Loving Her (Mitchell Family #9)(41)

“Yeah, if she’s hungry she’ll eat it, won’t she?”

“Baby, I know you’re irritated. I’m so sorry for this.”

“Go back to work and just get home to me. Everything’s so much better when you’re here with me.”

“I’ll be home soon. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Amy gave me a look when I hung up the phone. She had one client under the dryer, so we knew she wouldn’t be able to hear what we were saying. “How bad it is now?”

I sat in my chair and covered my face. “Girl, I don’t even know where to begin. Now she’s tellin’ him he’s not her father and she doesn’t have to listen to him. What am I supposed to do? I can’t believe this is happenin’ to us.” I couldn’t stop the tears from falling, and Amy was at my side in an instant, trying her best to be the supportive sister-in-law and best friend that she was.

“I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”

“It just sucks, because he loves her so much. I get that she’s pissed off, but how can she not think about the impact that he’s had on our lives? How can she look him in the eyes and say somethin’ like that, without regard for his feelin’s? He’s so torn up over this. He hasn’t been this upset since my accident.”

“Have you considered putting them into therapy together? You know there are doctors out there that work with families? They’d probably be able to help all three of you get through this.”

I nodded and wiped my eyes. “Yeah. I told her this mornin’ that I was going to call.”

Amy hugged me. “Conner and I are right down the road if you need anything. I don’t care what time it is. If you two need to walk away for a minute, you know where to go. If you need to ship her off to our house, just drop her butt at the door. I’m sure your brother would like to get his opinion in.”

I thought about Conner scorning Bella. She hated it almost as much as Ty and I telling her what to do. Conner always said that Bella got special treatment, so I was sure that he’d almost enjoy putting her in place. “That’s definitely an option. The way things are goin’, I might ship her to move in.”

“Miranda, it’s not going to get that bad. She’s rebelling. Bella’s hurt. She feels betrayed, and I think it especially hurts because she loves Ty so much. Sure, she’s saying and doing terrible things, but put yourself in her shoes. This isn’t about her becoming a bad child. It’s about not knowing how to cope with something so devastating.”

“I know. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Be patient. When she’s settled down, hopefully she’ll come to you. In the meantime, I’d call that doctor. You’re going to need someone who isn’t in the family to be the middle ground.”

My client walked in the door and we dropped the subject. I turned around to walk to the bathroom to make sure my tears hadn’t caused too much damaged on my eyes.

Once I came back out and started working, I focused on the task and tried not to think about how bad the night was going to be. As much as I wanted to be able to just cut this person’s hair, my mind kept going back to Bella and Ty. There had to be a way to find a common ground, before things got any worse.

I knew Ty, and him hearing her say that to him this morning had to have been awful. I wouldn’t have been able to handle it the way he had.

Then my mind went back to our wedding day, and that’s when I completely lost it. I thought back to Ty, getting down on one knee and including Bella in his vows. He’d promised to not just love me forever, but her as well. She may not have remembered that day, but it was something that I would never forget.

Ty hadn’t just been a good dad to Bella. He was amazing, never taking her for granted for a single second. He didn’t deserve any of this.

I placed my scissors down at my station and ran into the bathroom. My sobs could probably be heard by everyone, and when Amy came running in after me, I was sure of it.

She took me in her arms. “I knew I should have sent you home. Miranda, I’ll finish up your client. She’ll be fine about it. Get your things and go home to your husband and daughter. They need you so much, because you are the glue that holds everything together.

She was right. I had to be strong. My family’s future depended on it. “Okay. You’re right. I need to find a way to get through to her. We can’t be miserable like this forever. I won’t let it destroy everything we have. She doesn’t understand how lucky we are.”

Amy walked me out, and she’d been right about my client. After she stood up and hugged me, she reassured me that Amy could finish up. It wasn’t a big deal. I had to be grateful of my job and my partner. It didn’t hurt that she was also family.

Our houses were close enough that I didn’t have to walk to work, but I was lazy and chose to drive. Bella was in middle school and she hated to ride the bus, so after taking her in the mornings, I just drove right to the salon.

I pulled in next to Ty’s truck and saw him sitting on the porch of his mother’s house, which was located behind ours. They both waved, and I walked over toward them. Once I made it up the porch steps, I could see that they’d been having a heart to heart. Ty wasn’t crying, but he definitely was upset. His eyes were bloodshot and his mother looked equally devastated.