Believe in Spring Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Copyright © 2017 Amy Sparling

  All rights reserved.

  First Edition December 2017

  Cover image from BigStockPhoto.com

  Typography from FontSquirrel.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems -except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews-without permission in writing from the author at [email protected]

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Coming Soon: The Team Loco Series

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Keanna

  Awesome. My last mid-term of the semester is complete and I’m pretty sure I aced it. All that studying of historical facts with Jett last night helped solidify the information in my mind, and I was one of the first students in my massive class to finish taking the test. If only everything in life was as simple as memorizing a bunch of dates and definitions.

  The warm spring sun welcomes me as I step out of the freezing cold college building. I swear, it’s like they use ninety percent of our tuition money to keep the air conditioner running twenty four hours a day. But it’s not my problem for the next nine days, because it’s finally Spring Break.

  I check my phone and find one new text from my adoptive mom, Becca.

  If you get out soon enough, come by La Tapitia for some lunch! I’m meeting Bay at 1.

  I check the time, and grin when I see I got out at the perfect time to meet them. Jumping in my Mustang that’s all shiny and smells good since Jett washed it for me recently, I head toward the best Mexican restaurant in town.

  It’s a little busier than usual, but I guess Friday before Spring Break has everyone in a go-out-and-celebrate mood. I park across from my mom’s car and head into the packed restaurant.

  The hostess table at the front has at least two dozen people standing around waiting to be seated. I need to squeeze through them to go find my mom and her best friend inside, but I don’t want to be rude, so I kind of stand here a minute. Eventually, the crowd thins as a hostess takes a large group to their table.

  I slide up behind two women who smell like they donned a little too much perfume this morning, but they’re blocking my way into the restaurant. I should just ask them to move over a bit, but being bold and standing up for myself has never been my strong suit.

  “Da-aamn,” one of the women says in this overly sexual way that catches my attention. “Don’t make it obvious,” she says, turning toward her friend, “but check out the guys behind me.”

  Her friend peeks over her shoulder, then her eyes widen and she grins. “Oh hell yes. We should ask if they want company,” she says, primping her hair. “I want the one on the left. No—right. Hell, I don’t care. I’ll take them both.”

  Her friend pushes her playfully in the arm. “You have to leave one for me. I’ll take either one, they’re both hot as hell.”

  I wonder if they know they’re being loud enough for me, a total stranger, to overhear every word. They shift over to get a better peek at the hot guys, and I find a way around them, only to see exactly who they’re talking about.

  My dad and Jett’s dad.

  I burst out laughing, unable to hold it back. Knowing the women are totally watching me right now, I walk quickly up to Park, the man who adopted me and pretty much saved my life, and say, “Hey guys! Have you seen that amazing artwork by the door?” I point to the door, which makes it look like I’m pointing to the women who are gawking at them.

  Jace and Park look right at them, trying to find the artwork, and the women turn a deep shade of red and turn around.

  I laugh. “Never mind, you can’t really see it from here. So what are ya’ll doing here?”

  “My wife said they were getting some Mexican food, and we happened to be nearby so we decided we also wanted Mexican food,” Jace explains. He pulls back the chair next to him. “Have a seat, kiddo.”

  I’m twenty years old, but he still calls me that.

  “Where are they?” I ask, secretly hoping those two women will still be watching when the guys they were drooling over have beautiful wives join them at the table.

  “Bathroom,” my dad says.

  A few seconds later, my mom and Bayleigh appear, but the drooling women are gone. Damn. We place our order with the waiter.

  “How’d your test go?” Mom asks me.

  “Really good,” I say. “I think I’ll be keeping my 4.0 intact.”

  She squeezes my hand. “I’m so proud of you.”

  My mom’s hair is darker since she recently dyed it, and I think it makes her look younger than it did when she had it highlighted. I can notice the very fine wrinkles on the corners of her eyes, the ones she hates and always complains about, but they make me smile. Those wrinkles are there because she cares. She worries and she loves and she actually cares about me.

  “Where are the babies?” I ask, feeling stupid that it’s been like ten minutes and I didn’t think about my own little brother. Jett also has a little sister and they are usually always with our moms.

  “At the track,” Mom says. “Betsy is watching them.”

  Jace says my name. “So are you excited for this week?”

  “I’m excited about the time off school, and the races, but not the driving,” I say with a laugh.

  Jace nods. “There is too much driving in motocross. It’s ridiculous.”

  “Jett makes it fun, but it’s still hours of driving, so it can only get so fun before it’s awful.” I say, curling my lip.

  He has three arenacross races this week and instead of being stuck at home in school, I’m going with him this time. The first race is in Dallas, then San Antonio a few days later, and two days after that, we’ll be driving to Vegas. You can’t fly when you have to haul your own dirt bike. Team Loco, which is Jett’s sponsorship team, doesn’t have any official races this week, so Jett is racing arenacross both for fun, and to keep up his standing as the man to beat. Right now he’s ranked number one in his racing class in the whole region. I can’t wait until the nationals race where he’ll become number one in the whole country.

  “Remember that time we drove from Texas to California?” My dad says to my mom.

  Her eyes widen. “Oh my god, that was the worst! I mean it ended up being fun, but the initial drive sucked. You had to get a new truck and everything.”

  “Wow,” I say. “When did that happen?”

  Mom smiles like she does when she’s recalling something special. “Years ago. We were supposed to fly, and then the airport was closed, and then his truck broke down, so we had to buy a new one, and then all the hotels were booked—”

  “It was Christmas,” Dad says. He looks at my mom and his eyes soften. “But we made it special, right?”

  She melts up against his shoulder. “Yes, we did.”

 
I smile, even though it’s a little awkward seeing them in one of their special romantic moments. My phone vibrates from my purse, and I bend down to get it.

  “Hello?” I say.

  “Heyyy babe,” Jett says back. His voice always makes my knees week. Good thing I’m sitting. “How was your test?”

  “It was good. How was your practice?”

  “It was perfection, as always,” he says with a chuckle. I can tell he’s a little out of breath which means he just got done riding. He’s probably covered in sweat, with the veins bulging on his muscles, which is literally the hottest state he can be in. It’s a shame I’m not there to witness it.

  “I’m eating lunch with the parents,” I say.

  “Which parents?”

  “All of them.”

  He laughs. “You poor thing. Have they embarrassed the hell out of you yet?”

  “Not yet, but once they realize who I’m talking to, I’m sure they will.”

  That gets Jace’s attention and he turns to me. “Talking to Jett?” he asks.

  “Nope,” I say quickly. “I’m talking to a platonic girl friend.”

  “Is that why you’re blushing?” Dad says.

  “Oh my God, ya’ll are the worst,” I say.

  On the phone, Jett laughs. “I’m sorry, baby. When you get done, come home. I need your help packing.”

  “Don’t worry, “ I say, giving the parents the evil eye as they playfully make fun of me for being so in love. “I’ll be there soon.”

  Chapter 2

  Jett

  Keanna sounded like she was in a great mood on the phone. It’s nice to see the stress of the school year evaporate, if only for a little while. I’m so proud of her for doing this college thing. I’m not even in college yet, and honestly, I don’t even want to go. Here’s hoping the motocross gig earns me enough money to retire early. Keanna is the star in this relationship. She’s the smart one, even if she doesn’t think so. She’s the one who takes care of me and makes my life so much easier.

  I put up my bike and head inside to take a quick shower before she gets here. Tomorrow we’ll be heading to Dallas bright and early in the morning, so she’s coming to spend the night with me tonight. Sometimes I wish she’d just stay over here every single night, but since we’re neighbors, it’s not that hard to see each other. Keanna says it would be too weird if she stayed every night, because it’d be like she was living with me while I live with my parents. I totally get where she’s coming from, even though my parents are pretty damn cool.

  As I shower, I think back to the life I had before I met her. I was going down a shitty path in life, much the same as most of the guys I know in motocross. Dating whoever, whenever, hooking up with hot girls just for the fun of it. I know my dad hated it, and I can’t blame him. When I met Keanna, I fell hard for the girl. All that other shit in my past just disappeared in an instant, and now, even thinking about the idea of random hookups makes me feel sick to my stomach. How could a guy want to live a life like that when you can have a perfect girlfriend every single day?

  I love my parents, but I think it’s a little more than obvious that they love Keanna more than me now. I snort out a laugh as I get out of the shower and get dressed. Keanna is the girl who saved me from a reckless and stupid path in life. They have every reason to love her, and I’m glad they do.

  After I get dressed, I stare at the open suitcase on my bed. It’s huge enough for Keanna to crawl inside and zip up—we know because we tried it out for fun once—and it’s black with the blue Team Loco logo on it. I could bring anything I want to, and yet I suck at packing. Right now I have three pairs of jeans, some sleep shorts, a few boxers, and some socks.

  I freaking hate packing. I always forget something, from my phone charger to a knee brace or that one time when I forgot to bring my toothbrush but brought two tubes of toothpaste instead. Packing is the worst.

  “I’m here,” Keanna calls out, her voice faint as it travels from downstairs all the way up to my room.

  “In my room,” I call back. “I need help!”

  I can hear her angelic laugh as she jogs up the stairs. “Let me guess?” she says, appearing in my doorway. “Your suitcase is too vast and big and you have no idea what to put in it?”

  “Yep,” I say, meeting her at the door. I slide my arms around her waist and pull her close. She smells like green apple shampoo and a little like a Mexican restaurant.

  “You’re a grown man, you know that right?” she says playfully, her nails scratching lightly down my back as I hold her close to me. “Nineteen years old and you can’t even pack a suitcase.”

  “I can pack it, I’m just not good at it.” I make a pouty face and she rolls her eyes.

  “Don’t worry, I got you.”

  I slide my hands under her ass and lift her off the floor. She wraps her legs around my waist as I carry her to my bed and sit her down carefully. “I love you,” I whisper, my lips against hers.

  “Do you love me, or do you love my packing skills?” she whispers back.

  I kiss her. “Both.”

  She laughs and pushes me away. “Let’s see what train wreck you’ve assembled here,” she says, going through my clothing. “There’s not a single shirt… were you planning on spending all week showing off those abs?”

  I lift my shirt and flex the six pack I work so hard to maintain. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

  She rolls her eyes and stands up, heading to my closet. “I will get you some shirts, you dork.”

  I turn on my TV and set it to the YouTube app so we can listen to music. “Are you packed yet?”

  “Yeah, I left my suitcase downstairs by the back door because it’s ridiculously heavy,” Keanna says. “I brought those books for Aiden’s sister.”

  “She’ll love that,” I say. Aiden is also on Team Loco, and he has a little sister who is as obsessed with reading as Keanna is. She had an extra set of some teen romance series after she won an autographed set online, so she promised to give it to her.

  I walk up behind Keanna while she takes my clothes off hangers and folds them neatly into my suitcase. I slide my hands up her back and rub her shoulders. I hear her release a soft sigh, see her head tilt to the side as I massage her back. But she keeps working, diligently sorting my outfits for the week. I lean forward and kiss her neck. She freezes.

  “Baby, I can’t focus if you do that.”

  “Who needs focus?” I whisper, kissing her again. I grab her waist and tug her up against me.

  She giggles. “Let me finish packing and then we can continue this.”

  I heave a big sarcastic sigh and then rest my chin on her shoulder, watching her continue to fold clothes and ignore me hanging out behind her. “Okay, I guess I can wait.”

  “Such a horn dog,” she mutters, but I can hear the smile in her voice.

  “I upgraded to the paid Spotify subscription so we’ll have awesome tunes while we drive,” I say, trying to change the subject since I’m all ready to strip her clothes off and throw her on the bed. “Should make the trip more fun.”

  “Awesome,” she says. “I’ve been to Dallas and San Antonio a million times, but I’m excited for Vegas.”

  “Yeah?” I say, watching her face light up with excitement.

  She nods. “It sucks that we aren’t old enough to drink, but I can’t wait to see the Strip all lit up at night. And I want to try that Vegas Cupcakes place. All their cupcakes are ridiculously fancy and are supposed to be the best ones in the country. I think it’ll be awesome. It’ll be even better if you win your race.”

  I grin and watch her work, helping me once again do something I’m not good at. This girl is my angel. Vegas will be really fun because we’ll have three days there and I only race one of those days.

  Maybe I’ll find a place in Vegas that would make the perfect spot…

  I grin as my heart fills with anticipation and excitement.

  Yes. Vegas.

  Maybe I’ll do it t
hen.

  Chapter 3

  Keanna

  Jett is being a lot more affectionate than usual. I mean, it’s not like he’s ever been distant or cold toward me, but lately it’s like he’s metal and I’m magnetized and he can’t stay away from me. I like it, but it makes me wonder. Is he being overly affectionate to make up for something I don’t know about?

  I try to shrug the thoughts away. I remind myself that Jett is mine, and he’s the greatest guy ever, and he’s loyal and loving and would never lie to me. It helps a little.

  I check the time on my phone—it’s three in the morning. I keep falling asleep and then waking up half an hour later, filled with bad thoughts about Jett and worries over nothing. I roll over and look at Jett in the darkness. The moonlight filters in through the window just a little, and I can make out the outline of his face sleeping peacefully next to me. I scoot a little closer and rest my head on his shoulder.

  On instinct, his arm goes around me. His breath stays steady, and he remains asleep, but even when totally passed out, he remembers to hold onto me. It warms my heart and I slip back to sleep, telling myself I was stupid to worry about anything.

  *

  We arrive in Dallas, Texas around ten in the morning. There’s a stadium next door to the hotel we’re staying at and that’s where the arenacross races will be tomorrow. For now, we have the day to rest and Jett plans on taking it easy to prepare for the race tomorrow.

  “This hotel is pretty nice,” Jett says as we step off the elevators on the tenth floor.

  “Damn,” a voice calls out from down the hallway. I recognize it immediately as Zach Pena, a fellow Team Loco racer. “They let anyone in here!” he says, winking at me. “I thought this hotel was for classy people only,” he says to Jett.

  “You should have known it wasn’t the second they let your country ass in here,” Jett says, walking up and fist bumping his teammate. We may live in Texas, which is home of the cowboys, but Zach is from a small town in Tennessee and his southern twang puts Texans to shame.