Loving Her (Mitchell Family #9)(16)

Colt did the digging with the machine, probably needing the time inside the little thing to gather his thoughts. He’d always shut down as a self-coping mechanism. I didn’t understand how someone could keep their pain bottled up like the way he did.

Once the hole was large enough to fit a car – yes, that is how big he dug it – we headed back to the house. I’m sure Miranda had helped, but Van had lunch waiting for us. Noah and Izzy hadn’t come back inside, but I figured that having them spending time together was the best remedy. If anyone could keep his mind off of losing Sam, it was Izzy.

The younger kids sat in the kitchen eating. The adults retreated to the dining room where we sat there quietly, not knowing what to say to each other. Van must have hated that nobody was talking. She cleared her voice after finishing a bite of her sandwich. “How was the drive? Did the kids behave?”

“As much as can be expected. They slept for a lot of it, until Ty slammed on the brakes and pretended we were crashin’.”

“You didn’t?” She looked at me with wide eyes. “Never mind. I take it back when it has something to do with you.”

“It was funny at the time. Besides, Miranda knows how I am.”





“A child in a grown up body?”

Van laughed at her comment.

I shook my head. “No! A dad with a sense of humor.”

While we bickered, Colt got up and walked in the direction of his office. A few seconds later, Colt’s mom came walking in the door. Noah walked over to her and let her comfort him.

I couldn’t stand it anymore. Being in this house for one more second was setting me crazy. I knew they needed to say goodbye and everyday things would get easier, but watching these kids so sad was too much for me.

Without telling Miranda what I was up to, I retreated to the bathroom, where I started looking for Lab puppies for sale in the area. I found two ads right away and saved the numbers.

Once I was outside, I called and found out that there was a female Lab who was ten weeks old and looking for a home. Colt was going to kill me, but I was going to get them a dog so that the kids could smile again.

After I let Iz in on my secret plan, we snuck away. Miranda texted me and I told her that Iz and I were doing something special to cheer everyone up. I knew she didn’t trust my judgment, so of course I got plenty more messages with her demanding to know what I was up to.

I sort of knew she’d try to talk me out of it, so I ignored her messages, knowing she’d forgive me at some point.

“Daddy, I think it’s really nice what you’re doin’.”

“I hope everyone else feels that way.”

“Noah’s really sad.” She looked out the window as she spoke.

I started paying attention to the directions on the navigation, so we didn’t get lost. “All pets die, babe. It’s part of life. As sad as it is, we all learn to cope.”

“So you’re not gettin’ them a dog so they can forget about Sam?”

“No, of course not. I’m getting them a puppy so they can start over. Sam may be gone, but they loved having her around. A new puppy will fill that void and make it easier for them to move on. Understand?”

“Yeah, I’m eleven, not five, dad.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m aware of how old you are, Iz. I was there when you were born, remember?”

She smiled and looked over at me. “I can’t forget it when you remind me ALL the time.”

“That day changed my life. I can’t help it if it’s one of the best days I’ve ever experienced. I want everyone to know. I’ll scream it from the rooftops and tell every boy that tries to date you. I say try, because there is no way I’ll ever let you date a boy.”

“Dad, stop. Please. You’re embarassin’ me.”

“Do you know that if you tongue kiss a boy, you can get pregnant?”

“Eww! Gross. Kissin’ with a tongue?”

I was happy that she didn’t seem to know what French kissing was. “It’s true. Don’t you ever let a boy stick his tongue in your mouth, you hear me?”

“Yes. I hear you. Can we please talk about something else?”

I laughed, ignoring the fact that I’d lied. She needed to be scared of boys, so that they wouldn’t have the chance to ever hurt her.

I pulled up at the address a little while later. Iz refused to talk for the rest of the ride. I think she was regretting going with me because of my choice of topics. When she was an adult she’d understand.

We knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer so we could see the puppy. I wasn’t about to buy some mutt. Colt would want the real deal when it came to a puppy. He’d always had Labs growing up, so I knew I wasn’t going wrong.

A woman, looking to be my age, opened the door. She invited us in and froze when she saw Iz. She looked from me to my daughter and then back to me again.

I shook it off, thinking nothing of it.

We walked into the kitchen, where we saw one puppy and its mother. The mother came over to smell and greet us, and within seconds so did the pup. She was chocolate in color and had light hazel eyes. Iz picked her up and kissed her, while I went to ask about the pup’s health.

The little chocolate Lab was going to be perfect, so I pulled out the cash and paid for her, excited that I had something for everyone to smile about.