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“Yeah, well, some people aren’t worth having around. What do you think I should’ve done to appease her? Hide?” I stepped back and glared.
His face pinked up and he shrugged.
“I want to take you out. Do everything with you.”
“She’s your mum,” he whispered.
I knew this had to be because he’d lost his mother, and I felt bad for him, but he had to open his eyes and see that my mother and I had never been close like he had been with his. “If I can lose her over loving you, then I’m not losing much, am I?”
A tear we both ignored slipped out of the corner of Tav’s eye and he kissed me, hard and bruising. He cleared his throat as he leaned back.
“She’s all threats,” I said quietly, not really believing it. I had to hope Dad would talk her out of whatever bullshit she was probably already working on stirring up.
He raised his eyebrows at me.
“She was really mean,” Ellis said, leaning a shoulder against the doorjamb. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been listening, but it was possible he’d heard at least some of what Mom had said. I couldn’t stand the way they were both looking at me with sympathy written all over their faces, so I stepped back and clapped my hands.
“Let’s do something fun today. Lisa should already be cooking breakfast, and then we can go.”
“Go where?” Tav and Ellis asked at the same time.
I flashed a grin at them. “You’ll see.”
Breakfast was oats and toast, nothing too special, except for the homemade blackberry whiskey jam that had been dripped and spread liberally over everything. I had trouble looking away from Tav because he had the interesting habit of licking his fingers clean every time they were sticky with jam. Despite his teasing, we didn’t linger and rushed through getting ready.
Less than an hour later, we were standing outside the Dailey Ice Track, and I had blue Dailey Tire hoodies draped over my arm.
“What is this?” Tav asked as I used my key to unlock the solid metal door. The building didn’t look like much, with only a simple sign of black letters on a white background stuck on the front of a solid concrete wall. We hadn’t even bothered painting it. As we went in, we were hit with a blast of cold air, and I tossed them each a hoodie. They pulled on the extra clothing as I flipped on the light switch.
Ellis laughed as he took in the interior of the track. On the left-hand side behind solid safety glass was an area that resembled any mechanic’s garage, with a concrete floor, stacks of tires, equipment, and tools. There were four cars lined up, waiting for fun. The right side was an extensive ice track with three lanes. The ice gleamed, and the small Zamboni machine we kept in storage on the far side of the track must’ve been used recently.
“We’ve been testing our ice tires here,” I said with a grin, then went through the automatic glass doors to the garage side and grabbed a set of keys. “The goal is to get the tires to move as smoothly on the ice as they would on blacktop. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re getting closer. When we finally figure it out, everyone will be buying our tires for winter. We’ll be outfitting the entire world.” I hopped on my toes. “And no, I don’t design them, but I help get the product out to the stores and I’m the one who lines up the funding. I help put it all together and keep the cash flowing in both directions.” I walked over and got into an old brown Buick LeSabre. It was technically a classic at this point, but it was also a tank on wheels. I leaned over to roll down the window. “Come on!”
Tav laughed and smacked Ellis’s arm, and then they both ran over to the car.
With whoops of joy, they hopped inside—Tav in the back and Ellis beside me—then we all buckled.
“So, this has those fancy tires that won’t let the car slip?” Tav asked, leaning forward to stare out at the ice track.
“Oh, no. That wouldn’t be any fun,” I said, easing the car onto the ice.
Tav snorted.
Ellis frowned and stared at me. “What are we doing?”
I waited until we were almost in the middle of the track before I jerked the wheel and gunned the gas. The car spun, and I let go of the wheel and stopped touching the pedal. By the time we stopped, Ellis’s eyes were so wide I thought they might fall out of his head, and the car had made its way uncomfortably close to a wall.
“Anyone want to get out?” I asked, then flashed them a grin.
Tav cackled, and Ellis shook his head.
“That was amazing! Where did you learn to do that?” Ellis shouted with a wide smile.
“You were sheltered, weren’t you?” I asked, shaking my head. “My mom practically had a tracking chip implanted on me, and even I did doughnuts.”
“Be nice, he really was watched too closely,” Tav said, laying a hand on my shoulder.
“Well, should we go again?” I asked, glancing between them. They both nodded fast.
