“All right, weirdo,” I said, giggling. “The silken cloud flower it is.”
“Good choice. They have it in yellow as well as orange. Which one do you want?”
“Let’s go with ora
nge,” I said.
If this man was related in any way to the man who had pulled me out of my bed by my neck, then I knew he was serious. He was serious about getting his money, and he was serious about the threat against my child. Would it just be better for me to pay this man off? He said he would go away if I gave him the money. Was he telling the truth with something like that? Or would he only come back and hound me for more money?
“You guys have the nursery down, right?” Anna asked.
“Yep. Bryan’s made the entire nursery set,” I said.
“Such a man. Mm. You’ve got yourself a good one there.”
“You had yourself a good one with Drew too. You guys talked lately?”
“Let’s not get into that today. Today is all about buying cute baby stuff for my little niece or nephew,” she said.
“Uh- huh. You’re not getting out of this conversation that easily,” I said.
“I know, but let’s save it for food or something. Right now, I want to focus on all the cute stuff in this store.”
I was scared for my child’s life. The man who had come into my shop was rough. He was more than ready to gut the paintings on my wall and had no issues with intimidating me to get what he wanted. He had no moral code, and he certainly had no boundaries. And the money he was seeking out was a lot. Men had killed each other over much less.
And the worst part about it was that if Bryan got dragged into this, he would have to rehash his brother’s death like I was being made to do. The man’s questions about the paintings had thrown me off, but once he started diving into details of my past with John, it made me sick. I couldn’t drag Bryan back into something like that. Things were going so well for him with the foundation and our marriage. He was so excited about having a child with me, and I didn’t want to dampen any of this for him. He had dealt with enough guilt and enough bullshit surrounding his brother’s death. Hell, he was still going through it with his own mother.
I couldn’t drag him back into this if money was how I could solve it.
“Hailey, are you okay?”
“What?” I asked.
“Okay. I’ve asked you three times if you’re going to use cloth diapers or use disposable ones. What gives? And don’t give me the nothing trick. I know something’s wrong.”
“Anna, I’m tired. I can’t have caffeine, and I am riddled with hormones I can’t control. This child is less than two months from being born, and I just feel unprepared.”
“You’re nervous,” Anna said.
“Yes. Very.”
“Uh-huh. I’m not sure I believe you fully, but I’ll accept it for now. But you know you’re going to be a wonderful mother, right?” she asked.
“I’m trying to be.”
What would a wonderful mother do in a situation like this? Would she pay off a drug runner to keep her child safe? Or would she go to the police and inform them of what was going on and risk the safety of her child? Maybe Bryan’s mother was right and I was going to be a terrible mother.
“And with the diapers, I still don’t know. At this point, I think I’m going to go disposable for now. It’ll be easier, at least in the beginning,” I said.
“Then you’ll need diapers as well as a diaper pail.”
“How much are you planning on spending today?” I asked.
“As much as I can until you stop me.”
“So, I take it your work at the foundation is going well?”
“Oh, it’s going wonderfully. I can support myself while giving help to those who need it the most. Ellen has hired me as an in-house counsel as well, so that income really helps. It was her hiring me on in that position that enabled me to take on the project I’m doing this summer. You know, the free legal counsel thing.”