told me he needed to know the truth. There wasn’t a soul around except Hailey’s sleeping mother. Behind his wounded heart was a determination that shook my core. Walker wouldn’t rest until he knew the truth, and he was capable of finding it out by any means necessary.
“There is no reason to admit anything. I am Harrison's mother, and that’s the only thing you need to know about my son.”
“His name is Harrison?” He whispered. “That’s a strong name. He seems like a smart boy.”
“Stay away from my son,” I repeated.
“I will, I promise. I just have to know if he is mine. Please, at least tell me that much.”
The tips of my fingers started to go numb, alerting me to the early stages of a panic attack. I hadn’t had one in years since I’d discovered how much painting helped me. My fingers itched to start running the pencil along the rough pages of my notebook. It was cathartic. Still, Walkers' eyes bored into mine, probing at my heart for an honest answer.
“I will never admit this again, but yes, Harrison is your son,” I said.
“I want to meet him.”
I laughed. “Not a chance in hell! You said you just wanted to know, and now you know, but you are not meeting him. We’ve been just fine the last few years, and I have no intention of changing that.”
“How can you tell me something like that and expect me not to react?”
“You shouldn’t have asked if you didn’t want to know or you couldn’t live with the truth. I tried to tell you to go away, I tried to lie, what more should I have done? Shot you?”
Walker shook his head as he started to pace back and forth. I eyed my truck, wondering what he would think if I made a break for it. Would he try to stop me? Would he grab my waist and pull me against his body? I shuddered and watched him as he shook his head. Walker let out an angry huff before stopping to face me again.
“You should have told me the second you knew you were pregnant. We could have dealt with it together.”
“Dealt with it?” I snapped. “How would you propose we do that? Get married? Get an abortion? Have your mother slip me poison after I gave birth, so you got your son?”
“I would have been there for you! No matter the decision you made! He’s my son!” Walker boomed.
“It was my decision to make, and I wanted to keep him. He is wonderful, and I don’t regret that decision for a single second. Maybe I should have told you but guess what? Mistakes happen. I didn’t want my life to get any more complicated than it already was. None of this matters, as I said, your presence in his life is not needed or wanted.”
“Maybe not by you, but what gives you the right to decide that for Harrison? I am his parent too.”
My throat felt dry. I slowly started to back in the direction of my truck. He was so upset. I didn’t know if I was afraid of him or afraid of what his family could do. Either way, I was done with the conversation. It wasn’t going anywhere good. Everything was going to be different now. My heart ached, knowing all my hard work was about to go down the drain. We couldn’t stay in Texas any longer.
“No. You are not his parent. You were just the sperm donor, got it? Your name isn’t on the birth certificate, and we aren’t married. You have no legal claim to him, and I plan on keeping it that way.”
“How can you do this? You are being a cold-hearted bitch.”
I gasped. “Well, I’m glad to see your true colors are finally coming out. This conversation is over, and I’m leaving. Like I said, it never happened, and I’ll deny ever sleeping with you if that’s what it takes to keep you away from my son.”
“He is my son, too,” Walker whispered. “Please, Stacy. I’m sorry I lost my temper. I just want to meet him. He doesn’t need to know who I am. I don’t want to pull my family or anyone else into this.”
“Walker, I’m sorry that this isn’t what you want to hear, but I don’t think that is going to happen. I didn’t want you in the picture then, and I still don’t know. Harrison and I are our own family. I wish you would