Page 35 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

“Where’s the picture now?”

“It’s with Corey. Not that it seems like he’s going to do anything.”

“I’ll handle it,” Tyson said before getting up and rounding the counter. He hugged me tight, his chin resting on the top of my head. “How are you handling it? How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know what to think or feel, but I don’t want to talk about that right now. I still have to figure out what I’m going to do.”

“If you need anything, you let me know.”

“I don’t need your money or your influence, Ty,” I said, pulling away from him.

He sighed and put more distance between us. “This isn’t what this is about, Haley. This is about making sure that you two are safe.”

“We’re as safe as we can be right now.”

He nodded and looked at the time on the stove. His weight shifted from side to side, and I saw how his Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed hard.

“I should get going,” he said. “I’ve invaded your life enough for one day.”

I didn’t bother to correct him as he left. Once he was gone, I made sure all the windows and doors were locked before crawling into bed with Trinity.

14

TYSON

Twodayspassedwithouta word from Haley, not that I was surprised. Hell, I was impressed that she had let me go to the zoo with them. I wasn’t going to press her any harder for more right away. I told her that I was willing to move at her pace, and I was.

During those two days, I threw myself into working hard at the laundromat. Roy was there nearly every morning until the time I went home, clashing with me on everything. I knew he was a stubborn old man, but I didn’t think working with him would have been this difficult.

By the time I was done with him today, I was ready to go home, but there were other things I needed to do first.

That’s why I was standing in a child’s store, wondering what I was supposed to buy for a young girl. There was an empty room in the house I was renting that would make a perfect bedroom for Trinity. There was lots of natural light, and it was already painted a pale shade of green.

I looked around the store, trying to find things she would like. Dolls and kitchen playsets were piled high in the cart. I had a few toy cars in there and a couple of superhero toys as well. Books were stuffed down the sides, and I was dragging a white electric car behind me.

Once I paid for everything, I loaded it in the truck and dumped off most of it at my house. The furniture shipment had already arrived and was piled in the garage.

After I hauled everything but the electric car inside, I drove to Haley’s. I sent her a message, telling her I was on the way.

She was already outside by the time I pulled into her driveway. Haley looked at the electric car in the back, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.

“What the hell is that?” she asked as she stood at the tailgate. “Did you get her a car?”

“Yes.” I lifted down the car from the tailgate and put it down.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because she didn’t have one already.”

Haley looked at me, her mouth dropping open slightly. “You have to be kidding me! Did you ever think I might have been waiting to buy her something like that until Christmas?”

“No.”

“And why would that never occur to you? I’m the only vet in town, Tyson. I make a pretty good living. If I want my daughter to have something big and expensive like that, I’ll buy it for her. If you plan on buying things for her, you need to at least talk to me first.”

I stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out why this was such a big deal for her.

“If you don’t want it, I can keep it with her other toys at my house.”

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