I scowled. “Shut up.”
Rager looked over at him and smiled. “Now I want to just to prove to him he doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing.”
“Oh, he knows,” Hayden added. “I have three shithead kids to prove it.”
“Only one is a shithead,” Casten added, scrolling through his phone. “Oh, look, there’s a bar with a tattoo parlor in it.” He held up his phone. “Let’s go there.”
“We should get tattoos,” someone said, and so it was decided. We ended up at a bar with a tattoo parlor. Worst idea ever.
It started with Rager wanting me to tattoo The Sweet Spot on my pussy. I declined the pussy idea and so did he when he realized the guy tattooing us had to check out my track layout to do that. I settled on The Sweet Spot on my hipbone, low enough I could still cover it up with my bikini if needed.
“I’m gonna get ‘handle with care’ right above my junk,” Caden told everyone within earshot. He’d had about ten tequila shots and volume control wasn’t his specialty.
“No, don’t.” Kinsley tried to reason with him. “And do you think getting a tattoo while drunk is a good idea?”
“No. It’s a horrible idea. But I’m gonna do it!” he yelled, wheeling himself over to the table and next to the guy with the tattoo gun in hand.
“Fuck,” she sighed, standing next to me. “This is a bad idea.”
“No, it’s a great idea.” Drunk me clearly underestimated what a good idea meant.
“MOMMY? WAKE UP!” And that followed with a smack right to my face and a blinding headache. Or maybe I had one to begin with. Probably the latter.
I peered one eye open to find Pace sitting on my stomach. “It’s Christmas Eve.”
“Cool,” I mumbled, trying to pry him off me.
He refused to move. “You make waffles on Christmas Eve, remember?”
“Right now?” I groaned, regretting all that tequila from last night. “It’s too early for that.”
Rager stirred beside me and pressed his lips to my shoulder. “It’s noon, babe.”
Shit.
Half asleep, Rager and I made our way downstairs to make waffles with the kids. Everyone was up aside from Casten, who had passed out in the van last night and no one moved him.
“Do you think it’s too cold out there for him?” Hayden asked, sipping on what I could only imagine was very strong coffee.
“I hope he freezes his balls off,” Kinsley added, staring at her wrist.
I stared at her. “What’s wrong?”
“This is what’s wrong.” She pushed up the sleeve of her shirt. “I specifically said no tattoos for me, and Casten gave me a Jäger shot and I did this!”
On Kinsley’s wrist were the words Pressure relief valve.
“What does that even mean?” I looked at her, and then Rager, who’s shoulders were shaking as laughter rolled through him. “What? Why are you laughing?”
He waited until Pace was out of the room and made a jerking off motion.
Kinsley dropped her hand and rolled down the sleeve on her hoodie. “Like I said, I hope he freezes to death.”
Aunt Emma wrapped her arm around Kinsley’s shoulder. “Me and you are going to be good friends.”
Dad and Mom, who’d been watching our interaction, smiled. “I feel like life has officially come full circle for us,” Mom said, leaning into Dad.
He pressed his lips to her forehead, smiling. “That it has, honey.”
THE FUCKING END
Oh my God, it can’t be the end! Is that what you’re thinking too? Gah! Excuse me while I bawl like a baby.
This book was so incredibly hard to write. Which is probably why it’s taken me three years to do it. I had no idea where I wanted to go with it. Or even where to start for that matter. And then fucking COVID hit and I was really all out of sorts. As was everyone for that matter.
I don’t think I can put into words what this series means to me. And I don’t think I can put into words what it means to you guys, the ones who’ve read every word of their journey and fell in love with the Riley family over and over again. Excuse me while I have a breakdown. I didn’t want to type the end. I didn’t think I could. How can a writer let go of a family that in many ways is their family?
It’s not easy, but I honestly feel like I’ve given this family justice and I can finally move on. Not that I want to, but that I can.
And I know, the book is probably shorter than you wanted, but the entire series is over a million words! Can you believe it? It’s actually more like 1.3 million words written for this family that consumed my thoughts for ten years. How perfect is that from the day I started writing them,
Thank you so much to everyone who has helped with this series. My BETA team, Hot Tree Editing, Tracy, my family… there are so many I need to thank but most of all, my readers, for sticking with me for eleven books of the Riley family. It’s because of you that we made it this far. Thank you for always wanting more and giving the word “Stay” its true meaning.
I can move on from them knowing they will always be at a dirt track.
Oh, but wait, there’s more. There will be one more book of outtakes (Behind the Wheel) I’ve written over the years for this family and a peek at the JAR Racing Rugrats. Stay tuned!
Shey Stahl is a USA Today and Amazon best-selling author. Rom-coms and sports romances with a unique writing style are her lady jam.
Her books have been translated into several languages, and if you haven’t laughed, cried, and cursed in the same book, you’re reading the wrong author. Shey lives in Washington State with her adrenaline-addicted husband, a moody preteen daughter, and their asshole cat.
In her
