Epilogue
7 months later
Mick swallowed hard as the sight of the barns came into view as he and Taylor made their way down the dusty trail. It was a heartbreakingly beautiful day. The sky was like a giant inverted blue bowl as it hung over the Piedmont region. Cicadas buzzed and hummingbirds flitted about the honeysuckle and sugar feeders along the fence. As far as Mick was concerned, it might as well had been snowing and forty below zero. Taylor was leaving him and his world was ending. All parties involved felt "it was for the best"-all except him. He spoke little, keeping his eyes forward on the trail. Not even a good race back down the trail appealed to him. Pulling his gelding up, he gathered the reins and swung out of the saddle.
Taylor knew his heart was breaking. She could barely stand to look at him. Those usually sparkling blue eyes were now as dull and lifeless as a stone wall. Pulling her own mount up, she also dismounted and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Mick-it’s only going to be for a little while. I’ll be back on holidays and next summer will be here before you know it." The decision to attend a private school up north was not an easy one, but a good education was a must in the Earnhardt family. She pulled him around to face her, "Mick please try to understand. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you-we both do. We’ve both been through so much.....we’ve both lost so much already. I want to see different things, go somewhere other than the track, go to college. And you-you’ve got so much potential as a driver and the best coaches in the world. Please don’t throw it all away..."
Mick said nothing. He wanted nothing more than to cry, to scream and rage at the unfairness of it all. But in the end, he knew it would serve no purpose and at the very worse, it would drive Taylor even further from him. Finally, he looked up and whispered, "I do understand. But I still love you and no matter what, I’ll wait for you. I mean it, Tay...you mean everything to me."
Dropping her reins, Taylor threw her arms around him, burying her face in his neck, "I love you too, Mick. I won’t forget you....I promise."
Just outside of the enormous pole barn that housed his race shop, Michael leaned on the roof of one of the Busch cars. Mick would survive this ordeal, just as he had so many others. What doesn’t kill us, just makes us stronger, he thought with a wry grin. "I must be goddamn Superman", he muttered as he looked over at Junior, who was sitting on the tailgate of Michael’s pickup. He was also idly watching the young couple coming down the hill leading their horses. "They’ll be fine." Michael said again. "Say....did Helton ever get a hold of you about your driving status?"
Junior’s grin widened, "I was gonna save it for a special occasion but I’ll tell ya what...you better be watchin’ your ass next year in the 500 bud..."
Michael arched his eyebrows in surprise, "No kiddin’! That’s great man....Helton’s gettin’ soft in his old age...."
Junior shrugged innocently, "....or maybe somebody made him an offer he couldn’t refuse."
"Got any offers? I heard Norris pretty much cancelled your contract after that whole clusterfuck at Daytona...." Michael hated to bring it up but there was no denying what happened.
"I’ve got a few on the desk...nothing I really want." Junior leveled the The Stare on him, "You offerin’?"
Michael shrugged, "Well....seems like ol’ Ty is about to fold up on Omega Racing and Budweiser wants out. I did a little negotiating with ’em a couple of weeks ago....got a car-just need to get a number for it."
"Well...I DO own the rights to the 8....hmmmmm" Junior scratched the whiskers on his chin, "I think I can do something for ya in that department...you need a number for that car and a driver. I need a car and a sponsor and a big-mouth team mate to give hell to once in a while...." he added with a grin.
Michael walked around to the truck and sat down, draping his long arm around Junior’s shoulder. "Well bud, looks like we got us a deal....I’ll call a meeting with Teresa and we can work out the details in black and white."
"Sounds like a plan, bro....sounds like a real good plan." Junior laughed aloud and ruffled Michael’s thick hair. As the sun began to lay down over the Smokies in the distance, two old friends sat on the back of that truck sharing a laugh and a few beers. Life was good now and a sense of peace settled on them that hadn’t been there for many, many years. It was as if the circle was now complete.
Fin.