Dead and Gone by Jack Patterson (universal ebook reader .TXT) 📕

we’re meeting inside,” Sylvia said as she led him inside the hauler’s cramped air-conditioned quarters.

Ella’s parents stood up and introduced themselves the moment they saw Tanner enter the room.

“Mr. Tanner!” a young girl squealed as she jumped up into his arms.

He leaned back and grinned at the freckle-faced eight-year-old now comfortable in his arms. She grabbed his golden-colored hat with the number thirty-nine stitched onto the front and put it on.

“You must be Ella,” he said. “Just call me Carson. Are you ready?”

She nodded and smiled as they climbed into the back of a pickup truck for the parade lap. She twisted the hat on her head. “Are you gonna put Cashman into the wall today?”

“I like you already.”

“Well, are you?”

Tanner looked her square in the eyes as he broke into another grin. “If I have to, I will. Don’t you worry. I’m gonna win this race today, just for you.”

Ella clapped and squealed again before giving him a hug. “You’re the best!”

Tanner laughed as she nearly fell down in the back of the truck. “Hold on, honey!”

She regained her balance and started to discuss race strategies with him.

“Hartman’s been runnin’ real good lately, but he’s never done well in Texas,” she said. “I think you can take him.”

Tanner arched his eyebrows. “Even though Hartman won the pole?”

“Poles don’t mean anything. My daddy says poles are nothing but a Sunday afternoon drive through the hills. If you ain’t tradin’ paint, you might as well be drivin’ a bus.”

“Any other advice?”

“Yeah, watch out for Cashman on turn three. He’s wrecked there the past five times he’s run here. And he’s got nothin’ to lose, especially since he’s behind you in the standings. If he doesn’t catch you, his season is done, so be careful around him.”

Tanner nodded and tousled her short brown hair. “How’d you learn so much about racing?”

“My dad. It was about the only thing we could watch on the weekends in the summer when I was getting chemo. We’d sit in the chemo lounge and watch all the races together. I got hooked.”

“Well, you’re a brave little girl. It takes more courage to do what you’re doing than it does to drive a race car around a track, that’s for sure.”

Ella shook her head. “I’d be scared to drive a car that fast, Mr. Tanner. You have to get in the car yourself. But cancer comes and gets you. You don’t have a choice. I’m certainly not gonna just sit around and feel sorry for myself. I’ve still got a lotta life to live.”

Tanner fought to hold back the tears welling up in his eyes. “You have an incredible attitude—and you’re right, you have a lotta livin’ to do. Keep fightin’.”

The lap ended and they climbed out of the truck and rejoined Ella’s family.

Tanner looked up at her parents. Ella’s mother dabbed at the mascara streaking down her cheeks. Her father, sporting a No. 39 shirt, scratched at the corner of his eye and looked away.

He looked back at Ella. “You ready to go help me get into my car?”

“Am I ready? It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do since I started following you.”

“Well, all right then. Let’s go.”

Sylvia led the entourage toward the platform where NASCAR conducted driver introductions. She stood with Ella’s parents on the track while Ella walked with Tanner up the steps on the backside of the stage at the starting line. As Tanner waited for his name to be called, Todd Cashman walked up behind him.

“Tanner, did ya finally find someone who can teach you how to drive?” Cashman said.

“Come on, Cashman. She’s a kid,” Tanner said.

Ella stamped her foot and put her hands on her hips. “Maybe you need to find someone to teach you some manners, Mr. Cashman.”

“Nobody told me it was take-a-brat-to-work day,” he snipped.

“I hope you run out of gas five feet from the finish line,” Ella said.

Tanner gently rubbed Ella’s back. “Now, Ella, let’s not be ugly.”

“And in the Number 39 car, Carson Tanner!” boomed the announcer over the loudspeaker, interrupting their spat.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us,” Tanner said.

Tanner held Ella’s hand as they walked onto the front of the stage to a roar. He waved and encouraged Ella to do the same.

“And in the Number 7 car, Todd Cashman!” the announcer said.

Tanner leaned down. “That’s our cue to leave, Ella.” He led her down the steps and to his car parked on pit road.

Once he was out of earshot, he leaned over again and whispered in her ear. “I’m definitely gonna put Cashman into the wall now.”

She giggled and twirled as they continued toward the car.

Tanner’s crew chief Owen Burns met them at their pit. Burns worked over a toothpick in his mouth as he tilted his head and looked into his driver’s eyes.

“You’ve got the best car out there today, kid,” Burns said. “If you don’t win, it’s all on you.”

“No pressure,” Tanner said.

“We need this win—and I know you can do it. Just get out there and race your heart out.”

Tanner patted Burns on the shoulder and kept walking toward his car.

Ella tugged on Tanner’s arm. “I know you can do it, too,” she said.

He’d almost forgotten she was there, already lost in his thoughts about the race. Burns didn’t need to say a word. He knew he had the best car and he knew anything but a win would suffice if he expected to advance in the championship chase.

Tanner zeroed in on his car, but stopped just short at the sight of his wife, Jessica. They’d been married less than a year and it was nothing short of bliss. He told his dad he could handle everything about the lifestyle of the circuit—except for the loneliness. “I’m surrounded by hundreds of people, but I often feel like no one knows I exist,” he told a pretty young woman one night at a meet-and-greet with fans. It wasn’t a pick-up line either. He was just pouring out his heart to a person who seemed to