Waking, she lay curled up against him, trying to remember how things had been earlier that same day, when she’d believed he’d rejected her again. Now she seemed to have stepped into another universe.
‘What’s that sigh for?’ he asked.
‘I was just thinking about the way things happen. You just can’t plan for anything, can you? When I woke up this morning I worked for Brent. Then I go in, get fired, and now I’m working for Cannonball.’
‘It’s fate,’ he said. ‘That’s what it is.’
‘It must be-otherwise it would be scary to think what a big part chance plays in life. Who could have predicted that someone would see us together and tell Salcombe that I must be passing on secrets?’
His head turned slightly, and she looked up to find him regarding her with wry humour.
‘What is it?’ she asked, as some inkling of the incredible truth began to dawn on her. ‘Jared, what did you do?’
‘Let’s just say I don’t believe in leaving things to chance.’
‘You-are you telling me-?’
‘Actually, I’m trying not to tell you, because I’m not ready to die,’ he said, looking warily at her face.
‘You fixed it,’ she breathed.
‘I arranged for someone to pass certain information on to Salcombe.’
‘And got me fired?’
‘It was necessary.’
‘Why? I could have given in my notice.’
‘That would have taken weeks. I wanted you today.’
‘You scheming, manipulative, devious, conniving-’
‘I prefer Machiavellian. It’s more dignified. Hey, don’t hit me.’
Laughing, he dodged her flying hands, which were slapping him nineteen to the dozen.
‘I should do more than hit you,’ she seethed. ‘How dare you simply organise my life to suit yourself, without asking what I wanted?’
‘But it’s simpler that way,’ he declared, with an air of innocence that made her fight back her own laughter. ‘You might not have wanted the same as I wanted, and then what would I have done?’
‘Backed off? Given up?’
‘Oh, no, I never do that,’ he said solemnly. ‘If I want something, I take it. Always in charge. Always in the driving seat. That’s me.’
There was mischief in his eyes, but also a warning. This was how he was. Take it or leave it. He would use any means to get what he wanted. Only yesterday she would have taken warning from that, and blamed him. But in this new world where she found herself she only saw that what he wanted was herself.
Overjoyed, she ignored the warning and threw herself back into his arms.
That night was the happiest of her life.
Next morning she awoke to find herself alone, Jared having slipped back to his own room. The press was out in force, and they would have to be careful. After breakfast with the team her day would be spent at the track.
They met briefly going down the stairs, and she seized the chance to show him Mike’s picture.
‘I meant to give it to you as soon as we met,’ she said. ‘But-er-’
‘But we got distracted,’ he supplied wryly. ‘Hey, this is great.’
‘I told you he was an artist.’
‘As well as a computer genius. What a kid. Just a minute.’
He whipped out his cell phone, dialled, and a moment later his face lit up.
‘Mike? Great to talk to you. That picture-wonderful. Did you really do it yourself? I can’t believe it.’
He went on in this way for five minutes, while Mike squealed his pleasure so loud that Kaye heard it.
‘I’ll hand you over to your mum now,’ Jared said at last. ‘But don’t keep her long. We have to get to the track.’
She could have hugged Jared for the way he’d accepted Mike right from the start. He was going to be a wonderful father. She felt that her happiness was surely too great to be real. But it was real. That was the best of all.
Now all his thoughts were of the race, but it was enough to be near him, knowing that he wanted her there. She made herself useful to Mr Vanner in the background, not wanting to distract Jared from the coming danger.
There were three vital days. First came the practice sessions, when the drivers could study the track, making notes about bends and straights, where it was good to overtake, where overtaking should be avoided at all costs. Following that there would be work done on the cars so that they could perform at their best on that particular track, and next day came the qualifying sessions, when the drivers raced around the circuit-the fastest being awarded ‘pole position’ at the front of the starting grid.
In Team Cannonball there were a few nerves. As the current world champion Jared was expected to get pole position, but on the last race he’d lost it to Hal. He’d won that race, but nobody was going to feel at ease until he’d qualified at the front. Least of all Jared himself.
But everything went well. In practice he stormed ahead, his qualifying lap was fastest, and he achieved pole position. On the night before the race he retired early, blissfully happy.
‘Tomorrow’s going to be a good day,’ he murmured sleepily.
‘Just be careful,’ she urged. ‘Please be careful.’
‘Careful? That’s not what it’s about.’
‘But Jared-Jared-?’
He was already asleep.
He didn’t know what she was talking about, she realised. Caution? What was that? The risks he took were calculated to the extreme degree, and as far as he was concerned that was all that mattered.
But now she was living in a different world, one that shrieked DANGER when he got into the car.
She tried to be reasonable. Everything was safer now. Drivers crashed, but got out of their cars and walked away. It was a long time since anyone had been killed.
She thought of the last few years, when she’d watched a hundred Grand Prix on television, feeling only the calm interest of one who knew the industry from the inside. Jared had never been hers, and the feeling of distance had protected her from fear.
But now everything was different. With every hour she was growing closer to him, perhaps loving him, and was devastated at the thought of his death. She turned and lay beside him, trying to see his sleeping face but not quite managing it. He was oblivious to her, lost in the only world that would matter to him for the next few hours. She leaned over and kissed him, just managing to touch his ear.
‘Come back to me,’ she whispered. ‘And to Mike. Don’t leave him, whatever you do. He couldn’t bear it now-any more than I could.’
Then she turned over, knowing there was no more to say. She wouldn’t mention the subject tomorrow, because the worst thing she could do was nag him before a race.
In the event her worries seemed groundless. Jared held the lead from start to finish. At first Kaye held her breath, her heart pounding, but Jared’s mastery soon became so clear that she was able to relax until he crossed the finishing line.
She rejoiced in his victory, but what warmed her heart most was the fact that he took the first opportunity to call Mike, and talked to him for ten minutes before handing the phone to Kaye.
‘Now we’ll have a month without travelling,’ Jared said as they lay together that night.
He was referring to the fact that the next race, in two weeks’ time, was at Silverstone, in England, and she hastened to say, ‘You know what Mike’s going to want, don’t you?’
‘Yes. He’d never forgive either of us if he didn’t get a visit to Silverstone. I’ll fix it. I want to get to know him well before we say anything.’
‘Tell him who you are, you mean? You could tell him now. He’s such a fan of yours that he’ll be thrilled.’