Chapter 61 The Audacity
“Man, that sh*t is f*cked up,” Charlie said, sprawled out on Andrea’s sofa. “I can’t believe someone would actually say that to you. Has Case’s mom lost her ever lovin’ mind?”
Andrea shook her head. “I don’t know. She’s been rude to me ever since I met her, but I certainly wasn’t expecting this. As if she isn’t already making my life miserable.”
Charlie took a drink of his beer. “Did you tell Case?”
“Not yet. I didn’t really have a chance. She wouldn’t leave us alone. I’ll tell him tomorrow.”
“It’s bad enough that she just showed up out of the blue, and now she’s gotta stir up trouble.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to believe that she made someone as wonderful as Case.” Andrea had already consumed two glasses of wine with dinner, but now she was working on her third. She definitely didn’t want to end up with another hangover, but after her evening, she wasn’t about to let Charlie drink alone.
“You think he’ll still go to the club tomorrow night like we planned? It’s my last night in LA, and I’d really like to go check out the scene.”
Andrea smiled, thinking of Charlie on the dance floor. For all she knew, he was an excellent dancer, but she had an idea he would be line dancing while everyone else was grinding.
“What’s so funny?” He narrowed an eye at her, like he could read her thoughts.
“Nothing. I just… hope we get to go, too.”
“Hey, now. I might sound like a redneck, but I guarantee you, I know how to cut a rug with the best of them. I get up just to get down.” He nodded with vigor and winked at her, and Andrea couldn’t help but giggle.
“You’re so funny. I bet you keep the team laughing, don’t you?”
“Yeah, especially when I manage to spin myself out or hit a wall with no help whatsoever.”
Andrea could hardly breathe she was laughing so hard. “I’ve watched you race. That hardly ever happens.”
“Nah, but I do end up finishin’ the race at Talladega upside down at least once a year.”
“True. I’ve noticed you’ve got quite a record for that. Ah, well, at least you finish.”
“And I’ve managed to walk away. So far.”
That part wasn’t funny, and he didn’t say it as if it were meant to be so. “I worry about that. Does your family worry? That you might have a bad wreck?”
Charlie shrugged and shifted his beer bottle to his other hand. “I know my mama does. It is what it is. Racin’ is a dangerous sport. People get hurt. Hell, people die. But… I can’t not do it, so I just take every precaution.”
Andrea got goosebumps, thinking about some of the drivers who’d strapped into their cars one day and never walked out again. “You knew Jeff Loughler, huh?”
Charlie nodded. “Yeah. He was a good kid. What happened to him was a freak accident. The HANS device should’ve saved him, but his malfunctioned.”
She hadn’t been watching the practice session last season when the young driver had hit the wall and broken his neck. Andrea knew that racers wore Head And Neck Support devices to keep that from happening and had been doing so since the legendary Dale Earnhardt, Sr. had passed away in 2001. There were other dangers to racing, but that one scared her the most.
“Now you’ve gone and done it,” Charlie said, finishing his beer. “You’ve sobered me up.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“Don’t worry about Case, Andrea. He’s a great driver.”
“I know.” She produced a half smile, but it was difficult.
“Hey, you’re a great gal, and I’m really happy he’s found you. Especially now that this junk with Sarah is over.”
“Thanks.” Her smile was genuine now. “I’m really glad he introduced me to you. I need more humor in my life.”
He stretched over and patted her knee. “You gotta sister?”
“What’s that?” She wasn’t sure if he was joking. Charlie pulled his hand away and shrugged. “Are you serious?”
“Hell, yeah, I’m serious. Beautiful, intelligent girl like you, already taken. Why wouldn’t I be serious? Don’t get me wrong. I ain’t sayin’ I wanna date you if don’t work out with Case, cause that’d just be wrong. But if you gotta sister at home, I’m interested.”
Andrea pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “This is Leslie. She’s a couple of years younger than me. She’s studying music and wants to be a famous singer someday.”
“Wow. She’s really pretty. Okay—her hair is blonde. Is yours supposed to be yella?”
Giggling, Andrea said, “No. We’re both supposed to have light brown hair.”
“Hmmm. But you look so natural. Even your eyebrows are bright red.”
“Please don’t ask if the carpet matches the drapes.”
Charlie laughed so loud, he snorted. “I wasn’t gonna. But now I’m wonderin’.” He shook his head as if trying to jar an image out of his head. “Will you introduce me to yer sis?”
“Sure. But she and I are not a lot alike. She is much more… serious than I am.”
“You callin’ your own sister a b*tch?”
Andrea punched him in the arm. “No! I’m just saying, she’s different. And she’s dated a lot of jerks.”
“If my recollection is right, so have you. But that all changed when you met the right racecar driver.”
“Maybe it will for her, too,” Andrea said with a grin. She definitely wouldn’t mind introducing her sister to Charlie. Leslie could use a laugh or two in her life, and she could think of worse brothers-in-law to have than Charlie.
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