Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

C olby was running on fumes by the time she made it home to catch Liam’s call, but she was never too tired to talk to him.

His voice was a balm to an otherwise shitty day. And after hearing the deep timbre of his voice, she could finally exhale. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Liam heard the exhaustion in her voice. “Long day?”

Colby kicked off her shoes and crawled on top of her bed. “You caught me just as I was finishing up reviewing some tape.”

“You’re reviewing tape this late?” Liam looked at his watch. “Isn’t it like 3:30 in the morning there?”

“It is. Too bad I can’t command time to stand still.” Colby laughed half-heartedly, “If I could, my photoshoot would have ended hours ago instead of one a.m.” She yawned. “Unfortunately, I’m out of wiggle room, so that’s why I’m still up reviewing tape.”

“I should let you go. You’ve got to get some sleep.” He missed Colby like crazy and was disappointed they wouldn’t get to talk for too long. “A photoshoot? This close to the next race?”

“No. Not yet. I’ve been waiting all day for your call. And as I told Lila, Mark said it was the only time available.”

Inwardly, he smiled. “That’s nice to hear, but?—”

Colby cut him off. “No buts .”

Liam had been traveling a lot over the past few months, this six-week stretch being the longest, but he was doing his best to get through his business review meetings as quickly as possible so he could get home and make sure she was taking care of herself. “This hasn’t become your normal routine, has it?”

“Time is relative, and a girl has to get it in whenever she can find the time. Shortcuts won’t get you to the winner’s podium.”

“Yeah, but don’t you have to be at the garage in like”—Liam checked his watch again—“four or five hours?”

Colby released a long sigh. “I do.”

“That, to me, doesn’t sound like you’re getting enough rest.”

“I get what I need. Can’t wait for you to come home.”

Liam was concerned but didn’t want to spend the few minutes they had arguing. “Can’t wait to get home too. Unfortunately, it probably won’t be until a day or two before Atlanta.”

Her heart dropped. “Ugh. That long? That’s almost two weeks? I thought you had worked things out that you’d be home sooner than that.”

“I know. Things are a little crazy. I’ve had some unexpected problems that need ironing out.”

Colby released a loud sigh. “Why does it seem like the world is conspiring to keep us apart? I could use the strength of you right now.” She whispered, “God, I want to lose myself in us.”

Liam frowned. He heard the fatigue in her voice earlier but thought maybe it was because it was late. However, this tone sounded like something else and triggered a memory of something Cyrus said on a call a couple of weeks ago. Liam closed his laptop. “Are you okay?”

Colby didn’t know how much Brian had told him about the state of Lockwood, and she didn’t want to step on his toes. Technically, he was her boss. So, instead of spilling her guts, she kept her answer simple. “Same shit. Different day.”

Liam wasn’t stupid. He recognized avoidance when he heard it, and something was off. He could feel it. Time was ticking, and he didn’t have enough of it to beat around the bush, so he went straight to the issue that had been plaguing the Lockwood team. “Any new sponsors?”

A question that should have been so simple to answer changed the entire energy of their call. Colby didn’t know what or how much to say. “Have you talked to Brian?”

“We’ve been playing phone tag the past few days, so I’m asking you.”

Colby fidgeted with her pinky ring, turning it in circles around her finger. “Liam, this is awkward. I can’t discuss Lockwood business with you.”

He sat up straighter. “Why the hell not?”

“Because Brian is both your brother and my boss.”

“So?”

Colby tensed, shifting up on her bed. “C’mon. Under normal circumstances, I should be able to tell you anything, but this is different.”

“You can talk to me about anything.”

She used a hand to massage a tension knot away. “No, I can’t. Not when I’m trying to be a loyal girlfriend and a loyal employee. You two being related makes that difficult.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

Colby stilled, irritated Liam didn’t understand. “Yes, it does.”

“It shouldn’t. So, explain it to me like I’m a two-year-old.”

“Okay. Brian is working his ass off to make Lockwood a success.”

“I know that, but if he needs help, if you need help, I can make some calls.”

Colby threw up her hand in frustration. “And therein lies the problem. Brian has found his passion. He wants to prove to himself and you that he’s got this. You can’t bail us out every time things get rough.”

She had a point, and Liam hated it. “So, things are rough?” Liam had tried to stay out of his brother’s business, but he knew they were struggling to get sponsors.

“I didn’t say that. But you’ve already saved the day once.”

The day needed saving . “And I’ll do it again if I have to.”

Colby groaned. “I love that you want to, but I’m still trying to prove myself with my peers, too, and with the public.”

“Fuck them.”

“Ha!” Colby raked her fingers through her hair. “I wish it were that easy, but it’s not. There are those who think I earned my spot because of nepotism and because of our relationship. I won’t ever get the respect I deserve if I keep running back to you for help.”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it. If you weren’t good enough to be on the circuit, you wouldn’t be.”

“Thanks for that, but you know as well as I do that perception is reality.” In the back of Colby’s mind, she wondered if the perception of how she earned her spot was why she hadn’t landed a big corporate sponsorship.

“I feel like I need to get my ass back home.”

“No, you don’t. You need to finish your business there and let Team Lockwood handle our business here. We’ll figure it out.”

“Is that why you’re not eating and sleeping properly?”

“What?!” Colby sat upright. “Who told you that? Brian?”

“It doesn’t matter who told me. I’m concerned. We are all concerned that you’re burning it at both ends and doing too much. You just said you got in a little while ago and need to be back at the garage in a few hours. If today is any indication, you’re not getting enough sleep, given your profession. And as much as you might want to, you can’t be all things to everyone.”

Colby was hot! She was trying to be loyal to Brian, yet he was running his mouth. “First, I’m fine. Second, my boss should not tell my boyfriend about any concerns he has about me! Those are conversations he and I should have.”

“It shouldn’t matter, but I never said Brian told me anything. Getting information from him about you is like pulling teeth without Novocain.”

“If not him, then who?”

“Team Lockwood is worried . If they are concerned, then so am I.”

Colby tried to figure out who Liam respected enough that would tell him something so bogus. Then, the lightbulb in her head went off. “You talked to my dad?! I can’t believe this. I am a grown-ass woman surrounded by men who don’t know when to mind their own business!”

“A—you are my business, and B—you’re overreacting.”

Colby was ready to blow a gasket. “Liam, I swear if the next words out of your mouth are ‘calm down,’ I will hang up on you.”

There was an awkward silence for the longest two point five seconds because Liam was about to utter those exact words.

Finally, he broke the silence. “I meant what I said, so I’m not about to apologize. I need you to take care of yourself.”

“I meant what I said, and I’m not apologizing either.”

They were at a stalemate. The argument Liam didn’t want to have, they were having. However, he was man enough to try to end it. “Let’s just agree to disagree.”

Colby was pissed, but she didn’t want to spend the little time they had arguing. “Fine, but, Liam, I already have a father. I don’t need two. I can handle myself.”

At this point, Liam wasn’t so sure. “I’ll take that under consideration.”

You’ll take it under consideration? Colby’s blood pressure was now at a slow boil. Her palms were starting to sweat. “Since everyone is so concerned about my sleeping habits, I’m going to hang up. As you well know, I have an early day tomorrow.”

She was being stubborn. It didn’t matter. Mad or not, Liam wasn’t ready to let her go. He lifted the closed lid on his laptop. “Then, go to sleep, but don’t hang up the phone.”

“Are you serious?” Colby knew she was acting like a petulant child when all Liam wanted to do was make sure she was okay, and all Colby wanted was to be wrapped in his arms. But she was also tired of people thinking they knew how to take care of her better than she could. It was starting to feel like she didn’t have any autonomy over her own body.

“I’m as serious as a heart attack.” Liam settled back into his chair and loosened his tie. He was in for a long day because he planned to stay on the line to ensure Colby slept.

“You want me to fall asleep with the phone against my ear like a teenager?”

Liam opened an email, read it, and then began drafting his response. “Yep. I have plenty of work to keep me occupied.”

Colby had to fake being defiant. She thought Liam’s concern was heavy-handed but endearing. “And if I don’t?”

His voice sounded slightly ominous. “I’ll be in East Moline before morning, and this perception you think your peers and the public have about you will be cemented into their brains.”

Colby had no doubt Liam would do it. “You’re a menace, do you know that?”

“I do. But if this is what it’ll take to make sure you get the rest you need, so be it. I’ll be a menace. Now, go to sleep.”

Colby wasn’t even pissed anymore. If she were honest, she was just too damn tired to be. Instead of firing back some sarcastic remark, she removed her clothes and slid down underneath the covers.

She turned over onto her side, placed the phone against her other ear, and released a light giggle. “This is ridiculous.”

A corner of Liam’s lip edged up into a small smile. “Maybe.”

They didn’t speak for a few moments. There was only the quiet rhythmic sound of Liam breathing and typing away on his laptop. Weirdly, it relaxed her.

Colby spoke softly into the phone, “Liam?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

His chest felt tight. Liam didn’t realize how much he needed to hear those words. “I love you too.”

Colby’s eyes began to feel heavy. They fluttered open and closed as she fought to stay awake. Finally, she gave up and fell into a deep sleep.