Loving Her (Mitchell Family #9)(30)

I stood up and saw that Bella had run away too. Ty came walking out of the house with a sandwich in his hand. “Where’d you get that, guys?”

“Under Mimi’s sink. Ain’t it pretty?”

Ty picked up the snake and looked it over. “You grabbed it with your hands?”

“Yeah. Mimi got us a box. She said you used to have a snake. Can we keep it, dad?” Jake asked.

“Please,” Jax added.

Ty ignored the fact that I was wiping off my butt from being scared and falling down. “I think I have a tank in the barn attic. Let’s go see if we can find it.”

The three of them started heading toward the barn.

I looked at Bella and she looked back at me. “Keep it in that barn, Ty. I don’t want a snake in the house.”

Ty waved and kept walking with the boys, more proud that they’d caught it than the fact that I was petrified.

I put my arm around my daughter and we walked in the house. “What do you say we head into town and get you somethin’ new to wear tomorrow? It will be like the first day all over again.”

“Can we eat at the mall, too?”

I thought about the guys and their new obsession with a wild snake. “I’d love to not be here when they try to bring that thing back into this house.”

A few minutes later we were back in the car, heading to the mall. We rarely had time to ourselves, so it was fun to turn up the radio and sing at the top of our lungs. Bella was getting into music more, and she had a couple posters of popular boy bands on her walls, even though it drove her father crazy. If Ty had it his way, she would be in a chastity belt until she was fifty.

Since it was still early, we decided to shop before getting something to eat. Bella pulled me in and out of three stores until she’d found the perfect outfit. Of course, according to the price tag, it was also the most expensive. I thought about all she’d been through and decided to splurge. When I handed the cashier my credit card, I leaned down and whispered in Bella’s ear, “Don’t tell dad how much this was. He’ll freak.”

Bella gave me a funny look and shrugged. “Okay.”

She seemed thrilled to have a new look, and it was nice that we had some time alone together. We’d had plenty in the hospital, but it certainly wasn’t as fun as being out.

Bella loved a small restaurant that was located in the mall. Once we were seated, she excused herself to use the bathroom. Since she always carried her IPod with her, she left her small purse on the table when she walked away.

Our waitress came over carrying our drinks and one spilled over on the table. I reached for the purse, trying to avoid it getting wet, and Bella’s things came flying out of it. The waitress started cleaning up the mess, while I stared at a white folded piece of paper that had come out of the purse. I looked over and didn’t see my daughter, so I opened it up and couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

I didn’t remember ever seeing it in the paper, but someone must have called and had it put in. Our family was well known, so it wasn’t surprising.

It was a birth announcement and a picture of me and Tucker at the hospital holding Bella. There was another paper underneath, but I couldn’t stop looking at that one.

It was as if I was holding a paper that told me my life was over.

The waitress was talking to me, but I couldn’t hear a word she was saying. The bile was in my throat, on its way out. The room began to spin and my heart was beating out of my chest. This whole time she’d had this. Every question she’d asked me had been a test.

When I saw her coming, I folded the paper back up and shoved the purse over where it had been sitting.

It was hard, trying not to lose it, when I knew that she knew.

I was shaking as I tried to order food and act normally. Bella was unaffected, having no idea what I’d seen. I must say, she was clever and sneaky. I thought I could read my child, but I didn’t have a clue how much she’d dug into Tucker.

As devastated as I was, I knew I had to tell Ty. This was something that couldn’t be avoided. I’d rather him find out from me than be shocked when or if she ever confronted him.

The most repulsive thing to me was knowing that while someone was taking that picture of me and Tucker, Ty was standing outside watching and waiting to be with us. The thing was, not only had Van taken pictures when she first came out, but Tyler had pictures with me at the hospital. The family made a big deal about him being there to help me deliver her. Bella couldn’t deny that he too had been there, like we’d always told her.

I knew she had a million questions, but for the life of me, I couldn’t bring myself to talk to her about it. I felt so sick, as if everything were falling apart in front of my eyes.

I wanted to cry my eyes out, but she sat there, like nothing was wrong. I have no idea what she was even saying to me, because that picture kept flashing in my mind, taking all of my concentration away from Bella.

This was going to destroy Ty. There was no way around it.

I picked at my food, knowing that I was about to break his heart. The last thing I wanted to do was eat, when I felt so sick to my stomach. This wasn’t just about Ty. It was about the whole family. Ty’s parents, our cousins, my mother and John had all kept the secret. The more she found out, the more it would crush her.

I tried to put myself in her shoes, but since Tucker was such a piece of shit, I couldn’t allow myself to feel pity over it.