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I stayed in the hospital for two days, and tried not to think about the medical bills. My vagina felt like it was on fire, and my milk had come in like a tsunami, so my boobs also felt like they were on fire. I couldn’t sleep.
And none of that mattered, because Bobbi-June was the most perfect baby that I could ever ask for. I wished Buck could have seen her. He would have adored her; I knew it. He probably would have preferred her to be a boy, but he still would’ve loved a little girl.
I’d received a huge balloon bouquet from everyone at VANT Racing, and another one from Vanessa Sumich herself. A gift basket from Hayes’s parents also arrived, which had made me cry again. I would be glad when my hormones were my own again.
There had been someone here almost the entire time I was awake, but right now, everyone had gone home. Jesse and Hayes needed to shower and feed Norton, and Will had to work, as did Colin. I smiled as I thought about them cooing over the baby. Bobbi-June was going to be the most loved child on the planet.
There was a knock at the door to my room, and I looked over quickly to make sure the sound didn’t wake Bobbi-June. “Come in.” The door swung open, and my heart stopped.
In the doorway was Brick Willtot.
Fuck. Fuck.
I reached out and grabbed the buzzer in one hand, the crib in the other. Not that I thought Brick Willtot could just walk out with my baby, but I wasn’t being rational.
“Tally.” His tone was cool and calm, but I knew this man. The cooler he appeared, the more rage-filled he was.
“Brick. How’d you get in?”
He looked over at Bobbi-June, but didn’t get any closer than a few feet away. “I told them I was here to see my grandchild, and money makes the world go round. My sources said you were having a boy.”
I tried not to think about who would have been feeding Brick information. “What are you doing here, Brick?”
He sneered in my direction. “Don’t be ridiculous, Tally. We both know why I’m here. I can do simple math. This baby is Buck’s. The last piece of my son that you stole.”
“NASCAR stole your son. I had nothing to do with it,” I argued, though I knew it was pointless. “You aren’t welcome here,” I added for good measure.
He tilted his head at me. “You’d keep my grandchild from me?”
Fuck yeah, I would. “This isn’t your grandchild,” I lied.
“Don’t insult my intelligence. That doesn’t look like a premature baby, and I can count backwards by nine.”
“I don’t give a shit what you think.”
He stepped toward me, his cheeks beginning to flush. I pressed the buzzer in my hand. “You’re nothing but a whore, Tally Palmer. I know that baby is my grandchild.” He leaned closer. “When I’m done, you’ll never see her again. I’ll have my lawyers paint you out to be the fickle slut that you are, and I will seem like a benevolent saint in comparison. Someone who can provide that child with all the love, care and opportunity a destitute single mother can’t. The best education. The best opportunities.
“You’re a mother who already tried to keep that baby away from its biological family. You’ll have no job, no prospects, no money. When I’m done with you, you won’t have a box to live in. I’m going to ruin you, and people will let me, because I’m rich and important, and you are noth?—”
“Are you okay, Tally?”
I looked past Brick at Rocco. I’d never been so relieved to see anyone in my life. “Brick was just leaving.”
“Like fuck I am,” the man in question growled, lurching toward me. Rocco was immediately there, stepping between Bobbi-June, me and Brick.
I couldn’t see Rocco’s face, but every muscle in his back was tense and ready. “I suggest you leave before I get security to do it for you. And then the police.”
Brick took a step back, but the expression didn’t leave his face. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyers, Tally. I’ll get a DNA test ordered, then that baby is coming home with me.”
He spun and left as the nurses arrived, barging them out of the way. “Excuse me!” the nurse snapped, then she looked over at me. “Is everything all right?”
“I want that man banned from this room,” I told her. “I… I don’t want to see him ever.”
The nurse frowned, but determination firmed her jaw. “I’ll tell Security. He won’t get past our desk again. Is there someone you want me to call?”
I shook my head. I’d message Hayes and Jesse myself in a moment. The nurse left, and I let out the breath that had been burning in my lungs. I wanted to collapse into a ball beneath the blankets, but I was far too aware that Rocco was still here in the room with me.
“Deep breaths, Stellina.”
