Page 33 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

“I know.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

Letting Tyson in seemed nearly impossible, but I couldn’t keep him away from Trinity anymore. He needed to be in her life, and as she got older, she was going to start asking me about where her father was.

I didn’t want her to miss out on all the father-daughter events that would be held. I didn’t want to have to ask Bret to keep standing in for Tyson even though he would happily do it.

I wanted Trinity to have a family. A mom and a dad who loved her more than anything else.

“You’re right,” I said, grabbing my phone and sending Tyson a quick message. I set the phone back down on the table. “I invited him to go to the zoo with us tomorrow.”

“Good,” Bret said, pulling me into a tight hug. “I know this scares the hell out of you, but I’m so proud of you.”

I hugged him back, even as my heart was beating rapidly. “I hope he doesn’t disappoint her.”

“He’s not going to,” Bret said as he pulled away. “You just wait. He’s going to be the best father you’ve ever seen.”

“I hope so,” I said, the nerves already starting to creep over me the more I thought about the zoo the next day.

I needed this to go well. I needed Tyson to be a part of his daughter’s life for her sake.

***

“We’re almost there,” Tyson said, glancing at Trinity in the mirror.

Trinity squealed and shifted in her seat, stretching to look out the window as Tyson drove us under the gates to the zoo. I looked over at him, grinning when I saw the smile that had been plastered on his face since he picked us up.

When we walked out to his truck, I was surprised to see a pink car seat already installed in the back. I had been fully expecting to have to bring my own.

“Are you ready?” I asked, twisting around to look at Trinity as Tyson parked the car.

“Yes!”

Tyson got Trinity out of her seat and carried her until we were in the zoo. I had a backpack filled with snacks and wet wipes, but he quickly took it from me once he had put her down.

“You don’t have to do that,” I said.

Trinity reached up and took Tyson’s hand. In that instant, my heart melted. I could see everything that I had been keeping them from.

Leaves started changing color as we walked to the first pen where the ponies were waiting. Tyson picked Trinity up and held her close to the fence, letting her reach out and showing her how to pet one of the ponies.

“Has she ever been on a pony ride before?” Tyson asked.

“Nope.”

Trinity grinned as she looked up at Tyson. “I want to ride the pony.”

“Well then,” Tyson said with a grin as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few dollars for the pony ride. “Let’s go pick out a pony for you, shall we?”

I hope he doesn’t buy her an actual pony,I thought, watching as he took Trinity to a pony with spots and settled her onto its back.

I stayed outside the pen, not wanting to ruin the moment between them as they bonded. While Tyson and the zookeeper walked around the pen with the pony, Trinity was squealing and giggling on its back.

I pulled out my phone and took a few pictures as they walked toward me.

When they were done, Trinity came racing back to tell me about her pony ride. I started to worry about her wanting a pony in the future. There was no way that I could imagine having a pony in the backyard.

Based on how Tyson looked at her, I knew she would get whatever she wanted.

“Monkeys!” Trinity squealed as she grabbed Tyson’s hand and took off running.

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