Trust in Me Read Online Free PDF Page A

slipped. Digging his hands in his trouser pockets, he said in low, gravelly tones, “I owe you. I owe this town.” His voice cracked on the admission.
    “No, Mr. Quaid, you don’t.”
    “Tell me that boy out there didn’t get into trouble because he lost his daddy. Tell me he didn’t backslide because I came back to town.”
    “Ronny’s issues aren’t your fault.”
    “Of course they are.”
    Wide-eyed, Beth cocked her head. “Is this how you’ve felt for ten years?”
    A muscle leapt in his throat. “More or less.”
    She gave him a small smile. “Then maybe that’s why God sent you back here.”
    “God had nothin’ to do with my comin’ back.”
    “You’re here to pay a debt you don’t owe, Mr. Quaid. It’s not your fault Danny died.”
    “My car played chicken with your husband’s for ten laps before his skidded off the track, causin’ it to flip twice and crash into a stone wall. Everybody said my blockin’ was too aggressive.” His mouth thinned. “There was even an investigation.”
    The stark words resurrected a vivid image. For a minute, she relived the scene she’d watched from the stands: the high-pitched screech of the tires, the shattered glass, the thud of Danny’s car crashing into the concrete wall. Ten years had blurred the memory, but sometimes it still had the power to shake her. In a hoarse voice, she told him, “The NASCAR sanctioning body declared the collision an accident of indeterminate cause.” She frowned. “Auto racing is a dangerous sport. Everyone out there is at risk. It’s why I don’t want Ronny involved.”
    The man’s face clouded with naked emotion. “Your son wants to race?”
    “Yes. But he won’t. Not just for me, for his grandparents. Julia and Carl are horrified at the thought, just like they were about Danny. They have a fit when Ron even goes to the races held at the track now.”
    “He should do something else. It’s a tough life.”
    Beth remembered Danny’s high every time he climbed out of the car. His unshakable belief that he was going to be the best. His refusal to even listen when she expressed the concern every person who loves a driver feels when he gets into a race car. “I know. I don’t want that life for my son. He’s good in art; I wish he’d pursue that. I need to keep him on the straight and narrow.”
    “A parent can only do so much.”
    “You couldn’t be more wrong about that, Mr. Quaid. A parent can save a child’s life.”
    “Or destroy it.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Nothin’. Look, for the record, I don’t want any thanks for this. As I said, it’s the least I can do.” He looked away. “Besides it was a good excuse to spend some time with Doc after his heart problems.”
    “I heard about that. How’s he doing?”
    “Fine. Ornery as ever.”
    She crossed to him; Tucker Quaid was unusually tall for a driver, and she had to look up at him. This close she could smell some woodsy scent on him. “Well, for the record , I don’t blame you for Danny’s death; if it makes a difference, I wish you wouldn’t blame yourself.” She reached out and squeezed his arm; he looked like she’d given him a gift. “Anyway, I appreciate your wanting to keep Ronny out of jail. I’ll see you at the Council meeting.”
    “What?”
    “You’ll have to go when the case is presented.”
    “Can’t I just send a statement?”
    “I’m not sure. They’ll want to talk to you, I’d guess.”
    He seemed resigned to that. She wished she could help, but she had a hundred and sixty pounds of trouble waiting for her outside that door. Right now her son needed her.
    And truthfully, she was shocked to realize she wanted to help this man. Though her own past, and having a minister as a brother, had helped her to forgive Tucker Quaid, she’d never envisioned feeling sorry for him.
    With that strange emotion in her heart, Beth turned to leave the police station. The door creaked as she opened it.
    His words stopped her.