Always My Love
Mark comes to his senses about a significant relationship in his life.
Note: To the best of my knowledge and belief, this story is fair use of copyrighted material, as there is no commercial use and no loss of potential market or value of the original material will occur.
This is my first short Hardcastle & McCormick effort. There will be progressively longer and more detailed stories to follow.
He never meant to belittle her. He said the words in reaction to the expressions and remarks he heard from others, who found the pairing odd, and deserving of ridicule. It wasn't that he was actually embarrassed by her. His defensiveness and dismissal were mainly from a deeply held thought that he might be holding her back, and keeping her from realizing her true potential.
The Judge intervened after a menagerie of insights. The old donkey proved as sly as a fox and wise as an owl in recognizing McCormick's love and need for her, and what she represented in his life. Hardcastle contrived a face-saving method and rationale for keeping the two together, and prevented a permanent breakup of the relationship.
McCormick caressed her gently. "You and me, baby. I'll do right by you. Good times ahead. We'll be howling."
Deep in her mechanical soul, the Coyote smiled.
Author's note: This is my reaction to the show writers who described the Coyote as a "toy" and not something a grownup would drive. I could never accept the notion that anyone who was a professional race car driver would ever consider a bona fide race car as a "toy," no matter the circumstances. Since the dialogue was uttered on the show, this story is my way to rationalize the remark. Fortunately, Hardcastle's losing bet means that Mark keeps the car.