PAUL BELL'S HOUSE WAS HUGE—a looming estate nearly as large as my father's. I knocked on the door–nervous. I knew the Baker's didn't like my family. It was evident in the greeting number 44 gave me when I dropped his daughter off and the angry snarl of his niece, Lily. But I wasn't sure about Paul Bell.

I shoved my hands in my pockets, waiting before the oak door. Sunglasses on, t-shirt clean after a much-needed shower. Paul's wife had always been kind to me. She'd volunteer at the school when Nadine and I were small and told stories that still scared the shit out of me. She'd also given my mom her first job when she moved to town when she was eighteen.

I knocked again when the sound of a dirt bike cut through the yard.

I stepped off the steps and made my way around the back, past a rather large guest house and to what I assumed was a track blocked by a hill and a man with a lawn chair seated atop. 

"You're too slow, Nadine!" He shouted as she flew through the air, her white and teal-coloured jersey, pants and boots a flash of colour before disappearing behind another hill.

I climbed the slope, tucking the iron coin necklace bouncing off my chest in my shirt as I came to stand beside 'Just About' Johnny. Another Snocross legend who trained on this very track.

He glanced up from his chair, black-rimmed sunglasses on and a bottle of beer in hand. "Levi Hunt," he drawled. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd see the day a Hunt would step foot on Bell soil."

I ignored Nadine's uncle. I was used to the retorts and flat greetings. I wasn't liked. Most of it was because of my dad. Those who sided with Nick Baker never bothered getting to know me. "Nadine asked me to pick her up here," I stated, secretly admiring the track.

This was where legends were made. Max 'Sunshine' Teller, 'Just About' Johnny, the Bell Brothers—Nadine's twin uncles, and her father, Nick Baker—Snow Slayer.

I tucked my hands in my jeans pockets, watching Nadine rip across the track. Never did I think I'd see it. The track Paul Bell built with nothing more than a skid steer and his bare hands.

Dust clouds picked up, obscuring the fire-red sunset that tinted the world in sepia and the mountain backdrop that led to our destination. We needed to get on the road, but I wanted a few minutes to observe. Nadine was an incredible racer. I knew because we'd grown up together on the track. Two kids reared by the pros we admired. She switched to Pro when she was sixteen. Polaris, KTM, Red Bull, and Fly Racing all beating on her door, but she bailed halfway through the Snocross season last year to care for her grandmother and didn't come out once over the summer.

Johnny took a swig of his beer. "Does Baker know you're driving her back?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," I stated, knowing he was referring to Nadine's father. She needed a ride. The least I could do was pick her up after the memory she slapped me with. And that mind-altering kiss. I dipped my chin. "Are you going to say anything?"

I knew better than to pursue a friendship with Nadine. Kissing her last night was a mistake, but I hated how her face crumpled when she caught Jace with Jessica, and I wanted him to pay.

Johnny chuckled, taking another sip. "It's none of my business."

Good.

Nadine flew by, taking notice of me. "She's out of shape," Johnny groaned.

I could tell. Her form was off, an indication she was gassed. Dirt biking was a good way to practice in the off-season, but if Nadine hoped to make the podium this year in Snocross, she had her work cut out for her.

I folded my arms as she raced toward us. "You're early," she said, removing her helmet from her head.

The dust caught up to her, settling between us. She combed her long sable coloured hair from her dirt-stained face, breathing heavily.

"I wanted to hit the road early."

"I wanted a shower."

"Be my guest."

Her golden eyes looked me over. "What are you going to do?"

"Hang out with Johnny."

Johnny nearly choked on his beer. "No, he's not."

Nadine never took her gaze from mine. Eyes rimmed in dark, long lashes that captivated and ensnared. "Give me fifteen minutes."

She took off before I could say anything. Speeding down the hill, I climbed only moments before.

"Are you working with her?" I asked Johnny when she disappeared into the shop.

He scoffed. "I work for Bell Racing. Not Team Baker."

"I thought Bell racing was dismantled." And given to Team Baker.

"Then I guess that means I'm out of a job," he retorted. "Cause I sure as hell ain't working for Nick."

Johnny snatched his chair, tucked it under his arm, and started down the hill. My gaze snagged on the patio doors of the house. To Paul Bell, watching from the glass.

I dipped my chin. Eyes flicking back.

He peeled away from the door and disappeared from sight.

***

The drive was quiet. The smell of Nadine's shampoo still lingering in her damp hair—lavender and chamomile.

I adjusted, the falling dark consuming the highway before us. "Why were you training at Paul's?" I asked, needing to break the silence.

Nadine stared out the window. To the mountain pass, we were soon going to cross. "Because I didn't need the team bombarding me with questions about last night."

I understood Bear and Morin wouldn't shut up about it this morning. "So, do you plan on avoiding them forever?"

Her dark head rolled against the headrest. "Just until everything dies down." Between us, she didn't need to say.

A few moments of silence went by before I said, "You were coasting on the track today."

I swear the side of my face caught fire with the scathing look she shot. "No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were. It's time wasted. And you're breaking too late around the corners."

She sat up, ready to argue. I could tell by the adorable way she scrunched her nose. "I can't break if I'm trying to get ahead."

"It slows you down," I challenged. "The quicker you break, the sharper your turn. Then you can make for the hole shot."

She scoffed. "I don't need training advice from you, Hunt."

"You be a fool not to take it. I'm two races away from kicking Jace's ass."

"I'm two races away from kicking Jace's ass," she mocked, and I couldn't help but breathe a stunned laugh.

"Seriously, though. You need to start training if you hope to win this season."

She sniffed—elbow resting on the door as she gazed out the window. "Are you offering your services?"

It was a dry remark, soaked with sarcastic hate, but I found myself saying, "Yes."

She looked me over. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious."

She adjusted, so her knee was bent. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

"What?"

"I can't train with you."

"Why?"

Her eyes found the road. "Because we're on two different teams. For starters."

"You race in the women's division. I'm sure it'll be fine."

She sniffed. "And what about our parents? Our dads hate each other."

She wasn't wrong. Nick Baker hated my dad because of a near-fatal accident that happened on the track before I was born, and my dad blamed him for the unsportsmanlike conduct claim made against him. One that lost him his sponsors. "They don't have to know."

"You're serious."

I smiled in answer.

She shook her head. "And what's in it for you if I say yes?"

For a moment, I was quiet, seriously considering. "Dempsey hates me."

"I knew it," she breathed, her hand slapping her lean thigh.

"I need help." In the history elective my degree required me to take.

"Well, I need help with stats. Get a tutor."

"The last tutor had more than tutoring on her mind."

"Gross."

I flashed a grin. "Come on, what's the worst that can happen?"

"There are five worst-case scenarios I can count off on every finger."

"And what nice fingers they are."

She cut me with a steel gaze.

"Come on, Baker. If you help me in history, I'll help you in stats."

She looked at me curiously. "You understand statistics?"

I did. It was one of the classes I did well in.

"We can train together," I offered. "I'll help you in stats, and we can take turns driving home. It'll save gas." I looked down at my speedometer. "And milage."

"You only want to hang around with me to piss Jace off."

"I won't lie," I replied, "seeing his face last night was fucking incredible."

She tried not to smile.

"Come on, let me help out an old friend."

She laughed, but it lacked any sort of joy. "A friend you bailed on."

"I was six."

"Well, your six-year-old ass made it very clear how you felt about my family and me."

And I regretted it every day after. "If you don't want my help, just say so, and we can continue driving in separate vehicles and going about our lives the way we have for two years."

Nadine glimpsed at me in the corner of her eye. "I didn't say I didn't want your help."

"So, is that a yes?"

She sighed. "My team is going to lose it if they find out."

"It's none of anyone's business. And if your team had your back, why didn't anyone tell you about Jace and Jessica?"

She was quiet.

"I have just as much to lose as you do, Baker."

Her gaze was contemplative, but after a few moments of consideration, she said, "Fine. But I swear, Hunt if you keep yapping, our deal is off."

I grinned. "Alright."

A/N: They're training together! Thank you so much for reading! And thank you so much for your patience 😊