She fell down in the chair, her mouth open in shock. “I can’t believe this. This is some serious stuff right here. Do you realize how many people are going to want to talk to you when we get back? I’m talking the news, talk shows, et cetera. You’ll be booked up for months.”

I glanced up at Blake and he put his arm around me. “What do you think?” I asked him. She was right, there were going to be a lot of people who wanted to talk to me.

Blake squeezed my shoulder and sighed. “It’s up to you, princess. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

Felicity’s brows furrowed. “Something you need to tell me?” she asked.

Smiling wide, I wrapped my arm around Blake’s waist. “I’ll stay in town until everything calms down. Then afterward, I’m going home . . . to Wyoming.”

She gasped. “You’re leaving us?”

Nick nodded in understanding which gave me the courage I needed. I was so afraid of losing him as a friend, but after everything that happened, I felt like we were closer than ever. He might have even won Blake over in the process. I could dream, anyway.

“I am, but I’m still going to sing. So schedule up my concerts and do your thing. I’ll be there,” I promised.

“What about your producer? Recording your music?”

“I guess I’ll have to cross that bridge when I get to it.”

Hadley

Nick and Felicity left to go back to California and ever since being back, they’d been the main headline on every single news station on TV. My time was going to come. There were people parked outside of the hospital to see us, but I hadn’t left the building. For two days, Blake and I stayed hidden in the hospital, waiting for my dad to fully wake up. I couldn’t leave without him.

We had tried to eat lunch in the cafeteria but there were reporters everywhere pretending to eat lunch. Luckily, Dr. Reese took pity on me and let us hide out in an empty room, just down the hall from my father.

“Is Tyla okay with taking care of everything while you’re gone?” I asked.

Blake finished taking a sip of his soda and nodded. “She has Jerrod to help her in the mornings. Nightshade will be glad to see us come back though.”

“What about the new horse you’re supposed to be training? Tyla doesn’t mind putting in the extra work?”

He snorted. “She’s getting paid for it. Trust me, she’ll be fine. I have ten million in my bank account to help with that.”

“You deserve a whole hell of a lot more, after doing what you did. My dad will be indebted to you, as am I.”

He winked. “There’s plenty of ways for you to pay me back. As soon as we get home, I’ll start collecting.”

I leaned forward and rubbed my hand up his thigh. “Do we have to wait until we get home?”

“Don’t start something you can’t finish, princess.” He growled and grasped my hand, pushing it over the bulge growing rapidly under his jeans.

I pulled my hand back and frowned. “You’re right, it would be risky here.” I stood up and walked over to the door. “I mean, anyone could walk in at any time.” Pulling my sundress up and resting it on top of my ass, I turned to give him the view. Spreading my legs apart, I placed my hands on the door. “If only there was a way we could do it quickly . . .”

Looking over my shoulder, I saw his darkened eyes staring at my ass, mouth slackened in disbelief. I wiggled it a little and said, “Whatcha waitin’ for, cowboy?”

“Fuck, baby. Are you serious right now?” He stood and stalked toward me, unzipping his jeans and freeing his cock. Pumping it a few times, he came up behind me and grabbed my ass cheeks. Rubbing his length between them, he groaned. “I can’t believe this is happening. You’re so fucking hot.”

Leaning back into him, I turned my head and kissed him hard. He continued to move against me and the heat between us was consuming me alive. I leaned into the wall and pushed into him.

Pulling my panties to the side, he aligned himself and thrust home. It felt like he was splitting me in half and I almost fell to my knees with pleasure. Pushing into me hard and fast, he ground his fingers into my hips to hold me tight.

I bit my lip to keep my moans from getting too loud, but our bodies banging against the door and Blake’s grunts were too loud for anyone walking by not to notice.

“Jesus,” he bit out. “I’m gonna come.”

I pushed back into him, over and over, until he wrapped his arms around me and bit my shoulder, his whole body jerking with release. Hearing him come undone sent me spiraling into my own orgasm. He continued to move, as I spasmed and bucked along his length. I stood straight and he held me up, chuckling and nipping at my ear.

I joined in his exhilaration, giggling at my actions. “Well, that happened.”

“That it did, you little vixen. I never knew you had it in you.” He pulled out of me and turned me around.

I broke into laughter when I saw him standing there in a T-shirt, with his pants and boxers around his ankles, in a hospital room that wasn’t even ours.

A knock sounded on the door and my eyes went wide. The door started to open and I pushed Blake into the bathroom and shut the door. Dr. Reese poked her head inside and I spun around to face her.

“Hadley, your father’s awake. He’s asking for you.”

“Oh! That’s wonderful news.” I glanced down to make sure my dress was covering everything. “Blake, honey, did you hear that?” I called to him in the bathroom.

He came out of the bathroom all zipped up and I breathed a sigh of relief. “I did. Is he fully alert?”

“Yes, he’s wide awake,” the doctor said, holding the door open for us. Heart racing, we followed her down the hall toward my father’s room. “We have crutches for him so he can get up and walk around. The leg wound is healing nicely.”

We stopped outside of his door. I wasn’t ready to go in just yet. “Are there any complications from the drugs I should know about?”

She shook her head. “Nothing I could find. I think he’s just sick with worry over you.”

“Thanks, Dr. Reese. When do you think I can take him home?”

“Tomorrow,” she replied with a smile. “I gotta run, but I’ll check on you guys later this afternoon.”

Taking a deep breath, I propped against the door and watched her disappear down the hall.

“Do you want me to go in there with you?” Blake asked.

“Yes. He owes us both an apology.” I found the courage to press the handle down and open the door. My father watched us walk in with tears in his eyes and it broke my heart.

Blake nudged me forward. “Go to him,” he whispered, standing back as I closed the distance, taking a seat beside my father’s bed.

His skin was pale and he looked older than his usual self. The last time I saw him so vulnerable was after my mother died. After that, he’d turned into a powerhouse who had to control everything around him.

“I’m so sorry, Hadley.” He broke down in sobs. “I never wanted to hurt you. All I wanted was to keep my baby girl safe.”

“And look where that got us,” I countered.

He nodded. “I know. I put everyone’s lives in danger, mostly yours. The one person I wanted to protect ended up being the one I almost destroyed.”

“If it wasn’t for Blake, I’d be dead. He’s the one who found me.”

His gaze landed on Blake. “How did you find her?”

Blake’s jaw tensed. “I have my ways, Mr. Rivers. I wasn’t going to rest until I found out what happened to her.”

My father held out his hand. “I owe you an apology, young man. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you after what you did.”

Blake stared at his hand, then shook it. “I accept your apology, but I don’t accept the fact you tried to take Hadley away from everyone, from me. It was selfish.”