Page 38 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

“Wouldn’t be the first time!” Bret yelled through the door that connected the garage to the house.

Haley blushed a bright shade of red and gathered her clothes, tossing my own at me. We got dressed in silence before she turned to me, raking her hands through her hair to try and smooth it down.

“I have to get going. I’m taking Trinity to the library for a reading group thing this afternoon, and we’re already late. And then Reggie and Doris down at the diner want to see her. And I don’t think I’m ready for people to know that you’re her father.”

I sighed and nodded. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I understood. Trinity should know before anyone else did.

“It’s okay. I have some more work to do at the laundromat this afternoon. We should be getting a shipment of appliances, and I need to get them hooked up and make sure they work.”

Haley nodded and took a deep breath. She looked over at the little electric car. “She’s going to love it.”

“Just do me a favor and take a video when you show it to her for the first time?” I asked, hating the lump that threatened to choke me.

I was going to miss another first, and it was tearing me apart inside.

“I will. Thank you.”

She pressed a button once I was dressed, and the garage door started opening. I didn’t want to leave yet, but I had work to do.

“Haley, I’m going to have that security team here in the morning, but I still think you should consider moving in with me. One more person to look after you isn’t a bad thing.”

“I’m sorry, Ty, but that isn’t going to happen.”

I nodded. I refused to believe she would never move in with me, but I wasn’t going to force the issue yet. I would get her the best security system I could buy, and she would at least have something protecting her.

“Bye,” I said before taking off.

When I got in my truck, I turned the music up and tried to forget about the massive disappointment of missing out on another first in Trinity’s life.

15

HALEY

EventhoughIsaidI would, I didn’t give Trinity the car last night. When we got home from the library, she had been tired, and I didn’t want to get her any more worked up.

That and I didn’t want to admit that Tyson could provide things in life for her that I couldn’t.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have the money to buy her the car. It was just that he could provide so much more than I could. He had more than enough money to buy her toys worth hundreds of dollars without batting an eye. He could afford ballet classes, or gymnastics, or soccer. There was no worry about where her university tuition would come from. He would cover it without thinking twice about tens of thousands of dollars.

I couldn’t do that for her, and it drove me insane.

If she wanted a pony, he could buy it. If she wanted to play dozens of sports or take hundreds of music and art classes, he could afford it.

Had it just been me paying for everything, I would have to be selective in what she was in. I would have to break her heart when I told her that even though Momma made good money, we couldn’t afford ballet and piano.

The first year of her life wouldn’t have been as rough as it was if he had been around. I wouldn’t have had to work as hard. I could have stayed home longer with her. We wouldn’t have been living in a tiny studio apartment crammed together in one room. She would have had a nursery of her own that would have been decorated with all the animal decals I could find.

If I had the money he had, I wouldn’t have called Bret to fly out wherever I was living when things got tough. I wouldn’t beg him to come stay with me for a few days when it all got to be too much.

There would have been more time to spend with her instead of working and trying to provide. There would have been no issues providing.

Hell, if I could have even brought myself to move back to the town I fell in love with Tyson in, I would have been able to have more support.

If I could go back in time and change everything, I would. I would give her the start to life that she deserved. There was so much I could change up until a few weeks ago, and I was sure that I would never regret it.

And then Tyson came crashing into my life, and I realized exactly what I had been lacking.

This morning, I was feeling the mom guilt all too well. I filmed Trinity finding the car for the first time. She squealed and got in, laughing as Bret showed her how it worked.

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