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“Seriously?” I hissed at Jenna. Wait, when had I become the strong one? “I just got him calmed down and relaxed.” I pressed my hand over my sternum to feel the ring there.
Jenna grimaced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, Watts. You’re going to do great. We went over this, and you have the whole speech written out. You just need to read what’s in front of you.”
He shook his head as he kept his face over the trash. “I don’t know if I can do this,” he muttered. “Baby.” Watson held out his hand, which I took so he could tug me closer. “What if I fuck this up?”
Since his second accident, Watson, who used to be one of the most confident people I had ever met, had been less sure of himself. He got confused easily, sometimes woke up terrified in the middle of the night, and needed reassurance with things he never had before. The doctor said he might outgrow this, or he might not. This was part of living with a TBI.
“You’re going to be amazing,” I told him. “You’re Watson James Brooks.” I pressed a kiss to his neck as he squeezed my hand. “There’s no way you can fuck this up.”
He leaned into me. “Well, we all know that’s a lie.”
“Look at me.” When Watson turned his head toward me, I released his hand to grip his head between my palms. “I’ll be right there the entire time. You can look over at me any time you’re feeling unsure of yourself, baby, okay?” He nodded. “Who’s your biggest fan?”
Watson smiled. “You are.”
“Don’t let your mom hear you say that.” I grinned before he pressed his forehead against mine.
“Are you ready, Watts? It’s time,” Jenna announced from behind him.
Watson nodded as he kept his eyes on me. “I’m ready.”
***
“I’d like to thank everyone for coming out today.” Watson glanced across the room at me, and I gave him a thumbs up. “More importantly, I need to give a shout out to my fiancé, Holt, yeah that’s my stepbrother, but y’all should know that we’re together. We’re in love, so if that’s a problem for you, you should probably just leave now. I’m not even sorry. It just kind of happened. He’s always been an important person in my life, my best friend, and if I didn’t have him, I highly doubt I’d be here right now.” Watson dragged a hand through his blond hair. “I love you, H.” He flashed a big smile before he picked up the papers on the table. “I won’t be answering questions about my personal life after this, so don’t even ask about him.”
Everyone laughed, and I felt a weight fall from my shoulders as Jenna nudged my side. “I told you,” she mouthed.
“Right.” Watson squared his shoulders. “I’m officially retired from racing after that Daytona crash.” The crowded went deathly quiet. “Yeah, it sucks, right?” His chin quivered, and I felt tears fill my eyes. “Not exactly the news you all expected, but maybe you kind of figured it out with this conference. It’s okay, though.” I saw the tear that slipped out before he brushed it away. “I’ve had a few great years racing in trucks, Xfinity, and right here in Cup. I’ve made some fantastic friends with Mason and Shepard. But this is not the end, trust me. I am not going anywhere.”
Watson reached for the water in front of him and took a drink before he continued. “But it’s not as bad as it could be, because with the help of my amazing fiancé, I am going to come back better, stronger, and more amazing than ever before.” His eyes found mine again. “Actually, this is all his idea, but Holt didn’t want to come out and talk to you about this.” There were a few soft chuckles in the crowd. “Holt and I will be starting our own racing team. We don’t have a driver, a name, or even a manufacturer yet, but those details will come. You all know how much I like to win, so it will only be the best.” He beamed happily when a few people clapped and cheered. “I’ll take a few questions now.”
The first person stood up. “Mike Wade, NASCAR radio,” he introduced himself. “The accident in Daytona is the reason you’re retiring, Watts?”
“I’ve had a few seizures.” He kept his eyes on me as he spoke. “I can’t drive at all right now, and I may never be able to. Sometimes I wake up confused. I forget things. I don’t really have a choice in the matter right now.” I saw the pained look on his face as he spoke.
I should be sitting with him. Damnit, why wasn’t I?
“Claire Morgan, Watts, SMN radio. Do you think your team will be ready to race next season?”
Watson shook his head, but I saw the flinch as he tried to get his thoughts together. “Maybe the following year, if we’re lucky. Like I said, we, uh, have a lot of things to work out before we can start to think about racing.”
I moved around Jenna before I could even think twice about it and went up to sit next to him in the empty seat to his left. I covered the microphone with one hand while taking one of his with my other.
“Okay?” I asked.
The smile on Watson’s face told me it was more than okay. It wasn’t that he needed my help; he just needed my reassurance.
“Holt,” someone called my name, but I didn’t catch theirs when they introduced themselves. “Watts said the team was your idea. Does that mean you won’t be a tire carrier any longer, or do you plan to continue with that as well?”
I glanced at Watson to find him watching me with love beaming in his eyes. “Watson’s dream is my dream. If he’s not driving, then there’s no reason for me to stick around here.” A few people chuckled. “I know how important racing is to him. It’s in his blood, so I want to be wherever he is. We’re going to start this team together from the ground up.”
Watson squeezed my hand in his.
We fielded as many questions as possible before Jenna finally ended the news conference. Most of the questions were about the future race team. Did we have any idea who we might ask to race for us? What were our plans for sponsors? Things we had only thought about but hadn’t really gotten around to contract negotiations with. Once we were alone again, Watson wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him.
“That went better than I thought.” I could hear his smile. “Thank you.”
I rested my chin on his chest. “For?” I asked.
