Loving Her (Mitchell Family #9)(34)

She put her head down so I couldn’t see her reaction.

“Tucker Chase was a bad man. He didn’t want a baby or to be with me. He hurt me when I was pregnant and didn’t even want to hold you when you were born.” I was pushing through my sobs to tell her as much as I could. “After you were born, he tried to abduct me in a parking lot, and your father was the person that helped save me.”

“So you had two boyfriends at once?”

“No.” I looked at Ty, who finally let go of me and went to sit next to her. “There was something happening between your mom and I, but we never acted on it. Your grandmom and Uncle Colt, and especially Uncle Conner, didn’t think I was good enough for your mom. So, even though the feelings were there, we didn’t become a couple until you two came to stay with me when you were one.”

I jumped in. “You’re dad here used to video chat with you. He’d sing to you and talk like a baby to make you laugh. He’s loved you every single day of your life, Bella. I thank God every single day for that.”

“Your mom’s right, Iz. I don’t give a damn who got her pregnant. You’ve always been mine and you always will be. There’s not a damn person in this world that could ever love you the way I do.” Ty sobbed heavily for a minute, losing his ability to keep talking. Bella looked shocked, seeing him so devastated. “Please, Iz, I’m begging you. Please don’t hate me.”

She looked down at the floor. “Can I go inside now?”

Ty’s body looked like it deflated. He sighed and shook his head. “Yeah, go ahead.”

I watched her walk out and sat down next to Ty. We both said nothing, staring at the old barn walls, but not really looking at them. All I could think about was comforting Ty and finding a way to put all of this behind us.

I wasn’t just afraid for them;, I didn’t want this to have an impact on our marriage. Ty couldn’t handle much more. We had two other children to care for, and his head needed to be in the game.

If this was what being an adolescent was like, I feared for the years to come, knowing we’d only just begun.

We held hands and I looked into his red, sad eyes. “I’m going to call her pediatrician tomorrow and see if she can refer us to a counselor. I think that the sooner we handle this the easier it will be to get past it.”

He squeezed my hand, leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “Thanks for being here. I wasn’t doing very good by myself.”

“I’m your wife. We’re in this together, Ty. No matter what happens, we have each other’s backs. This is a phase. She’s goin’ to act out and be ridiculously bitchy for a few weeks and then everything will be fine again.”

He laughed through his pain. “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. She basically just found out that she’s adopted. I don’t know if she’ll ever be able to love me the same way again.”

I looked right at him, giving him a serious look. “She will, Ty.”

He pulled me into a hug and held me tightly. I could feel his emotions pouring through him. “I love you so much, Miranda. I don’t regret any decision we ever made. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right. You know I will.”

I did. I knew he would go to the ends of the earth for us to be happy. That’s why I loved him so much.

“I need to get back inside, before the boys burn down the house.”

“I’m coming, too. Maybe if I stalk her, she’ll give up and realize she has to love me.”

I appreciated that he was trying to joke. I just wasn’t sure if it was going to sway her decision, not this time.





Chapter 19


Tyler


Things didn’t get any better once we got inside of the house. Izzy had gone back to her room. Miranda went back to check on her and found that she was packing a suitcase.

She came out of the room, asking me to go and talk to Iz. Even though I didn’t think it was a good idea, I went anyway, not giving up on hope that she’d let me be the shoulder she needed to cry on.

I made it to the doorframe and almost lost my cool when I saw her packing up her things. “What are you doing, Iz?”

“I’m goin’ to Mimi’s.”

I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall. “What’s that going to solve?”

Izzy sighed and plopped down on her bed. “I don’t like it here right now.”

I walked over and sat down next to her, for a second it seemed like she moved away, showing me that she didn’t want to be close to me. It hurt, but I decided to focus on the matter at hand, instead of adding fuel to the fire. “I know you’re mad at me, but I don’t want you to leave. Who is going to keep the boys in line? You know they’ll come in your room and mess up all your things.”

She looked up and rolled her eyes. “You’re just sayin’ that so I’ll stay here.”

“No, I’m not. I’m saying it because it’s the truth. Come on, Iz. You can’t hate me more than I hate myself.”

She let out a chuckle. For a moment, I felt like we were on common ground. “I don’t hate you.”

I put my hand over hers. “I love you, so much.”

She refused to look at me. “Do you love Jax and Jake more than me, because you’re their real dad?”