Blinding Trust (Mitchell Family, #7)(4)

Now, for some reason, that bothered me.

Noah had never met Zeke. I didn’t even own a picture of him except from when he was a kid. So, I did what every curious parent would do. I went on the internet and checked him out.

He hadn’t been lying. Zeke was a big star. His band, Dodging Bullets, had even had a platinum song called “Gutter Love”. I was proud of him for his accomplishments. He’d come from nothing and made a life for himself.

Here was the problem.

After reading about his success, I discovered that his road to fame hadn’t been as harmonic. He got into drugs so bad that he was hospitalized and been to rehab three times in the past five years. His first wife left him and the second one was also an ex-addict.

I wasn’t a fool. Living in that kind of life had to be hard. I just didn’t think I was ready to school my son about it. I also didn’t want him idolizing his uncle. I wanted more for my son and he already had a vivid imagination. Thinking that he could be a rockstar too, would have been right up his alley.

I think Savanna sensed right away that I was keeping something from her. I became on edge and it showed even more when I got around my cousin Ty. His constant flirting with my wife had always just been in fun. He loved to tease her. I shouldn’t have gotten offended about it. Except I did.

I felt like jacking his ass up in front of the whole family.

I pretty much avoided him the whole time we were visiting and by the time we left, Savanna was even giving me the cold shoulder. I knew once we got home, she was going to give me hell.

I wish that was all that happened.

I could handle my wife and I knew just how to make things better. She was the love of my life and without her I was nothing. We never fought about things and we also made it a point to not keep things from one another.

I know that’s why she was more than pissed when we got home and had an unexpected visitor, waiting at our door.

I wouldn’t have even recognized him, had it not been for my internet snooping. Zeke had dyed his blonde hair black. He was covered in tattoos, even on his fingers. Some kind of ring was through the center cartilage in his nose and both of his ears were pierced. His leather pants and shirt that looked like it was made from flecks of metal, were also a dead giveaway that he wasn’t just a neighbor, looking for help.

Savanna climbed out of the vehicle, but didn’t get the kids out. She looked up at our porch and then over to me.

I scratched my head to think of what I could say to her, but nothing came. I should have told her.

Zeke walked down a couple steps as I approached him. I heard Savanna telling Noah and Christian that they had to stay in the car. I reached out my hand and reluctantly shook his. “Good to see you.”

“You too, Colt. It’s been too long, man.” I would have been okay if I never saw him again. It wasn’t because I was being an *. I was trying to be a good father. I wanted to protect my son. Uncle or not, this guy was trouble. I just knew it.

“We’re just gettin’ back from North Carolina. If I would have known you were comin’, I would have been able to tell you that.”

He shrugged, while still smiling. “No biggie, man. I just wanted to stop by. My wife wanted to see where I’d spent some of the good parts of my childhood, that’s all. I knew you might not be home. Honestly, I didn’t want to bother you.”

That would have been terrible if he’d showed up when Savanna was home alone. She would have freaked out. I looked around the yard and didn’t see a car. “Where’d you park?”

He pointed toward the back of the house. “I had my driver pull out back. It’s easier for him to turn the limo around back there.”

Limo? Now I knew I had to explain to my family who this guy was.

I looked over at Savanna and took a deep breath, knowing she was going to be so pissed off at me. “Darlin’, come here. There’s someone that I’d like you to meet.”

She smiled one of her unsure smiles and came walking toward me. Honestly, I think he scared her. She put her hand into mine, before I could introduce them. “This is Zeke. He’s Krista’s brother.”

I watched the color leave my wife’s face. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but as words never came, I knew she couldn’t. I squeezed her hand, still waiting for her to say something.

Zeke reached out his hand for her. It took her a second to finally reach out and shake it. “So, is your name Darlin, or should I call you something else?”

We both smiled at his way of breaking the ice. I didn’t know if he sensed her animosity, and I didn’t care, as long as she didn’t pass out or start ripping his eyes out of his head. I’d imagine though, that his eyes were worth a pretty penny to some crazed fans. My wife wasn’t one of those people.

“Nice to meet you. I had no idea that you were in town.” She turned to give me that look where I better not have known or she was going to go off on me later.

I could hear the kids starting to whine.

“If you’ll excuse me, I better get them out.” I watched Savanna go over and start to unbuckle Addy. In a matter of seconds, I saw Christian running from the other side of the vehicle, followed by her brother. A terrible feeling shot directly through my stomach when I realized that I’d have to tell him who this guy was. There was no way out of it.

He ran past us, taking two steps at once. When he got to the door, he tried to pull it open. “Dad, can you unlock it? I have to pee.”