Loving Her (Mitchell Family #9)(70)

“I know where she’s at.”

“Where?” she asked.

“Hang on, I’ll show you.” The truth was, I wasn’t sure she would be there, but if I had to take a guess, and put myself in her shoes, I knew where I would go.

We pulled back up at the guest house and I knew my wife was confused. She stayed seated as I walked over to my truck. “Ty, were wastin’ time.”

I peeked in the window of the passenger side and saw Izzy sprawled across the seat. She had her ear buds in her ear, which would explain why she hadn’t heard Miranda pull up or us calling her.

Miranda started to run up to the truck, but I motioned for her to stop. I opened the door slowly and startled her when I touched her leg. She pulled out the ear buds and looked at me with tear filled eyes. “You said you were goin’ to leave me.”

I stood there, speechless that I’d been able to find her. It was like I was meant to be the one that was able to ,out of everyone that was looking. “I thought that’s what you wanted?”

She shook her head. “It’s not. I was coming here to hide and saw your truck. I figured you wouldn’t be able to leave without me if I stayed in it.”

“Sweetie, I wasn’t leaving until the morning.”

“I’m sorry for everything I said to you. I’m sorry for being a bad daughter.”

I pulled her into my arms and held her tightly. “You’ve never been a bad daughter, Iz. You were just upset. We should have told you the truth from the beginning. It’s our fault.”

She pulled away and looked right into my eyes. Her little bottom lip was quivering. “I wish I didn’t know. I wish I never heard about it.”

“He can’t ever hurt you. None of those people can. I made sure of it. You’re safe and you always will be.”

She cried harder and fell into my arms. “I was so scared. I just kept runnin’. I wanted to go home.” I picked her up and carried her into the house, where I continued holding her even after I’d sat down.

Miranda sat down beside me and Izzy finally realized that she was there with us. She smiled at her mother, while keeping her head against my chest. Honestly, I felt like if I let go of her, for even a second, I’d lose her again. “I love you so much, Iz.”

“I love you, too Daddy.”

That was it, the moment of impact where everything else that had gone on was simply forgotten about. Izzy may have been lost, confused and wanting to know the truth, but what she learned only proved to her that I was the only father she’d ever want or need. “Can you say that again?”

She laughed and looked up at me. “I said I love you, too.”

“The other part.”

“Daddy.”

I finally exhaled, hearing that beautiful word coming out of her mouth. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?” Miranda was in full-blown tears next to me.

“I’m eleven, not a baby. I know you’re my dad and I know I’m a Mitchell.”

“You always will be, Iz.”

We cuddled up together on the couch until Colt came barging in. He saw the three of us there and left without saying anything. I think he knew that whatever had happened had brought us back to where we needed to be.

Life got back to normal after that. After we finally got Izzy tucked into bed, we retreated to the master bedroom and plopped down on the mattress. I couldn’t remember the last time where my heart felt full.

Miranda climbed on top of my back and started massaging it. “It’s been a long day.”

“It’s been a long two months.”

She kept rubbing on my shoulders. “I bet your glad it’s over.”

“I’m speechless. For a while there, I thought she’d disowned me. You don’t know what it meant to find her in that truck, waiting for me. I still can’t believe it.”

“I still don’t know how you knew. That’s the thing with the two of you. You share somethin’ that nobody could ever explain. Even when you both are at your worst, it’s always been there.”

“Maybe.” There was something there between me and Iz. I didn’t know if it was fate, God, or just the fact that I’d raised her, but it was something.

I turned over and flipped Miranda on my lap. “I’m glad I came. Being here and seein’ the two of you reconnect like that was beautiful. It’s all I ever wanted.”

“Me too.”

“I guess Van really messed with her head.”

I raised my eyebrows. “I was in the room with them. It was ugly. Izzy called her liar and walked out. I really thought it made things worse.”

A voice in the doorway scared us both. We turned to find Izzy there, in her nightgown. “When Aunt Van said that stuff I went upstairs and looked it up. I know you told me not to, but it was all there, on the front page of a paper and everything. It talked about him bein’ in jail and what he did to her and her unborn child. All I had to do was search both of their names.”

We motioned for her to join us on the bed and Miranda scooted her body to the other side of me. We shuffled until Iz was between us. “You know you weren’t supposed to do that anymore.”

She shrugged again. “I had to know the truth. Then when I read it, I felt embarrassed.” She looked really sad for a second. “Then I got sad because I knew I made dad leave. I made everybody hate me.”