The Freeman Brothers: A Secret Baby Romance Collection

by Natasha L. Black

  I glanced over and noticed Nick and Quentin had followed me and Grant over to the end of the bar. Both still had their phones propped up. It looked like Nick was taking pictures while Quentin was both recording the confrontation and was primed and ready to jump in something happened.

  “Calling the police was a complete overreaction. You have to admit that,” Grant said.

  “Actually, no I don’t. You know what’s a fantastic thing about you and me no longer being in a relationship? You don’t have any say in what I do or don’t do. That includes what I think, what I say, and how I handle myself.”

  For a second, it looked like Grant was going to explode. Then he drew in a long, deep breath through his nose and let it out slowly. Taking a second to let his shoulders relax, he stepped closer to the bar and leaned closer to me. “Lindsey, listen to me. My mother was very upset yesterday. That doesn’t mean what she did was polite or the appropriate way to react. But try to see it from her perspective.”

  “Try to see what from her perspective, Grant? That you are trying to take my child completely out of my life and I’m not going to let it happen?” I asked.

  “She has been with Remy since he was born. He is the most important thing in her life. She wants to make sure he has the best life he possibly can, and we are the ones who can provide that for him,” Grant said. He was using the same soft, manipulative tone he used the first time he convinced me to give him custody of my son. “When she found out that was being threatened, she was hurt and worried. It made her react very strongly. As a woman, you must be able to understand where she was coming from.”

  “Remy is not her child. He has never been her child and never will be. She does not have the right to be a part of his upbringing as any more than a grandmother he visits. Money isn’t everything, Grant. You are so used to your family throwing money at everything and getting their way for it that you can’t possibly understand there is more to life.”

  “This isn’t about money,” Grant said.

  “Of course it is. It always is with your family. That’s why every time your mother sees me, she has something to say about my job, my finances, my appearance. It’s all that matters. And I don’t want Remy growing up thinking you can boil people down to their net worth. This is about her thinking she has some right over my child because she believes she’s better since she has money. That will never fly, Grant. Especially after the stunt she pulled this morning. That’s why I’m sharing the entire incident with my lawyer.”

  “You can’t do that, Lindsey.”

  I sighed and rolled my eyes, half smiling at the absurdity of it all. “And here we are, right back to you telling me what I can and can’t do. Haven’t I already clearly established you don’t get to do that?”

  “There is no reason for you to bring a lawyer into this,” he said.

  “Of course there is. He’s representing me in this situation, just like you have a lawyer representing you. He needs to have the full information about the issues I’m facing. And your mother is a very big issue.”

  “You will humiliate her in front of her social circle and cause problems for her and for my father,” he said.

  He was biting down so hard each word sounded painful coming out, and I waited for his teeth to crack.

  “Someone who acts like that deserves to be humiliated. She is an adult. She has been an adult for a very long time. By now she should have learned what is appropriate and what is inappropriate behavior. If she chooses to behave inappropriately, then she has to face the consequences, whatever they are. You know, I feel like I’ve had this exact conversation with you. Which would be just about par for the course,” I said.

  “My mother was angry and upset about the papers your lawyer drew up,” Grant said. “She wanted to discuss them with you.”

  “Again, Grant, and I can’t believe I’m having to go through this again with you. Your mother has nothing to do with this case. And I have absolutely no obligation to listen to her. I am Remy’s mother. You are his father. There was no one else involved in making him, and there doesn’t need to be anyone else involved in making decisions for him. Her claiming ownership and butting into his life is out of line, and I won’t stand for it anymore.”

  “If I have her apologize, will you not mention it to the lawyer?” Grant asked.

  “This is not up for debate or negotiation. She should have thought about her precious social circle and the impact her behavior would make on you and on Remy before she tried to intimidate and threaten me. My lawyer will have a record of it,” I said.

  “Seriously, Lindsey. You need to be rational about this,” Grant said.

  “How am I being irrational? Because I won’t immediately do what you say? Or because I dare hold your mother accountable for what she does? I’m not apologizing for either, and I’m not backing down about this. I’m telling my lawyer what happened, and we will have the police reports when we go to court.”

  “Do you not care how much this is going to hurt Remy?” Grant started in an attempt to change tactics, but I held up my hand to stop him.

  “You can stop right there. I let you railroad me when Remy was born, and I’m not going to do it anymore. You sent me papers. You started this. It’s not my fault your lawyer messed up. My lawyer is good enough to have noticed and to do his job. I’m not going to let you walk over me anymore. And I’m not going to stand here and listen to you. Your lawyer must have told you to stay away from me, so I recommend you take his advice. All you’re doing is making your case harder.”

  Grant stared at me for a few seconds like he was waiting for me to break down and backpedal. I kept my eyes locked on his until he slammed his hands angrily on the bar and backed away. Nobody moved out of his path, forcing him to shove his way through the crowd and out of the bar. Nick and Quentin clapped for me, releasing the tension and making me laugh.

  21

  Vince

  “It’s fine,” Nick muttered into the phone.

  With his muffled tone, the rain pounding on the windshield, and all the bar noise behind him, I could barely understand what my brother was saying. But it was enough to reassure me that I didn’t need to slam my foot on the gas. Flooring it would still take a while to get me to the bar, but I would do it if I had to. Knowing Grant was there with Lindsey made my stomach turn and anger burn on the back of my neck. I knew this would happen. I felt it in my gut. He wasn’t going to leave her alone.

  Grant was going to do anything he could to make sure he got the final word in this. His mother was like a bulldog in a pearl necklace lashing out at Lindsey because she dared challenge the woman’s sense of entitlement.

  From what I knew about Grant, he wasn’t used to people telling him no. It was just his experience in life that there was any path he couldn’t walk down, any obstacle he couldn’t climb over. There were rarely any stumbling blocks in his path, but when there were, it was easy for him to get them out of his way. Money and influence could do that. Coming from a family with both and engaging with social circles that sometimes showed the worst of what those resources could do, I could see it coming.

  “What’s he doing now?” I shouted into the phone.

  Propped in a holder on my dash so I could use the speakerphone as I drove, the phone was too far away for me to talk normally in the growing storm. The weather had calmed enough for me to leave and start my drive back to Charlotte but had worsened progressively as I went. Now it was beating against the truck and lashing at the mirrors, making it difficult to see.

  “They’re talking,” Nick said, lifting his voice to meet mine. “I’m watching them. Quentin is here, so is Colby. If anything starts, it won’t go far.”

  A crash of thunder and massive bolt of lightning slicing across the sky startled me. My hands twisted on the wheel, and the tires hit water collected on the road. In that instant, I lost control. The truck hydroplaned, and I couldn’t wrench it back into place. As another flash of light burst in front of me, I skidded off the
road and almost into a ditch.

  “Shit!” I shouted.

  “Vince? Vince, are you okay?”

  Nick’s voice was louder now, like he’d given up any pretense of trying to be subtle. I took a breath and snatched my phone out of the stand. “I’m fine. It’s storming like hell out here, and I went off the road. But I’m fine. The truck seems fine. I just need to get it out. Is everything okay with Lindsey? Does Grant seem worked up?”

  “Vince, you just drove off the damn road. You should be thinking about that right now,” Nick said. “We’ve got her. There’s a bar full of people besides us that will protect her if shit goes sideways.”

  “I have to go get this shit figured out. Stay close to Lindsey. Tell me if anything happens,” I said.

  The last thing I wanted to do was get off the phone. Talking to Nick was the only connection I had to Lindsey right then. I wanted to stay on the phone with him until Grant was gone. But with my car tilted on the edge of the road ready at to topple over into a ditch, I had to put my trust in my brothers again.

  I got out of the truck carefully and examined the situation. Maybe I’d be able to push it back up onto the road myself. But one good shove told me that wasn’t going to happen. The grass was so slippery, and the rain continuing to pour down, making visibility next to nothing stopped me from being able to get the truck moving. Kicking the tire, I shouted out a stream of profanity to make myself feel better and climbed back in the cab.

  The tow company I called warned there were many others in similar predicaments, and I might have to wait a while for someone to come help. I had no other option, so I agreed and settled in for the wait. My fingers tingled with the compulsion to call Nick back. I wanted to know what was going on. But Nick had promised to call or message me if something happened, and I didn’t want to distract him just in case Lindsey needed him.

  Sitting there by the side of the road left me feeling helpless, which I hated. I wanted to be at the bar with Lindsey, standing beside her and facing off against Grant. Even better, I wanted to be at home with her, holding her wrapped in my arms so no one could hurt her.

  Instead, I was leaned back in my front seat, listening to the rain and dreading having to unload all the equipment in the truck behind me. The tow company didn’t lie about the delay. It was another hour and a half before they showed up. Fortunately, a good tug with the truck brought mine up out of the ditch and back onto the road. By then, the rain had lessened just enough for me to get driving again.

  A text from Nick while I was waiting said Grant was gone. One from Quentin reassured me Lindsey was fine and called her a badass. That gave me a bit of pause, but he sent me a video of her telling Grant off, and my chest swelled with pride. At least for right then, she could hold her own. It didn’t diminish my desire to guard her through this, but it set me at ease enough to drive the rest of the way to the compound.

  By the time I got back to the racing complex, I was far too tired to unload the equipment. Instead, I pulled the truck into one of the garages to be dealt with the next day. Most of the crew stayed behind rather than driving home that night. They already had hotel rooms paid for them and no need to face the storm. That meant I didn’t have to stand around and talk or get pressured into doing the unloading. Instead, I got into my own truck and headed home.

  I was barely awake by the time I pulled into the driveway. It was still dark around me, and the clock read 4:00 a.m. I wanted to go right to Lindsey to make sure she was okay, but she had probably just gone to bed. Since I needed sleep to be a functioning human being the next day, I went inside and flopped into bed.

  It was almost noon by the time I woke up. After a quick shower and feeding my angry, protesting cat, I headed out.

  I was supposed to go right for the compound to help unload. Instead, I went to Lindsey’s apartment. She opened the door looking like she had just woken up. A package of bacon clutched in her hand said she was preparing for breakfast. As soon as I saw her, I shook my head.

  “Not this morning,” I said. I took the bacon out of her hand, put it and the other food she’d taken out back in the fridge, and told her to get dressed. “Just something casual.”

  “Where are we going?” she asked, going into her bedroom.

  She left the door open a few inches and I called on every drop of control I had inside me to stop myself from stealing a glimpse at her through it. Now was not the time to get creepy.

  “We’re going to have lunch. I have a feeling we could both use some sunlight and good food to get over last night.”

  “Last night?” she asked. “What happened to you?”

  I told her the story of the storm and getting the trailer stuck. As I described the tow truck hauling me out of the ditch, she came out fully dressed and wearing makeup. I smiled at her as she swept her hair up into a ponytail.

  “You look nice,” I said.

  She looked down at her jeans and fitted T-shirt and rolled her eyes. “No, I don’t. I look like somebody’s kid sister.”

  I shook my head. “Not my kid sister.”

  Our eyes met, and the heat between us became palpable. The tug in my stomach nearly pulled me across the room to her so I could gather her into my arms. But I resisted. Opening the door for her, I led her outside into the warm sunlight, and we hopped in my truck. The compound and the trucks could wait. For all I knew, the rest of the crew was still on their way back. Right now, my mind was only on Lindsey.

  22

  Lindsey

  “How did I not know you own a bakery?” I asked as Vince held the door open for me.

  He grinned. “One of the many mysteries that is me.” I shot him a look, and he chuckled. “Actually, I don’t know. I guess because I’m at the bar with my brothers we’re usually only talking about racing. So, most of what you’ve heard about me is the work I do with Freeman. But that’s only a part of my career. I actually own a few different restaurants, a couple of boutiques, and just bought a historic house I’m planning on converting into a bed-and-breakfast.”

  I didn’t even know how to respond to it. I couldn’t help but be both shocked and incredibly impressed by him. Vince was always so calm and collected. Seeing him get angry and worked up over the situation with Grant was the first time I’d ever seen such a spike in emotion and energy in him. Usually he was the one of the brothers, other than Darren, who kept it together and seemed to make sure everything stayed completely under control. That was why he was the CEO of the company. He kept everybody in line. Even Quentin.

  Just those responsibilities alone would have been fairly daunting for most people. Now I was finding out he had a whole other expansive life outside the complex.

  “And here I was thinking Nick was the rebel for working outside of the family business,” I said.

  “He’s still the rebel,” Vince said as we walked across the checkerboard floor of the adorable little bakery. “He left motorcycle racing behind for the exciting, high-speed world of financial planning.”

  I laughed. “That’s him. Living on the edge.”

  “Hey, Vince,” a man in a white apron, with a smile just as gleaming as his forehead, said as he came around the counter.

  Vince reached out and shook the man’s hand. “Anthony, good to see you. This is Lindsey.”

  Anthony looked at me with the slightly narrowed eyes and tilted smile of someone trying to place a face. “You work at that bar up on Mulberry.”

  “Actually, I own it,” I said. “But yes.”

  “That’s where I’ve seen you,” he said, shaking my hand enthusiastically. “You serve a good burger.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “What can I do for you today? Just stopping by to check on things?” Anthony asked, looking at Vince.

  “We were coming to grab some lunch. What sounds good today?”

  Anthony’s face lit up at the prospect of feeding the owner of the bakery he obviously loved. “You picked the perfect day to come in. I’ve just put the fini
shing touches on that new menu I was telling you about. I was actually trying some of the new dishes out. Maybe you’d like to test some of them?”

  Vince looked over at me with a questioning expression, and I nodded. “Sounds like fun.”

  We sat down at a table nestled in the picture window at the front of the bakery. It couldn’t have been more perfect, but I tried not to let myself get too excited about it. This wasn’t really a date. He’d had a bad night and obviously knew about Grant coming to the bar, so he thought we could commiserate with each other.

  I didn’t have a lot of time to really think about the whole situation. Within a few minutes of us sitting down, Anthony was back. He balanced a large sheet tray in either hand, and when he lowered them down onto a nearby table, I saw a dozen little plates collected on them. He stood beside the trays and introduced each of the new dishes. When he was finished, he took the first two plates and set them in front of us.

  When he left, I leaned across the table toward Vince. “I feel like a judge on one of those cooking shows.”

  We smiled at each other and dove into the incredible-looking sandwich in front of us. Vegetable cream cheese stuffed into a croissant with cucumbers sounded simple but was surprisingly delicious. When we got through those, we moved on to the next dishes. There was a lot of laughter and talking as we made our way through all the new menu items. I didn’t want it to end, but finally, full and happy, we got up to leave.

  Anthony rushed toward us with hopeful, anticipation-filled eyes. “So?”

  “Everything was amazing,” Vince said. “I think your new menu is going to be extremely successful. I look forward to tasting what you come up with for fall.”