Loving Her (Mitchell Family #9)(68)

Finally, after we bickered for a while, I decided that anything was worth a try. I gave her my blessing and hung up more worried than ever before.

While waiting for a phone call, I bit off all of my finger nails, drank three cups of coffee and cleaned the entire house to stay busy. The boys were outside with their poppy, so the house was too quiet for me.

When I got the text from Ty, telling me that he was calling it a night, I knew things hadn’t gone well. If my husband didn’t want to talk at all, it meant he was too upset. My heart ached for him and Bella.

I lay in bed later that night wondering how we were all going to get through this. I couldn’t force my daughter to love Ty, not if her heart wouldn’t let her. I also couldn’t live with that kind of animosity between them. I balled up in the bed and sobbed uncontrollably, not understanding how our lives had turned so bad, so quickly.

The rationalization of what was going on was only half of our problems. In lieu of the truth, I worried that Bella would try to find Tucker’s living relatives. Had it not been for Van’s quick thinking about coming clean with her story, Bella and Noah could have already found the truth and planned to hunt down that wicked excuse for a mother, that tried to fight us for visitation of our sweet girl.

She was too young for all of this to be happening.

I remember how innocent she was before she’d gotten sick. Everyone used to tell us how perfect she was and how they wished their daughters would be like Bella. It made me feel so good about the way we were raising her and how lucky she was to have a father that loved her wholeheartedly. It was such a shame that the terrible truth had come out; all because Ty went out and bought his mourning family a puppy.

My brother showed up at my doorstep a little while later. I refused to answer the door, so he located the hidden key and came in himself. “Randa, where are ya?”

“In my room,” I said in between sobs.

He came in and sat on the edge of the bed. “Amy sent me over to check on you. She said she’s been tryin’ to call for hours. Where’s your phone?”

I shrugged. “Probably in the kitchen.”

“Look, I know you’re goin’ through some crazy shit, but cryin’ ain’t goin’ to solve nothin’.”

He would have been crying too if his daughter hated him. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“I get it. I know how hard it is. Did you forget that I’m with your husband as much as you are?”

“No, I didn’t forget.”

“Randa, do you want to go to Kentucky?”

I shrugged again. “I can’t leave the boys.”

“Amy already went over and got them. They’re stayin’ at our place tonight. Now, pack a couple things and I’ll drive your ass to the airport. Colt called earlier and asked me to get you there. He said Ty needs you and I agree.”

“He bought me a ticket?” Bella must have not taken Van’s story well. I feared for my family and what had taken place. “When is my flight?”

“In about two hours. Get yourself together and meet me outside. I’ll look after things here until you three get back.”

“Bella’s stayin’ there.” He knew the plan.

“No, she ain’t. She’s comin’ home with her parents where she belongs. This idea of yours is stupid. I should have come to you sooner with my opinion. Look, sis, Bella needs to know who is in control. You’ve given her too much freedom in all of this. You need to get your ass there and demand that she change. Show her who is the boss. So what if she’s mad? She’ll get over it. You and Ty are bein’ so ridiculous. You’re in control of this situation. If it hasn’t fixed itself yet, make it happen.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“It is. She’s a kid. You’re the parent. Make it happen.”

I hated arguing with my brother, but he was right about me needing to be there. I got up out of bed and packed a couple things. We were on the road ten minutes later and I was more nervous than upset.

I didn’t argue with Conner in the truck, knowing he wouldn’t shut up until I admitted he was right. Since I wasn’t willing to do that, I said nothing.

We pulled up at the departures and he unlocked the door. “Have a safe trip. I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Who is pickin’ me up? Do I call Ty?”

“No! Don’t call him. He doesn’t know you’re comin’. Colt said he turned off his phone and went to the guest house. In my opinion, Van probably offered to go after him and Colt put his foot down. He may be better with the two of them, but he still gets jealous sometimes. Don’t tell him I said that.”

I shook my head and laughed. “I won’t.”

“Anyway, Colt is comin’ for you. Look for his truck when you come out.”

I hugged my brother. “Thanks for this.”

“Don’t thank me. I’m just a messenger. Besides, you need to be with your husband and daughter.”

After finding a customer service representative, I had a boarding ticket and was ready to go. Thirty minutes later I was boarding the plane. I tried to focus on the flight and getting there in one piece, but all I could think about was my need to be with my husband.

Conner had been right about my cousin being there to pick me up. My flight was a little over and hour and Colt was there waiting for me in the arrival lane. I climbed in the truck and reached over to hug him. “How bad is it?”