Page 115 of Scores Of The Heart

She gives me a look. “Don’t even, Tyler. Of course it’s yours. I haven’t been with anyone else since we broke up.”

I swallow hard. “I’ll still require a paternity test.”

“You’re not going to take my word for it?”

I shake my head. “Can you blame me? You text me out of the blue, saying you need to see me at the drop of a hat, then you throw this at me and expect me to just be okay with it.”

She presses her lips together, then pinches the bridge of her nose. “I’m sorry, Tyler. That’s all I can say. I don’t have any other excuse. You made it clear when we broke up you weren’t in love with me. There was no chance of you giving up your precious career anytime soon, either. Surely, the last thing you would want is to be burdened with a screaming newborn.”

“That’s my decision to make.”

She stares at me wide eyed. “Would you have reneged on ‘us’ if you’d known I was pregnant beforehand?”

It’s my turn to gape at her. “Are you saying you knew you were pregnant back then?”

She vehemently shakes her head. “I found out afterwards, like I told you.”

I don’t even know if I believe anything that comes out of her mouth. The fact is, we’re here now and the kid ain’t gonna just disappear in all of this.

“I don’t know what I believe anymore, Stacey. This is all coming out of left field. Despite that, we need to work out the details. You mentioned not keeping the baby and adopting her out?”

I clench my fist on my thigh under the table at the mere thought of it.

This baby may not be born yet, but I know she is going to be better off with her birth parents. Despite Stacey’s misgivings, she has never been unstable, and neither have I.

“I don’t know, I freaked out,Ty. That’s why I called you. My hormones are all over the place and I’m not sure I’m ready to be a mother. So yes, I have looked at the adoption process if worse came to worse.”

“If worse came to worse? You can’t be serious?”

Her dark eyes flick up at me. “You seem mad.”

“Can you blame me?”

“I didn’t know if you’d have an interest in the baby, Tyler.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. The fact you felt you couldn’t come and talk to me about something as important as this is just unfathomable. Am I that bad of a person?”

“Like I said, I’ve been all over the place. It’s not that I think you’re a bad person. But logistics say there’s no way you’d be able to raise the baby even if you want to!”

“You really think that?”

“Don’t tell me you want to raise her?”

She seems incredulous, like she hasn’t even thought about the possibility.

“You obviously don’t know me very well.”

“Maybe I don’t,” she sighs. “I honestly didn’t think…” She looks at me with wide-eyes, and I see there’s truth in what she’s saying.

It stings, to be fucking honest. That I’d just agree to sign the baby over to complete strangers, that I wouldn’t want a part in the child’s life.

“I want the baby, Stacey. If you’re giving her up for adoption, then I will take her off your hands.” Of course, I don’t know the first thing about babies or how the fuck I’m going to do that, but I know I’ll figure it out. I have supportive family and friends, so I know I’m not alone in this. I’ll navigate it somehow.

“You’re going to take her?”

“Yes, of course. I wish you’d stop acting so surprised about it. I don’t know what you expect me to say. Oh sure, no problem, sign our kid away without a second’s thought.”

“You don’t have to be like that, Tyler. This is hard enough as it is. I also never said I was going to put the baby up for adoption. It was a thought that crossed my mind when things felt hard. I don’t have family like you do, I have no one to help. It all felt so hopeless.”

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