Chapter Eight

Macayla strolled quietly with Dale from Jimmy and Kelley’s coach towards his. Kellen had fallen asleep the minute she’d gotten him out of the car and at the risk of waking him, Dale had let her hold onto him until they made it back to the coach.

“So… what’s going on with Martin tonight?” he asked slowly, not sure he should be asking about what appeared to be a touchy subject.

She cast him a sideways glance over Kellen’s head and rolled her eyes. “He’s an immature brat… He wanted to stay with me tonight and I wanted to spend some time alone. I haven’t had much since I started working for you and I’m sure you understand how sacred that time is.”

Dale nodded. “Oh yeah. Why didn’t you tell me that when I woke you up? You didn’t have to go with us…”

“It’s alright… I needed to eat. I don’t really cook when I’m the only one eating so I would’ve probably had crackers or cereal for dinner. If I hadn’t gone with you I wouldn’t have had those amazing crab claws…”

He laughed at the tone her voice took. “Crab claw fan?”

She nodded. “Only seafood I like but I make such a pig out of myself when I have it, I don’t have room for anything else.”

“Well. Give Martin some time. He has his mature moments, maybe he’ll have one soon and apologize to you.”

They slowed as the reached their lots and he unlocked the door and opened it, stepping aside for her to walk in. “His cribs in the bedroom…” he said softly, smiling as Kellen burrowed his face deeper into her neck. Following her into the room, he slipped by them and turned on the light so she could see where she was going.

She gently placed him in the crib and pulled up the side, slowly locking it into place without much noise.

Macayla smiled as she watched him lay there. His small hands curling and uncurling as his breathing quickened and she could see his eyes moving back and forth through his closed lids. “Little guys having a heck of a dream…” she said softly receiving a chuckle from Dale.

“I wonder what he dreams about?” he replied as he joined her unable to hide his smile. “Lollipops and Tonka trucks?”

“Maybe…” she backed away and started through the coach, back towards the door. “I’m gonna go. I’ve got a lot of sleep to get tonight. I have a feeling that might be all I’m gonna get while I’m here.”

Dale followed and shook his head. “No. You’ll get plenty of rest. I’m not that much of slave driver.”

She just shook her head and laughed. “Not yet. Good night Dale…”

“Macayla…”

She stopped before opening the door and turned to look at him, surprised that he seemed nervous. “Yeah?”

“I just want you to know… I’m really sorry for how I behaved when you first started working for me. I…”

“You don’t have to apologize Dale. I’ve been there, remember.”

“Yeah. But I do have to. You’ve been great with Kellen, you’ve been good to Martin… a little too good, but nonetheless, you’ve taken on more responsibility than I ever expected you to. I just want you to know I appreciate it and I’m glad you’re here. And looking back on it, I don’t know what I would’ve done without you around.”

Macayla smiled and walked towards him, surprising him as she pressed her lips to his cheek. “Thank you Dale. That really means a lot to me. Good night.”

“Night.”

She stepped off of his coach and started towards her own, surprised to find Martin knocking on the door with a bouquet of lilies in his hand. “Martin?”

He jumped, turning around in surprise. “I thought you were staying in…”

“Well, I’ve gotta eat. I thought you were out clubbin…”

“Dale told…”

“Yeah. I asked about you when he invited me to dinner.”

“You had dinner with Dale?” he asked skeptically.

“And Kelley and Jimmy and the kids.” She added, noticing the jealous tone in his voice, she smiled to herself.

“You guys have fun?”

Macayla smiled. “Yeah, we had a great time. Karsyn gave all of us a lesson in appropriateness and we all laughed. Oh, and I had the best crab claws ever!”

Martin laughed and shook his head. “Look. I’m sorry about earlier. I realize that you’ve done nothing but take care of a bunch of guys for the last month and you’re used to being by yourself. All I can tell you is I really just wanted to be with you and spend some quiet time together. We’ve never done that and I don’t know when we ever will get the chance. So I’m sorry. I was selfish and I won’t do it again.”

He held the flowers out to her and she took them, immediately raising them to her nose. “They’re beautiful…”

“Thanks…”

“So you went in a store and bought them all by yourself?” she asked, raising her brow. “In Daytona… during Speedweeks?”

“Okay! You don’t have to be that way. A friend of mine ran in and got them and then she brought me back here and dropped me off.”

She couldn’t contain her smile at the frustration in his voice. “A she friend? Hmm… that’s interesting.”

“No, Mac. It’s not even like that. She’s barely 18. I’m still not convinced she is, she wouldn’t show me her license.”

Macayla shook her head and walked past him towards her coach. “I don’t believe you Martin.”

“Mac, please…”

“What?”

“Can we talk? Don’t get mad at me about this too…” he whined, sounding more like a toddler than a twenty-four year old man.

She stepped onto the first step and turned to face him, looking down into his pleading brown eyes. “Martin…”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not mad at you about this or earlier. I just want to spend some time by myself for the rest of the night okay?”

He frowned and slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him, resting his chin against her chest as he looked up at her. “Then why are you walking off and acting like I’m in trouble?”

“Because I think it’s funny how flustered your getting trying to tell me about your friend.” She kissed his forehead and pulled out of his embrace. “Goodnight.”

“Night…”he muttered softly in return then turned around to find Dale leaning against the side of his coach smiling.

“So you have a new she friend?”

“Kiss my ass Dale.” Martin bit back. “But yes, I do. She rescued me from Jamie and Elliott and brought me back so I could apologize.”

“Sounds noble…”

Martin shrugged. “Well, she said if things didn’t work out between me and Mac, she had other plans for me.”

“Well, what’s her name? I might want to meet her.”

“Her names Ashley. And she’s barely legal. Not to mention she’s Chance 2 Madam, so I doubt she’d want your old ass.”

---

At eight the next morning Macayla put on a t-shirt and pair of overalls before slipping on her flip flops and stepping out of her coach. Squinting in the bright sunlight she once again wrapped her baby blue bandana around her head and slipped on her sunglasses.

“Where are your creds?” Kelley asked as she walked up with Karsyn in tow.

“Crap…”Macayla laughed. “I knew I forgot something.” She stepped back inside the coach and grabbed her credentials off of the coat hook inside the door and stepped back outside, locking the coach behind her. “Where’s Dale?”

“Probably still sleeping. That’s why I’m here… Karsyn, go hold Macayla’s hand while I get Uncle Junior out of bed…” She opened the door and went inside quietly, followed a few moments later by a bunch of groaning and Kellen’s quiet sobs. “Come on in.”

Macayla walked to the door stepping back to allow Karsyn in first then followed her up, closing the door behind her. She looked back in the bedroom where Kelley was changing Kellen’s diaper then looked down at the little girl at her side. “What are you giggling at?”

“I see Kel’s bottom…” she said softly, quickly clamping her tiny hand over her mouth.

“Here you go Ms. Macayla…” Kelley smiled, handing Kellen over to her. “Alright, we’ll Karsyn and I are gonna go see her daddy really quick then head to the play center so just keep an eye out for me, okay.”

Macayla watched Kelley leave and sat on the sofa with Kellen in her lap.

“Morning…” Dale grumbled from the kitchen.

She smiled and turned towards him, nearly choking as he stood there in nothing more than boxers while he scratched at his sleep-styled hair. “Mo…Morning…”

“You want something to eat?”

“Nah. I’m good. Had cereal and toast with a nice big glass of oj,” she said cheerfully.

He squinted as he looked at her. “Why are you this perky at eight in the morning?”

“Cause it’s eight in the morning…”

“How long have you been up?”

“Since six.”

Dale’s eyes widened and he shook his head in amazement. “Alright then.” He poured himself a bowl of cereal and fixed a glass of milk then slid into the booth across from her.

“Does Kellen have some cereal or something around here?”

He casually hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. “Sorry. It’s over the stove. You’ll have to forgive me, Macayla. I’ve got this ritual, these motions I go through at the track whether I’m racing or not and it’s gonna take some getting used to.

“It’s quite alright,” she replied with a smile. “Do you mind holding him for a minute?”

He took Kellen out of her hands. “There’s a high chair in the closet in the bedroom too. God I’m gonna have to write this stuff down.”

Macayla went back into the bedroom and got the high chair out, setting it up at the end of the table next to Dale and went back to get him some cereal as Dale put him in the chair.

“Do you mind if I call you Mac like Martin does or is it some kind of pet name that I don’t need to interfere with?”

Laughing as she fixed Kellen’s food she just shook her head. “No, there’s no significance to it. It’s fine.”

“Good. Not that Macayla isn’t a beautiful name but it’s a lot of syllables for this early in the morning. I would imagine it would be during sex too…”

She put the bowl in front of Kellen and slowly sat down casting Dale and odd glance.

“Sorry. I’m not thinking of you in a sexual way I was just saying when you call someone’s name out during sex Macayla would be a mouthful…” Dale blushed and quickly stuffed a large spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

“Good idea…”

He watched her feeding Kellen while he ate, staring a little to long at the slender column of her throat and the slight upturned tip of her nose. “What’s with the bandana?”

Macayla looked at him curiously then shrugged. “Keeps my hair out of the way and it’s not as hot or manly as a hat?”

“I just don’t see why you cover your hair up. It’s cute.”

“Cute?”

Dale nodded and laughed. “Kinda Meg Ryan-ish.”

“Ah… You a big Meg fan?”

“The biggest…” he smiled and took the last bite of his cereal then walked into the kitchen more like a bowlegged toddler than a grown man as he stumbled a few times. “Let me go get dressed and I’ll show you around before I have to work.”

Just as the bedroom door closed, the door to the coach flew open and Martin bounced inside. “Morning Mac…” he sang, leaning over to kiss her quickly before pressing a light kiss to the top of Kellen’s head. “Where’s June?”

“Getting dressed…”

As soon as the words came out of her mouth Dale walked back out of the bedroom, still in his boxers and grabbed his glass of milk off of the table before returning without a word.

Martin looked at Macayla. “Has he been in his boxers the entire time you’ve been here?”

“Uh-huh…’

He shook his head and frowned. “That’s just not gonna work…”

Martin stood up and walked back to the bedroom, not bothering to knock as he charged in and closed the door behind him. “What the hell are you doing?”

Dale looked at him in confusion as he zipped up his jeans and tucked in the front of his white t-shirt. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You! Walking around in front of Mac in your boxers… it’s not appropriate.”

Dale rolled his eyes and grabbed his wallet and keys then walked out of the bedroom with Martin close on his heels. “Would you let it go, it’s not what you think… I just woke up and came in here to eat. I didn’t think twice about it.”

“Well think twice next time…” Martin shot back then pushed by him and out the door leaving a very confused Macayla in silence.

“Am I causing a problem?”

“No… Martin’s overactive imagination is. Now, lets go.” Dale picked up Kellen and followed Macayla out of the coach, locking the door behind him. “Entirely too overactive…”

-next-

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