“Mommy ook.”
“Ohh.” she said picking up the young boy so he could get a better look at the toy on the top shelf. He reached out his arms trying to get a hold of the box. She laughed, set the boy down and grabbed the box off the shelf and sat it on the floor. She knelt down beside him as they looked at the track and the pictures of cars on the box.
“Ace cars.” he said pointing to picture of Jeff Gordon’s pepsi car.
“Yes, those are race cars. You like those don’t you?” He nodded and she stood to look at the other cars on the shelf knowing he was going home with yet another toy. How could she say no, she had started his fascination with racing, they sat and watched the race on every Sunday and his eyes lit up when he saw those cars on the track. She knew that he would probably be behind a real one as soon as he is old enough to drive. She turned and looked when she heard a giggle that she didn’t recognize, she saw a little boy sitting and playing with Riley.
“Well, hi there.” she said to the boy who appeared to be around Riley’s age.
“Hi.” the little boy said as he continued to play “cars.” he said as he showed her one of the cars in his hand.
“You too, huh?” she looked around wondering where his parents were.
“Brandon!” a frantic male voice came from a few rows over.
“Are you Brandon?” the little boy nodded and pointed to one of the cars on the box “daddy.”
“Brandon where are you?”
“He is over here.”
All of a sudden someone came running around the corner. “Thank God, Brandon you can’t run off like that. You scared me to death.”
“Daddy.” Brandon said again pointing to the box.
“I am sorry if he was over here bugging you but man thanks for watching him.” he finally looked at the young woman standing next too him. She appeared to be in her early 20’s with red hair past her shoulders that laid against the black leather coat she was wearing and a smile that seemed to light up the whole room.
“Oh he is fine don’t worry about it, they seem to like each…” her voice caught in her throat as her stare met his “other…Your…”
“Me.” he grinned at her embarassment “I am Dale Earnhardt Jr.”
“Umm, yeah I know. Hi. Sorry I am Kaci Logan. This is Riley.” she finally noticed the red car Brandon had been pointing at “daddy?” her eyes got wide and she looked at Dale.
“Yeah, he’s my son.”
“Wow, guess I missed the five o’clock news.”
He laughed “actually no one other than my immediate family and friends know about him yet. It’s only a matter of time though.”
“How on earth have you kept this a secret for, what” she looked at Brandon, “3 years?”
“Well, actually, I have only known about him for about 6 months now.” She looked at him oddly. “Long story.”
“and none of my business, sorry.”
“No it’s ok, just a long strange story.”
They stood and watched the kids play and made small talk for several minutes when Riley stood, held up the toys and said “take home?”
“Yeah you get to take them home.”
Dale laughed “He always get his way that easily?”
“Not always but when it comes to him and those race cars I can’t say no.”
Riley and Brandon looked up “We go home and play.”
“Honey, I think Brandon has to go to his own house.”
“No, our house.” he stated matter of factly.
Brandon spoke up “Riley’s.”
Dale laughed “I think they are teaming up on us.”
“I am sorry, Riley doesn’t have a lot of kids his age to play with. I feel sorry for him sometimes.”
Dale’s eyes lit up seeing an opportunity arise, “Don’t be sorry, let’s let them play.” She looked at him “Unless, well, your boyfriend probably wouldn’t appreciate that.”
She laughed realizing what he was doing “I don’t have a boyfriend and his father isn’t part of the picture.”
“Then why don’t you two come over for dinner, the kids can play and we can…” he was tempted to say they could play too but thought twice “get to know each other better.”
“I don’t know.” she looked at the kids and back up at Dale. All three of them had the same sad puppy dog look on their faces. “Man tough crowd. OK we will go.”
“Yeah!” They all three yelled.
“SSHH!” She laughed “but first we are going to go home cause someone needs a nap.”
“OK great” Dale gave her directions to his house “we’ll see you around six?”
“Sounds great, see you then.” Riley grabbed his toy and they headed to the checkout and then home.
Kaci finally got Riley to go down for a nap and decided she had better use the quiet time to shower and get herself ready. As the hot water fell over her body she thought about Dale and what she was about to do. “Kaci you haven’t been on a date in over 3 years and the first one you choose is with Dale Earnhardt Jr. what the hell are you thinking?” No matter how many times she told herself it was a play date for the kids she knew it wasn’t just that. She couldn’t stop thinking of him. His little kid grin, those beautiful blue eyes, the way he looked in those jeans, “Kaci stop it” she thought. She got out of the shower and walked to her closet and looked. She finally decided on a pair of jeans, a form fitting black sweater and her black boots. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and put on a little makeup. She noticed that it was almost 5pm so she woke up Riley, got him dressed, grabbed a few things he would need and they headed out the door.
She was surprised when she pulled into his driveway. She had expected something bigger, the man was worth a lot of money. Granted it wasn’t exactly small but it wasn’t exactly a mansion either. She hadn’t gotten Riley out of the car when Brandon cam running down the sidewalk to greet them. She looked up as Dale walked out onto the porch, she caught herself looking just a little too long and quickly turned to finish unfastening Riley from the car. She smiled up at him as he came out to help her. “God is it possible that he is better looking now than a few hours ago?” His dark blue jeans, long sleeve white tee with a navy button down shirt unbuttoned over it gave him a casual but yet classy look.
“Have any trouble finding it?”
“Nah, directly across from DEI not too hard.” The kids ran in front of them and headed inside. “Riley is so excited about tonight. I barely got him to take a nap, I think he finally talked himself out this afternoon.”
“Tell me about it. I got Brandon to lay down but I don’t know that he ever fell asleep. You would think they have known each other for life not just hours.”
As he pushed the door open for her eyes searched the room quickly. The room was done in browns and creams with lots of candles and wrought iron. “Wow, this place is gorgeous, have to get the name of your decorator, although doubt I could afford him.” she laughed.
“Actually, did this myself.” she looked at him as he shut the door, ‘hey, there is more to me than the red Bud suit. What were you expecting?”
“I was expecting this I just figured you were too busy and you would hire someone to do it for you. It’s absolutely beautiful.” she said as she studied all the photos on the wall. Most she recognized as family, one caught her eye and she walked over to it. It was a family portrait, Dale Sr. Teresa, Kerry, Kelly, Dale Jr. and Taylor standing in the lobby of DEI.
“That is one of my favorites. It was taken about 5 years ago.”
“Wow, I can see why. It’s a great photo.”
“Can I get you a drink. Let’s see I have wine, Bud, Bud Lite, a vast variety of alcohols for any mixed drink you want, soda, juice, water.”
She laughed, “basically anything I could possibly want.”
He grinned “Yeah, anything you want.”
2
After dinner Dale and Kaci headed into the living room as the kids ran off to Brandon’s room to play. Dale’s phone rang and he thought about not answering it but saw that it was Jade his publicist, “Excuse me for a minute.”
“Hello”
“Hey man, now isn’t really a good time.” He smiled as he watched Kaci out of the corner of his eye. She had moved over to a oversized chair, kicked her shoes off and pulled her legs into the chair with her. She looked like a kid sitting there taking in her surroundings.
“OK what’s up?”
“Yeah I know but I was trying to save him from all that as long as I could.”
“I know you are right. When do you want to do it?”
“Tomorrow?” Kaci looked up at the sound of his voice.
“I was just hoping for later. Yeah we will see you then.” He hung up and stared at the family photo Kaci had been looking at earlier.
“Everything alright?” Kaci asked.
He turned and looked at her and couldn’t get over the vision before him. She looked so small and delicate sitting there. “Yeah, it just seems we are introducing Brandon to the world tomorrow. I was hoping to wait a little longer but with Speedweeks less than 4 weeks away Jade thinks we need to do it now. The press conference is scheduled for DEI tomorrow afternoon.”
She saw the concern on his face and realized how new this whole parenting thing was to him and he was batteing with protecting his son and doing what was right for his career. “Everything is going to work out. Jade has always done right by you.” He looked at her. “Hey I have been a fan of yours since your Busch series days.”
He smiled “I just want to make sure that my choices are now right for him not just me. I can’t believe he has only been here 2 months.”
“I thought you said you had known for 6 months?”
“I have but he has been living with me for only 2 months now.” Kaci looked totally confused and Dale sat down on the couch across from her, “I warned you, it’s a long strange story.”
“I met Brandon’s mom, Jenna, while doing a photo shoot for Budweiser in St Louis. We went out partying and had a one night stand. I left the next day and never saw her again. I got a phone call about 6 months ago from my lawyer saying he received a call from a lawyer in St Louis and there was a couple claiming to have my child. They didn’t want the media finding out and they didn’t know how to contact me so they went through the lawyers. We start digging around and find out that the child is a little boy 2 and a half years old, there is no name for the father on the birth certificate and the elderly couple who wants a DNA test is Jenna’s parents. I send a DNA test ahead to St Louis and by the time I arrive there the test results are in and it is a perfect match.”
“So why didn’t she come after you in the beginning for child support?” Kaci asked astonished by the whole story so far.
“That was one of my main questions also. So I meet with the couple and it turns out that Jenna had been killed in a car accident 3 months earlier. They never agreed with Jenna’s decision to now tell me but they loved her and were going to stand by her all the way. After her death they knew that they couldn’t take care of Brandon alone. He needed his father, they knew that but Jenna thought that if the media found out I was a single father then my career would be over. According to her parents she was so scared about it that she wouldn’t let them put my name on the birth certificate.”
“I know it was a one night stand but she must have really cared for you.
He looked at her “Why do you say that?”
“Well think about it. Woman have to be throwing themselves at you. I have been to races I have seen how they act. They would do anything to be sitting where I am right now.” she paused blushing at the realization of where she was “She could have become very rich and famous over all this and a lot of women would have but she took on the role of single mother to protect you and Brandon. Trust me that whole single mom thing isn’t always that easy.”
“I guess I never thought of it that way.” He looked down at his hands and was silent for a few moments before going on with his story. “Well, we weren’t sure how Brandon would react to me so stayed with his grandparents for those 4 months and I would go see him in between races when I could. Got to know him better and at the end of the race season we decided it was time for me to bring him home with me. We went back to St Louis for Christmas and he talks to them once a week atleast. I want to make sure he knows them and learn about his mother. I don’t want to keep that from him.” he looked at her and was trying to remember when she moved over to the couch next to him. “I told you it was a long strange story. Just think you can skip the press conference now.”
“You know you would never guess that he has had his world turned upside down twice in the last year, he is a happy little boy and he loves you a lot. That’s obvious.”
“Thanks, that means a lot. Kelly, my sister, has a 3 year old daughter, Karsyn, she helps me out a lot. My whole family has been really great. Man, I am going to shock the hell out of the world tomorrow, aren’t I.”
“I may know the whole story but I wouldn’t miss that press conference for anything.” They both laughed.
“So how bout you, think you can top that one?” He gently elbowed her in the side as they both laughed.
“Nah, don’t think I can. Mine is the usual fell for the wrong guy, slept with him, found out I was pregnant, and he ran for the hills.”
“He just left you pregnant and alone?”
“Well I had my friends and some family but, yeah, basically. He was a real scumbag, he was suppose to meet me at my doctors for my 5 month appointment and he never showed. Never heard from him again. It’s ok though I wouldn’t want that kind of influence in Riley’s life. I wouldn’t change a minute of it, Riley is the best thing I have ever done.”
They sat and talked awhile longer when Dale realized how quiet the house was. “Oh man.” Dale said looking at the clock. “I didn’t realize what time it was.”
Kaci glanced at her watch “Wow, 10:30 already. I guess we got a little carried away.”
They walked to Brandon’s room and found both boys asleep in Brandon’s bed. “Looks like they tucked themselves in.”
“Yeah.” Junior said moving directly behind Kaci so close she could feel the warmth of his breath on her neck. A shiver went down her back from his closeness. “There is no need to bother them,” he said as she felt his hands on her hips turning her to face him. “Stay with me tonight.” he said in a whisper his mouth just inches from hers. As his hands traveled from her waist up her back and to her shoulders, her stare switched from his mouth to his eyes and back again.
“I…we…” his mouth found her neck and traveled up to her ear gently nibbling on her earlobe and back down her neck. “no…I can’t do this.” She placed her hands on his chest and gently pushed him away and walked out of the room.
“Shit. Way to go Dale” he whispered then went after her. He found her in the living room putting her shoes on. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have…”
“No, it’s ok, I wanted you to. It’s just…” she looked up at him from the chair and the confused look on his face. “Well, it’s been awhile, it has been just me and Riley for so long. I haven’t given anyone the chance to get as close as you did tonight let alone any closer. So as much as I wanted you to it just caught me off guard, I guess. Actually, scared the hell out of me. The last time I was in this position it didn’t turn out so well. I am not so sure I remember how to do all this.”
As she headed back to the room to get Riley he caught her arm and pulled her close to him. “I am not about to push you into anything you aren’t ready for, I shouldn’t have been so pushy back there, but I also know that I am very attracted to you and want to see you again. Soon.”
She looked up him a million thoughts going through her head. “I have had a great time tonight also and would like to see you again but you are just getting use to this parenting thing and now you are about to start racing again. How on earth do you think you are going to work all of that in too your schedule let alone me.”
“Already trying to protect me huh. Let me worry about my schedule. I’ll work it out.” She went to the desk and wrote her cell number on a piece of paper and handed it too him. She then went in and gently lifted Riley out of the bed trying not to wake Brandon. Dale helped her out to the car “I will call you in a day or two.”
“When you have time.” she smiled up at him “thanks for dinner.” She leaned up against him and brushed her lips across his, got in her car and drove away.
Dale walked into the house and programmed her number into his cell phone and went to check on Brandon. After taking their wine glasses into the kitchen and turning off the lights he went to his bedroom, pulled off his shirt and jeans and laid down. It had been along time since he felt that comfortable with a woman and he fell asleep with a smile remembering the curve of her waist, the taste of her skin and the smell of her perfume. He thought Brandon had turned his life upside down he had no idea what Kaci and Riley were about to do to it.
3
Kaci awoke the next morning to the memory of Dale’s hands on her waist and his lips on her neck. “Oh man now what.” It hadn’t been hard to not fall for anyone these past 3 and a half years. She had been so busy with Riley that she never put herself in the position to get close to anyone. But with Dale she didn’t want to run away she wanted him in her life but the thought of that scared her. Could they have a normal life? Well, that was a stupid question, no they couldn’t he was Dale Earnhardt Jr. the media didn’t allow him to have a normal life. Kaci wasn’t sure she could deal with that and if she was willing to put Riley in that position. He has to be her first priority. Just then the door to her bedroom was pushed open and a half awake Riley came in and crawled into bed with her as he usually did on days she didn’t work.
“Morning baby.”
Riley just cuddled up next to her, “Brandon’s.”
She just laughed, “I don’t think we will see them today but soon. I promise.” She kissed his head and they both fell back asleep.
In the Kannapolis/Mooresville area when an Eranhardt spoke people listened so of course the press conference was being aired live on most channels that afternoon. Kaci’s best friend Tracie had come over to get all the details of her date last night. “You think you could get me a date with Steve Park man that man’s got some gorgeous eyes. Oh, what about Jamie McMurray or hey Gordon is single now.”
“Slow down there chic, I have know him for one day let’s see if I get a second date before I start fixing up my friends. Kaci was making a late lunch when she heard Riley yell “mommy Dale on tv.” They walked in to the living room and turned the volume up.
“We are here live at the DEI headquarters where we understand a major announcement concerning Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be given shortly.” The cameras moved inside to what appeared to be a conference room where Kaci recognized Teresa, Jade and of course Dale sitting at a very large table. Dale looked like he was going to be sick any moment and you could tell Teresa was doing her best to comfort him. Jade patted Jr. on the back and stood up.
“We would like to thank all of you for coming on such short notice. With Daytona only a few short weeks away I am sure you are all very curious as too what this announcement is, we aren’t going to drag this out for everyone’s sake.” He looked down at Junior and you could tell he was wondering if Jr. wanted to take over.
Dale slowly stood and traded places with Jade. He wiped his hands on his jeans and started to speak. “I am going to keep this as short as I possibly can. About 6 months ago I received a call from a couple claiming to have a little boy that was mine. We did some research and it turns out that the boy is my son.” The collective gasp from the media seemed to give Dale a little more courage as he continued “Brandon came to live with me about 2 months ago and even though it hasn’t been completely decided as to whether he will travel with me or not, he will be living with me full time. I know you all want pictures and you will get your chance to meet him in a moment but I want to make one thing perfectly clear. Brandon is my son, he is a child, an innocent, you all may hound me but I will not tolerate my son being harassed by anyone. I may have only found him 6 month ago but I love him like I have known him forever.”
Junior sat back down and they opened the floor to questions.
“Dale, are you sure this child is yours and not some woman trying to take advantage of you?”
Dale almost laughed out loud remembering Kaci’s words from the night before. “A DNA test was done and I am 100% certain he is mine.”
“Dale, so did you take her to court to get custody or did she just leave him with you?”
“No his mother was killed a few months ago and I was contacted by her parents they knew he needed to be with his father and before we go any farther. She was a great mother, Brandon was very well taken care of and she loved him greatly. She kept him from me because she was worried about what you, the media, would do to all of us. I will not release her name to anyone because I will not have you bothering her family or writing false stories about her.”
“Teresa, how is the rest of the Earnhardt family dealing with the news that there is a new Earnhardt in the family tree?”
“We were all very shocked, as was Dale Jr., but he is an Earnhardt and there is no difference between this and if we had known she had been pregnant. He is an amazing child and we all love him greatly. I believe we are going to bring Brandon out now. We are asking that you take the photos you want now and to not harass our family for photos after this.”
Kelly walked out caring Brandon and Dale stood and met her and took him out of her arms. The flash bulbs went off like crazy and you could see Brandon was a little overwhelmed. You could also see the tension rising on Dale’s face.
“Ook momma Brandon.” Riley said pointing to the tv.
Dale sat back down between Jade and Teresa and Kelly took a seat next to Teresa. Brandon laid his head on Dale’s shoulder and Kaci noticed just how much they looked alike for the first time. Teresa reached over and tickled Brandon on the stomach and he giggled and lunged for her. He sat and played with her as Jade told the media they had time for one more question.
“Dale, how do you feel knowing that if his mother had been honest with you up front and not tried to hide Brandon from you, your father would have gotten to see his grandson before he died?”
“No he did not go there.” Kaci said to the tv.
The final question got everyone’s attention and none of them looked to happy with it. Teresa, Jade, and Kelly all looked to Dale “I of course wish my daddy could have been here to not only watch my kids, Kerry’s kids, Kelly’s kids, hell, his own daughter grow up, but to see where my career will go, to meet the woman I will someday marry, to just have in my life everyday. That wasn’t an option and I hold no ill thoughts towards Brandon’s mom. She did what she thought was right, Brandon is here now and I will see to it that he grows up knowing not only who his grandfather was but what a wonderful woman his mother was. We’re done here.”
Dale took Brandon from Teresa, paused so the press could get one more photo and then disappeared into the back room.
“Way to go Dale.” Kaci said to the tv.
4
The days quickly turned into weeks and Dale was extremely busy getting ready for Daytona. He wasn’t able to see Kaci as much as he would have liked but they were becoming very close none the less. Brandon and Riley acted more like brothers than friends and they each loved the time the four of them spent together. Dale had introduced Kaci to his sister Kelly and they hit it off very quickly. They spent a lot of time together with Brandon, Riley, and Kelly’s daughter Karsyn. Dale all ready felt guilty for the time he was losing with Brandon but ne knew Kaci would take good care of him and Brandon loved being with Riley. Kelly had convinced Kaci to quit her two jobs and come work with her. It took some convincing but Kaci hated all the time she spent away from Riley and Kelly was going to hire someone to help her out anyway, so it seemed perfect.
Dale and Kaci were having dinner the night before Dale was to leave for Daytona. “Are you sure you are ok with this?”
“Yes Dale, there is no point to you dragging Brandon down there. You are going to be insanely busy, I will bring the kids down in a few days when Kelly and I fly down.” she had cleared the table and had sat down on his lap before he could stand.
“Mmmm,” he buried his face in her neck. “You smell so good.” he said nibbling at her earlobe.
“Ok now you know you have to go pack yet. So go say goodnight to your son and get that cute little ass of yours home.” She stood up and pulled him with her. She smacked his ass as he headed down the hall to say goodbye to Brandon.
He came back with tears in his eyes. Kaci just smiled and wrapped her arms around him. “Don’t worry the first time you leave him is always the worst. It will get easier.” They stayed in each others arms for a few minutes when he pulled away and asked “Are you staying for the race?”
Kaci stepped away and looked up at him, “No, we are only staying for a few days, then we will come back home unless you want to keep Brandon with you.?”
“We never talked about the races.”
“I know I just don’t think you need the media getting wind of a new woman in your life so soon after a son arrives on your doorstep. Talk about a media frenzy. I am fine with this. Brandon doesn’t need to be at the track every weekend and when you don’t want to take him, I will keep him with us.”
“I don’t want you to think I don’t want you there, it’s just…”
She cut him off “It’s just we aren’t ready for that. Dale I understand, I have Riley to think of and I don’t want him in the middle of all this, not yet at least.” she grinned up at him. He was truly thankful she came into his life. He leaned down and kissed her.
“I will see you in a few days.” she walked him to the door and then went to tuck the kids into bed.
Daytona came and went as did many races. Even though their time together was few and far between. Kaci was happy. The race was in Virginia this weekend and then next weekend Dale would be home for two weeks cause the next race was at Concord. Her and Dale were talking that maybe Kaci and the kids would come to their first race. For this weekend though, her and the boys were staying at Dale’s house and Tracie, Kelly, and Karsyn were coming over and they were going to have a race party.
Kaci, Rily, and Brandon were in the basement watching the big screen tv and getting the snacks ready for the party when they heard breaking glass coming from upstairs. Kaci ushered the boys into a back storage room and told them not to move or make a sound until she came back for them.
She grabbed the cordless phone and headed upstairs, she had dialed DEI security to see if the silent alarm had gone off there when she saw a man standing in the den pulling the computer off the desk. He dropped the computer and ripped the phone out of her hands, throwing it across the room. He then grabbed her arm as she screamed for him to take what he wanted and get out. He hit her sending her to the floor with a loud thud. She tried scooting towards the door simply to get him away from the basement stairs. She had to keep him from finding the boys. He grabbed the back of her head and slammed her into the door then began hitting and kicking her repeatedly. She wanted to cry out several times but was afraid the boys would come upstairs if they heard her. She had to protect them above all else.
She was bleeding heavily and hurt just about everywhere. She heard voices come up behind them “Oh my God Kaci, she couldn’t make out whose voice it was and everything suddenly went black.
5
“Are the boys all right?”
“Yeah, they were huddled together in a storage room in the basement, apparently, Kaci told them to stay there till she came to get them. They did as she said. They were scared but they were fine.”
“We need to get ahold of Dale.” They heard a moan come from Kaci. “Kaci, can you hear me?”
“Yes, Tracie? I can’t see very well.”
“Yes, it’s me. Kelly is here too.”
“Riley! Brandon!”
“They are fine. They are with Teresa and Taylor down in the waiting room. They are watching the race. They are scared but they are fine.”
“Thank God.” Just then the doctor walked in with Kelly.
“Kaci, how are you doing?”
“I hurt and I cant’ see very well, everything is blurry.”
“Now that you are awake we will give you pain medicine. Your eyesight is gonna be blurry for a few days until the swelling goes down. You were beaten pretty bad but amazing your injuries aren’t that severe. You were very lucky. I will send a nurse in with some pain killers for you. We are going to keep you tonight but you can go home tomorrow. Morning.”
“Thanks.”
Kelly stepped up and took her hand, “Kaci, hon, I am going to call Dale.”
“No!”
“What? Why?”
“Where are they in the race?” Tracie turned the tv on so Kaci could hear it.
“Looks like half way.” Tracie said.
“What’s the point. You will only upset him because he won’t believe that Brandon is ok. And it will only get him here what 5 hours earlier. He will be home tonight. Someone meet him so he doesn’t go home to the mess I am sure is there.”
“Ok, maybe you are right. I will take the kids home with me tonight, I am sure Dale will want to come straight here to see you.” Kelly said.
“I will go meet Dale at the airport and get him here.” Tracie said.
“Thanks guys,”
“Kaci, what about Riley? He want’s to see you.”
“I know but I can only imagine how bad I look, considering I can’t see. It will only scare him. Let’s wait till tomorrow when Dale is here. He can help keep him calm. He listens to Dale.” she grinned thinking about the two of them together, not that anyone could tell she was smiling. “Have Riley call tonight before he goes to bed, talking to me might help ease his fears.”
Several hours later, when Dale’s plane landed, he gathered his bags and headed out to the lot where he was going to catch a taxi home. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Tracie. His teammates, laughing at some stupid joke Jr. told, stopped when they realized he was falling behind. “Junior, come on.” They all looked at where his gaze was fixed. He all of a sudden felt sick.
Tracie walked up to Dale, “They are ok.” she saw how pale he was.
“They why are you here?” he said in almost a whisper.
“Brandon and Riley are fine they are staying at Kelly’s.”
“What about Kaci?” he had started to walk again, quickly.
“Dale, she’s in the hospital.” he stopped again, “they are releasing her in the morning. Come on, I will take you to her”
They got in the car and left everyone wondering what the hell was going on. Dale stared out the window for a while, when he finally turned to Tracie. “What happened?”
Tracie eyed him, “We were all going to watch the race at your place, let the kids play.”
“Yeah, she told me you all were coming over, said the boys were really looking forward to it.”
“Apparently, they were in the basement when they heard breaking glass. Kaci went upstairs to see what was going on. The guy broke in just to steal shit. He started beating the hell out of her…” her voice broke off.
Dale looked over at her, “what? What are you leaving out?”
“I pulled up right as DEI security was running in, I guess your silent alarm went off and the phone was dead. They called the police and got there in time.”
“In time for what?”
“Kaci doesn’t know this, Kelly and I decided she didn’t need to know. When security got in there, he was pulling her clothes off. He told police later, he only went to rob you, didn’t think anyone would be there, but when he saw her he figured… if Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fucking her she had to be pretty good.”
Dale punched the dashboard. “They stopped him Dale, she’s going to be fine.”
“This is the reason she didn’t go with me, keep her out of the public eye. Worked real well. Jesus, we aren’t even sleeping together. Where were the boys during all this, tell me they didn’t see this, oh man Riley.”
“No, they were downstairs, she hid them in a storage room and told them not to leave that room no matter what. They were still in there when Kelly and I started searching the house for them. They didn’t even come out when we called them. They did exactly what they were told to do.”
They pulled up to the hospital “You want me to stay?”
“No, I am staying here tonight.”
“Ok, she’s in room 301, it’s a private room. Dale, be warned, she looks bad, she can’t see cause her face is so swollen. She’s going to be all right though.”
Dale shut the door and hurried into the hospital. He stood outside the door for a moment collecting his thoughts. When he finally gathered enough courage he pushed the door open and realized nothing could have prepared him for this.
He gasped at the sight of her laying there so helpless, beaten and battered. The tears welled up in his eyes. Her face was swollen and a different shades of blue and purple. He could see the welts on her arms from where someone had grabbed her.
“Hello? Please is someone there.” The panic in her voice was evident.
“Kaci, it’s me. It’s Dale.” he walked over to the bed and wanted to touch her. She reached out to him “I don’t want to hurt you.” he said the tears finally falling.
“Dale, please just hold me.” He sat on the edge of the bed and took her in his arms, she winced at the pain but when he tried to pull away she clung to him even harder. “No, please don’t leave.”
“I am right here.” He rearranged them on the bed so he was laying next to her, holding her and after about an hour of crying in each other’s arms, they fell asleep.
6
The reunion between Riley and Kaci the next day was not all that good. Riley was scared to death and Kaci couldn’t do anything about it. It was several days before Dale could get Riley to even be in the same room with her but as the swelling went down and she looked more like herself, the easier it got. Over the next month Kaci spent most of her time trying to mend her bumps and bruises and work through the fear in her head. She kept the boys at her place, when Dale was gone, not able to go back to his house right away. They got into a familiar routine again and two months after the attack Dale decided to surprise Kaci with a romantic evening. Their first romantic evening as a couple. Working with Tracie and Kelly to make sure she was out of the house they came up with a plan.
Kelly, Tracie, Kaci and the boys went shopping all day leaving Dale the whole day to decorate and cook. They went back to Kelly’s and she finally convinced Kaci to let her keep the boys for the night. “Karsyn has been wanting to have a slumber party anyway. Just go home get their stuff and bring it back here.” Kelly told her knowing they already had packed their stuff she just had to get her back to her place with Dale.
“Ok,” she kissed Riley and Brandon and told Kelly she would bring clothes back in a little while.
“Oh, ok” Kelly said with a grin.
Kaci headed back to her place and was surprised to see Dale’s truck in the driveway. She walked in and immediately smelled the food. “Hey,where you at? Man, what smells so good?” she called walking towards the kitchen.
Dale stepped out in front of her and caught her in his embrace and didn’t give her time to say anything else. His arms wrapped around her waist and snaked their way up her back and pulled her to him as his mouth found hers. A moan escaped her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. As his mouth traveled along her jawbone to her collarbone she giggled, “So does this mean I don’t have to take clothes back to Kelly’s for the boys?”
He laughed “No, she has everthing she needs.” his mouth was moving back towards hers “So do I.” he grinned as their tongues found each other. They stood in the hallway just like that until Dale quickly pulled away. “Shit!” he ran back in the kitchen and pulled something out of the oven.
Kaci just laughed. “Mr. Homemaker. Need help?”
“No, you go sit, I will be in with wine in just a moment.” Kaci shook her head and walked into the dining room. She stopped when she saw the table, it was filled flowers and candles. Dale had gone all out for tonight.
He walked up behind her, kissed her on the neck, and proceeded to pour them both glasses of wine. He pulled her chair out and waited for her to sit. He served dinner and then sat down himself.
“Wow, you know I think this is the first quiet dinner we have had since…”
“our first dinner.” he finished her sentence.
They talked over dinner, laughing about the boys, talking about the races and the rest of the season. They took the dishes back into the kitchen and as Dale started to clean up Kaci decided to not let this quiet empty house go by unused. As Dale walked back into the dining room to get the rest of the dishes Kaci stopped him in his path. She took the dishes out of his hands, sat them on the table and pushed him up against the table.
“What ya doing?” he grinned as Kaci pulled the end of his shirt out of his khakis. She kissed his stomach and continued upwards until she had pulled his shirt over his head and found his mouth. She smiled into his mouth as she found the button and zipper of his pants. “In a hurry?” he laughed as he kicked the pants to the side.
“What, you want to slow down? Well, I guess if you really want too.” she teased as she pulled her belt off and walked away from him. She turned down the hallway and out of his sight. Her shirt landed at the beginning of the hall and Dale stood and slowly followed her clothing down the hall. Her pants were laying outside her cracked bedroom door, when he pushed the door the rest of the way open he found Kaci laying on her stomach in a black bra and lace thong staring at him.
“Hi” he said staring at her.
“Hi, wanna come join me?” Kaci said smiling up at him.
Dale walked over to the edge of the bed and kneeled down over her, he grabbed her ankle and started massaging her foot. He kissed the bottom of her foot and started kissing his way up her leg all the way to the back of her neck then back down the other side. He rolled her over and she wasn’t wasting any more time. She reached up and pulled him down on top of her. She rolled them over and the next thing he knew she was straddling him her tongue running down his jaw, his neck, his chest, his bellybutton. Her fingers found the waistband of his boxers and pulled them down to his ankles as her tongue continued it’s journy. She could hear his breathing quicken and felt his heart rate increase. She smiled as a moan escaped from his parted lips as her mouth found what it had been searching for.
“Kaci…oh God…no” he gently pushed her head away and she looked at him shocked. He realized what she was thinking and quickly recovered. He pulled her up to him, removed her bra, and rolled her under him. “That’s not where I want to be.” He slid her thong down her legs and as his fingers traveled back up her legs he grinned. “This is where I want to be.” he said as his fingers found the warmth they sought.
She moaned and arched her hips towards him as his mouth found her breast. “Dale…please.”
Dale kissed her mouth and positioned himself directly above her. He looked her in the eye and asked, “Are you sure? I know how long it has been.”
She looked at him and kissed him, “Dale, I need you.”
The look in her eye told him all he needed to know. He kissed her again and as he deepened the kiss he slowly entered her. He felt her tense up and stopped allowing her to get use to him. After a brief amount of time he felt her leg wrap around his waist and took this as his cue that she was ok. He started a slow and steady pace that she matched and sped up.
“What still in a hurry?” he laughed.
Kaci bit at his tongue “You couldn’t slow this down now if you wanted to.” she said through a ragged breath.
“With the exception of making it last forever who would want to.” Kaci had closed her eyes “Kaci open your eyes, look at me.”
As they met each others stares she felt her release build and as he felt her body tighten around him he knew she was falling over the edge. He took her hands in his and pulled them above her head. He looked deep into her eyes and was scared by what he saw. A feeling came over him that he had never felt with any other woman before. As his body shook and he joined her high he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had in the pit of his stomach.
“Oh God Dale!”
He collapsed on top of her and buried his face in her neck. He was having a hard time breathing he pulled out of her and rolled to her side, he scooped her up in his arms and pulled her to him. She lay with her head on his chest listening to his heart beat, trying to slow her own breathing. They lay like that neither saying a word until they fell asleep in each others arms.
The next day Kelly brought the kids over and had sat down in the kitchen to talk to Kaci. “So how was last night? Please keep in mind that he is my baby brother so specific details not needed.” she laughed and when she saw Kaci wasn’t she worried.
“It was nice.”
“Nice? What happened?”
“Nothing well everything. Man, I don’t know. It was a great night, dinner was great, everything was…”
“I swear if you say great…what happened?”
“Ok, we end up in bed and it was amazing, it has never been like that before.”
“But?”
“He had a look in his eye, I can’t explain, something happened, something changed. We fell asleep in each other’s arms and when I woke up this morning he was gone. He left a note saying he had to run to the shop he would be back shortly. I don’t know”
“I am sure you are over reacting, that boy is absolutely crazy about you. You’ll see everything is going to be fine.” Kelly wasn’t sure who she was trying to reassure.
“Yeah, everything will be fine.”
>br>
7
Dale had come back over and things seemed to be ok. The days passed quickly and they fell right back into their old routine. Kaci was happy but she hadn’t been able to shake the uneasy feeling she had. Her and Dale hadn’t had any time to themselves since the night they were first together. Not that they were trying to come up with any time for themselves. Dale made no effort to spend time alone with her. Not that he was ignoring her, they were a family the four of them. There just wasn’t a lot of intimacy between them.
“What do you think? Darlington isn’t that far of a flight. Kelly went out so she can watch the kids. You think he will be happy to see me? I still haven’t gone to the track for a race.” Kaci said into the phone.
“Kaci, girl, go. He will love to see you. You guys haven’t had time for yourselves, hey every little 20 minute session helps.” Tracie laughed into the phone.
Kaci laughed “It is kind of annoying that we have only been able to have sex once in a 7 month relationship, but that’s what you get with kids.” she laughed nervously making up excuses. “I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t go.”
“Get your cute butt out there. Call me when you get back.”
By the time Kaci made it too the track she knew Dale had about an hour before the drivers meeting, she found Tony Jr in the garage and asked him if he knew where Kelly was. He said he would take Riley so that she could go see Dale. Kaci made her way through the motor coaches to his, to surprise him but she was the one about to get the surprise. When she knocked on the door a leggy blond wearing nothing but a tee shirt answered the door. “May I help you?”
Kaci’s heart stopped, “Um, is Dale here?”
“Oh yeah, but he just jumped in the shower. Want to come in and wait?”
“No.” She started to leave then stopped, “Where’s Brandon?”
“Uh, who’s Brandon?”
That told Kaci all she needed to know, “Never mind.” As she fought against the tears welling up in her eyes she went to find Tony and Riley. She found Riley with Kelly, Buffy, Karsyn, Brandon, and Macy instead.
“Hey girl, surprise over so soon?” Kelly looked up and saw Kaci’s face. “Kaci, what is it? What’s wrong?”
Kaci ignored her, “Riley get your stuff, we are leaving.”
“But mommy, we just got here.”
“Now!” Kaci yelled at him. Riley started whimpering but did as he was told and as Kaci saw the hurt on his face she knelt down and hugged him, “I am sorry baby.” Then the tears came.
Buffy took Riley from Kaci, “We will be in the playroom over at the daycare.”
Kelly bent down next to Kaci, “Hon, what happened?”
“How could he? Why? God, I am so stupid.” she sobbed.
“Who? What?
“Dale, he had another woman at his coach.”
Kelly was shocked. She knew how Dale felt about Kaci even if he didn’t. “No, Kaci, he wouldn’t.”
“I saw her, she answered the door in nothing but his tee shirt.”
“No, Kaci there has to be a reasonable explanation.”
Kaci was now getting mad “When did you take Brandon?”
“Last night…” she paused “…oh shit, he said he needed to be alone.”
“This girl didn’t even know who Brandon was, don’t you see, he brought Brandon to you knowing he was going to…” she couldn’t say it.
Kelly didn’t know what to do she had to get to Dale and find out what the hell happened.
“Kelly, will you keep Riley for a day or two, I need to be alone.”
“Of course, where are you going?” Kelly was worried about her.
“Far from here.”
Knowing Buffy had the kids Kelly headed to the garage to find her baby brother. As she approached, she saw him sitting on a toolbox with his head in his hands. Everyone seemed to be keeping their distance which told Kelly what she had come to find out. “Shit, Dale how could you?” she thought as she walked up and sat down next to him. “I guess I don’t have to tell you how bad you fucked up.”
He looked at her wondering what she was talking about, there was no way she could know. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t lie to me Dale, you know you won’t get away with it. I know about last night, how could you do this to Kaci?”
“Because I am the biggest idiot in the world. I don’t know what I was thinking. I didn’t even want her. I was just so damn scared.” He started crying.
“Scared of what?” she put her arm around his shoulder and pulled him to her and hugged him.
“This feeling and how fast it happened. God Kelly, I love her. I love her so much, I don’t know how I can love someone this fast. How can this happen.” He started rambling.
“Dale you can’t control these things. Love happens when it is right. Kaci is the right one Dale but now you have to fix it.”
“How? Wait fix what…” Just then Buffy walked up carrying a crying Riley.
“He fell and wants Kaci.” Buffy said as Riley lunged for Dale. If he can’t have mommy, Dale is the next best thing.
Dale took Riley. “How did he get here?” Dale looked at Riley and then at Kelly, “No, oh God, no. She was here wasn’t she.”
Kelly was confused “Dale I thought you knew. Kaci got off work and wanted to surprise you, she went to your coach this morning and your guest, for lack of a nicer term, answered the door.”
“I didn’t know, I didn’t hear her. What am I going to do?”
“You are going to have to try and fix this and I don’t know if you can.”
“What did she say? Where did she go?”
“She was really upset, asked me to take Riley for a few days, said she was going far away from here.”
“A few days? I have to find her.”
“Dale you have to race in about an hour, you can’t leave.”
“Kelly I have to find her.”
“Dale, are you going to tell Teresa you are not racing because you slept with some girl last night and your girlfriend found out today and you have to apologize. How well do you think that is going to go?”
“Fine,” he handed a now calm Riley to Kelly, “I’ll go race the stupid race.” He muttered something under his breath Kelly couldn’t make out and walked away.
The race went about as well as Kelly expected. Junior wrecked his car on the 100th lap and there was no way it was going to make it back out. Kelly suspected he did it on purpose but wasn’t going to say anything. She knew Dale loved to race, it was in his blood, but he wasn’t going to give up his personal life for it like so many other drivers. He may have been in championship contention, but the season was only half over, and to him it was only one race. She headed to his motor coach to see what he was going to do.
“So what is your plan?” Kelly asked as he set a bag down by the door.
“Find her, beg, plead, apologize, whatever I have to do. I can’t lose her not now, not after all we have been through.”
“Dale what you did, she may not forgive you”
“I know Kel, but I have to try. I can’t give up. Will you watch Brandon? He is still in the Daycare center.”
“Of course, I am probably going to head home with them soon. Call me if you need me.”
“Thanks, Love you sis.”
“Love you too.” With that Dale ran out the door to the helicopter pad. Luckily it was only about an hour flight home. She had a head start but not much of one.
8
Kaci stood in her kitchen staring out the window watching the rain fall, “What a perfect day.” As she stood there she heard a song come on the radio.
I’m standing on a bridge
I’m waiting in the dark
I thought that you’d be here by now
There’s nothing but the rain
No footsteps on the ground
I’m listening but there’s no sound
Isn’t anyone trying to find me?
Won’t somebody come take me home
It’s a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won’t you take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don’t know who you are
But I…I’m with you.
She turned to look at the radio and saw the photo instead. It had been taken just a few weeks earlier at DEI. It was her, Dale, Brandon, and Riley in front of Dales car. They laughed that it looked like a Christmas photo card, Kaci thought that maybe someday it would be. She stood there and listened to the song and stared at the photo for several minutes before turning and walking out the back door into the rain.
Dale pulled into Kaci’s drive and ran to the front door. He started banging and yelling for her to open up. “Kaci, please open the door, we have to talk, Kaci.” He could hear the radio and saw her car in the garage so he knew she was home. “Kaci please.” He walked around to the back of the house hoping maybe the back door was unlocked. He was shocked to see it standing wide open. He walked into the kitchen, “Kaci?” He walked into the living room and saw the front door still shut and locked. He searched through the rest of the house. “Kaci, where are you? Come on I am getting worried. Kaci?” The house was empty. Dale picked up the phone and called Tracie, “Tell me she’s there.”
“Dale?”
“Yeah, tell me Kaci is with you. I know she doesn’t want to talk but I am scared something happened to her. Just tell me if she is there so I know she’s ok.”
“Dale, what are you talking about? She is with you in Darlington. She flew out there this morning. Dale, where are you?”
“I am at her house. She’s not here.”
“Dale why aren’t you in Darlington? Maybe you two missed each other.”
“No, something happened. She’s mad she left Riley with my sister and left. Her car is here and everything is locked except for the back door it was standing wide open. Tracie I don’t want to get into it right now, I just have to find her. Please where would she go if she is upset and wants to be alone?”
Tracie thought for a moment, “You said her back door is open, ok, she is going to kill me for this, but if you look out at the woods behind her house. There is a path that leads to a clearing and a small pond about a half mile into the woods. She goes there a lot to think and just be alone.”
“It’s pouring down rain, would she go out there in this weather?
“If she is pissed enough, yes.”
“Thanks Tracie.” he hung up the phone and ran out the back door.
It was starting to get dark and it was raining even harder now. Dale slowed down to a walk as he saw the clearing up ahead. He stopped just before he stepped out in to the clearing and watched her. She stood with her back to him just staring into the sky. She was soaking wet. It was a very humid night, despite the rain.
“Go Away!” he heard and he finally stepped out and within a few feet from her.
“Kaci please, we have to talk.”
“No. There isn’t anything to be said. I certainly do not need the details of your little frolic last night. I can figure that one out on my own.” she glared at him.
“Kaci, I screwed up, I know but we can fix this. I know we can, please.” he moved closer to her.
“Why the hell should I even listen to you let alone ever trust you again?”
“Please, let’s just go back to the house and talk.” he reached for her arm and she quickly stepped away from him. It was thundering now and the rain was like needles it was coming down so hard. “Kaci, damn it, I know I messed up but that doesn’t change how I feel for you.”
“How you feel for me. How is that? Exactly how do you feel that you would treat me like a queen, make me believe you cared and then go screw some little slut? How many have there been, Dale? You are such a bastard. Man, you saw an opportunity and you jumped on it, literally.”
He started to say something and she cut him off.
“Man you really had your cake and were eating it too. I was there being the good girlfriend and mother to your kid and you were running around behind my back the whole time. God, am I stupid.”
Dale felt like he had been punched in the stomach, “You really believe that don’t you?” he screamed at her. She just looked at him. She had never seen him this mad or maybe it was hurt. “Do you? She is the only one. It was a mistake, the biggest one of my life. I will never forgive myself for hurting you this way but don’t you dare accuse me of not caring.” He turned away and she was sure he was leaving when he stopped. He didn’t turn to face her, “I love you.” he said just above a whisper.
She was shocked. “Did you love me when you were fucking her?” She hadn’t meant to say it but she was so hurt and mad and now confused. If he loved her he wouldn’t have done this.
He walked over to her and looked her in the eye, “Yes I did. I have loved you since I first saw you. I just didn’t realize that it was love until it was too late. The night we made love, it all hit me then, I didn’t know how to act, how to face it. I now see that everything in my life has been to get me to you. I have never screwed anything up this bad but I also have never been this scared in my life.”
“of what?”
“You, me, us, the feeling I have in my heart, it’s bigger than both of us. I am scared of messing up, scared of having a real family, scared of everything. I realized for the first time I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I will spend everyday of it making it up too you if you let me. Kaci please, I love you.”
She was trying not to cry. “I love you, with all my heart. I just don’t know if that is enough.”
“Kaci” his voice quivered and the fear of what was happening was evident, but so was the love in his eyes.
“Dale, you hurt me more than anyone ever has. At least Riley’s father just left, you didn’t just break my heart, you broke my trust, my soul.” She turned to leave. He didn’t try to stop her this time. He finally realized what he had done, just how much pain he had cause her. He fell to his knees and started crying.
As Kaci reached the path she turned to look at him one last time. He had his back to her and was obviously crying. His whole body was shaking. As she stood there staring at him she thought to herself “How am I suppose to get through everyday without him? I do love him, I can’t love anyone else.” She struggled with the battle between her heart and head. She started to leave again when she heard the song in her head.
I’m looking for a place Searching for a face
Is anybody here I know
Cause nothings going right
And everything’s a mess
And no one likes to be alone
Isn’t anyone trying to find me
Won’t somebody come take me home
It’s a damn cold night Trying to figure out this life
Won’t you take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don’t know who you are
But I…I’m with you
He didn’t hear her walk back up over the rain, thunder and his own sobs. She placed a hand on his shoulder and when he turned and looked up at her, she leaned down and kissed him. He wanted to ask why, but he was scared if he removed his mouth from hers he’d lose her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the ground with him, his mouth never leaving hers. She pulled him down on top of her as she laid back, their tongues dancing back and forth.
He finally found the nerve to pull his mouth from hers and when he did she took the chance and pulled his tee over his head then found the button to his khaki shorts and worked them down over his hips. He then rolled them over quickly removing her tank and shorts and tossing them to the side with his clothes. He rolled them back over so she was under him, the mud and rain cold on their bare flesh.
“Kaci, what about…?”
She gently nibbled her way from his ear to his collarbone as her hands ran down his back to his hips and pulled him as close to her as she could. She never said a word. She couldn’t. She knew this wasn’t going to be easy. They had a long road ahead of them, they would have to work on getting to know each other again and building a relationship that could lead to forever. But she also knew she would never be happy with out him, she couldn‘t live forever unless he was part of it.
She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him with an intensity that Dale knew, he felt it too and as she deepened the kiss he entered her. It wasn’t the sweet romantic love they made before it was fast and hard and exactly what they both needed. As he collapsed onto her she held on to him as if he would disappear if she let go.
“Kaci, I am not going anywhere” he tried to roll off her but she wouldn’t let go.
“I didn’t think you’d find me” she whispered and he could feel her tears on his shoulder.
He finally was able to sit up and he pulled her into his lap. “I didn’t think you wanted me too. Kaci look at me.” he pulled her head back to meet his stare. “I love you, I will always find you. You are stuck with me now and I don’t plan on ever letting go.” he grinned kissing her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, “I’m with you.” she whispered.
Take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don’t know who you are
But I…I’m with you
I’m with you.