Dad said they would take it from there. I needed to get to school because I’d missed too much as it was. Mom and Dad were designated guardians of Coby and had to do his birth certificate and some other paperwork.
◊◊◊
I made it back in time for lunch to be almost over. I’d taken some pictures so I could show my friends. Lily sent out a tweet with the news, and Adrienne called me as soon as she got it.
“Remember our deal: no baby pictures released. I’ve got a bidding war going to see who gets them first.”
I wasn’t all that impressed until she told me how much money we were talking. Coby’s first picture would be enough to seriously help start his college fund. He was a bigger model than his father, if you calculated it on earnings per photo, and he was just hours old.
Oh. Dear. God! Did I just think that? I was seventeen and worried about college funds for my son.
Adrienne was getting on a plane with her favorite photographer, Jackie Chan, to take the first pictures. I bet that Tyler would be on the flight as well. I had told them we could put them up at the farm. My grandma had three extra bedrooms.
◊◊◊
After school, I skipped baseball practice, with Moose’s blessing. I found Cal in Pam’s hospital room, holding Coby, with Pam smiling. She got a worried look when I came in.
“Not thinking of absconding with our baby, are you?” I asked.
Cal gave me a tight smile.
“I deserved that,” he admitted.
“Daddy was just leaving,” Pam said as a not-so-subtle hint to her father.
I took a deep breath.
“Look, you’re Coby’s grandfather. While I don’t like how you handled Pam’s pregnancy, I expect you will be around now and again. I don’t plan to prevent you from seeing him unless there’s more unpleasantness. That includes you touching Pam again,” I said pointedly.
“I’m not here to cause trouble. I just wanted to see my grandson.”
Mom and Dad came into the room. Cal took one look at my mom and handed Coby to me.
“Thanks. I think I better get going,” Cal said.
Lacy, Grandma Dawson, Greg, and Angie all came in to see Pam and the baby. It didn’t take long for a nurse to come and tell us we had to do this in shifts.
“When do you get out?” Greg asked.
“Thursday,” Pam said.
“Adrienne called. She’s gotten offers for a buttload of money for the first picture, enough for a good start on his college fund. Don’t post any until we can sell the first ones,” I warned everyone.
Greg grabbed Angie’s phone and deleted the picture she’d taken, making me smile. It was a reminder that she wasn’t a Dawson. If Greg didn’t trust her, I wouldn’t, either.
“We have little ones who have to go to college too,” Angie complained.
“They have an uncle who’ll help them out if need be,” Greg reminded her.
Angie gave me a weak smile. She was lucky I loved my niece and nephews. I needed to talk to Caryn to make sure college funds were set up for them. Of course, I would do the same for Little David, Peggy’s son. I already considered him mine, anyway.
Coby got fussy. I checked his diaper. He hadn’t done that, so I handed him to Pam. We hadn’t talked about breastfeeding. Lacy stayed with her to show her what to do. We all left to give her privacy.
Greg and Angie went off, and I could tell they were having a heated discussion. I wondered if they would survive. After she’d told Tami to not get involved with me, and then outed my dad, they’d had a rough patch. It didn’t help that she admitted she’d gotten pregnant with Kyle to get Greg to marry her.
I looked up and saw Devin and Cora Range. I’d forgotten Coby had an aunt and an uncle on Pam’s side of the family.
“There he is! I can’t wait to start spoiling my nephew,” Devin said.
“Careful, he’ll give him a gun or a motorbike,” Cora said.
“Over my dead body,” Mom said with a big smile. “It’s bad enough you try to kill this one. You’re not killing my grandbaby.”
Devin blushed. I wished I’d had an Uncle Devin when I was growing up. Then again, I’d probably have killed myself on a dirt bike.
◊◊◊
Mom and Dad pulled me into an empty room. Neither of them seemed happy.
“How did Cal get into the room? Did you invite him?” Dad asked.
“He was there when I came in. Why, what’s the problem?”
“Remember that settlement we worked out in the fall? In it there was a ‘no contact’ provision between Cal and both Pam and Coby,” Dad reminded me.
At the time, we added the ‘no contact’ because Cal had struck Pam to get her to agree to go after me. Cal probably hadn’t violated the provision by being in the hospital, but he certainly did when he stepped into the room.
“What should we do about it?” I asked.
“Your dad is going to call Ms. Dixon and let her know he has violated the agreement. We’re not sure exactly what we should do, but at the very least we can’t allow him to have contact with no supervision,” Mom said.
My mom made a good point. I’d felt uncomfortable when I saw him alone with both Pam and Coby.
“Until we get legal advice, just keep an eye out. The man made some threats that we certainly took seriously,” Dad said.
