Page 27 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

“Where should I start digging?” he asked.

“Over there.” She pointed at a small hole she had started. “We have to dig it so deep for the roots. Momma told me that. Momma knows everything.”

“I bet you know a lot of things, too,” Tyson said as he started digging.

“I do.”

I watched them for a few minutes before pulling out my phone and sending a message to my father, asking him to come over.

Tyson and I had a lot of things to talk about, especially now that I was seeing him with Trinity. It was clear that he had already fallen in love with her. The longer I watched them work in the mud together, the more I realized what a mistake I had made, no matter how well-intentioned it had been.

I hope he’ll forgive me. Ithought as I watched Trinity spray him in the face with a hose.

“Grandpa is going to come help you with your garden for a little while.” I looked over at Tyson. “Momma and her friend need to go talk for a little bit, and I have to go check on some of the animals.”

“Can I see animals?” Trinity asked.

“Not today, sweetie. Grandpa really wants to help you with the flowers.”

“Okay.”

Tyson looked up at me, raising an eyebrow. I shrugged and went back to my book to wait for my dad.

***

“So, this is where you work,” Tyson said as we walked into the vet clinic. “Congratulations. You’ve done well for yourself.”

I looked around the little clinic. Joseph, one of the vet techs who had been with me from the start, was sitting behind the desk. Since it was one of the rare days the clinic was closed, he was the only one here to keep a watch over the animals.

“Hey, Joseph. Why don’t you go take a break for a couple of hours? I’ve just got to check on the dogs and get a start on some paperwork,” I said.

Tyson stiffened beside me as he glanced at Joseph. He didn’t bother to say anything to the other man as he walked around the clinic. I watched Tyson take everything in for a moment before rolling my eyes.

“Are you sure you don’t want the help around here?” Joseph asked.

I waved a hand. “Go and enjoy a little sun. Get a good lunch or something. The animals aren’t going anywhere while you’re gone.”

Joseph glanced at Tyson before nodding. “Cool, thanks, Haley. Two hours okay with you?”

I looked at Tyson, our eyes meeting. “Give me three.”

Tyson’s lips curved upward slightly before the smile dropped, and he frowned. He walked to my office as I locked the door behind Joseph.

When I entered the office, Tyson was sitting on the edge of my desk; his arms crossed over his chest. “So, I came to your house last week to apologize a couple of days after our fight. Saw you going on a date with him.”

“Joseph?” I asked, chuckling as I shook my head. “No way. We’ve been friends for years, but I wouldn’t date him. We were just going out to celebrate his getting into vet school. I wanted to thank him for all he’s done with helping me with Trinity.”

“You let him stay with Trinity?”

“Why wouldn’t I? He’s been a good friend for the last four years. I met him a few cities ago, and he’s moved with me as my roommate a few times before we went our separate ways here.”

“He’s not your boyfriend?” Tyson asked, his tone changing slightly as I stood in front of him. “Interesting. He looks at you with those puppy love eyes.”

“I seem to remember that you used to look at me that way, too,” I said, feeling bold as I ran my hands up his torso. Tyson grabbed my hands and held them in place. His gaze was heated as he looked down at me.

“That was a long time ago.”

“Was it?” I asked, leaning forward and pressing my body against his. “Seems like it was just yesterday.”

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