Page 32 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

13

HALEY

IfeltterriblekeepingTyson from Trinity, but I didn't know what else I could do.

I know I need to let him into her life, that she deserved to meet her father and know who he was. It just terrified the living hell out of me.

I couldn't risk everything falling around me. No matter how much thought I gave it over the next couple of days, I couldn't find a way to make him fit into our lives. But if I was being honest, the problem was that I couldn't see a way that we fit in his life.

Even though Tyson called every day, I spent most of the days avoiding his calls. Between working at the clinic helping the animals and going home at night to see Trinity, I didn't have time to think about much else.

Although that was probably just the excuse I was using to continue to avoid him.

I thought that maybe if I tried ignoring what was happening, it would go away. It's a juvenile thought that won't get me anywhere in life, but I don't feel emotionally prepared to let him back in.

If I don't feel emotionally prepared, I can't imagine how Trinity would feel having a father dropped into her life.

It was all that circled through my mind as I finished my reports for the day.

As I sorted through my files, getting the last one ready to give to the admin staff, a letter fell from between them. It was a picture of me leaving Tyson’s house the other day. Beneath Tyson’s house, pictures of flames had been drawn. I could see Tyson standing in the window watching as I left, but his eyes had been gouged out.

My breath caught in my throat as I looked at the picture. As my hands shook, I tucked the picture into my purse and made a mental note to call the police again.

Maybe you need to ask Tyson to step in and help now.

I shook the thought from my head. I could protect my family on my own. I didn’t need him swooping in to save the day.

Except maybe you do.

As I dropped off the files with my staff, I couldn’t stop thinking about the picture in my purse. It propelled me straight to the sheriff’s office.

“Hello, Haley,” Corey said as he stepped out of his office. “How can I help you?”

I took the picture out of my purse and shoved it in his direction. “I’m being followed, Corey. I don’t know how much more proof you need, but this needs to be dealt with.”

Corey took the picture and looked at it, flipping it over. “Haley, I’m not going to dispute someone’s following you, but I can’t go anywhere with this.”

“Figure it the fuck out, Sheriff,” I said, venom in my voice as I stepped closer to him. “Do your fucking job.”

I spun on my heel and walked out of the sheriff’s office. I didn’t have time to sit there and argue with him about the merits of a picture. Trinity was at home, and everything in me was telling me that I needed to hold her and make sure she was alright.

When I walked in the door, Trinity came running down the hall with Bret close behind her. I crouched down and pulled Trinity into a tight hug, holding onto her until she started squirming to get free.

“Are you alright?” Bret asked as Trinity took off to go play with her toys. “You look like shit.”

“I got a picture of me leaving Tyson’s house the other night. Someone had drawn flames consuming Tyson’s house, and his eyes were gouged out. And there are those other letters I’ve gotten. It just seems like everything is getting worse.”

“Have you thought about asking Tyson for help? The man is loaded. He can help you.”

I sighed and set my things down before heading into the living room. Trinity’s laughter echoed down the hall from her playroom.

“I’ve thought about it a thousand times, and I don’t know what I’m going to do. I know that I could ask him for help, and I know that I should. Trinity deserves the best.”

“Then what keeps holding you back?” Bret asked as he sat down beside me.

“I want to keep thinking I can do this alone. I’ve been doing it on my own for the last four years. My dad did it on his own for years. It feels like asking Tyson to be involved is admitting defeat.”

“Nobody told you that you have to do it on your own forever. Your father didn’t.”

---