Ryan's POV

"I'm coming." I shouted out in annoyance, my voice echoing through my empty house as someone stood outside my front door obnoxiously jabbing the doorbell button over and over.

Through the peephole, I saw Mia standing on the porch soaking wet. I flung the door open and was ready to snap, but something was seriously wrong. Not surprisingly, she was shaking from being cold and wet, but it was more. Her face was terrifyingly pale and her eyes were dull and lifeless.

I reached out, grabbing her hand, I pulled her into the house. "What's wrong Mia? What happened?" I asked, bracing myself.

"My...my grandfather." She stammered through chattering teeth.

My heart sank into the pit of my stomach and I tried not to panic. If something happened to Mr. H....

"Mia....what is it? Talk to me. What happened to your grandfather?" I asked, my hands on her shoulders ready to shake her out of the trance she appeared to be in as her eyes stared at me blankly.

"He....he..." She continued to stammer, her teeth chattering even more. As anxious as I was to know what was going on, I knew I needed to get her out of her wet clothes and warmed up before she caught pneumonia.

"Come with me." I took her hand and led her to the utility room. "Let's get you some dry clothes and then you can talk to me." I grabbed a towel that was still warm from the dryer, as well as a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. She continued to stare at me blankly, not even making the slightest move to take the items I offered her. I think she was in shock and the pit in my stomach grew. Something really bad had happened and I was beyond worried.

Seeing as she was not in her right frame of mind to take care of herself, I pulled her wet sweater over her head and tossed it into the washing machine. With a sigh, I also removed her bra and threw that in the machine as well. It took everything in me not to stare at her. It had been weeks, but this wasn't the time or place. I helped her into the hoodie which was still warm from the dryer, then peeled the wet jeans off of her body. She seemed to have snapped back to reality enough to put on the sweatpants. I started the machine and began to towel dry her hair. She took the towel from me and began to do it for herself. "Thank you" she finally whispered, but she was still clearly shaken.

I took her hand and led her back to the living room, sitting her on the couch while I wiped the puddles off the floor and handed her her handbag, which she had dropped on the floor. Finally, I sat down next to her, noticing she was clutching her bag like a lifeline. She was still shaking so I grabbed a throw off the back of the couch and wrapped it around her.

"Mia, you're scaring me. Please tell me what's wrong. Did something happen to your grandfather?"

She shook her head vehemently then began sobbing. "He...he's a liar. My f-father...he kept me from him. It's a lie. Every damn thing in my life is a lie." Her voice caught as another gut wrenching sob was released. I was so confused. Nothing she said made any sense.

"What about your father Mia?" I asked as gently as possible, only for her to sob even harder.

"He...he's been alive th-this entire time. R..right under my nose. Grandpa k-kept him from m-me." She sniffled and stammered more.

"Mia...I don't understand sweetheart. Your father, he's been gone for a long time."

"He's not my father." She wailed, sounding like a wounded animal. She then pulled a leather bound book from her bag and shoved it into my hands. "J-Jimmie Johnson is my...my father."

I sat in stunned silence. It was almost like a bomb had been dropped and I was just waiting for it to blow us all to smithereens. The book felt heavy and ominous and almost like it was burning my hand, but I couldn't make myself open it. It couldn't be true. Could it?

Mia took the book from me and opened it, then handed it back to me. I read the words written in a feminine penmanship that I assumed was her mother, the words blurring my vision as I read confirmation that Jimmie Johnson was Mia's biological father and that Rick Hendrick...a man that I greatly admired and respected, forced his daughter to lie about it and cover it up. Even going so far as to pay a lab to doctor a paternity test. I felt disgusted. I couldn't even imagine how Mia felt.

Not knowing what else to do, I wrapped my arms around her and held her close while she sobbed for what felt like an eternity. "Oh baby" I whispered against her ear, stroking her back trying to soothe her. Finally her sobs turned to small whimpers and occasional hiccups while she tried to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry Ryan. I didn't know where else to go." She sniffled, looking so broken and so dejected it broke my heart. I wanted to see her vulnerable side, but not like this. This was tearing me apart. I wouldn't wish this kind of bombshell on anyone.

"Don't be sorry, love. I'm glad you came to me." I kissed her temple and held her tighter.

"I don't know what to do Ry. I feel so lost right now. If he could manipulate something like this...hide this secret for so long, then who knows what else he's lied about or covered up. I've heard about some shady things he's done in the past, but I never allowed myself to believe them because to me, he's always been my hero and now I feel so disillusioned, like my whole life is one big lie." She said, and my heart hurt even more for her. How could Rick do this to her? To Jimmie? Its always disheartening to find out your heroes are actually villains, and in this case, Rick Hendrick was nothing but a villain. 

"What are you going to do?" I asked her.

"Confront him and demand answers. Then I'm resigning." She replied.

"You're really going to give up your legacy?" Not that I could really blame her, but as his only heir, she was in line to inherit his empire. The fact that she was willing to throw all of that away based on principles touched something in me and made me realize that those qualities that I saw in her were indeed intact. She did have morals and she was trustworthy. This was the woman I fell in love with and I hated that it took such a drastic turn of events for me to see that.

"I have to Ryan. There is no way I could work side by side with him knowing he kept me from my birth father. For twenty years, I believed I was an orphan but my biological father was right there, right under my nose for my entire life. I don't think I can even look at my grandfather now and not feel anything but contempt. Do you think Jimmie has any idea? What if he actually does know...maybe he found out somehow. What if that's why he was always so good to me...why I always felt a connection to him."

"I don't think there is any way that Jimmie knows. If he knew, there is nothing on earth that would have kept him from fighting for you. He would have been the one to raise you. As far as Jimmie being good to you...that's just Jimmie. He's one of the good ones. A great guy."

"I hope you're right." She sniffled, snuggling against me. When she planted a deep, passionate kiss on my lips, I couldn't help but to be caught off guard, and I did get caught up in the moment because I kissed her back just as passionately.

"God I need you Ryan." She said breathlessly through swollen lips as her hands tugged at the hem of my shirt.

It was only then that I came to my senses. "Not like this Mia." I sighed.

The hurt on her face stopped me in my tracks. Despite the swollen eyes and tear stained face, she was still the most beautiful thing I had laid eyes on, but I couldn't take advantage of her in a weak moment.

Her eyes narrowed and her mouth formed a grim line. "My life is in shambles. I just bared my soul to you only for you to reject me. Way to kick someone while they are down Ryan." She said angrily, grabbing her bag and turning on her heel, on her way to the door, but I got there first.

"I'm not rejecting you Mia. It's taking everything in me not to take you into my bed right now, but you are vulnerable right now and I'm not going to take advantage of that. Sex is not what you need right now. Yeah it may make you feel better for a few minutes but it's nothing but a bandaid."

"How do you even know what I need?" She spat out the words, the previously tearful woman was gone. She had regained her fighting spirit.

"I don't. Not really, but I don't think you do either:" I said softly.

"Then can you just hold me?" She asked, her voice and expression softening.

"I can do that all night baby." I said, opening my arms for her to fall into.

                                  *********

I became a mom today. My beautiful, perfect Mia Nicole came into my life today and I could not be more in love. I wanted to give her a name that had meaning, not a family name. Mia...It means mine and beloved. Nicole means victory of the people. It's associated with strength, resilience, and determination. My beloved daughter is going to go on to do great things. She's going to be bright, beautiful and probably very headstrong, but with determination and the ability to bounce back that's ingrained in her DNA, she will be her own person and do her own thing, whatever that may be, and she will never let life knock her down. My sweet, precious Mia Nicole...you are going to be a force to be reckoned with. Your daddy and I love you so very much.

Mia's eyes welled up with tears once again as she read the journal entry out loud.

"It's almost like she knew exactly what I needed to hear. Like she left that message for me because she knew I would need it one day." She dabbed the corners of her eyes.

After convincing her to stay, she claimed she was exhausted, so we laid down in bed, and I held her like I promised I would. She dozed off for about and hour, but when she woke up, she went downstairs, grabbed the journal and brought it with her where she and I both read over the entries together.

In our reading, we learned that Erika and Thomas Davenport had indeed fallen in love. Thomas was a devoted husband and father. He loved Mia dearly, despite the fact that she was not his flesh and blood. I found that very honorable that he stepped up the way he did. Maybe he didn't have a choice, but even if that were the case he made the absolute best of the situation. Erika eventually forgave her father for the forced marriage since she did indeed find true love. However, she still hung on to her anger at him over hiding Mia's paternity. Despite that, she remained the dutiful daughter and earned her rightful spot in the family company by hard work and determination. Mia definitely took after her mother.

"Oh my God." I certainly heard Mia gasp, and saw her face had turned ashen over the last journal entry.

Tommy and I have a business trip this week, then the group of us are planning to fly to Martinsville for the race. Mia was going to come with us, but my poor baby has an ear infection and her pediatrician recommended she not fly. This is the first time I will be away from her for more than a day and I want to cry. Tommy keeps teasing me about spoiling her too much, but he's worse than I am. She will be staying with mom and dad and we will meet up at the racetrack. Regardless, I'm going to miss my baby girl even if it's only for a few days.

A cold chill passed through my body when I heard the words Mia had just read out loud, and then she began sobbing again.

"I was supposed to be on that plane Ryan. I should not even be here right now. Why was my life spared and theirs wasn't?" She wailed.

She cried into my chest and I did my best to console her. "It just wasn't your time baby. You have a plan. Something in your life that you are supposed to fulfill."

"Like what? Be a selfish, spoiled, vindictive bitch?" She cried.

"No." I said adamantly. "There is so much more to you than the spoiled rich girl."

"But you called me selfish and vindictive, and you were right. I am those things. I haven't been a good person."

"Yes you are." I argued. "You made a mistake, but you fixed it. You've shown growth and maturity. I've seen you want to do better, and I love you for that." I blurted out.

"You do?" She asked almost in disbelief.

Do what? Oh. Shit. I may have accidentally blurted out that I love her. But why am I feeling like it's a bad thing? I mean it with all my heart and I think she really needs to hear it so I just need to man up and tell her how I feel.

"Yes I love you. I love you very much." I admitted, and getting those words off my chest made me feel immensely lighter. Why haven't I told her this before?

"I love you too Ryan. I told you that night I stayed with you when you got injured, but you fell asleep. I wanted to tell you again that morning but it just didn't feel like the right time."

"I heard you, but I thought I dreamed it. I handled everything so wrong that morning and I am so sorry for that. You had every reason to walk out on me, but you stayed. God I love you." I barely got the words out of my mouth before crashing my lips on her hers. I could taste the saltiness from her tears but I also could taste the sweetness from her. The kiss grew even more intense but I was not going to push her away this time. We both needed this.