Race With a Heart
Chapter 196: New Player

Chapter 196: New Player

"How are you ?" Lambert asked, looking at Paxton sympathetically.

"Oddly. Strange in all respects. That’s why I don’t know... Before I tell Martin about it, I have to deal with it myself. I can’t bear both of us now."

Jack nodded slowly. Though Paxton couldn’t say exactly what he meant, Jack figured it was like a plane crash. Put an oxygen mask on yourself first, then help others. If you first save others and lose consciousness during this activity, both you and the person you save will die. If you save yourself, you will be able to save others. Such behavior in the eyes of many was considered selfish, not heroic enough, but in fact it was very logical. The five seconds it takes you to put on the oxygen mask will not make the person sitting in the chair next to you die, but if you pass out within those five seconds, both will die.

"So what exactly do you want me to do?" Jack asked in a matter-of-fact tone. He felt very sorry for Paxton, but the analogy of the plane crash also applied to him. If Lambert panicked, he wouldn’t be able to help Steve, and he was the one who needed help the most right now.

"I want you to help him. I... I want to be there for him, I want to help him, but I can’t focus enough. It’s got to be better, but not yet. Meanwhile, Martin needs to have strong moral and professional support right now. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Yes," Jack nodded. "You can be calm and focus on yourself."

"Martin knows I feel bad. He sent me to the doctor," Paxton explained. "He knows about some of my limitations so he won’t be suspicious. I warned that I was not going back to the track, but said I was not going back yet," he stressed the word ’yet’.

"I understand," and Lambert really understood.

Steve was now in a very delicate place between his private loss and his fear that it was irreversible, between the Fergus Stable, which was like home to him, and between the sweet, dear Martin he loved and wanted to protect from shocking news. Jack wasn’t arrogant enough to think he knew if Steve should tell Martin the whole truth about his condition, but he certainly understood that Paxton wanted to protect him from her, at least for now. Probably in some Bible book it was said that there was a time for everything, and according to Steve, it was not yet time to share the whole truth with Martin. Perhaps the boy would have endured it more bravely than Paxton fears, but with such a heavy blow as Steve had suffered, it took him time to get used to the situation.

"It’s okay," Lambert assured. "I will watch over Martin at work and privately. You just focus on getting better. No matter how small the chance is, you have to catch it. I can’t imagine next season of this stable without you."

Especially since Jack himself was beginning to think about retirement.

***

Martin’s appearance in qualifying was quite a sensation for the media. People, of course, knew he was the new, or rather temporary, third driver of the Fergus Stables, but they didn’t expect any stable to shuffle the drivers so easily. Some speculated it was because Alston had fallen short of the stable’s expectations, others said Martin was a newly discovered diamond, just like Paxton last year. Most people, however, were satisfied with the explanation they came up with when a new ad with Steve and Martin appeared on the big screen. Oh yeah, if Moore’s Corporation had put money into the Fergus Stable, she had a right to have the demands. The opposite was true, since it was Moore who was asked to support Martin, not the other way around, but well, people didn’t have to know about it at all.

People didn’t really know anything about how or why Martin suddenly made an official appearance or what Don Alston had done before. People didn’t know anything, but everyone had their own theory which they shared on social media. The more absurd but conspiratorial they were, the more popular they were.

Fergus’ Stable ignored them all, focusing solely on the well-being of the driver and car.

"It will be fine! I believe in you!" Jack, with an encouraging smile, clapped Martin on the back. The boy did feel a little lighter, although he wished Steve were in Jack’s place. But Steve was in the stands, unseen by Martin.

Paxton, of course, had access to the stall of the stables. He was on the list of drivers starting in races, he only had a break so no one would stop him from entering. But there were too many journalists and people from outside just waiting to flood him with questions. Steve looked a bit haggard, and it was Martin himself who had suggested that he should not put himself under such stress and discomfort. He doesn’t want his picture to appear in a newspaper or website while it’s in poor condition.

Indeed, Steve didn’t want that, but he didn’t want to lose sight of Martin’s first track appearance either, so Karl quietly secured Paxton a seat in the VIP lounge. There was a perfect view from there, and the exit led to the no-go zone for reporters. So Steve could see without being seen. It was all the more advantageous as the tickets for the stands were already sold out.

As he got into the car, Martin looked in that direction. He knew Steve was staring at him, his heart beating with excitement no slower than Martin’s. Can anything more give it wings?

***

Even as a teenager, Kevin Moore was used to a variety of pompous parties where the string quart played classical standards. Rich old ladies could hang expensive jewelry on their necks, and gentlemen could boast about their golf achievements. Kevin’s mother tried to keep her charity parties more relaxed while she was alive, and Kevin even liked those events where there was really talk of a better future for talented children from poor families. Unfortunately, when she died, everything returned to its old form, and Kevin, smiling a studied smile, exchanged polite greetings with the guests. He pretended that he was having a great time when in fact he would rather be a thousand times more in front of the TV and watch Jack Lambert on the track.

The young professor knew perfectly well his duties as someone bearing the name Moore, but he would not have a PhD degree if he were not at least a little intelligent, so on average every quarter of an hour he would sneak out of the room to quietly and politely, though totally secretly, check the situation on the track. .

Kevin smiled broadly in satisfaction. It was halfway through the race. Jack was still in the first place. Martin maintained an excellent position in seventh. Moore felt proud of both men and the fact that both were now part of his life. Of course, Jack was the most important, there was no doubt about it, Lambert was about ninety-seven percent of his life, but to the Martin Kevin liked, Jack’s footsteps as a foster little brother, and he was important to him too. In fact, even Steve Paxton began to occupy an important place in his heart. Maybe not as a dear little brother, but already as a good friend. But Paxton was not racing now, so now Moore’s attention was occupied by Martin and Jack. First of all, Jack.

"Wow, I didn’t know you were into car racing!"

Kevin jumped in surprise. Arthur Floyd, a friend he had known for a long time, was looking over his shoulder, a little rudely. But he wasn’t angry with him. If Arthur were a complete stranger, he probably would have found him nosy, but since they might consider themselves friends, this little invasion of privacy didn’t concern the young professor at all.

"You’ve left this town too long ago," said Moore with a smile. "Did you forget that this town is all about racing?"

"No, I haven’t forgotten," Floyd sighed. "I just remember that you bravely defended against it."

"Times have changed," Kevin laughed lightly. He was really pleased with the results his friends were achieving at that point. "My father became a sponsor of the Fergus Stables and I know a few people from this environment."

"Really?" Arthur Floyd was excited. Although he had always been interested in art and dreamed of becoming an actor, at a time when Kevin knew him well, which was before Arthur left for a career, he was also interested in racing. "Do you know the drivers?"

"Three out of four," admitted Kevin feeling proud. Hmm, the day has come when Kevin Moore can talk to his friends on common topics and brag about his relationship with someone famous? It was so childish, so funny, and should have even been embarrassing, but it wasn’t. "I just don’t know Alston."

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