isn’t something you’d normally do. So how did the date go? Is that what’s got you all riled up?”
“Jesus, no. Did mom tell you about it? Christ, I wonder if that woman knows anything about me sometimes. If she does, it sure doesn’t show in her taste of women.”
“Then someone else has you all worked up, huh?” He asked. “Maybe that woman from the gallery? Hailey mentioned you two had a history.”
“Let it go,” I snapped.
He fell silent. My reaction was extreme, but everything about the situation felt new and strange. Part of me still considered that the child might not even be mine, but the bigger section pointed out that it was impossible. There were certain traits about the Wheeler line that were obvious, like the color of our eyes. I’d traveled all across the globe and never found a color quite like it.
“Does this have anything to do with her son?” Jackson asked.
My heart skipped as Jackson's house came into view, Stacy’s familiar truck sitting out front.
“Walker,” Jackson said. “Don’t do anything rash okay?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Maybe you wouldn’t mind filling me in since there is some big secret I’m missing.”
He hesitated. “Look, we’re already down at Thompson’s place. Come down and talk to Hailey, okay? She said the boy looked an awful lot like you.”
“Sure,” I muttered.
I ended the call abruptly as I pulled in behind Stacy’s vehicle. It was about time I got some answers.
7
Chapter Six (Stacy)
The second I recognized his truck, my heart started to race. Walker was flying through the field, quickly approaching the house and front yard where I sat. Before he’d skidded to a halt behind my pickup, I had my sketch pad and pencil packed up. He was the last person I wanted to see on the empty farm. Hailey’s mom was snoring from her roost on the small guest houses porch. She would be of no help.
He jumped down from the driver’s seat, looking every inch the delicious brooding man I remembered from before. The anger in his eyes was evident as he clenched his jaw. There was a difference in assuming I knew why he was there and him actually speaking up. I wouldn’t make it easy on him. Not because he deserved it but to protect my son.
“I want to know something,” He said.
“Well, too bad, I don’t feel like talking to you. You are blocking me in, I don’t want to drive through the yard.” Though I would if needed.
“How old is your son? The one you didn’t tell me you had. I want to know.”
“My son is none of your concern,” I said. “He has nothing to do with us.”
“There is no ‘us,’ and you know it. I want to know the truth, Stacy. I’ve never been terrific with timelines, but if you ask me, he was born about nine months after the wedding, am I right?”
My stomach lurched. He wasn’t going to drop the subject. Every mistake I’d made that led me up to that moment ran through my mind. Walker was still a Wheeler, and the last name struck fear in me. He couldn’t ever know that Harrison was his son. My boy would make that decision when he was old enough.
“No. I had him with my ex-boyfriend. You were just a one-time affair. The dates don’t match up; he was premature.”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you. Not one bit. I saw the boy, I looked into his eyes.”
“You went to the gallery? How dare you!”
“So now I’m banished from your store? That doesn’t seem like outstanding customer service. I’ve got a lot of pull in this community.”
My heart continued to pound so hard I wondered if I was going to pass out. The whole conversation was rocking my stomach. The idea of my son being ripped away from me was the only emotion that I had. I would never let him go.
“I don’t care about your money or your power. If you ever go near my son again, I will rip you to shreds, do you understand me? I told you he isn’t yours.”
“Why not prove it and do a DNA test?” He asked. “Then we can drop this whole thing. I’ll even compensate you for your time.”
“It will be a cold day in hell before I let you or anyone in your family near my son.” I hissed.
“Why won’t you just admit that he is mine?” He pleaded.
Something inside of me softened. The hitch in his voice