Trixie groaned as the country song reverberated downstairs, almost at full blast. Six days . . . They had been in Los Angeles for six days and she had to find any one of Killer's friends there that took anything seriously. Jack seemed like he took a lot seriously but she couldn't tell. The first time she had met him had been six days ago and that had been the only time she'd seen him. She couldn't say if that had been the only time Killer had seen him. Killer tended to stay up late and party. Something Speed had never done.

Trixie sighed and rubbed her eyes. 'No sense in trying to sleep once they're awake,' she thought, climbing out of the bed. 'I wonder how Speed's doing.'

After her morning routine, Trixie shuffled her way down the stairs, yawning as she went. Five more days and Killer would be leaving once more. Two first-class flights to Japan. She hadn't been there since Speed had raced there, running into a gang of ninja assassins.

'It'll be nice to go there again and do a little sight-seeing,' she smiled sleepily.

"That's a first," a light tenor joked. "A smile first thing in the morning."

Trixie blinked, her eyes focusing on the long, blonde-haired man as he lounged in an oversized easy-chair, his legs swinging casually over the sides. He wore a pair of sunglasses, though the sun had only been up for maybe an hour or so, and his hair had been pulled back into a pony tail.

"J-jack . . ."

"That's me," he grinned. "What are you doing up this early? Given the hour you went to bed, I figured you'd be sleeping still."

"Oh," she blushed slightly. "The music woke me up."

"Sorry about that," Jack said sheepishly. "I'm not used to having an underaged person in the house. Everyone's usually drunk or hungover."

"So I've noticed," she commented, taking a seat across from him. "How do you stand it?"

"Not very well," he admitted with a slight chuckle. "Sorry I haven't been much of a host, by the way. The job keeps me busy. Thank goodness my time here is almost over with."

"You're not staying in Los Angeles?"

Jack shook his head. "No. I miss working with Torie and Robert and hanging out with my friends in general. L.A. is too much of a party town for me."

"Outgrew it, huh?" she chuckled.

"Long time ago," he nodded. "So . . . since you're up, would you like some breakfast?"

"Sure," she smiled. "You fixing?"

"Hell, yeah," Jack smirked, standing up. "Someone around here has to be a little bit responsible."

Trixie followed him into the kitchen, where he began pulling out frying pans and food out of the fridge. In moments, he'd prepared eggs, sausage, and hash browns complete with toast and orange juice.

"This is delicious," she stated. "Beats cold pizza in the morning."

"Mmm-hmm."

Silence.

"Killer tells me you were married to Taylor Prescott . . ."

"For a while," she admitted reluctantly. "But it was a mistake. It shouldn't have ever happened."

"Is that why you're traveling around with Killer?"

"Kind of . . ."

"I see . . . "

They fell silent once more then Jack spoke up again. "You're out trying to find yourself."

"Huh?"

"This little journey you're on . . . You're out to find yourself," Jack repeated. "And, once you do, you're going to go back to the one you've lost."

"Yeah," Trixie nodded. "When I'm sure of myself, I'll go back to Speed and make amends. I should have listened to him before cutting him loose like that. It was my fault that he ended up in the hospital for a year."

She buried her face in her hands, her diminutive frame shaking from the sudden bout of sobbing that had struck her. She couldn't help it. Every time she remembered her visits to St. Mary's, to see him lying helpless in a hospital bed, it scared her. Because she had jumped to a conclusion, it had nearly cost Speed his life. She remembered what Mrs. Racer had told her and the thought of never seeing his sparkling blue eyes again chilled her to the core.

"Blaming yourself will get you nowhere, Trixie. You, like Speed, will have to come to terms with what happened. There is only one way in life and that's forward. Not backwards, left or right, or neutral. Just forward."

"Just forward?" she echoed.

"Yes. Forward. The road itself may curve or you may find yourself having to decide between left or right but you're always moving forward. Even if you head back to where you started from, you're always moving forward. Always."

"Is that philosophy from Torie?" she inquired.

"Who else?" he winked. "She's the only person I know who can be dead serious one moment then be a total spas the next. She's quite the trip sometimes."

"She seems to have quite the impact on people," Trixie observed, though not bitterly. Torie had been kind to her, even though she didn't have to be. Taylor had gone out of his way to make Torie's life miserable in the past. Trixie had married him and remained by him, even after she'd learned the truth. "I wish I could be like that."

"Be like what? Be like Torie?" When she nodded, he continued. "Girl, you need to be yourself. Find out what it is that you want to do and what you want to be. The only way you're going to do that is by living your life. You're still young, after all, and you've only got one life. So live it."

With that, Jack began to clear away anything that wasn't in use, leaving Trixie alone with her thoughts. Be herself? Isn't that what got her into this mess in the first place?

"Oh, Trixie . . . Torie called last night . . . Speed's in Philadelphia, visiting, and he's doing quite well. He told her to tell you that he misses you . . . and that he's looking forward to seeing you again, once you find your way. His letter should be arriving to the PO Box after you leave here."

Trixie smiled. That had been the best news she'd heard since she left Philadelphia.

'So there is hope at the end of the rainbow. If only I could go to him now. Thank you, Speed. Thank you so much.'