out of her arms. He’d recognized Hailey and was desperately trying to free himself from his mother's arms to come over and see her. Stacy kept a tight grip on him, turning away from me as she headed for the parking lot.
I hesitated as the auction started and shoved my paddle in Hailey’s direction. Sometimes in life, things were just more important than bidding.
“Here, go bid against your husband for me. It will ruffle his feathers. No cap on buying, just have fun and tick off Jackson a little.”
Hailey laughed, “I am more than happy to take care of it. Go get your woman.”
25
Chapter Twenty-Four (Stacy)
Seeing Walker elected feelings in me that I knew were coming. It wasn’t that I’d been avoiding him. I just wasn’t sure where my mind had been for the past week. Between fighting with Neil over my decision not to buy the property and the pending meeting with his parents later, I was so distracted that my feelings for Walker had been put on the backburner. While I’d already made my decision, it wasn’t one I was brave enough to share just yet.
Walking at a brisk pace, I was happy when I felt Walker slow in his pursuit. A beloved member of the community, everyone seemed to be stopping and talking to him. By the time Harrison and I made it back to our truck, he was nowhere in sight. Harrison was once again happy as I strapped him into his car seat and climbed down from the passenger side.
“I want to talk to you,” A man hissed.
My cheeks flushed as I turned. At first, my heart had been racing at the idea of talking to Walker, but when I saw Neil swaying just a few feet away from me, the racing turned to fear. I could smell the alcohol on his breath. He hadn’t come to see me again since I’d told him I was leaving the gallery. There was no doubt in my mind that his parents were furious with him.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done, you little bitch?” He slurred.
“You’re drunk, Neil, I am not having a conversation with you. My attorneys advised me to no longer involve you in business matters regarding the gallery.”
“Fuck you, you dumb slut.” Neil growled. “Fuck you and fuck my parents. Those worthless shits think they can cut me off? I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.”
“Goodbye, Neil,” I said.
I headed around the back of the truck at a quick pace. It wouldn’t matter to Neil that we were out in public. I’d seen what his drunken temper could do. Even though I was almost jogging, he still managed to catch up to me before I could get into my truck. His clammy hand grabbed my arm violently and jerked me around until I tossed against the side of the truck bed.
Shocked and in pain, I let out a squeal of anger, which only seemed to improve his mood. His eyes grew wide as I struggled against him. With both hands now digging into the soft flesh of my arms, I realized the dire situation I was in. The lot was void of people, everyone enjoying that last day of the fair with their families. Suddenly, my fear slipped away as I saw a man running at a full sprint in our direction.
Walker didn’t slow down as he ran parallel to the truck, tackling Neil so hard that I was jerked to my knees. I quickly recovered as Neil screamed and tried to fight back against Walker, but it was a moot point. Walker had twice the strength the drunk man had. Plus, the look in Walker's eyes had been nothing but fear and rage.
For a second, I was sure that Walker would pummel Neil into a bloody pulp with nothing left of the man but a bruised corpse when Walker was done. When two men appeared and drug Walker off Neil, I was a little relieved. I didn’t want to be visiting the father of my child in prison. Instantly I noticed the similar features in the two other men. They had to be Walkers, brothers, though I’d never met them before. Walker jumped to his feet and raced over to me.
“Are you okay?” He stammered. “Where’s Harrison? Is he okay?”
His hands frantically searched my body. I cringed when his fingers ran down my arms to where there were matching bruises forming from Neil’s grip. Walker shrank away from me, wincing at