Pace Laps (Racing on the Edge Book 10) by Shey Stahl

pushing the sandwich away. “They need better training.”
    I stood to leave, tossing the sandwich aside only to have Casten follow me. “Wait up, old man.”
    “She’s going to be fine, dad,” Casten told me, seeming confident in his answer.
    “You don’t know that,” I mumbled from my place on the floor in the hallway. “Shit goes wrong all the time.”
    “Yeah, but this is Mom we’re talking about.”
    I stared at him, waiting for him to explain, but this was also Casten. Maybe he was trying to get me to understand by his cryptic bullshit he always pulled.
    “Think about it.” He sat down with me. “This is the same woman who at eighteen packed up and traveled an entire summer with you, jumping from town to town, race to race and never even batted an eye. The same woman who was assaulted and pushed down a flight of stairs while pregnant and still managed to not only survive but deliver a healthy baby. I’m not saying Axel isn’t a little different at times, but still healthy.”
    I snorted, shaking my head at his reasoning.
    “Oh, and don’t forget when she sat by your bedside for weeks not knowing if you were going to live or die. And when you did wake up, she was the one who stood by you through all of your recovery and rehab.” Casten laughed once, his head resting against the wall. “And believe me, it was difficult. You were a real asshole then.”
    I glared at his remark but couldn’t help the smile. He had a point.
    “Mom survived the death of both of her parents, lost friends, watches her husband and sons risk their lives every weekend on a track. And hell, let’s face it, being married to you for all these years hasn’t always been a picnic. There’s no way something like cancer is going to beat her now.”
    Casten was right. Sway was the strongest person I knew and if anyone could beat this, it would be her.
     

    “THE DOCTOR CAME by,” Arie told me as I returned to the waiting room.
    “Which one?” I looked over at her only to stare at the wall beside her. “The one I don’t like?”
    She snorted. “That doesn’t really narrow it down. There’s like a hundred you seem to hate.”
    Rolling my eyes, I slouched in the chair. “What did they say?”
    “That it was taking longer, they took more than planned and now they’re starting the reconstructive surgery.”
    I couldn’t sit down after that. Standing, I paced. I felt trapped. The room seemed to close in on me and I had to escape.
    With my head in my hands, I prayed again. At that point, I wasn’t even sure what I was praying for anymore.
    I couldn’t sit here again.
    Storming back out of the room, I roamed the hallway until I found a vending machine. I didn’t know why but I had my mind set on Skittles. I guessed I just needed something else to focus on if even for five minutes and finding Skittles seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately what I didn’t realize until I found the damn machine was I didn’t have any money on me. Not even a fucking quarter.
    “Damn it!” I yelled as I punched the front of the machine. Stupid soft glass. It broke instantly. But feeling my fist go through the glass brought me a sense of satisfaction I hadn’t had all day. With all the frustration and fear I was carrying around, I needed an outlet and punching that glass gave me it. And Skittles.
    “Shit, Dad.” Casten rushed down the hall. “What did the machine ever to do you?” Casten laughed as I picked up the bag of Skittles.
    “I didn’t have any money.” It was the only explanation I had.
    “Well, all you had to do was ask.” He stared down at the broken glass at his feet. “I would have given you some. You didn’t have to go and kill the damn thing.”
    I shrugged, not caring blood dripped from my knuckles where the glass had cut me.
    Casten took one look at my hand and his eyes widened a bit. “Um.” He nodded behind him. “Maybe we should go downstairs. You might need some stitches.”
    Not waiting for me to answer,