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ANGIE
Mac jostled his way to the front, pushing past Knox even as the cruel man reached out and tried to grab Mac’s jersey. The crowd booed, everyone straining forward to watch the drama unfold. Mac shrugged him off, throttling forward with a burst of speed and pulling ahead of the pack. He turned a corner and Knox was edged to the outskirts of the other riders where he lost his balance and toppled over the edge of the plateau style climb.
Seconds later, Mac crossed the finish line first with the checkered flag waving above his head. Blake pulled in second and JT claimed third
The USA team took a full sweet.
Angie and Eva screamed, jumping up and down as their voices were drowned out by all the noise of more engines crossing and the rest of the stadium erupting in deafening excitement.
Clutching her hands to her chest, Angie breathed a sigh of relief. Knox hadn’t won. He wouldn’t be back in the States. Now that she had her money and all of her things back, she could make a plan to go find her parents. But what about Mac? What about pursuing something with him? She was free from Knox, free from that baggage. Did she want to burden him with the problems she had? Or was she willing to give up anything with him when she moved back home? Long distance relationships didn’t always work.
What kind of a woman was she that she had to rely on a man for a happily-ever-after?
Before she could over-think the situation, Eva grabbed her arm and tugged her out of the pit and toward the guys coming down from the staging area. Angie focused on Mac and the bright smile he flashed when he saw her.
JT searched for Kelsey who Angie hadn’t seen show up but she ran past Eva and Angie, straight into JT’s arms.
Blake handed his bike off to pit crew members and ran toward Eva, his arms outstretched and tears rolling down his face. “I love you. I love you so much!” She threw herself into his arms and he spun her in a circle.
What did Angie do with Mac? Did she have the right to be excited and share his victory? It felt like her victory as well.
Angie slowed in her race toward Mac. What did she do?
As if sensing her hesitation, Mac called out, “Angie!” He gave his bike to another crew member and took long strides to face her. He tipped up her chin, mud splattered over his jersey and his hair scrunched where his helmet had been. Following her gaze toward Blake and JT, he smiled and looked back toward her.
His euphoria was contagious as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers softly and without demand.
Mac wouldn’t take anything from her she wasn’t willing to give and he wouldn’t push her to be any other Angie than the one she chose to be.
Des Nations was ending up being life changing for everyone.
