The Freeman Brothers: A Secret Baby Romance Collection

by Natasha L. Black

  According to the paperwork, Grant had full and complete decision-making ability over when the visitation could be. That meant he could make everything as difficult for me as possible. He could dangle Remy in front of me like a carrot and make me do anything he wanted. But by doing that, he would only be strengthening his case. It made me feel gutted, but I trusted the lawyer, Charlie. So as brutal as it seemed, I was going to do what they suggested.

  I didn’t get much sleep Monday night and woke up Tuesday foggy and distracted. By afternoon, I knew I couldn’t just stay around my place. My afternoon was empty before it was time to open up the bar, and I had to do something or I would go crazy. I decided to go visit Nick. He would figure out a way to make me feel better. Or at least we could be angry and upset together. Either way, at least I wouldn’t be alone.

  My first stop was his office. At that time on a Tuesday, it was where I expected him to be. But his receptionist told me he called in that morning and said he would be working from home. Considering I drove past his house as part of my winding path to his office and didn’t see his car, I knew that wasn’t the case. The next step was to call him. He answered on the first ring.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked.

  “No,” I said.

  “What happened?”

  He sounded worried.

  “Nothing new,” I said. “It’s all the same stuff from yesterday. I’m just still trying to process it all. Charlie said I should avoid going to see Grant or trying to see Remy, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m not handling it all completely perfectly, so I wanted to come see you.”

  I could hear the sounds of the racing compound in the background. He usually didn’t go there during the week, but I knew his oldest brother Quentin had just welcomed his baby girl a few days before. Merry was an absolute sweetheart who I really liked. She and I had gotten close during the time she and Quentin were dancing around each other pretending they weren’t falling in love. We had all been eagerly anticipating the arrival of their baby, and it was really exciting she was finally there.

  “Merry is up here with the baby,” Nick said, confirming my suspicion. “I know she’d love to see you.”

  “I’m almost there. See you soon.”

  I went into the main building and Glenda, the receptionist, directed me to the large room near the back. A combination of kitchen and break room, it was where everybody on the compound tended to congregate. It also smelled heavenly. I noticed a platter of cinnamon rolls and another one with blueberry muffins as soon as I stepped inside.

  “Lindsey,” Merry said when she saw me. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  She gathered me up in a hug and I held on to her. It was comforting to have people happy to see me. I felt reassured, sturdier when I was surrounded by people who cared about me.

  “Congratulations,” I said, stepping back and gesturing toward Minette.

  Minette Freeman, better known as Minnie, was every inch the doting grandmother. Standing in the middle of the room, she gazed blissfully down at the tiny bundle in her arms and bounced gently. Soft gurgling newborn sounds came from the baby, and Minnie smiled at each one. Seeing her holding the baby looking so happy made my throat tight and painful. Tears sprung to my eyes, but I forced them down.

  Neither of the women made any indication they knew what was going on. According to both of them, I didn’t even have a child. Much less one who was being torn away from me by his father. I trusted Nick and Vince hadn’t spilled my secrets to them, and it seemed I was right in that trust. These weren’t women who would just ignore the situation if they knew what was happening with me. As painful as it was to see the baby and the closeness of the family, I was glad they didn’t know. I wanted to see something positive for a change.

  We chatted for a little while, and I got a chance to see the baby a bit closer. There was no getting her out of Minnie’s arms, so I would have to wait for another opportunity to actually hold her. I was enjoying the conversation when Nick called.

  “I thought you said you would be here in just a few minutes,” he said.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I am here. I’m in the break room with your mother, Merry, and the baby. Where are you?”

  “In Vince’s office. Come and meet us.” He hesitated for a second. “And bring the cinnamon rolls.”

  I laughed, promised him the rolls, and ended the call. “I’ve been beckoned to Vince’s office and tasked with bringing them cinnamon rolls.”

  Merry laughed and gave me directions to the office while I grabbed the platter. I rode the elevator up, and as I walked down the hallway toward the office, I realized my heart was beating faster in my chest. I tried to tell myself it was because I knew they were going to want to talk about what was going on. But I knew that wasn’t really entirely the truth. My heart was speeding up because I was about to see Vince. All I could hope was that he wouldn’t notice. He was being so sweet and kind. I didn’t want to make it weird.

  When I got into the office, the men were sitting in the sitting area leaned toward each other. As soon as I stepped into the room, I heard Grant’s name and my chest tightened. Part of me wanted to be angry they were talking about what was going on without me. I didn’t like the idea of being a topic of conversation or having my personal life discussed behind my back. This was such a private issue. I hadn’t even intended Vince to know.

  But I couldn’t let myself be fully angry. They wanted to help me. I was so grateful for what they were doing, and I needed to put down my guard. I needed to push away my lifelong compulsion to keep a smile on my face and handle everything on my own. Right now, I needed all the help I could get.

  “Hey,” Vince said when he noticed me. “Come sit down.”

  Nick was closest, but I was drawn to the spot beside Vince. I sat down and put the platter of cinnamon rolls on the table in front of us. Each of us picked one up and dug in before continuing the conversation.

  13

  Vince

  I didn’t expect to see Lindsey that day. Not that I didn’t want to. I woke up with the same compulsion pulling at my stomach that had drawn me to go see her at the bar over and over the last few weeks. But I didn’t think I was going to get a chance to see her so soon. Nick only came up to the complex to visit with the new baby. She was the first newborn brought into the family, and it was exciting to get the chance to meet her.

  Technically, Darren’s daughter, Willa, was the first grandchild. But none of us even knew she existed until recently. As a toddler, that little girl was an absolute delight. All of us adored her and were thrilled to have her be a part of the family. But that was different than seeing a brand-new baby.

  When Lindsey walked into the office, my breath caught slightly in my chest. It was a reaction to just her general presence that was getting familiar. The fact that she was carrying a massive plate of fresh cinnamon rolls didn’t hurt. I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to have her baking up treats in my kitchen and curling up in bed with me to eat them.

  Having thoughts like that floating around in my head didn’t make it any easier to have her come into the office. Especially when she decided to come sit down beside me rather than going to Nick. We settled in, and she joined the conversation Nick and I were having. Soon, it felt completely natural having her there.

  I wanted to ask her what she ever saw in Grant. My first instinct was to question why she would ever even hook up with a guy like that. But I bit my tongue. She didn’t need any more negativity right now. I was sure she questioned herself constantly and blamed herself for getting into this position.

  “There’s really no way of knowing how this is going to progress or when it’s going to get better. I know that’s the last thing you want to hear right now, but it’s the best I can do,” Nick said.

  “I don’t want Remy to think I’ve just abandoned him,” Lindsey said. “And what do you think Grant is going to tell him? He’s going to take every opportunity he can to make it seem like I don’t
care about him and don’t want to see him.”

  I wanted to jump in and say something that would make her feel better. I wanted to tell her everything was going to be alright and that Remy wouldn’t listen to Grant. But the reality was, I couldn’t guarantee that. She was probably right. From what I knew about Grant, that sounded like it fit right in with his character. As for Remy’s reaction to it, Grant was his father. He was the one who spent the most time with him. Remy was just a little boy. It would be easy for him to be manipulated into believing what his father told him. Especially when it was paired with the tangible reality of his mother not coming to see him.

  It made getting this resolved even more urgent. All I could hope was there would be a way to make it happen as fast as possible so the damage could be undone.

  As we talked, I stole looks over at Lindsey. It was hard to keep my eyes off her. This wasn’t the time for those feelings to be forming, but I couldn’t help them. Every time I was near her, they only got stronger. And because karma was good to me, half an hour into her being there, Nick got a call. He stood up and went to the other side of the office to answer, only to come back a few moments later.

  “That was my office,” he announced. “Something came up that I have to look into right away. I’m going to have to go.”

  He looked at Lindsey with expectation. It was obvious he felt she was going to get up and come with him. Instead, she stood up and hugged him, then sat back down. Nick promised to call later and walked out, leaving Lindsey and me alone.

  Lindsey and I had talked just the two of us plenty of times. But all of those had been at the bar with other people around us. Even if it was just a conversation between the two of us, there were always other customers, waitresses, my brothers. It wasn’t really just the two of us. Now, for the first time, we were completely alone. The tension between us was palpable, coming from different angles and for different reasons.

  I hoped this was the opportunity for her to open up to me more.

  But Lindsey didn’t start talking. Instead, she reached down for my hands. She pulled me up to my feet and gathered me into a hug. It took me aback, but I soon melted into it. I cherished the feeling of her in my arms, her body tucked safely against mine. I wanted more. I craved more. And when she pulled back a couple minutes later to look into my face, it took everything in me not to kiss her.

  There was a slight glimmer in her eyes. Something that wasn’t there when Nick was with us. I hoped, and even thought sometimes, that she might have the same feelings I did. But this was the absolute worst time for either of us to be feeling them. So instead of giving in to my desire to kiss her, I hugged Lindsey close one more time and stepped away. She smiled at me and left. And that was it.

  I let out a big breath as I flopped back down onto the couch. For a few seconds I just sat in the silence and stared at the wall, thinking about Lindsey and what might be between us. When I dragged myself out of those thoughts, I checked in with Charlie again. He reassured me he was going over the papers carefully and looking into the situation closely.

  Once again, I reminded him to bill me for everything. I didn’t want Lindsey to ever see an invoice or even think about the cost of his representation. He deserved every cent of his fee, and she deserved every second of his work. I was going to make sure both got them.

  Feeling a little better knowing he was on it, I went back to work. There was a lot to do to get ready for the exhibition. It was a truly terrible time to leave. Everything in me said I should be here with Lindsey. But I promised Quentin I would go. Since he and Merry had the new baby at home, he needed someone there as his rep. I couldn’t let him down, even if I knew my heart and my mind would be here the whole trip.

  14

  Lindsey

  Somewhere along the line, I got into the habit of opening the bar early on Wednesdays. That was the day I caught up on the administrative work if I hadn’t been able to finish it all in my hour periods at the beginning of each day. It was also when I did inventory and confirmed orders for food and alcohol before putting them in. That was one of the most important things my father instilled in me—control over the inventory.

  There were a lot of things my father did when running the bar that I didn’t agree with. His tight hold over the money flowing out wasn’t one of them. His father taught him, and he taught me. You always had to be aware of where the money was going. Money was like a leprechaun, Daddy always said. Don’t look it right in the eye and know where it was all the time and it would run right away from you.

  I spent the first couple of hours there by myself, and then a couple of the staff joined me. They had just arrived that Wednesday when my phone rang. Right in the middle of filling out an order form, I considered ignoring the call and just returning it later. But something told me to glance at my phone. When I did, I saw it was Charlie.

  I immediately went into my office and answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Ms. Trewes?”

  “Lindsey,” I said.

  “Lindsey, this is Charlie. Are you busy?” he asked.

  “I’m opening up my bar,” I said. “Is everything alright?”

  “Would you be able to meet with me?” he asked. “There’s something important I want to discuss with you.”

  My heart instantly started beating so hard in my chest I thought I would throw up. “Yes. I’ll have someone look over the bar for me, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Thank you. I will see you soon,” he said.

  My head was spinning when I got off the phone. I didn’t know what this could mean. I’d never worked with a lawyer before and didn’t know if it was normal for him to call me like this. On the same token, I didn’t even know if he was really my lawyer. That wasn’t something we formally established. There was no contract or clear agreement. As far as I knew, he was just looking over the papers as a courtesy to Vince.

  But Vince had said he would do anything he could to help me, including helping with the lawyer. Maybe he had already spoken to Charlie and they had an arrangement. That thought made my heart sink a little. There was no way I would be able to afford a lawyer like him.

  Maybe I was going to walk into that office, and he would have pulled up a contract, expecting me to start paying. I would do absolutely anything I could to combat what Grant was trying to do. Nothing was more important than having my son in my life. If that meant begging every bank in the area for a loan or figuring out some way to get more money out of the bar, that’s what I would have to do.

  As I ran out of the bar, I called the bartender who was getting everything ready and asked her to be in charge until I got back.

  I got to the office, and Charlie appeared at the door, waving me in. Vince sitting inside surprised me so much I stopped at the doorway and just stared at him. When he said he had my back, he meant it. He was funding my fight for my son.

  The whole thing made another harsh wave of emotion roll over me. I hated feeling indebted to anyone. But I wasn’t going to turn the help down. I couldn’t. Keeping Remy in my life and undoing the awful custody agreement was far more important than my pride. Vince rose and gave me a quick hug before pulling out the chair next to him and motioning for me to sit.

  “Thank you both for coming in on such short notice,” Charlie said. “I really appreciate it. I know you were both busy, but I didn’t think this was something that should wait.”

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “I went through the papers again and noticed a typo.”

  “A typo?” I asked. “Does that matter?”

  “Absolutely,” Charlie said. “An inaccuracy like that is very serious. That typo makes the entire brief invalid.”

  I heard the words, but I didn’t really process them. They just kind of hovered in my head, like they were waiting for me to catch up. “I don’t think I understand.”

  Vince grinned and chuckled slightly. “A typo in the lawyer’s brief from Grant’s family means the whole agreeme
nt has to be thrown out. It’s no longer admissible.”

  “So, it’s over?” I asked.

  “Not exactly,” Charlie said. “They will adjust their papers and resubmit them. That goes without saying. However, that gave me time to write up an agreement for our side that can be submitted as well. He will no longer be the only one with cards on the table.”

  “We can fight my side,” I said breathlessly.

  Charlie nodded. “I’d like to go over the new agreement with you before I send it.”

  I nodded, stunned. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Charlie handed over a paper and I read through it. Vince leaned in close beside me, and I turned the paper slightly toward him so he could read it alongside me. He prodded my shoulder, and we exchanged a glance.

  “It’s perfect,” I said.

  Charlie grinned wider. “Good. Now, all you have to do is sign, and I will have it sent off first thing in the morning.” He pointed out where to sign the paper, and I did. With that done, the lawyer handed each of us a cup of coffee like we were having a celebration. He took a sip, then leaned forward toward me with a conspiratorial wink. “Someone at that law office is getting fired. It was such a rookie mistake, and you, my dear, will benefit from it.”

  15

  Vince

  While Charlie and Lindsey chatted for a few minutes, I stepped outside to answer a couple of emails about the upcoming race exhibition. It was hard to concentrate on getting ready for the trip while also wanting to put all my attention into her. But I knew I needed to keep focusing on my job. If nothing else, so I didn’t feel like I deserved a giant “I told you so” from every member of my family working on the complex.