Eli's Honor: Racing to Love, #3

CHAPTER ONE

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The fourth ring brought Eli Hunter cussing into consciousness.

What the hell?

He kept the alarm clock on the dresser across the room as an added measure to ensure he actually woke up. A decision he was now reconsidering. Still blurry-eyed, he couldn’t make out the green numbers. In any case, he was sure he’d just fallen asleep.

Shit!

Suddenly it hit him. The ringing wasn’t the clock. Phone!

Instant panic sent his heart into overdrive. He grabbed for the phone on the nightstand beside him. Fumbling in the darkened room, the television remote went flying and landed with a resounding smack on the wooden floor below.

Damn it! Where the hell is it?

He patted his hand along the surface, feeling for his cell.

No one called at night...unless...

Fuck.

Yanking it off the charger without even looking at the caller ID, he answered before it could go to voicemail. He propped himself up, breathing hard. Ready to fly out of his king-sized bed and warm blankets, he ignored the shooting pain in his lower back radiating down his left hip.

Growing up together on motocross tracks across the country had forged a bond between Eli and his two best friends, Carter Sterling and Jesse Frost. Much stronger than just friends, theirs was a brotherhood. For over four years now, Eli had called Pennsylvania home. Funny that as a child growing up, even though he traveled all over the States, he never thought of home as anywhere but his parents’ house in Florida. Now he couldn’t ever imagine going back.

After years of it being just the guys in their moto-world, Molly stepped in, all five feet of her, forcing three grown men to do as she said in order to cheer up Jesse, who’d just had his heart broken. She demanded, with a twinkle in her eye, that they spend the break between racing seasons on her parents’ property on the secluded countryside of Pennsylvania. Of course there was no fight in Carter because he’d fallen head over heels in love with Molly, but in the end, Eli and Jesse both caved. The batting of her deep blue eyes proved to be the downfall of them all, but one step onto the Noland’s land and Eli knew he’d been invited to heaven.

After Carter proposed to Molly, her father, James, convinced them all his offer to sell them sections of land off his property was genuine. Both Jesse and Eli jumped on the opportunity. The ten acres Eli purchased were the most secluded of the entire Noland property. Eli’s own little corner of paradise, where his lavish Mediterranean-style home, with its stone and stucco exterior, had become his escape. He loved the serenity of the wide-open land covered in maples and pines, his only neighbors—his two best friends and the Nolands. Even though Eli actually paid for and owned his ten acres, the entire area as a whole was still lovingly referred to as The Noland Property. It probably always would be, and Eli was fine with that.

With over six hundred acres tucked in the countryside, it was their own little world. He was at peace here amongst the silence. Located on the corner off the main paved road, his house had no traffic, only the sounds of the birds and the bikes on the track in the distance.

Mol? Everything okay? The kids? He rushed out his words in rapid fire, quicker than the caller could answer.

Breathe, Eli. Alex and Jack are fine.

At Molly’s reassurance on the other end of the line, Eli’s breath came out in a whoosh. He fell back against the plush pillow and laid his forearm over his eyes to block the slivers of sunlight coming in from in between the cracks of the thick, dark curtains hanging from his bedroom windows. His heart started pounding a smoother rhythm as relief washed over him.

Damn, Mol. You scared the fucking shit out of me, girl. What time is it anyway? The growl escaped with words harsher than he meant. He let out a deep breath. Being awakened from a dead sleep, by what he was sure was an emergency call, was not how he needed to start his day. It seemed to be taking an extra minute to get his breathing back to normal. This was going to be a Monday all over again, even though he’d had not one, but two of those already this week.

I’m sorry, E, Molly apologized, although he sensed the rude awakening hadn’t been her first concern.

No, Mol. It’s fine, he said, not bothering to cover the yawn that slipped out. But unless the twins are staying with me, I try to sleep past seven. He shifted and the thousand needles in his back reminded him not to move like that again.

The grin crossed his face in spite of himself. When Molly and Carter’s twins spent the night, his usual wake up call started with two little children bouncing on his bed. He’d only been injured once. An elbow to the cheekbone left a bruise which lasted a couple of days and earned him a ration of shit throughout the shop. He could deal with that, but he couldn’t take more than what he considered his fair share of accidental hits to the family jewels when he’d been fallen upon by a laughing kiddo. At which point he happily turned the twins loose on any one or all of the students who happened to be bunking at his house while they were enrolled in the riding academy.

Unlucky victims.

Eli had yet to feel sorry for any one of them, and the teens seemed to take to having the twins rule the roost on the Noland property. It was sort of an unspoken rule that anyone involved with the academy helped watch over the kids. It didn’t matter if they were on the payroll or a kid paying to be there.

So, to what do I owe this lovely wake-up call anyway? Eli ran his hand over his face in an attempt to wake himself up.

Can you just...um, meet me here...at the school?

You can’t just tell me over the phone? He would have rolled his eyes, but it would require he open them first.

Please?

Eli waited for an explanation, a detail or just a hint, but got none. He let out a grunt. Fine. I’ll be there in a few. At least let me shower first. You got coffee?

It was a stupid question on his part. There was a gourmet coffee maker just outside Molly’s office door. He could almost smell the aroma. The coffee was almost good enough to warrant dragging his butt out of bed—almost. It was just an attempt to make her feel bad, but by the sound of Molly’s voice on the other end, it didn’t work. He could hear the nerves and excitement in her tone, popping and cracking like a teenage girl’s.

Eli? Are you coming?

Yes. I’m getting up, Eli said as he pulled the covers back up over his chest, settling himself comfortably back under the thick down comforter.

I heard the blankets. Don’t close your eyes.

Ah, D. Resorting back to her nickname, Super Cross Darling, that he’d lovingly given her years before, he pleaded, Can’t I sleep one more hour...please? Again, his question was met with silence. With an exaggerated huff, he threw back the blankets and sheet in one swoop. Fine. Eli sat up, winced, and slowly blew out the breath he’d sucked in. He swung his legs off the bed, and his feet hit the cold wooden floor. It was beautiful, and he loved the planks of refurbished wood but damn, it was freaking cold first thing in the morning.

You’re up?

I’m up. I’m up.

Really?

Yes, I am. I’m walking. Eli held his phone out in front of him and stuck out his tongue at the inanimate object before putting it back up to his ear.

Are you sure? You’re not lying are you? I know you. You’ll roll over and be sound asleep again in seconds.

Yes, I am sure. I’m walking into the bathroom as we speak. He started the shower and said, See, you can even hear the water running. Now, I have to pee. Would you like to listen to that too?

No thanks. Just watch your aim.

Molly’s smartass comeback made him chuckle. All right, D. I’ll see you in a bit.

I love you...

Uh-huh, love me, my ass. If you loved me, you’d let me sleep another hour. Eli grinned, his voice carrying the teasing over the line. "But yeah, whatever... I love you too. Bye...brat." He quickly ended the call before she could get off her retort and placed the phone on the black granite countertop.

Pushing his boxers to the floor, Eli climbed in and stood under the rainfall showerhead. He rolled his neck and adjusted the water to make it hotter, hoping the heat would do something to relax the muscles in his back. Turning side-to-side gingerly, he took a sharp breath in with the pain.

Oh, hell. It’s going to be a long damn day, he hissed through gritted teeth.

On the last word, he slowly forced the air back out as he braced himself against the stone tiles.

****

The weather was finally warming up after the long winter. Passing by his SUV in the garage, he climbed in the Razor parked beside it. The off-road vehicle allowed him the freedom of cruising through the fields ‘as the crow flies’, so he took off via the shortcut he’d already worn down in the fresh spring grass. It was the same path he’d taken a thousand-plus times over the years, one he could do blindfolded.

The riding academy offices were connected to the large outbuilding that housed the shop and gym, and all faced the professional track they trained on. What started two decades ago as a small patch of track built behind the Noland’s family home for personal use, had been expanded multiple times, and was now one of the country’s top training facilities for amateur racers. Normally he’d be able to fly across the property from his house to the school.

Not today.

Approaching the last and largest terrace, Eli slowed down to almost a crawl, rolling over the land instead of hitting it as a jump and flying through the crisp air. There was no way in hell he’d try and jump that one the way he was feeling this morning. Even the ibuprofen, coupled with the steaming hot shower, hadn’t taken the edge off. He could hear the class Brody and Carter were teaching. He and Jess were taking the afternoon training session, and it was supposed to be his turn to sleep in. At least until his favorite girl called and informed him otherwise.

As he headed around the south side of the track, he edged toward the large shop and the school offices. It used to feel intimidating to pull up to the fifteen-bay metal building which housed their mechanics area, fitness gym, and the academy’s lunchroom. Now he was used to it. When James Noland was behind something, no expense was spared. Their facilities rivaled some factory locations. Noland demanded top of the line for everything, from the building to the tools inside it. The whole of it was so clean, a person could pick up food and eat it right off the floor.

One end of the building had been built out for the academy offices, and once inside, it was hard to remember it was a metal building on the outside. Not that the section of the shop where the bikes were worked on wasn’t outstanding in its own right, but with drywall, a faux-finished paint job, and custom lighting, the school offices were not only professional, but beautiful as well. Add to that the sleek office furniture and welcoming reception area, the place felt more like an upscale design studio with its gas fireplace, plants, and leather chairs.

Eli still felt a surge of pride every time he pulled up in front of the school. The Noland SFH Racing Academy. Joking about starting the school had turned into discussions, the discussions became plans, and with James’s help, the plans became a reality. It was something that Eli, Jesse and Carter had always thrown out as a way to retire and keep them close to the sport they loved dearly. It was a dream for the future that they used to talk idly about for hours while sitting around the pits, back in their younger days.

However, it was something they had always just considered a pipe dream until they were sitting at the table in James’s kitchen eating lunch one day, almost five years prior. One of the guys said something about starting a training program and sparked an interest immediately with both of the Noland men. Brody and James started asking more in-depth questions, both full of excitement and ideas. James was right, he had the perfect location, and between them, they had five professional riders. Then Jesse fell in love with, and married Emery. Between her and Joey, the pair could build one hell of a race bike and fix anything and everything a kid could break. The equation was complete. The school launched and propelled so much further beyond any of Eli’s wildest hopes and dreams.

Over the years, they had been very fortunate never to have the struggles so many new businesses did. They had so much more to offer than any other training facility for amateurs in the country. The result—the academy had a waiting list before they even opened for the first session. Strategically planned classes meant the school was running at full capacity from the time the last snow fell, to the first snow of the next winter. When they were really lucky, Mother Nature worked with them instead of against them, and allowed them to extend their training schedule.

Eli rolled up to the shop and cut the engine. Since it was a beautiful spring morning, all the doors to the shop and academy offices were open. Molly must have heard him pull up because he could feel her gaze on him. He twisted hesitantly and got out of the Razor. He tried to cover the pain, but walking hurt too much this morning, and he winced with the first couple of steps. Keeping his head lowered, Eli tried to avoid the narrowed blue eyes he knew were fixed on him.

Molly’s office had a picture window that allowed her to see everything that went on. Out of the corner of his eye, Eli saw her lean back in her chair and cross her arms over her chest. He bought himself another few minutes by stopping at the coffee maker, taking his time to pick out the caramel flavor he preferred then setting the machine up to brew the single cup. He tapped his foot, pretending he was in a hurry. In actuality, he was hoping someone would interrupt and call him aside, postponing the lecture that was waiting on him.

For over two years, Molly tried to get him to look into alternative therapies to manage the pain, but it was a wasted effort. There was nothing they could do. That night in Salt Lake City changed his life forever.

The season had been so close to being over, and he was battling with Jesse for first place. The two men were tighter than blood-related brothers, racing neck-and-neck, enjoying the challenge and the camaraderie. Three laps to go in the main event, and not even a bike’s length separated them. It had been one of the closest races of the season. Carter had retired by then, leaving the two to duke it out week after week, and the crowds loved it. It was one thing to watch two rivals go at it, but it was an entirely different experience watching two best friends race. There was never anything dirty, and no one knew from week to week which man would come out on top. It had been a thrill for every lap of the entire season.

Then it was over.

A lapper in the way. A guy so far out of the race he was running eighteenth out of twenty, and Eli and Jesse both had two full laps on him. The guy hadn’t paid attention to the blue flags alerting him to move to the outside and get out of the leaders’ way. Pure arrogance and ass on his part.

Jesse rounded the tight corner with Eli’s front wheel even with his own back wheel, only to come up on the lapper with nowhere to go. Jesse barely hung onto his handlebars, and after hitting the deep ruts wrong, finally righted himself and kept going. Eli hadn’t been so lucky. His front tire hit the lapper’s back tire, and instantly both men were thrown from their bikes.

The lapper was able to shake it off, dazed but aware enough to make it to the side of the track on his own. Eli was run over twice before the flaggers diverted the traffic coming up behind him into the tight corner.

He woke up two days later in the ICU with a laundry list of medical problems, the broken back he suffered being the worst of them. His friends had surrounded him in a constant vigil until he woke. They were there when he learned he would never race again. They were there when he was told he might never walk again.

But he did.

Pulling on all the years of rigorous training and discipline he was accustomed to, and the support of his friends and family, he healed. Proving the doctors wrong, he even made it back onto his bike just a year after the accident. He wouldn’t ever race again, but he could ride well enough to teach the future racers of the sport at the riding academy.

The academy. Their academy. Combined with his friends, the school was the main thing that kept Eli afloat that first year. Lucky for him, he had that lifeline to latch onto, otherwise he could have very easily spiraled into a deep depression like so many athletes do once their professional careers are over. Especially when it is taken away due to injury.

The coffee machine gurgled, and Eli let out a sigh. Molly’s eyes were still fixed on him, and no one had come to his rescue with even the stupidest of questions. He stirred in a little extra sugar because even the way the coffee came wasn’t quite sweet enough for him. Eli slowly licked the stir stick and threw it in the trash can beside the small counter. Turning on his heel, he finally faced her raised eyebrow. Molly didn’t say a word as he slowly lowered himself into the leather side chair in front of her desk, but the frown as he gingerly tried to find a comfortable position was unmistakable.

In the old days, before the crash, he’d chased Molly around the pits, given her piggyback rides, and ganged up with Carter and Jesse to wrestle her to the ground just to torment her. That was back before she and Carter had kids, and back when he could walk without looking like a seventy-year-old man. Back when he would have plopped his ass in the chair, tipped it back with his feet resting on her desk and crossed at the ankles while he made himself at home. He could pretend his manners were kicking in since he would turn thirty in a few weeks, but they both knew otherwise.

So, what is the big news? Eli blew across his coffee mug, trying to appear aloof.

You’re hurting. It wasn’t a question, so he dared to take a sip of the hot coffee in his hands instead of looking up. Damn it, Eli. You have to go back to the doctor. I’ll take you. I know you don’t want to hear what they have to say, but I’ll be there. Her voice was loving but desperate.

Honey, you going with me isn’t going to change anything. It’s not that I don’t want to hear what they have to say. It’s that, this is as good as it gets. There’s nothing else they can do.

But Eli—

"D, we both know in our world, every time you get on the bike it could be the last. That was my last. That wreck was the wreck. I’m lucky I can walk. I know that, I’m grateful. It’s a damn miracle I can help with the kids as much as I can. But the pain, they can’t make it any better than it is right now." He shook his head. His voice was never edgy or frustrated, just matter-of-fact.

Eli knew where Molly was coming from, her concern was sincere and from her heart. It was one of the many things he loved most about her.

He tilted his head and let the corners of his mouth turn up. Now how many times are we going to have this same damn conversation? It’s like déjà vu, or Groundhog Day or something.

E, I just hate seeing you hurt. It breaks my heart.

Mol, trust me, I understand. Some days are just worse than others. Today is one of those days. I’m fine. Now, what did you want to see me about anyway? I’m sure you didn’t drag my ass out of my nice warm, cozy bed and make me come all the way over here to the school to lecture me. He winked.

The grin and wink were twofold. She would know he loved her, and she would realize the conversation was once again over. At least until her next attempt. She lowered her head and let out a defeated sigh. After a long pause, she raised her head, ran her fingers through her side-sweeping bangs, and rested her head in her palm. The smile she gave him was one of understanding, but he knew she still held out hope.

So, you gonna keep me in suspense? What was so important you couldn’t let a guy sleep in a little? He raised his eyebrow, but the smile spread wider.

He knew she felt bad for waking him after she saw him in pain, so he was going to rub it in, just a little. As he opened his mouth to speak again, the squeal stopped him. He turned as the little blur came running straight for him, arms out and giggling the entire way.

Uncle E, Uncle E.

There’s my girl, how are you, baby? As Eli set his coffee mug on Molly’s desk and turned with his arms outstretched, he grimaced, but continued to twist toward the little girl.

Molly stopped her before the little pixie could put her arms all the way up. Alexandra Noland Sterling. Her voice was calm but sharp. Carter’s little replica froze in her spot several inches away from Eli’s chair. Don’t climb on Uncle E, sweetie. His back hurts today.

Oh, D, it’s fine. She doesn’t weigh twenty-five pounds. She’s a little bitty nothing of a three-year-old. Eli grabbed for Alex and let her scramble up onto his lap. And you’re my heart, aren’t you, sugar?

The little blue-eyed angel grinned big, her sandy blonde, waist-length curls falling down around her. She started to laugh with his tickling.

"I’m almost four, Uncle E. I tell you and tell you, you never ‘member." Her little head tilted with her mother’s genetic sass, and then she giggled again.

Eli bit his cheek to keep from laughing. I know you are, baby girl. You and your brother are getting so big on me. I’m going to have to go out and find some bricks to stick on your heads to stop you.

Alex rolled her eyes, a trait she had inadvertently learned from her Aunt Emery. Molly shook her head and closed her eyes, resting her forehead in her palms in defeat as Eli grinned.

Alexandra Sterling was going to be their challenge. The old proverb It takes a village, definitely rang true—it was going to take them all. She was absolutely beautiful, and her china doll face won over every heart she met. She and her twin brother, Jackson, were sweet children, kind and funny. They had taken over the academy and everything else on the Noland property the moment they were born.

She and Jack wandered around the shop, school, and track as if they owned the place. They did, but they were only three and didn’t realize that yet. They spent their days talking to teenagers and adults, treated like equals. They were never dismissed with a pat to the head. At almost four, they were more knowledgeable about bikes and racing than some adults Eli had encountered. He snickered proudly at the truth.

Alex was a petite little girl. That, combined with her long curls and big blue eyes, made it impossible for anyone to say no to her. While Jack was quiet, Alex was bubbly and full of spunk. Where Jack’s penetrating, light blue eyes were always taking in everything around him, Alex’s deeper blues sparkled with a hint of mischief. Their list of differences went on and on, their looks and personalities completely their own, but they were bonded tighter than any two siblings Eli had ever known.

A twin thing—fraternal, but definitely twins. Jack looked like his mother, but had the quiet steadiness of his father. Alex looked like her father, but possessed her mother’s spitfire determination and attitude. A combination they had all sat around the shop, track, or table discussing many times, along with the need to buy a lock for her door once she was a teenager.

A nice, big, strong one with no key.

Hey Alex, where’s brother, honey? Molly asked smiling.

Jack’s with grandma.

Up at the house?

Yep. Her eyes went wide as Eli’s pointer finger made circles, threatening to tickle her again.

Why don’t you go see if grandma has some cookies or something? Tell her your Uncle E didn’t eat breakfast.

’K, Mommy. Alex wrapped her tiny arms around Eli and laid her head against his chest. Be right back, Uncle E. I promise.

He rested his cheek on top of her head as he rubbed her back. You know me and my sweets, don’t you, Alex? You better hurry. I don’t want Uncle Jesse to steal ’em all from me. He and Aunt Emery will probably be up here soon. And tell grandma that it was Mommy’s fault I didn’t get breakfast.

Um, grandma’s gonna be mean at you, Mommy, Alex snickered. You don’t mess with her kids.

Molly and Eli both lost control of the laughter they were trying desperately to contain. Karen’s statement, repeated by the three-year-old, was just too much for them to hide their amusement and something they’d come to regret later when she continued to repeat it for fun.

Alex wiggled down out of Eli’s lap, scooting out of the shop, and skipped up the stone path to the back patio of the main house. Her curls bounced behind her in the morning breeze, and the gold in them glinted in the sun as she happily sang what Eli thought was supposed to be a current pop song from the radio. The three-year-old version, with missing and made-up words. The farther away she got, the harder it was to hear and decipher.

You know that little girl adores you, right? Molly asked, her voice full of love.

Eli beamed watching Alex disappear through the