at him shocked as the tears fell all over again. "How? How did you know? You couldn’t know. Oh, God, he told you."
Dale continued to stare out the window, trying to gain control of his emotions. He didn’t want to scream, well, he did, but not at her. "No, he didn’t but Tony’s been acting weird around me for months. I had no idea why until now."
"I am sorry, I didn’t think you would ever come back to me." She looked down at her hands in her lap realizing she may have lost him now. "What have I done?" She said more to herself than him.
He turned to her, watching how she rung her hands together, how her body shook as she cried. It killed him to see her like this but he couldn’t help but smile to himself. He had missed her, how she smiled, how she tasted, how she felt in his arms. She was back right in front of him and none of that mattered now. He had realized that he couldn’t live his life without her and this didn’t change any of that, she was still the same person she had always been. He walked to her and kneeled in front of her. "I really hate seeing you cry. Please stop."
She looked at him and he wiped her tears away. "Dale? But I?"
He shook his head. "No, I don’t blame you, you didn‘t do anything wrong. I hurt you and you had every reason to hate me for it. I wasn’t exactly fair to you. I love you so much, what happened between you and Tony doesn’t matter. I am not going to lie, the idea of you with anyone else drives me insane, especially one of my friends but it wasn’t your fault."
"I am sorry."
"I know you are, so am I. If I had had the balls in the first place and stood up to Ty and Teresa in the beginning, none of this would have happened." She wiped at her eyes and tried to catch her breath as the relief that Dale didn’t hate her started to set in. She let out a deep breath that felt like she had been holding for 6 months. "Your not wrong there."
He laughed and shook his head. "Always the honest one, subtleness, definitely not your strong point. So are we ok? Are you my girlfriend again?"
"Well, we do need to get rid of your fiancée."
He grinned. "Being worked on as we speak. We’ll figure something out." He wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks. "No more tears."
"On one condition."
"Anything." He whispered as he took her hands in his.
"It’s been 6 months, will you kiss me already?"
Dale smiled as his hands cupped her face and he brought his lips to hers. The passion engulfed them quickly and she pushed him back onto the floor, straddling his waist, their lips never losing contact. As his lips traveled to her neck he whispered. "I love you."
She pulled away from him and rested her forehead against his. "I love you too." There was a knock on the door. "Come in."
Kelly stepped in and laughed when she saw them on the floor. "Sorry to interrupt, but Jade, Tony and Pops are here, I think we all need to talk."
"Pops is here? I didn’t think he knew?" He swallowed suddenly not wanting to join them.
"We decided that we needed him to help us and it would be better for him to find out this way instead of later."
Dale nodded. Tru knew his mind was suddenly spinning. "We will be down in a minute." Kelly left the room as Tru stood and pulled Dale up with her.
"He loves you, he won’t think bad of you. If anything you need to be concerned what he will do to Ty and Teresa when he finds out. He won‘t blame you." Tru looked at him before opening the door. "Come on, let’s go." He was back in her arms where he belonged and she knew it may be a fight but nothing could get in their way now.