Racing to Love - Brody's Love by Amy Gregory

Brody’s Love
     
    He kept his eyes focused, watching
only her. The late afternoon sun glinting off the new-fallen snow
made it almost impossible to see, even with his Oakleys on. He
could only pray to God she wasn’t blinded while mid-air.
    Brody watched her carefully ride the
bike through the small path he had cleared for her with the Bobcat.
This wasn’t exactly the best way to practice, but given the time
constraints that his dad’s last minute schedule change had put them
under, he and Molly didn’t have much of a choice. Their only option
was to freeze their asses off and hope to hell she didn’t get
hurt.
    Secluded in the Pennsylvania
country-side, the quiet was his best tool, and he used it to his
advantage. Listening intently to the sounds of the bike, he paid
even more attention than he normally did. Any noise that sounded
like the engine was cutting out or having problems in the cold and
he’d pull her. Practice be damned. She wasn’t getting hurt on his
watch.
    Placing a hand over his eyes, he tried
to block as much of the sun as possible while his gaze followed her
up the dirt take off ramp.
    Shit. Goddamn
it.
    The split-second he lost Molly in the
sun was way too long. His heart pounded as she finished out the
rotation, landing harder than he would have liked to have
seen.
    “ Practicing in this
God-forsaken cold is fucking ridiculous.” There wasn’t any reason
to keep his mouth in check. It was only Molly and him braving the
freezing January—and she couldn’t hear him. Even if she could, he
knew for a fact she’d agree with him completely.
    “ Tell me how you really
feel, honey,” the voice behind him teased.
    Wool mittens slid around his waist,
followed by her arms. Just Erin’s presence was enough to bring his
anxiety down two notches. Brody turned to the side, pulling his
girlfriend under his arm.
    “ Hey, babe. When did you
get here?”
    “ I just pulled up. I went
inside, but your mom said you were trying to get in some last
minute practice before we load up?”
    Groaning inwardly, Brody pasted on a
smile and nodded. He loved his job. Like most people, he
occasionally had to remind himself that he loved it, but he really
did enjoy it the majority of the time. Nonetheless, there were
times that just plain sucked ass.
    This would be one of those
times.
    Brody raised his hand in the air and
waved Molly over.
    His name would be in the record books
for years to come. His freestyle career had been one that legends
were made of. Until one wreck too many. That last one decided his
fate without asking anybody’s opinion—especially his. In the blink
of an eye, it was over. The damage to his body tallied up, ended
his ability to compete aggressively. His back had been tweaked
badly and the compressed disk still bothered him, but it was his
hip that gave him the most trouble. Add in two blown-out knees and
he had the body of an eighty-year-old man.
    But that was okay. Erin loved him
anyway. If she didn’t, well then she deserved an Emmy because she
was a hell of an actress. The brown-haired beauty sure made him
feel loved, and she took care of him on the days his body hurt so
badly he could hardly move.
    Erin squeezed his waist again. Looking
down, he couldn’t help but smile back at the giddy face looking up
at him. Her chocolate brown eyes were crinkled at the corners,
happiness touching every part of her face. Having no idea why she
was so excited about this trip, he could only chuckle at her
enthusiasm.
    Wiggling his eyebrows, he gave her a
wicked grin, one that held dark promises. “I can’t wait to get you
home.”
    Pink immediately stained her cheeks,
but he knew it wasn’t from embarrassment. The flush was purely
arousal. Comebacks were normally quick to roll off her tongue and
usually with a sting of sass behind them, but he had been teasing
her since they awoke this morning, drawing out the anticipation of
their last night at home, in their own bed. For the next four,
almost five