Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

C olby was losing her mind. She had been home from the hospital for less than twenty-four hours, and everyone from her family to her Lockwood team was hovering. However, as irritating as all the attention had been, she did get a kick out of watching Liam maneuver around her father’s tiny three-bedroom house.

It didn’t seem to matter that his bedroom at his place was at least two or three times bigger than hers. Matter-of-fact, Colby could drop her father’s entire house into Liam’s living room several times and still have room. Still, Liam didn’t complain. Nor did he get irritated about the low water pressure when he took a shower. Colby was impressed that he seemed to be taking everything in stride and that he’d barely left her side since arriving.

In spite of everything, Colby was happy they were together. Lately, between both their schedules, they hadn’t been able to spend much time together, and while it sucked that the accident was the reason they were in the same room, Colby was grateful. Truthfully, her heart felt lighter, knowing that Liam was making her a priority. So, instead of musing about missing him, she could take this opportunity to bask in his attention.

Liam sat upright in Colby’s bed, furiously typing away on his laptop while she lay next to him, gazing up lovingly at his side profile. She couldn’t resist the urge to cradle the side of his face.

Her touch got his attention. He glanced down. His forehead wrinkled from frowning. Worry lines etched on his beautiful face. “Hmm...are you okay? Do you need something?”

Colby sighed contentedly. “No. I’m just thankful that you’re here.”

His face softened. Gently, he caressed the side of her cheek. “Same.” Their moment of joy was quickly interrupted by the alarm on Liam’s phone. “Damn. I need to go back to my place, pick up a few things, and take a meeting.”

“You can’t take it from here?” Colby was being clingy.

Liam leaned in and pressed his lips against hers in a loving kiss. “Why don’t you come with me? We’ll have more space and privacy.”

He was right, but Colby couldn’t leave. “I can’t. My dad won’t admit it, but he’s freaked out about what happened, and I need to reassure him that I’m okay.”

Liam understood completely why Colby would be so protective of her father. He couldn’t imagine losing a child to this sport and having another come so close to it.

Proving Liam’s point about privacy, there was a small tap on the door. Frustrated, Colby exhaled. “Come in.”

Lila breezed into the room carrying a breakfast tray with Mark trailing behind. He kind of bum-rushed Lila out of the way, and if looks were any indication, Lila wanted to do him serious bodily harm.

Mark didn’t care about Lila’s thoughts or feelings. They had been on the outs since their blowup at the hospital. He worked for Colby and decided the best course of action was just to ignore Lila. He asked Colby, “How are you feeling?”

Colby sat up. “I’m fine. Much ado about nothing.”

“Good. Then I need to?—”

“We’ll deal with that other thing later.” Lila glared at Mark.

Colby was curious. “What other thing?”

Lila looked at Liam, but he kept his face impassive. “Nothing important. Anyway, Uncle Cyrus made you breakfast and asked that I bring it to you because he didn’t want to see”—Lila used air quotes—“‘a man in my daughter’s room.’” Lila turned to Liam. “He said we were on our own as far as food.”

“Fair enough.” Liam laughed. “The man’s house is overrun with well-meaning people. He probably wants all of us out.”

Lila nodded. “Agreed, but I’ve got you. Since the entire Lockwood squad is here, I’m making breakfast. Although, someone else is going to have to make lunch, dinner, or DoorDash it.”

Liam thought Brian had mentioned something about Lila being allergic to the kitchen, so he was curious how breakfast might taste. He might need to stop off and grab something on the way to his place.

“Oh...” Lila turned back to Colby. “Uncle Cyrus said to eat everything on this tray.”

Mark piped up, inspecting the items on Colby’s plate. “What did he make? Is it healthy? Got to keep our girl fit.”

Lila couldn’t believe her ears. Was he serious right now?

The look on Liam’s face mirrored Lila’s. He was furious at Mark and wondered if he had made a mistake recommending him to Colby. Liam’s tone was terse. “Everything on that tray looks amazing, and I hope she eats it all.”

Colby glanced back and forth between everyone in the room. She didn’t like their energy and especially didn’t like how they spoke about her as if she weren’t in the room. Liam was being overprotective, and Mark was being...well, Mark. She tried to diffuse the alpha male energy. “Just sit it on my dresser, and I’ll eat it later.”

“Aren’t you hungry?” Lila asked concerned.

Colby lifted a shoulder. “Not right now.”

“It’ll taste better while it’s hot,” Lila said, cajoling.

All the talk about food and her weight was irritating. “Guys, when I’m hungry, I will eat. I’m not hungry right now. So, please, put the tray on my dresser.”

Lila didn’t want to embarrass her cousin in front of company, so she kept her thoughts to herself and followed Colby’s instructions by placing the tray on the dresser. “Fine. Let me know if you need anything else.” The moment I’m able to get you alone, we will have a conversation .

Colby felt a little guilty, so she softened her tone. “Thanks, I really do appreciate it.”

Lila gave her a reassuring smile, then turned and left.

Liam walked over to the dresser, lifted the tray, and brought it back to Colby, placing it on the bed next to her. He picked up a piece of turkey bacon and bit into it. “Hmm...always preferred real bacon to turkey, but this is surprisingly good. You sure you don’t want a piece?”

Exasperation evident in her voice, Colby said, “Not right now.” She tried to change the subject. “I hope the press doesn’t get wind of the accident. Crazy rumors will be all over the news.”

Liam went along with the topic change for now, but he wasn’t leaving until Colby had eaten every bit of food on her plate. “Brian and I are doing our best to keep things quiet, but you never know who might get paid off for a hundred-dollar tip.”

Colby asked, “Mark, what are we doing about it? Do you have a plan in place? We should probably get ahead of the story and put out a press release before that happens.”

Colby had no idea that Lila had done the heavy lifting during this crisis.

Mark was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. “I think we have bigger fish to fry.”

“Than my accident?” Colby couldn’t imagine what.

Mark didn’t get to fully explain what he meant because he was interrupted by the sound of his cell phone ringing. “One second. I’ve got to take this call.” He stepped out of the room and into the hallway.

Liam switched gears. “I’m sure Mark is handling it, so you probably shouldn’t get worked up. In the meantime, I’m going to eat all of this bacon. Here, have a piece.”

Something was off, and everyone was trying to force-feed her. If anything, that was going to make Colby’s blood pressure skyrocket. “I said I’m not hungry.”

Liam ignored Colby’s rising irritation. “When was the last time you ate?”

Colby couldn’t remember. “I’m sure I had something yesterday before the accident.”

“You’re sure? But you don’t know?” Liam sat down on her side of the bed. Concern clouded his eyes. “Colby, what’s going on?”

She was genuinely confused. “What do you mean? As far as me...nothing. But y’all are keeping something from me.”

Liam knew this was a necessary conversation and was dreading having it, but unfortunately, now was the time. “I’m concerned.”

Frustrated, Colby released a loud sigh. “Tell me something I don’t know. I told you I’m fine. I got a slight concussion. I’ll be good to go by race day.”

“Not about the accident.”

“Then what?”

“You’re not eating and have been having trouble sleeping. You’ve lost a considerable amount of weight in a short time. I’m not going to sugarcoat it?—”

“Please don’t.” Colby couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “I’d love to hear your unvarnished thoughts.”

Liam ignored her. “Based on the practice video recording and the digital readouts of your car, there weren’t any signs of malfunction.” He paused. “It looks like you just passed out behind the wheel. My guess is because you are not eating enough.”

Colby was both freaked out and stunned. “How would you know that?”

“Your doctor. You were dehydrated and malnourished. He pumped your IV full of nutrients and vitamins.”

“Whatever happened to HIPPA laws?”

Liam’s eyes were full of fear. “I was in the room when he was talking to your dad. You passed out while driving a car at almost 151 mph.”

Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. “You saw the video?”

“Yeah, I saw it.”

Her embarrassment came out as anger. “Before me?”

“You were literally knocked out. So, yeah. I saw it before you.”

Colby took a deep breath. “Look, I know everyone thinks I’m too skinny, but for the hundredth time, it’s not anything you need to worry about. I’m not trying to drop any more weight.”

Liam was skeptical. “You’re not?”

“No, I’m not. I mean, at first, yes. Who likes to look fat on the cover of a magazine? But I know I went too far. And if one more person tells me how much weight I’ve lost, I’m going to scream.”

“Then, why aren’t you eating?”

“Because I’m simply not hungry.” However, Colby picked up a piece of bacon. “If eating this will make everyone happy, then damn.” She stuffed it in her mouth.

Liam didn’t care that Colby was pissed at him as long as she was eating.

Brian knocked on the door. “You decent in there?”

Raising his eyebrows, Liam gave a questioning look, deferring to Colby.

“Come in.” Colby sighed. The traffic in and out of her room was ungodly. “Good thing I’m wearing my good pajamas.”

Brian walked inside with Mark following.

Brian genuinely looked bewildered as he checked out Colby’s room. “Never been in here before.”

Liam responded. “No need for you to be in here.”

“True.” Still, Brian glanced around as if he’d landed in Oz. “Cozy.” Small as hell. My closet is bigger than this. “How are you feeling?”

“I think that question is off-limits for the rest of the day,” Liam said, giving Colby a meaningful look.

Colby’s face confirmed Liam’s words. “I’m ready to get back behind the wheel.” Clearly, it wasn’t the answer Liam nor Brian were looking for, but it was the answer she gave.

“We have plenty of time for that,” Brian said.

“Good!” Mark clapped his hands. “You look and sound great.”

It wasn’t lost on Colby that the looks Brian and Liam gave Mark might kill him. She needed to defuse the situation.

“Guys, I got a bump on the head. However, I walked away, barely unscathed. And look,” she said, cramming a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth, “I’m eating .”

“So, we can talk about the exposé?” Mark asked.

“Shit,” Brian said.

“Fuck!” Liam responded in kind.

Colby’s brows furrowed in confusion as she glanced around the room. “What exposé?”

“You are fuckin’ fired and GET OUT!” Liam roared.

“What?” Mark tried to look innocent. But Brian had just told him in the hallway to keep a lid on the article. “She needs to know.”

Brian grabbed Mark by his shirt and crushed it within his hands. “You’re a dick. I told you to keep your mouth shut.”

“Wait!” Colby yelled. “What is he talking about? What article?!”

The door to Colby’s room flung open. The raised voices coming from inside of it brought Lila and Cyrus, flanked by everyone else, to the door.

“What’s going on in here?” Cyrus demanded.

“Mark mentioned an article about me. Have y’all seen it?” Eyes dropped to the floor. Faces blanched. It was clear they had. “What is it about?”

The room remained quiet, and it didn’t seem as if anyone planned on telling her. “Well, Mark, since you opened the can of worms, and you’re on my payroll until I say different, you might as well tell me the rest of it.”

Mark managed to contort his body enough from Brian’s grip to toss Colby a large manilla envelope.

“Colby, don’t open that!” Liam pleaded.

She didn’t listen and opened it, pulling out a glossy magazine with her face on the cover. Colby gasped as she read the title:

“Colby James, the Self-appointed Savior of NASCAR: Her Plan to End Racism and Misogyny Among the Fans, Her Peers, and Owners”

“My god! They just put a giant-sized X on my chest.”

“Exactly!” Mark said. “We need to get to work on this ASAP before it goes live.”

Colby wore a pained expression as she looked up at Brian. “You weren’t going to tell me about this?”

“No. I wasn’t.” He had no qualms about it. “At least not today and not when you just got out of the hospital after a major accident.”

Liam nodded. “We were going to tell you, just not today.”

Brian snapped at Mark. “Why do I feel like I’m always asking why you aren’t already working on this?!”

Mark returned Brian’s anger with his own fire. “My team has been working around the clock to prevent this article from coming out.”

“Hello?” Colby was furious. “Am I invisible?!” She stretched her arms wide as she got out of bed. She continued to study her body as if she couldn’t see herself. “You are talking about me like I’m not even here. What don’t you all get?!” She beat her chest. “This is my life and career! Mine. I get to make the decisions about what’s best for me. Everybody can’t be my handler.”

Angrily, she turned to Mark. “You’re fired.”

His eyes widened in shock. “You can’t be serious. I’m the one who told you about this.”

“You’re also the one who should have figured out a way to shelve this story.” Colby’s eyes were blazing. “I can’t and don’t trust you. Now, please leave!”

Gonzo grabbed Mark by the shoulders and yanked him out of the room.

Cyrus put his hands out in a pleading gesture. “We were all thinking of your well-being.”

Colby took several deep breaths to calm down so she wouldn’t be disrespectful. “Please, Dad, can everyone give Brian, Liam, and me some privacy.”

After a few tense moments, Cyrus nodded. He and everyone left the room except for Liam and Brian.

Colby waited until they were all gone before she spoke. “This arrangement between the three of us...is not working.” Colby took a moment to gather herself. “Brian, I think it might be best that at the end of this season, we reevaluate my role with Lockwood Racing.”