Chapter Eight
Chapter 8
When Carly and Ty got out of the car, Dale immediately whispered to Carly.
“What was going on in there?”
“Nothing- tell ya later!” she whispered back.
“You ok?” he asked.
“Yes, Dale, I’m fine!” she laughed. There was a huge crowd of fans gathered around. She wanted him to hold her and kiss her, but she knew that would NOT be good! “Later!” she winked at him. He smiled.
The media was there too, to see if the rumors of Carly’s departure were true. Ty and Jade were trying to get things organized for an impromptu press conference. Steve Waid was there, and he approached Carly and Dale.
“Can you two talk?” he asked. “For Totally NASCAR’s show tonight?”
“Give us a sec, Steve.” Carly said. “Ty is the guy in control right now. Hey Steve – did you actually hear the radio show this morning?”
“Yes, I sure did. I called you right after. I’m sorry I gave you such bad news!” he apologized.
“It’s ok! All is well now. Come talk to us after Ty talks, ok?” she asked.
Ty and Jade issued a statement about the false radio conversation. They did not elaborate, or say it was Dale’s voice. They just reiterated that the rumor was false, just a prank, not silly season. Then they fielded questions. The reporters wanted to ask Carly and Dale questions, but Ty insisted that they were here to sign autographs for fans, and that was it. After he made the statements, he asked Carly if she wanted to talk to any of the reporters.
“Only Steve Waid, briefly.” She said.
“Carly, we’re glad to hear the rumors are false. Do you have any idea what started them?” Steve asked with his microphone outstretched.
“No, Steve. No idea. But I’m glad to say I will still be driving the #81 Budweiser Chevy for at least two seasons.” She said.
“OK! Thanks for the good news. We look forward to seeing you this Sunday in Atlanta!”
“Thank You, Steve!” she smiled.
That was that, and they went on to signing autographs. It was hard not to examine each person that came up to them, wondering if they had anything to do with the radio fiasco. They had two other stops that day, for more personal appearances, and then they were done. Ty and Carly seemed to be on good terms, much to Carly’s relief.
~~**~~
“I noticed you emphasized the “two seasons” to Steve Waid.” Ty said, grinning.
“Well…….that is how long my contract is, isn’t it?” she said to him, as they were driving back to DEI. She made him drive this time.
He laughed. “Yeah, it is. I just hope you stick around after two years.”
Carly sighed. “Ty, that’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me all day! Now, I finally feel OK!”
~~**~~
Dale drove Carly home after they got the show cars back to DEI. She told him all about her talk with Ty. Dale was happy that Ty wanted her around for more than two years. He certainly wanted her around!
They got to her house. He walked her in. He was going to Talladega in the morning, and Carly was going to Atlanta.
“Man, I wish I were going to Talladega with you. I’m the one that needs the most practice there!” she lamented.
“Believe me honey, I agree with you. But I want you there for more selfish reasons than practice!” he grinned.
“We don’t need to be in Talladega for that!” she laughed, as he wrapped his arms around her. “I worry about that track. It’s just too big. I know you kinda own that place, but be careful, ok?” she said.
“I will. I always am. How’d you do there last year?” he asked her.
“Uh, spring race, I got a 5th. I was just glad I finished in the top 10! But the fall race – I got caught up in the “Big One”.
“That was not fun.” She said. “Damn painful, and frustrating. Tore up a great car.”
“Aw, I’m sorry babe. But this year you’re in a DEI car! I hope we get a first through sixth sweep. All of us. Wouldn’t that be great?”
Carly laughed. “Oh, yeah. That would be great. I saw you guys last October, you, Mikey, Steve and Kerry. And Kenny wasn’t too far back. You and Mikey had that great bump and run move. Remember you and Mikey helped me with that move at Homestead last year?” She smiled. “That made me feel so confident that I could actually make it in Winston Cup.”
“I do remember. I remember trying to persuade Mark to let me talk to you. He wasn’t gonna let me! I had to convince him that Robby was gonna wreck you, and that you might get hurt. When I told you the plan, you knew exactly what I was talking about. Pulled it off too, didn’t we?”
“We did! And I won the race. Thanks to you. Mikey was second. Or was it Kerry? I can’t remember.” She looked up at him and smiled. “Speaking of pulling things off…” she said as she pulled his shirt off over his head.
“What are you doing?” he laughed.
“My Jacuzzi is calling us. Let me get some more wine and we’ll go relax. It’s been a long day. And tomorrow will be worse. For me, anyway.” She said as she went into her kitchen. She came back with two glasses of wine. “You get to go to your favorite track. I get the wicked witch of the west. How fair is that??” she laughed. “I hope Ken Schrader is there practicing. I will need someone sane to talk to.”
“Lets go!” he said, smiling as he took the glasses from her and started up the stairs.
~~**~~
The Jacuzzi was very relaxing. The wine was relaxing. The new Enya CD was relaxing. Dale and Carly, however were having trouble “relaxing”. They could not stay out of each other’s arms. They could not stop kissing. They could not stop caressing each other. They almost didn’t stop.
“Oh, baby- we’re not gonna make it till next week.” Dale gasped, trying to catch his breath. “If I…we…”
“Shh…don’t talk.” Carly whispered, putting her finger on his lips. She kissed him before he could finish his sentence.
He kissed her back, then pushed her away, slightly. He looked into her eyes. He could not believe that he was holding back. “You know how much I love you?” he whispered.
“Not as much as I love you…” she whispered back.
“You have no idea…” he smiled. He kissed her again and held her tight. They managed to satisfy their need for each other without breaking her rule.
They both fell asleep in the Jacuzzi. Carly’s telephone woke them up about 45 minutes later.
“Uh- hullo?” she answered it with a groggy voice.
“It’s me. What are ya doin?” Mark asked her. “It’s not that late in North Carolina. You can’t possibly be in bed yet!”
“Oh- Mark! No, I just fell asleep in the tub!” she laughed.
“Uh Huh!” he laughed. “Is there anyone with you in the tub??”
“Shut Up!” she replied. “And so what if there is?”
“Oh Gross! Don’t give me those mental pictures!” he laughed.
“You think I’m gross??” she teased.
Dale laughed and grabbed the phone. “Hey!! You callin’ my girlfriend names?”
Mark laughed. “Over-share!! I don’t need to think of my sister that way!! You gonna make me come out there and beat the shit out of you??”
“Yeah! Come on, brother!” Dale said, with a huge grin on his face.
“I’ll pass this time…But just watch out next time! Hey- how’s she doing? Any more Chad problems?” Mark asked Dale. “And what’s up with this rumor thing? I just read about it on NASCAR.com.”
“Just a rumor, man. We’re working on finding out how it started. Everything’s fine now. You should have seen her, though. She ripped Ty’s head off, and returned it to him in a box.” Dale laughed again.
“Yeah. I’m glad I’m in California! I don’t even want to imagine that!” Mark replied. “Uh- I hope she didn’t get fired!”
“No! All is well at DEI. Almost, that is. Hey- You ever heard of Alexander Morgan?” Dale asked Mark.
“Yeah. Slime Bastard extraordinaire. He’s the reason I can’t get to Atlanta till Saturday. Our whole legal department is working overtime over some copyright infringement. Involving him, of course. Why?”
“His daughter is here. She wants to drive a racecar. I guess Morgan is a friend of Teresa’s dad, and she’s letting her drive the ARCA car as a favor. Carly has to help her. I was hoping you could get here sooner than Saturday. I will be in Talladega till Thursday afternoon. I was just hopin’ you could come out here sooner, that’s all.” Dale replied.
“Oh, she’s a bitch too! You ever met her, Junior?”
Dale laughed. “Afraid so. Know her all too well, I’m embarrassed to say! She’s sorta, well, my version of Chad!”
“Oh!! Sorry, dude!” Mark laughed. “Let me talk to my sister! I gotta warn her! I’m assuming you warned her, right?”
“Oh yeah. Here she is.” Dale handed the phone to Carly.
Mark explained to Carly that he couldn’t come sooner. And warned her to be careful. Carly assured him she’d be ok.
“Mark…Scotty will be there! There will be a whole crew there! We’ll be fine! Ok? I love you too! See you Saturday, then. OK? Bye! Yes, I’ll call you! Ok, BYE!” she said as she hung up.
“Oh My God, what am I, six years old??” she said, exasperated. “And I’m older than him!”
“Calm down! I’d do the same for my sisters!” he laughed. “And one of them is older than me! Appreciate your brother! I know how he feels!”
~~**~~
The next morning, Carly kissed Dale good-bye as he got on a plane to Talladega. She watched the plane take off as she waited for her flight to Atlanta. She tried to hide the tears in her eyes. Scotty saw right through her.
“What’s wrong, honey?” he said, squeezing her shoulder.
“You know, Scotty. Don’t make me say it.” She mumbled. “I’ll miss him. I wanted to go to Talladega. I need to practice there, not hold the hand of the princess of darkness.”
Scotty chuckled. “You’ll get to go to Talladega! I know you want to get revenge on that place for the last time you raced there. Don’t worry! You’re going in 2 weeks or so. You and Kenny and Kerry.”
She looked at Scotty with squinted eyes. “Kenny and Kerry?” she said.
“Yes, two excellent drivers, and your teammates!” he lectured. “You can’t be with Junior every waking moment! This is the kind of thing Tony Sr. was talking about, Carly! Snap out of it!”
“Oh, God, Scotty! You’re right!” Carly realized. She all of the sudden felt guilty. “I better shape up. Especially after yesterday!”
“Well, I hate to agree with you on this one, but, yeah, you’re right!” he said. “But you realize it now. Just go to Atlanta and do your job. Drive the car. Help the princess. Use the time to find the good grooves in the track. Re-learn the bumps. Look at it as a bit of extra advantage for Sunday!”
“Scotty, you’re a genius!” She smiled. “Ty told me yesterday that he hopes I stick around longer than two years. I hope you are planning on sticking with me!”
He gave her a hug. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” He whispered in her ear.
She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She was trying to relax when they both heard a disturbance in the airport.
“Ew God- this better not be a company plane. I told you I only fly on my father’s Lear Jets! Or first class commercial!!”
Everyone’s heads turned.
It seems that the Wicked Witch of the West had arrived.
