Loving Her (Mitchell Family #9)(40)

“Give her time. If she’s anything like her mother, she’ll forget about it soon enough.” Conner seemed sure, but nobody knew Iz like I did. I saw the pain in her eyes, and it killed me. She also was full of her mother’s spunk. That woman could hold a grudge.

We headed off to work and separated like we did each day. Since my dad was getting older, he stuck to the easy work, like driving the tractor around or picking up things from town. The old man didn’t want to admit that it was time for him to enjoy his life. He also didn’t want to admit that Conner and I had made his small farm a very lucrative ranch. Not only were we raising and selling cattle, but we still had produce and even chicken houses. For the most part, I handled the chickens, Conner worked with the cattle, and my dad and the other farm workers managed the produce. It was what he knew, and trying to teach him something new was just a waste of time.

Halfway through the day, I got a call from Miranda. I could hear a blow-dryer in the background and knew she was at the salon. “Ty, I need you to go get Bella.”

“Why? Is she sick?”

“No, she punched a kid in the face. She’s suspended.”

“What? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m not. Listen, I’m booked solid today. Your mom is at the doctors. Please, just go get her.”

“I’m leaving now.”

Of course I dropped what I was doing and headed to town to pick up Iz. After hearing the story from the principal, Izzy came out of the office and walked with me to the truck. She said nothing as she buckled her seat belt. I started the engine, but didn’t put it into drive. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

She shrugged her shoulders.

“Izzy, I’m not playing around. Tell me why you hit that boy. Now!”

She looked out the window and refused to answer me.

“When you get home, go straight to your room, young lady.”

I started driving and got halfway down the road before she spoke and it was nothing that I would have expected her to say. “I don’t have to listen to you. You’re a liar and you’re not my dad.”

She may as well have had an arrow and shot it straight through my heart. I was stunned, hearing her say something that would crush me, without any regard for my feelings.

It was difficult to continue driving with her sitting there, but I managed to make it to the house without losing it. “Get your little ass in your bedroom and don’t even think about coming out.”

She got out of the car and slammed the door. I waited until she went inside before covering my face and weeping like a small child. I couldn’t take much more and it had only just begun. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to look at her day after day and see that hate in her eyes. It would destroy me.





Chapter 22


Miranda


It was impossible to concentrate on styling someone’s hair when I knew that my daughter had been suspended from school. My hands were shaking, and more than anything, I worried about Ty having to pick her up.

She thought I didn’t notice her ignoring him earlier in the day. I wanted to scold her, but the boys were in the car, and Ty and I both thought it was best to leave them out of this. If things worked themselves out, they never had to know.

About an hour after I’d called Ty, he called me back. I should have known that she was going to be defiant.

“Hey, babe. Is she home? Did you find out what happened?”

“We’re home, and all the principal said was that she punched a boy because he said something she didn’t like.”

“Well, did you ask her about it?”

“Of course I did.”

“So what’s her excuse?”

“Baby, she’s ain’t talking to me. In fact, she said I wasn’t her dad and she didn’t have to listen to me. To be honest with you, I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I’ve never wanted to smack her ass, but when she acted like that, it was all I could do to keep from spanking her.”

I felt horrible hearing that not only had she not listened to Ty, but also that she’d been so hurtful to him. “I don’t care how upset she is about all of this. She has no right to treat you like this. You are her father, and this shit is not goin’ to fly. I have two more clients and then I’ll be home. Are you okay for now, or do I need to see if Amy can help me out?”

“She’s in her room. I told her not to show her face until you got home. The boy’s will be getting off the bus soon, and I’m going to keep them outside. The chicken coop out back hasn’t been cleaned in a week and it’s starting to smell. Once they collect the eggs, I’m getting on their asses about keeping up with it. You know they promised they would, and that’s why I agreed to let them get the damn things in the first place. I’ll be damned if I’m stuck with taking care of another one of their pets. I already have to take care of the dog when they forget to feed her or let her in at night.”

I could tell he was looking for reasons to bitch, to elude what was going on with Bella. Who could blame him? Besides, the kids did need to be more responsible. “I’ll be home as soon as I can. Don’t worry about dinner. I’ll make something.”

“I already put a roast in the crockpot.”

Bella hated roast and he knew it. “Well, that’s one way to piss her off.”