The weeks leading up to Talladega were not the greatest. He wrecked out at Atlanta, finished 5th at COTA, 24th at Richmond, 13th on the dirt at Bristol, and 23rd at Martinsville.
"I'm home Ash,"
"Bring my car back?" She asked, looking up from her laptop.
"I did. Oil change is done and we are all ready for the trip,"
"Good. We just have to pack the little things and then we can hit the road tomorrow," she smiled, shutting the computer as Bristol started crying from the other room.
"Where's Day?" He asked, looking around for their 6-year-old.
"Keselowski's house. Paige said she'd drop her back off around 7,"
"Perfect. You wanna order out tonight?"
"Pizza sounds good honestly," she chuckled, "Will you go make a bottle?"
"Yeah," he nodded, going and warming up a quick bottle for Bristol. As soon as he did that, he brought it to Ashton and ordered the pizza to be delivered to their house by the time Dayton got home.
Paige Keselowski pulled into the driveway soon after 6:45, stopping as Ashton car out of the house to collect her child.
"Was she good?" Ashton asked as Dayton stepped out of the tall SUV.
"She was great. Went swimming, played with some dolls and Barbies, and then it was time to head home," Paige explained, "We'll Have to get them together again. I think Scarlett really enjoyed it,"
"Good. I thought they would be good friends," She chuckled, "Thanks for bringing her home, I really appreciate it,"
"Yeah, no problem. Are the girls coming this weekend?"
"Yeah. We're actually gonna road trip there and stay all week. It's our yearly family tradition,"
"Sounds like fun," Paige smiled, "Our girls will be there too and we'll have our bus so if Dayton wants to come and play, just text me,"
"Will do, same for Scarlett,"
"I'll see you guys. Enjoy the road trip," Paige grinned before she got back into her car and headed back toward the Keselowski house.
"Did you have fun honey?" Ashton asked as she and Dayton walked back into the house.
"Yeah! It was really fun!" She nodded, going into the house while Ashton tipped the delivery driver who had just pulled into their driveway with their dinner. She took the pizza inside and the whole family (minus Bristol) ate dinner before they all headed to bed, ready to hit the road the next evening.
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They had gone over the list all day long and triple-checked everything before they got the car packed and headed out around 4:30 so they could stop somewhere for a quick dinner. They chose a local McDonald's and let Dayton have 10 minutes in the play area, hoping she would be able to get all of her energy out before the 6-hour drive.
They were on the road by 5:15, getting on the highway as Dayton watched Moana on her iPad. They were both hoping that no nap for Bristol earlier in the day (Not by their choice) would mean that she'd just sleep through the trip and hopefully sleep after a bottle once they got to the bus.
That was the plan at least to Kade and Ashton.
Bristol had other plans.
They had only been on the road for a half hour when the 5-month-old started screaming. She hated being in her car seat for long periods and even though they were planning on stopping every hour and a half, Bristol wasn't going to wait that long.
"Mommy she's being really loud!" Dayton whined, trying to watch her movie but unable to hear it over the baby's ear-piercing scream.
"Is her bink back there baby? See if she'll take that please," She tried, handing Dayton a clean pacifier once she saw the one that Bristol had been using on the floor.
Dayton tried a few times to reach over the car seat and get her baby sister to take the pacifier to no avail.
"She won't take it, mama," Dayton sighed, looking up to Ashton and Kade in the front seat.
"I'm sorry honey. She's just tired I think. We just fed her. Turn your movie up and try to ignore it,"
"There's a rest stop in a mile," Kade told both of them, pulling into the closest one as soon as he had the chance.
Ashton got out and took Dayton to the bathroom while Kade got Bristol out of her car seat and gently bounced her, hoping to lull her to sleep. It only took a little over 20 minutes before he was able to strap her back into the seat and get back on the road by 6:20.
They were only on the road for another hour before Ashton looked up from her phone and straight to the back of the car.
"You did put the stroller in right?"
"What? Of course, I did. I think I did. It should be right by the suitcase," Kade said as he continued to look forward.
"Kade it's sitting in our driveway," She sighed, looking at their camera from their front door.
"It's okay," He sighed, "I'm sure we can find one at a Walmart or something. At least we didn't forget the formula,"
"Did I pack formula?" She asked, immediately second-guessing herself.
"It was the first thing you put in the food box,"
"Pull over. I need to check," She said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
"What? Ash, it's back there, I promise,"
"Okay. Well then pull over and let me check," She shrugged, looking at him until he pulled the car to the side and turned the hazard lights on. She got out quickly and opened the trunk, checking their box of food to make sure the formula for Bristol was in fact in the box.
"We're barely an hour and a half into this drive and it's already 7:45. We were supposed to be there around 11 to get the bus at the campsite for the night," Kade sighed as she got back in the car.
"Well, the first hour was all your youngest,"
"You had a hand in that too," He chuckled, pulling back onto the highway as they both hoped that was the last speed bump for the night.
YOU ARE READING
Long Haul
FanfictionAshton and Kade have always had a pretty good handle on their life in the Nascar world. He's a winning driver and she's a stay at home mom for their 2 kids. They'll have their struggles but they're in it for the long haul.
