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She could still feel the imprint of his lips on hers, fro tio, had substituted hard work and focus and reality for those prayers

Now, her lips wouldn’t stop , "Please, God Please"

The srew thick and dark around the car as the eency crew attacked the flames Her tears mixed in with the smoke and the dust from the track as cars skidded to a stop one by one The other drivers got out to watch the scene unfold, horror on their faces as they yanked off their hel hi out of the way of the flah for her to slip free, to hurdle the gate The roar of the crowdof her heart in her ears as she sprinted toward Zach His crew had dragged him away frorew taller, brighter

The explosion rocked the ground, but even though she stuht back up on her feet

Zach pushed up from his knees to pull off his helmet She crashed into him at the exact second his eyes ain "Lori said you were indestructible I didn’t believe her Now I do Thank God nothing ever touches you"

His eyes flashed with darkness before he pulled her so tightly to him that it almost hurt

"I love you so much," she told him in their last private moment before the track doctors, the other drivers, and the rest of the Sullivans descended Heather didn’t want to let go of Zach’s hand, didn’t want to lose that connection, but she knew he’d be all hers later

Believing he’d been spared from the car crash and fire so that they could have their forever, when his fingers started to slip free of hers, she let hiency crew checked Zach out and he’d convinced his brothers and sisters that he was okay, Heather had knoithout being told that all he wanted was to get away froht she would be the one to drive home, but when he’d headed for the wheel she’d realized it was probably best that he dealt with driving a car sooner, rather than later

There were so s she wanted to tell him--how much she loved him and how she wasn’t sure about these races, but would try to be open to them in the future if they were really ier seat and they headed off toward the city, his mother called

Mary Sullivan’s distress over the accident was palpable And yet, Heather admired the calm that lay at the foundation of her love for her son If Zach had seemed a bit short, even a little irritated with the ured it was one of a dozen natural responses to the crash There had been soreassurance that he was okay He had to be exhausted

But even though she hadn’t been the one fighting like hell to right the car, and then to escape it, Heather still couldn’t find her own calo up in flames every time she closed her eyes And until that day caleback a part of her heart fro for that other shoe to drop

Today she’d learned just how precious life--and love--truly was