Free Racing Destiny (Dirt Track Dogs Book 5) by P. Jameson

believing. If you aren’t ready to believe, it’s impossible to see .
    Thank you fortune cookie of doom. Thank you very damn much, but maybe you could come back later .
    Destiny punched the pillow and let herself sob, not caring if she got snot on it.
    Diz had walked out—no, stomped out—leaving her to deal with their mistake. We’ll fix this, she’d said, fully believing they could find a way past this together. But that wasn’t the case. Things were too messed up.
    They’d have to figure this out on their own. Maybe one day they could be normal again, but it wouldn’t be soon.
    For once, her running wasn’t just about escaping. It was a matter of healing. She had to go. For him, but especially for herself.
    Dashing her tears away, she reached to the bedside table for her phone. She took several deep breaths before dialing Tana’s number.
    “Hello?”
    “Hey, Tana. Listen, don’t ask any questions, okay. I can’t answer them right now. I just need a favor. Can you help me?”
    There was a silence that felt like it lasted for an eternity, and then Tana’s voice came back through the line. “Okay. What do you need?”
    “I need out. Can you call your cats?”
    To Destiny’s surprise, Tana didn’t argue. She just asked for thirty minutes to work something out with Magic.
    When Destiny hung up the phone, she ripped the sheets from the bed and took them straight to the washing machine. In the bedroom, she gathered her ripped shorts and tossed them in the garbage, pulled her suitcase from the closet and filled it with necessities. She’d buy whatever else she needed when she got to the mountains. The only thing left to do was shower.
    And she’d saved it for last because it was going to be the most painful. Her animal delighted in Diz’s scent, wanted to cling to it until the very last minute. Watching the future he’d almost given her wash down the drain was going to be a cleansing by fire. Painful but necessary.
    She sat on the bed, her bare butt right against the scratchy sheetless mattress. With shaking hands, she brushed her hair back, and waited for Tana to call.
    She jolted when the phone rang, but hit the answer button before the tone cut off.
    “Magic says he could use your help with the big Christmas celebration. There’s lots of kids, it’s a big deal, and it takes a horde of people to make it happen. They start prepping in August and he’s always looking for more help.”
    “Okay. Yes, I’ll do it.” Anything. She’d take anything right now.
    Tana sighed. “Are you sure? Please, don’t do something rash.”
    “When have I ever been rash, Tana?” Her voice snapped, and she regretted it.
    “Okay. Alright. I just… I’m going to miss you if you go. Gracie will miss you too. We all will.”
    Destiny squeezed her eyes shut. Gracie. Her baby sister. Tana, who was family even if not by blood. Surge. The rest of the dogs and their mates. She’d miss them all too.
    But she had to go. She’d never felt more sure of a decision in her life. Not even when she’d forced her mother away from their clan before the bears struck.
    “I’m sure, Tana. I have to leave. But…” Another truth hit her. The vision she’d had at Sunday dinner. She was supposed to be here with DTD. Which meant… “I’ll be back.”
    She didn’t know when, or even how it would be possible, but she knew she was destined to return.
    “Okay. If you say you need to go, then go. I’ll have to accept it, but I don’t have to like it.”
    “Thank you,” Destiny whispered.
    “Owyn will be here tomorrow to pick you up. I figured your car wouldn’t make it that far on those piece-of-shit tires.”
    Tears pricked her eyes. God, Tana was the best. Gracie couldn’t have landed a better mama.
    “Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me right now.”
    She was quiet for a stretch before she said softly, “I want the best for you. I want to see you happy.”
    Tears streaked down Destiny’s cheeks. “I