Losing Him (Mitchell Family #8)(8)

I put my hands up. “I’m not here about Rick. He’s never been my dad and I don’t need answers to prove that. You probably think I’m crazy, but Heather’s been through a lot, some of which she refuses to tell me about. I was hoping that your wife would be able to help me fill in the blanks.”

He cocked an eyebrow and scratched his head. “You want answers about Heather?”

“Yeah, I really do. I can’t keep living the way I am. I need closure and to know that moving on is the right thing to do. I want the damn truth for once.”

“I can do you one better.” He seemed to be intrigued that I was in the dark about some things.

“How so?”

“You go on in and get that haircut. Leave your number with me and I’ll call you tomorrow. If you really want the truth, I’ll let you hear all of it. My cousin is comin’ into town in a few hours, so I need to pick her up from the airport, but I will get back at you.” He looked over at Jacob. “He’s welcome to play out here until you’re finished. My niece will keep an eye on him.” He looked over at a girl playing with a phone, who was sitting on the porch. “Bells, can you make sure your brothers don’t give this kid any grief?”

The girl rolled her eyes but agreed.

“Ty’s daughter?” I asked.

“She’s his world, man. He would walk through fire for that kid, for all his kids, but she’s the princess.”

I shook his hand again and gave him my number. “Thanks again.” Honestly, from the way he acted, I could tell that I wasn’t going to like what they had to say, but if it helped me move on I was willing to hear them out.

Amy was sweeping some hair off of the floor when I walked in. I knew it had to be her, since she was the only one in the little salon. She looked up at me and smiled. “Can I help you?”

I ran my hands through my hair. “I was hoping to get a trim.”

“Sit down here and let me see what I can do.” She started playing with my hair, getting right to business. “Are you new in town?”

“Here for a funeral.” She spun my chair around and looked at me. “There’s only one funeral in town today.” When she noticed me crack a curious grin she explained. “It’s a small town and Conner reads the paper every morning with his coffee. He likes pretending he’s some old farmer, or something. Anyway, he told me and then someone from church called and let us know. So, were you related to Miss Kat?”

I sighed, knowing she was going to freak out. “I’m Je…”

“I know who you are. I was just hoping you weren’t.” She put down her scissors and looked right at me. “You’re Jessie. I can tell now, seeing the resemblance.”

I put up my hand. “I didn’t come here to talk about that man. He’s a stranger, and I can assure you, I have no interest in knowing anything about him.”

“So, you came here for a simple trim?” She didn’t seem like she believed that.

“I came here for answers and a trim. You see, I’m not with Heather. I mean, I’m here with her for support, but we are not together.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” She picked up the scissors and started trimming my hair again.

“Why are you sorry? From what I know, you have a bunch of reasons to hate her.”

I could hear an air filled laugh. “Yeah, well I don’t feel the same way that my sister-in-law does. Granted, they went through a lot more than me. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for Heather saving my life. After that horrible day, I wiped the slate clean. That’s just my feelings though. My family has their own opinions about her.”

“She’s a good mother. I just feel like she’s a stranger to me. It’s like I don’t know the person that I had a relationship with.”

“Does she know you’re here?”

“No!”

She spun me around to face her again. “Look, I’ve had issues with Heather and some of her actions, but at the end of the day, I’ve watched a broken girl do drastic things out of desperation. Her biggest mistake was loving someone that didn’t love her back. She was so determined to change his mind that she did crazy things. She was also young and na?ve. People can change.” She cut more of my hair while I remained silent. “I think you’re the person who made her want to be better.”

“That’s crazy. I was just a kid, being seduced by her lies.”

She sighed and stopped cutting again. “When Rick had me at gunpoint and was going to kill me, Heather saved me. We talked briefly, but she told me how she’d fallen in love with you. She wanted to be real with you. That’s the truth.”

“She had a terrible way of showing it then. Our relationship was built on lies, but thanks for telling me that.”

She finished cutting my hair and I stood up to grab my wallet. “No charge. It was good to finally meet you. I’ve wondered about you, but I never wanted to ask Krista about it.”

I smiled hearing my sister’s name. “She’s a pretty cool girl. I’m taking Jacob to visit her while I’m in town.”

“Jacob, huh? Do you know that…”

“Yeah, I just figured it out. Heather wouldn’t tell me why she didn’t want that name. I get it now.”