Lies || Ryan Blaney

2.4 - Epilogue Part 1

Ryan

Somehow, we pulled it off. I had sent messages, more like demands, that nobody announces the birth of our child. Not even a little clue that he was here on any social media sites. Courtney and I were very mutual on wanting to enjoy some time with our son with no one knowing outside of family and friends and bosses. Things had gone smoothly for the week at Daytona, mainly because it was just me at the track for right now. Later, when both my wife and son would show up, it was a different story. We had agreed to Daytona for the announcement since we didn't want him to fly too far as of yet, and after today, the next few races were on the West Coast.

I had talked to her just a few hours ago before the meet and greet that Body Armor was sponsoring. She was just boarding the flight and getting everything with Rylan settled. Courtney was a natural mom. Anytime Ry was fussy or crying, all she had to do was pick him up, and he was calmed. It was a completely different story, It took me almost a week to figure out the difference in his cries. Luckily, I had some experience with my nephews and the kids of Joey and Brad, who gave me an idea of what to expect.

Speaking of Joey, it was a bit crazy to see him roaming the halls of the hospital the day that little Rylan was born, but once I saw him I remembered that Brittany was scheduled to have her baby that day. I still couldn't believe that we had children born on the same day. They had announced little Emilia just a little while later, and I was so honored when he had brought her down so we could see her. And I could tell that he appreciated it when I had brought our boy down so Brittany could see him too.

"You going to keep spacing." I had been walking to the bus and thinking, not paying a bit of attention to the hollers of my name from behind me. I had barely turned to see William trying to reach me. 

"Sorry," I mumbled, slowing my steps so he could catch up to me. From behind me, I could hear the sounds of the Xfinity Series starting to bring out their stuff. I had been wanting to see the race tonight, knowing it would be a good one.

"I just got a message from Erin, she was able to pick Courtney up and get her and the baby through the gate; even helping to bring him to your motor home in case a reporter or someone was close by." He had shown me the messages, even though I hadn't needed to see them to believe him. The guy was my brother-in-law by now, I trust him. And my sister loved her new nephew, already doing the utmost for him.

"I appreciate you both for helping with this," I told him, lightly slapping my hand on his shoulder. Both he and my sister were very helpful in making this work. A grin worked its way onto his face. 

"It's no problem. Can't wait to see the little man again."

I made sure to let him know that we were gathering a couple of friends around our bus so they could meet Rylan before we brought him out tomorrow. With a nod as an answer and a farewell, I headed to the bus.

There were a few fans around that I had stopped and taken photos with; even some asking about how much longer until I was going to be a dad. Letting the lie slip off my tongue was something that I didn't like, but it had to happen. 

Courtney

The flutter of wind blew around me as I waited for Ryan to come out of his hauler. The end of my burnt orange dress fluttered around at my knees. The biker shorts I had on underneath were a blessing for more than one reason with the way the wind pushed the hem up. The white baby wrap was worn tightly around my chest, with little Rylan sleeping away. I knew to dress him warmly, getting some advice from my mom and Lisa on what would be good. He had on a long-sleeved white onesie, with a specially made black shirt with Ryan's car and name on it. A pair of jeans that were more stretchy material than actual jeans. I had opted not to put shoes on him, but he had socks covering his feet. His chubby cheek was pressed against my chest, causing my heart to flutter. His dark, wavy hair was tucked under a white beanie with his name on it. On top of it was a special pair of headphones to wear for these loud moments. We had special ordered them right before he was born. The way they were adjustable made everything easier, especially when he would be growing more every week.

Behind me, the door opened, causing me to turn at the noise. Ryan walked out with Jonathan beside him. Both men smiled when seeing me standing there. "Still hard to believe you're a dad now." Jonathan joked with a soft pat on the back. He was so happy when Ryan told him at their driver's meeting. Hell, all of the people at Penske were ecstatic to see photos of the newest member of the team.

"You're telling me." Ryan came closer, wrapping his fingers through mine, and lightly squeezing my hand.  His eye shined as he looked down at his son. I swear if Ryan knew his child was around, he made sure never to let him leave his sight. It was adorable how protective he has become already.

"You two ready for the buzz that you're about to create?" The frown I sported after hearing that caused a crease line to appear on my forehead. This was it. We were opening up the box and showing our boy to the world.

I was sure that we were about to cause one hell of a stir when we started walking to Pit Road. Back near the haulers was a different story. I could hide the tiny body from people back here. Out there was a different story. I gave Ryan's hand a light squeeze back to let him know everything was okay.

And true to Jonathan's words, everyone from media to drivers we hadn't told were trying to get a second to see the baby that was against me. Whenever we got away from one person, two more had to send their good words our way. That was until a short blonde had spoken.

"Hey Ryan, drivers are starting to gather up for the red carpet walk and intros." Erin and William had found their way through the small crowd. Erin seemingly shooed the people away with a glance. I needed to remember to thank her for that later. 

Erin's words caused a huge smile to appear on Ryan's face. We had talked about this part for a few days, deciding if little Rylan should appear during the driver's intros with his daddy. Neither of us had a problem with it. We just wanted to make sure everything would be fine.

Ryan closed the distance between us, making sure to put his hands in the correct positions to support Rylan's head as he took him from his spot on my chest to sitting in his arms. A small cry emitted from the tiny boy, causing me to become alert if he needed something. When he was pressed against his dad's chest, he calmed down.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he's fine." He said, just loud enough so I could hear. I had no doubt he would protect the boy with his life, I was just nervous with all the people around.

"I know, honey, just a mother's worry is all." Smiling at the sight, I went on. "He shouldn't need to be fed or changed, I did both before bringing him out of the motor home."

With a long kiss followed by another round of reassuring words, he was walking away with William acting as a shield for his nephew. I knew he was going to be fine with Ryan. Hell, any of those drivers would never let anything happen to him. It honestly was a big family, and I was so happy to be a part of it.

Sorry, I had to cut the final chapter into two parts. Altogether, we were hitting 3,000 words for one chapter, and it still wasn't finished.