his son now. It won’t be long before they come after us.”
“Then let’s go,” Matty said. “We can go right now. Your work can be done anywhere, and you two are the only family that I have.”
“No matter what happens, we are a family,” I promised her. “You aren’t going to be left behind, okay?”
“Good,” she said.
I could see the relief in her eyes. It filled my heart with pain, knowing we were going to have to uproot our lives. Matty had made friends in the area and seemed to be gaining some footing. I wouldn’t tell her she had to stay any more than I would force her to come with me. She was her own person, but I was happy she was my people too.
I patted her leg as Harrison squirmed across the couch into my arms. He curled up and turned his attention back to the painting show airing on television. He was too young to understand what was going on, but he could sense the trepidation in the air as a sensitive child. My heart ached for our little family. Who knew what tomorrow was going to bring?
No matter what, we were together, and nothing could change that, as long as we left our home and never looked back. My grip on Harrison tightened as fear coursed through me. I couldn’t lose my baby.
22
Chapter Twenty-One (Walker)
“There’s this new steak place right outside of town that is supposed to be great, I thought we could try that.”
The door was standing open as I tugged on my second boot and hopped over to the door. Stacy’s truck was no longer sitting in the driveway. My heart plummeted to my stomach as I frantically searched the house for her. I knew she was gone, but it didn’t seem real. Everything was going perfectly; we’d talked before and after, and it had felt like we were on the same page.
I moved to the phone to call her when I saw the voicemail light flash. Stumbling as I listened, I sank back into the leather upholstery, my chest pounding like I’d been struck by a bull. Stacy must have heard the message and assumed the worst. It sounded terrible. With shaking hands, I dialed her number, but the line went straight to her voicemail. Cursing under my breath, I jogged back to my bedroom and grabbed my cell phone.
There were no messages or missed calls from her. Quickly sending her a message that we needed to talk, I waited for a reply, expecting none. I paced back and forth through the house, seething with rage as the message replayed for a second time. I’d almost bet that a phone call from my mother had prompted my attorney's phone call. Without hesitation, I dialed my mother’s number.
“Hi sweetheart, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon. How are you doing?” She asked.
“What the hell did you do? Did you call the lawyer after promising me you wouldn’t?” I growled.
“Now, don’t go taking that tone with me! I told you I would start anything or do any digging. You said you already spoke to him. All I did was call to follow up on anything he may have found.”
“You had no right. You made him break my confidentiality.”
She scoffed. “Don’t be silly, I did no such thing. I simply told the man that you needed answers and to get it sorted it out, or you’d find someone who would.”
“Do you have any idea how much damage you have done? That idiot left a message on my machine that Stacy just heard. She thinks I’m going after custody now.”
“I know how you feel about her son, but is that such a bad thing? Maybe she will see just how serious a situation this could be.”
“Or maybe she’ll leave, which is well within her rights, and I’ll never see either of them again!”
“All the more reason you should have petitioned for a paternity test to start with. Honestly, I don’t know why you are so upset with me. You are the one who spoke with the legal team, correct?”
I was blown away by her inability to take responsibility in the situation. It was even more infuriating that she was right. I’d been the one to contact the lawyers, not her. It had been an action out of foolish pride that I was now regretting. Stacy wouldn’t have anything to do with me after hearing the message. My heart felt like it was going to