Blinding Trust (Mitchell Family, #7)(43)
This was news to me. I didn’t know anything about a surprise and the thought of it made me leery. In fact, everything about Zeke made me leery after last night. He was trying to make himself out to be this normal guy, but behind closed doors, he was anything but that. What worried me more was that Noah was oblivious to any of the bad stuff. He only saw the cool and amazing things that Zeke wanted him to see. He was wooing him into acceptance and that wasn’t alright, in my book. It was downright wrong!
Our pancakes came with a mountain of whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries. Noah dug in right away, after pouring a giant cup of maple syrup all over his plate.
We spent a lot of time together on the farm, but most of the time, it was because he was helping me with something. It had never been because we were on a trip together. As angry as I was at how he was treating Savanna, I had to appreciate being able to have this time with him.
Still, in the back of my mind, I worried about Savanna being so mad at me. I also had a problem with Ty being the shoulder she was going to cry on. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my cousin and his quirky ways, albeit he was Savanna’s first love, and that was hard to let go of. I’d be a fool if I didn’t worry about the two of them.
I didn’t have Miranda on my side when it came to my feelings about the two of them. Ever since the mess that Heather put them through, she’d been sure that he would never stray from their marriage. All I could do was hope that she was right.
I think I’d been on edge for so long that everything Ty said was just getting to me more than it ever had before. My relationship with Savanna felt different, somehow. Being away just wasn’t helping things in that department. It was hard, having to choose between your child and your wife, when they both seemed to need me equally.
When we were just about finished eating, the limousine driver came in and said that Zeke had requested that he bring us to where he was shooting his new music video. He said that Noah’s surprise was going to be there, so naturally, Noah got all excited.
We paid for our food and got back in the limousine to start on a long drive. Our destination was not what I would have pictured for a music video being shot. It was located at a dilapidated house. Outside of the house, several work vans were parked with media logos printed on the sides. A few people stood on the porch talking to one another.
When Zeke didn’t come outside, we started to walk in to look for him. This crazy women, probably in her late fifties, came running toward Noah. She grabbed him by the arm and started pulling him further inside of the house. “It’s about time you got here. We’ve been waiting thirty minutes to get this scene in. Time is money, child.”
I grabbed his other arm, causing them to stop. “Just hold on a minute, lady. Who are you and what the heck are you talkin’ about?”
She shook her head, like she was dealing with a couple of idiots. “The video, of course…”
“I think I can explain.” Zeke came out of a room. He was wearing jeans, for a change. His hair was more tame and his shirt covered up almost all of his tattoos. “This is Ramona. She’s my manager. Just ignore her forwardness. Anywhoo, I brought you guys here today to give Noah a big surprise.” He looked down at Noah. “How would you like to be in my rock video?”
While my son jumped up and down like a monkey, I crossed my arms over my chest. “We need to talk. In private! Now!” There was no way in hell this guy was going to do something so bold without mine and Savanna’s written permission. This wasn’t a surprise for Noah, at all. He was exposing him to something that I wasn’t about to be okay with.
He turned to Ramona. “Watch the kid. Be nice!”
Zeke led me to an empty bedroom. He shut the door behind us and finally gave me his attention. “What’s up, Colt?”
I pointed at his face. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong! You got no right to make decisions regardin’ my son without my permission. Me and his mother are the only ones to decide what’s best for him.”
“Look, man, it’s a f*cking video, not a surgical procedure. I ain’t asking you for a kidney. I thought you would feel honored.”
I ran my hands through my hair and just shook my head trying to control myself before I threw this * up against the wall. “I did you a favor by lettin’ my son come to stay with you. It’s nice that you want to get to know Noah, but I can’t let him do somethin’ like this without talkin’ to his mother.”
He chuckled. “It’s funny that you keep calling her that, considering we both know she ain’t his real mother.”
“She’s been his REAL mother since the day he came into our lives. You can say and think whatever you want. Savanna and I have given that kid more than your sister ever could. I won’t stand here and hear you say shit like that. Got it?”
He put his hands up. “Okay, okay! I get it. Look, I want Noah to do this with me. It would mean a lot. If you need to make some calls and talk it over with Savanna, go ahead. I can let everyone know that we need to shoot a different scene until I know what to do.”
It was weird that he calmed down so quickly. I didn’t doubt that he was afraid of me, but it seemed like he just agreed to make me happy. “Fine. I’ll call his mother and let you know.”
“What do I tell the kid in the meantime?”
“You tell him that minors need permission from their parents to participate, because it’s the damn truth.” I walked out of the house, still feeling like I wanted to bust him up. Savanna was definitely going to flip with this one.