crowd had not yet started as Matilda smiled and came around the corner. She took one look at my state, and the smile slipped from her face. Everything seemed to vibrate as I searched for Harrison. He was sleeping on the office floor, his nap mattress lying in front of a cartoon show that was barely audible.
“What the hell did you tell Walker Wheeler when he came in here?” I hissed at her.
“I didn’t tell him anything. I had no idea who he was at first. He asked about you, and I told him you were out working on a piece. Stacy, what’s going on?”
“He came in here and saw Harrison, and guess what? Now he knows that he has a son, and I don’t think he is the kind of man who is going to forget something like that.”
“Oh no, I don’t understand. How did he find out that he was Harrison's father?”
“Because he isn’t as stupid as I gave him credit for. It was my own fault. I let my guard down. I never should have reconnected with Hailey. None of this would be happening.”
“But you met him at Hailey’s wedding. I don’t think you mean that, because you wouldn’t have Harrison.”
I groaned. I knew that she was right, but my temper was still on fire. I’d driven for almost two hours, my anger and fear over the situation growing with each passing mile. For the last twenty of them, I didn’t care about the speed limit. Fear continued to grow until I got back to the gallery and saw Harrison there and not in the Wheeler family's clutches. My heart lurched at the decisions I had to make. Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut?
“What are we going to do?” Matilda asked.
I shook my head. “I have no idea. This isn’t something he's going to drop. I have no idea if I can fight him in court. He wasn’t kidding about knowing people. The second business starts to drop off, we are going to start sinking fast.”
“Are you thinking about skipping town now while we still have a little money?”
“Right now, we don’t have any answers. Tomorrow I will be able to make a few phone calls and find out what my options are. I really don’t know that he will be able to get anything done before then.”
“You honestly think that Walker is that kind of man? He didn’t seem like the type.”
“Oh? And what did he seem like?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know, he looked delighted when he saw Harrison like he knew that it was his son. It seemed like he was excited.”
“Well, we got two very different versions then. He was full of threats when I talked to him. I really hope that he was bluffing.”
Matty fell silent for a moment, listening for Harrison as he stirred in the next room. My heart softened at the sight of her eagerness to help. I’d come back and instantly taken my anger out on her. It was no fairer than what Walker had done to me earlier in the day. I sighed as my mind raced. There was nothing that I could do for the afternoon, the inability to make progress already driving me a little insane.
“Let’s just take a deep breath,” I said. “We don’t know what is going to happen. We’ll find out more tomorrow. For now, we stay the course and hope that he doesn’t make any rash decisions.”
“It’s just shocking,” Matty said. “He seemed like a nice guy. You’d think he’d want to get to know him or something first, not just jump to taking him away.”
I cringed. “He asked to meet him, but I said ‘no.’ I feel like it’s just opening the door for him to take custody away from me. If he sees him, it sets a precedent there. I don’t want to risk it.”
“Stacy, don’t you think that Harrison deserves the chance to know his father?” She asked.
“You are on his side in this? No offense but you don’t know that family. You haven’t been around here long enough to hear the rumors. They have deep pockets, and they don’t like anyone messing with the pecking order.”
“But this is Harrison's father.”
“And a Wheeler. Do you know what happened to his older brother when he wouldn’t stop sleeping around? They forced him to get married. If that could happen to him, think of what they’d do to me to get ahold of my son.”