Addison (The Mitchell/Healy Family #6)(62)

Bella turned to Rusty and then back to us. “We got in last night. After getting Rusty and Sarah settled at Noah’s, I went over to your parent’s house.”

“You did?”

She nodded. “I think when he saw me walk through the door it hit him. He didn’t even ask why I was there. Your mom seemed relieved to be honest. I know she stands by him, but it was obvious she didn’t agree with his decision.”

“For the record, in my opinion he’s doing this because he thinks it’s best for the family. He assumed that cutting you off would make you come home and give up Cole.”

“Cole deserved a chance though.”

“All I wanted was to have a chance. It’s obvious I love his daughter. I’m not the enemy. We both want what’s best for her.” Cole’s explanation wasn’t anything new. Everyone in the room was aware of how he felt.

“Well, you’re not going to have to wait long for him to get in touch with you. I wanted to come here first; to prepare you.”

“Prepare us?” I asked.

“Yeah, after our talk he called my dad. Your mom was in tears over it. They’d all kept my paternity a secret for so long. They knew once Cole found out we were related it would get back to everyone else. They broke the law to protect me from the Chase family. Apparently our grandma was trying to take me. I know you didn’t have a good upbringing, but I did. My dad is my only father. He was there when I was born, and he’s been with me ever since then. We never needed blood to be related. I’m his in every way that counts. He loves me unconditionally and I love him the same. The idea of her taking that away from him made him go to extremes to protect me. Uncle Colt didn’t want my dad getting hurt. He needed to make sure he was okay with it. The thing is, I’d already told him about you. It was his idea for me to intervene, and that’s when I brought it up to Noah.”

“I’m glad you did,” Cole admitted.

“Your dad will be here any second. I asked him for a little bit to explain why I took matters into my own hands. I knew things would become heated. You’ve got two men who are fighting for your love. It wouldn’t have ended the way you wanted it to. Now it doesn’t have to be that way. Addison, we both know your father doesn’t apologize. I have no idea what he’s going to say to either one of you. You need to be prepared for anything, but just know he’s not going to cut you out of his life anymore. He seemed like he was about to break anyway. I just eased his mind a bit. Just because we were born to illegitimate people doesn’t mean we’ll turn out like them. Life is what we make it.”

“Please tell me you’re going to stick around for this,” I asked Bella.

“Are you kidding? I love drama. My ass is staying right on this couch.”

The sound of gravel moving around caught our attention. Cole looked out the blinds to see who it was. “It’s your parent’s SUV. They’re here.”

I got up to greet them, opened the door, and saw my dad with a bouquet of lilies. Chris and Ethan hopped out of the back, carrying gifts, while my mom had grocery bags. The moment I saw them, after a month being away, I started to tear up. “Hi.”

My mom was the first to kiss me. “Hi sweetie. You look wonderful. I didn’t know what to bring, so I made us lunch.”

Chris walked by and shoved a couple packages in my arms. “Here. They’re house warming gifts.”

“This isn’t a party,” I mentioned.

“It is now,” she corrected. “You know how this family is. Just go with it.”

Ethan smiled and gave me a nod before heading inside, leaving me to face my father alone. He didn’t come close enough to hug me. Instead he stood a full body’s length away. “Addison, it’s good to see you.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Don’t come here and pretend to be nice to Cole. I told you before, and I’ll tell you again, I love him and nothing you can say will change it.”

“I reckon I might have been wrong to push you away. You need to understand that I was only thinking of your best interest. His relatives caused us nothing but pain. I was thinking of your mother, and what they took from us.”

“Dad, Cole wasn’t a part of that. His mother abandoned him. She left him alone in his house for days without food or nourishment. He was a little boy. Do you think for one second he’d want anything to do with her, or anyone else in that family?”

“Are you going to let me get a word in?”

“Are you going to be nice?”

My dad smirked and then shook his head. “You’re hard-headed. You get it honestly. No one could ever tell me I was wrong without a fight.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Are you admitting you were wrong?”

“I’m admitting I handled things improperly. You’re my little girl and I felt threatened. Your sister was assaulted a while back and I couldn’t do anything for her. When I heard who you were involved with it concerned me. I didn’t want you going through something traumatic. We couldn’t afford to lose you again to drugs.”

“Daddy, when you forced him away I went out and bought drugs. I was that messed up where I wanted to forget about everything, even my accomplishments.”

“So you used?”

I shook my head. “No. Cole saw me on the road and stopped me. I was seconds away from making a terrible mistake and he was there to save me. That’s what he does, Daddy. He keeps me safe. He makes me happy, and when we’re together I’m different.”