Page 80 of Halo

“That?” I snarl. “That's your first concern? Not the fact that our son nearly died?”

Her expression hardens. “Don't turn this around on me. You had no right to tell him something that important without talking to me first!”

A bitter laugh slips out. “I didn't tell him, Tiffany. He's smart and observant. He figured it out on his own.” I shake my head. “The pediatrician called me his dad, so he asked me if it was true. Was I supposed to lie to his face?”

“You could've told him you'd explain later.”

“So I could put him off again?” I rake both hands through my hair, feeling the exhaustion and anger boiling over. “Do you have any idea how many things in that little boy's life have already been put off because you thought there'd always be another time?”

She crosses her arms. “So this is all my fault?”

“I didn't say that—”

“But you implied it!” She pitches her voice higher, mocking me. “‘Don't worry, Grady. Daddy’s here now. The man who missed the first five years gets to swoop in and be the fucking hero now.’”

“Because of you,” I growl. “You kept him away from me. You made that choice. Not me. You.”

The words hang between us like smoke in a ceasefire. Tiffany's shoulders sag, all the fight draining out of her.

I scrub a hand over my face, forcing myself to unclench my jaw. “Look ... I will never understand why you chose to keep me from my son, but I also know you've been trying.” I exhale heavily. “It ends here. You're not doing this alone anymore. You reached out because you needed me—and that's not a criticism. It's the reality. But more than you, Grady needs both of us, and I've done more than enough to prove that I'm here to stay.” I point toward the hallway where Grady disappeared. “He's my kid.”

My gaze drifts to Grady's empty bed, the blankets still rumpled from where he'd been lying only minutes ago. The indentation of his tiny body is already beginning to disappear.

I swallow the knot in my throat before I continue. “Do you have any idea what it felt like standing there yesterday, completely helpless? To not know something so basic, and yet incredibly life-threatening about my own child?”

“But you figured it out—”

“No.” I snap. “That's not the point. I watched him try to die in my fucking arms because of a situation that was preventable had I known.” I shake my head. “I can buy him EpiPens. I can make sure there's one at my house, one in my truck, one in his backpack. I can order backups. I can buy him a damn medical alert bracelet today in every color of the rainbow. I can teach him how to avoid certain foods.” I hold her gaze. “But I can't do any of that if you keep withholding information from me, if you keep treating me like I'm not his dad.”

Tiffany wipes at her cheeks with the heel of her hand, staring down at the floor. “What are you asking me to do?” she asks quietly.

“I'm not asking,” I say. “I'm telling you this can't keep going the way it has. I'm going to hire a lawyer.”

She stiffens. “For custody?”

“No, I'm not trying to take him away from you. I'm talking about my rights as his father,” I say matter-of-factly. “The right to make medical decisions. The right to sign school paperwork. The right to be called if something happens instead of finding out after the fact or because you approved it or because his school has no one else to call.”

With her arms crossed, she shifts her weight from one foot to the other, chewing the inside of her cheek.

“If something happened to you tomorrow ...” My throat tightens around the thought. “Do you know what position that would leave Grady in? Me? We don't even have anything on paper saying I'm his father.”

The tension in her face slowly unravels. “I guess I never thought of that.”

I let out a humorless chuckle. “Same.”

Another silence settles between us, only this time, it's quieter. Like the anger has burnt itself out as we stand in the midst of a battlefield.

“I don't want to fight you in court,” I say. “I don't want lawyers deciding what's best for Grady because we couldn't figure this out ourselves.” I take a slow breath. “But if that's what it takes to protect him, then I'll do it. I'll do it in a fucking heartbeat.”

She studies me for a long moment. “You'd really do that?”

“I'd do anything for him.”

Her shoulders finally relax as she offers her hand. “Then okay. Let's do it.”

The corners of my mouth slowly curl as I shake her hand. “Okay.”

Chapter 20