tone was cold and calculating. She wasn’t worried about the business; she just couldn’t stand the idea of me dating a woman with a kid. One day she would see the irony in it, but at that moment, she was just pissing me off. I took a deep breath, so I didn’t lose my temper.
“Fine, mother. I will tell you whatever you want to know in two days.”
“If you don’t, I will hire a private investigator to find out who this woman is and what kind of skeletons she has in the closet. You may not see this as anything but a harmless fling. Still, a woman with a child has already had loose morals once; I don’t want you to become the first in our family to have a child with a woman you don’t love.”
“Seriously? Would it be so bad for me to have a son?”
“Don’t be stupid; that would be awful! Unless you are with the baby's mother, of course. Then we could plan a wedding, and this would all be behind us. So unless you are thinking of marrying this woman, I suggest you practice safe sex.”
“Jesus, mother, I don’t need a lecture from you about this. And another thing, what if I did marry her, what’s so wrong with having a stepson.”
“Nothing, I’m sure, but it’s not the Wheeler way. You’ve got two days.”
“Thanks, mom, it’s always such a pleasure talking to you,” I said.
“Oh, Walker, you know that I love you. I just want the very best for each of my sons. With the way that Jackson did things, I just want to make sure that you are starting off life on the right foot.”
“Do you think Jackson regrets any of that now?” I asked. “Because from the outside looking in, he sure does have it made.”
“Well, now he does, of course, but the way those two started things, that couldn’t have been easy.”
“Nothing worth having is easy, mom,” I reminded her.
She sighed. “I’ll speak to you soon, Walker. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I said.
I knew that she was coming from a good place, but it still ruffled my feathers to know that I had a deadline. If my mother started digging around, it wouldn’t be long before things blew up. As soon as she discovered who Harrison was, she would want to use every power she had to make sure I had some custody.
In my mind, there wasn’t a force strong enough to get me to take any parenting rights away from Stacy. My mother would find another way though to get her own way. Be it through the courts, money, or plea, if she wanted to see Harrison, it would happen. Before she was able to dig her claws into the family I wanted, Stacy and I needed to have an essential conversation.
She still wasn’t answering her phone, though. As long as she was icing me out, I couldn’t make a move. There was someone she cared about, though, someone who knew us both and would be willing to help. My fingers hovered over the phone as my stomach sank. It felt dishonest to be pulling someone else into my plan, but there didn’t seem like any other way.
“Hey, brother!” Jackson answered. “How’s life on the lam from mom?”
“Not so great. I answered the phone, a big mistake. She’s giving me two days to tell her what’s going on before she starts snooping herself.”
“Ouch, how’s it going with Stacy?”
I groaned. “I kind of made a mess of things, to be honest. I was hoping you and Hailey might be able to come out and talk for a bit. I could use her help on this one.”
He chuckled. “I was wondering when we were going to hear from you.”
“Thanks,” I said. “It’s good to know you guys have such confidence in me. You know, I almost got her to trust me on my own.”
“Let me guess you slept with her again?”
“What can I say, a man wants what a man wants, and I really do want that woman.”
“Alright, brother, let me finish up chores around here, then we will head that way. Maybe Hailey can still fix things. You know you’re going to have to tell her everything, though, right?”
“Yeah,” I grumbled. “I know. I’ll see you when you get here.”
I moved to my front porch and watched the men as they went about the morning chores. My mind was racing. Hailey would have to know that Harrison was my son