Pretty Amazing Grace {Ryan Blaney || Sequel to Sweet Caroline} ✔️

twenty-six

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

"How did lunch go?" Lydia looked up from the dining room table, papers scattered all over the table. She had been easing back into work, opting to work from home when she could.

Ryan shrugged, sitting down on one of the chairs. "I'm going to go back on the podcast."

Lydia's face lit up, "That's awesome, Ryan."

Ryan chewed on his bottom lip, he wasn't sure how Lydia would feel about if he went on the podcast and told his story -- it was his story, sure, but both she and Caroline were intertwined in the story.

A pit formed in his stomach as he tried to find the courage to bring it up. Kicking himself for being so impulsive earlier, he could feel his chest start to tighten— the familiar feeling of panic. He gritted his teeth as he tried to get the feeling to stop, to lessen the tension.

"Hey." Lydia was standing over him, her brow furrowed with concern. "Are you okay?"

Ryan shrugged weakly. "I told Kim I would tell my story -- about what happened with Stacy and how I met Caroline and all of that." He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see the anger in Lydia's eyes. "I know I should have asked, I'm really sorry. I can call her and --"

"You don't need to ask my permission to tell your story." Lydia interrupted him. "I think it's a great idea. And setting the record straight about Caroline, I think that is a good idea too."

Ryan opened his eyes in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that reaction from her. Letting out a small breath and a nod, he reminded himself that she was not Stacy, that she wasn't looking for any reason to berate him.

"Did you think I'd be mad?" Lydia's brow was furrowed again. She didn't even wait for an answer before nodding and returning to her seat. "I'm not mad, okay? I really do think it's great." She offered a bright smile before her eyes fell back onto the papers in front of him.

Ryan nodded, chewing on his lip as his mind replayed his conversation with Kim. A comment she had made had stuck with him -- telling him that he could do more than just talk about it.

An idea crossed his mind, one that made him smile.

His foundation.

The foundation had been Stacy's idea, citing the idea that a foundation would be a good PR move. He had never had much to do with it, he wasn't even sure what his foundation supported — children's hospitals, maybe?

It had always been Stacy's brainchild, she'd fundraise a few times every year and Ryan would just show up and smile.

But he could reroute the focus of the foundation. He could change the focus to domestic violence, he could find support other foundations that already support both male and female domestic violence victims, in his and Lydia's honor.

He knew Kim was right, he could do much more than just talk about what happened to him. The possibilities were endless.

A surge of energy flooded his body before he deflated a little. He had no idea how to even start any of this.

The click of a laptop reminded him that he wasn't alone at the table. His eyes drifted up to Lydia — smart, capable, lawyer Lydia. Ryan knew that if Lydia didn't know anything about how foundations work, she might at least know who would.

He cleared his throat. "So Kim said something to me at lunch, about how I could do more than talk about my story. I have a foundation, what if I switched the focus to domestic violence? We had just done a fundraiser not too long before I met Caroline so there should be a good bit of money to get us started?"

Lydia nodded slowly and Ryan flinched as he waited for her answer. "I mean..." Her voice trailed off for a moment -- Ryan's stomach dropping. "I don't really know much about foundations but I'm sure I could figure it out?"

"I have the password to the bank account." Ryan pulled out his phone. "At least we can see what we have to start out with."

"Yeah." Lydia smiled. "I have an old classmate who I think specializes in non-profits so I'll shoot her an email and see if she can guide us on the legal stuff. Then we'll have to update your website -- if you have one -- and if you don't, we'll have to make one. Then we'll have to find a few organizations to partner with..." Her voice trailed off with a grin. "We have a lot of work to do."

Ryan couldn't help but grin back. Truth be told, he was relieved that he'd have something to work on through the off-season. Even though the NASCAR offseason was relatively short, going from having a packed schedule to nothing was always an adjustment that Ryan didn't really appreciate.

Lydia slid the laptop towards Ryan, watching as Ryan typed his banking information in. "Let's see what we have..." Lydia murmured, leaning on Ryan's shoulder. "Oh."

Ryan's eyes searched frantically for what Lydia was looking at-- his stomach dropping when he figures it out.

Checking - $0
Savings - $0

"I thought you said there was money?" Lydia pulled away, puzzled.

"There should be." Ryan carded his hand through his hair. "Shit, I thought we had raised close to $150,000."

Lydia pulled the laptop in front of her, clicking around. Ryan studied her face, trying to figure out what was going on. Ryan couldn't help but cling to a hope that Stacy had disbursed the money to a few of the foundations that they were supporting but when Lydia's eyes widened, that hope was dashed.

"She withdrew it a few weeks ago." Lydia murmured. "Ryan, Stacy stole the foundation's money."

"Why would she do that?" Ryan found himself asking, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

"Revenge? Greed?" Lydia shrugged. "I think you need to call the police." Ryan knew that'd be the easy option but he also knew that could turn into a PR nightmare. Maybe he could talk to her, convince her to give the money back and save them both the PR nightmare that this would turn into.

But before Ryan could explain that to Lydia, Caroline busted through the door with his mom in tow. Ryan quickly shut the laptop -- neither his mom or Caroline needed to worry about this.

Ryan forced a smile on his face but there was a sinking feeling settling in his chest.

He was going to have to face Stacy.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃