Loving Her (Mitchell Family Series BK9)

by Foor, Jennifer

  Ty grabbed Bella by the arm before I could even react. He forced her to sit on the couch and held her arms at her sides. "Iz, I get that you're mad, but don't you ever say that to your mother again." She refused to look up at him, even when he grabbed her chin and moved it up. Bella's defiance was only making me angrier. She didn't understand how difficult this was for Ty. She had no idea what he was going through and her actions proved that she didn't care. I had never seen her acting so vindictive and I didn't like it one bit.

  “Why should I make promises to two liars?” She kept at it, lashing out like I’d never seen her do before.

  I smacked her on the cheek and felt the life run out of me. She grabbed her face and started to run off. Ty grabbed her by the shirt and me by the arm. “Please, stop it. I can’t have this happening between all of us. Look at us, Iz. Is this how you want it to be? You want to walk away from the two people that love you the most in the world? You want to sneak behind our backs and look into things that you have no business doing?”

  “I just wanted to know the truth.” She was crying and I knew I was to blame for it. I’d never laid a hand on my daughter and I felt horrible about it.

  “Bella, we would have told you the truth, when you were ready to hear it.”

  “I was ready.”

  “No!” Ty was adamant. “You weren’t. You don’t know half of the truth. Do you honestly think that a couple pictures can explain what really happened? You have no idea what you’re asking for, sweetie.”

  “I read that he was in jail before. Is that what you’re talkin’ about?”

  Apparently eleven year olds think they know everything and that they’re adults. In this case, Bella may as well have been her brother’s age. The more she pushed, the more frustrated me and Ty were becoming. “It’s way worse than that, Bella. There’s so much that I want to tell you.”

  “So tell me.” She sniffled. Her pouty face made it hard to not sit down and tell her what an awful person Tucker was.

  “I can’t.” I began to sob again, thinking back to him hitting me while I was pregnant, or hearing him say how much he wanted me to get rid of the baby. He may have been in one picture at the hospital, but after five minutes he was gone. Tucker was a cheater, liar, thief, woman beater and probably more. I hated that she knew about him. “This isn’t happenin’.”

  Ty pulled me into his arms and held me tightly.

  He must have pointed to the couch. “Sit your little ass down, right now.”

  I opened my glossy eyes to see her following his directions. When our eyes met, all I saw was hate. She resented us. I knew it would happen, but I hated the way it made me feel. I wanted to be there when she was sad, but this time, it was all because of me.

  “You keep thinking that we lied to you and you’re right. There were things we lied to you about. The thing is, there are so many truths as well. This man standing here with us brought you into this world. He held my hand and was there for me when I was in labor. He rode with me to the hospital and was the first man to ever hold you. I saw him fall in love with you that day, Bella.”

  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 h
ate 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?”

  Never had I considered that she would think that. I loved all of my children the same, but I shared a bond with Izzy that was unexplainable. I didn’t have a favorite child, because they all made me proud and frustrated. “Of course not, Iz. I told you this already. To me, you’re mine. Why do you think we never wanted anyone to know about Tucker?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. You told me he was a bad man, or Mom did.”

  “It’s not just because of how he was. Look, maybe you’re too young to understand this, but when a woman gets pregnant, the man doesn’t really have any control over what she does with the baby. Some people choose to give the baby up for adoption, some even have a medical procedure where they terminate the pregnancy, but some women, like your mother, choose to have the baby. She didn’t care if he didn’t want to be a part of your life. She wanted you anyway. Iz, it sucks that he was too stupid to want you, but I have to believe it happened because you were always meant to be mine. Your mother and I wanted to be a family. We chose to raise you as mine, because it was the right thing to do. You can be mad at me. You can run away to Mimi’s or Uncle Conner’s, but my feelings are never going to change.”

  We sat there quietly. Jake came running in the room with a pair of underwear on his head and a rubber sword in his hand. “I’m Captain Underwear!”

  Iz let out a little laugh as we watched him run back out of the room. It was silent again and I knew she was still feeling let down.

  “Do you need help packing?” I figured that it was time to give her space. She may have only been a child, but she was smart one. This was where I stopped begging and let her be. I put my hand on her knee and waited until she looked at me. “How about I go call Mimi and let her know you’re coming?”

  I wanted her to say that she’d changed her mind; that she wasn’t going to leave me sitting there with a broken heart.

  “Okay.”

  I walked out of the room, unable to keep my composure. My phone was up to my ear and I was talking, but everything seemed to go into tunnel vision. I needed to find Miranda, because she was the only person who could begin to understand how broken I felt.

  My mother was more than upset when she found out what had taken place. None of us wanted to lie about Izzy being blood, but we also never considered her anything else. Afraid that she was going to upset her, my mother promised to keep her composure and not talk about it unless Izzy brought it up.

  I felt deflated, but knew she was in good hands with my parents.

  It had been a frustrating night and thankfully, the boys passed out early. I carried them to their room and tucked them into bed.

  Miranda was waiting for me on the couch. She patted the spot beside her. As soon as I plopped down, she had her arms around me and was climbing on my lap. I reached around and grabbed her ass, holding her there against me. “I love you, baby.”

  She leaned back and ran her hands over my face. “I love you, too. Have faith, Ty.”

  “It’s so hard when I feel like I failed her. She put all of her trust in me and I was holding in the truth from her.”

  She kept staring into my eyes. “We did what we had to do. I’ll never regret it.”

  Her kiss started out as comfort, but as soon as our tongues collided, it became so much more. I picked her up and started walking towards the bedroom, kicking the door open and closing it by leaning my body into it. Miranda reached over and locked it. I flipped us around, pressing her against the wall. My hunger was fueled by stress and this was the only way I knew how to deal with it. I need to feel my wife, her love, and everything else she was willing to give me.

  Miranda’s legs started to fall, so I carried her over to the bed and tossed her on the mattress. She backed up, steadily watching me to see what my next move was going to be.

  I pulled off my shirt and began to unfasten my jeans. She followed my lead and started taking off her clothes. Miranda still looked young, with almost the same body as before the twins. Sure, she’d gained a couple pounds here and there, but I never thought she’d been more beautiful.

  She held up her index finger and motioned for me to join her on the bed. “Come let mama make it all better.”

  I let out an air-filled, heavy laugh and did as she requested, all the while knowing that this was the best therapy for me.

  I’d no sooner made it back onto the bed when she grabbed my hair and guided to me to lay down. I tried to kiss her, albeit she pulled away, teasing me like she knew turned me on. I found her nipple and pinched it between my fingers. Her body reacted and I heard a tiny cry escape her. That’s when I kissed her, sliding my tongue on her mouth and feeling her immediately reciprocate. She climbed on top of me, shoved me down on my back and leaned down, putting her tits right in my face, by pushing them together. I opened my mouth and let my teeth drag against them.

  Miranda bit down on her lip and watched me teasing, licking, and then finally sucking on them at the same time. Her nipples hardened like rocks, while she began rocking her body up and down.

  I pushed her up so I could reach down between those sexy thighs and touch what my dick craved. She was moist, ready and willing to give me whatever I wanted. I drove three fingers inside of her, causing her to gasp, before she could react any other way.

  The slickness allowed me to slide my fingers in and out of her, teasing her clit all the way down to her taint. I used my thumb, circling over her pretty bud. She moved faster, rubbing herself on me harder. I pulled my hands up and ran my fingers over her mouth. Her tongue brushed against them, while she watched me watching her. “Tell me you want me, baby.”

  She reached up and grabbed her breasts. “You first. Tell me you want me.”

  I groaned and ran my hands up each side of her rib cage. “You know I do. I need to be inside of you.”

  I tried to sit up, but she shoved me down again. “Lay down and close your eyes. Let me make you forget about everything.”

  It was exactly what I wanted her to do. She slid her body down my legs, dragging her long nails down my chest as she went. The pain combined with a sense of pleasure and I couldn’t wait to find out what she was going to do next.

  Honestly, I didn’t care if she went fast or took her time. As long as she was touching me, I felt comforted.

  Miranda got to my waist and moved slower, taking her time as she brushed the back of her fingers where the trail of pubic hair began. She was watching where she touched, becoming increasingly turned on by the second. I could tell from the way she was breathing and paying such close attention to detail.

  I spread my legs apart enough for her get down between them. I knew what was coming next, but just like the very first time, it’s always a new experience. Miranda grabbed my dick. She rubbed it over her cheek, feeling the smooth skin of my shaft. She opened her mouth, letting her tongue protrude just enough to moisten my tip. I was eager, but remained silent, knowing that when I was in her mouth, it would have been worth the wait.

  The utter moment when I felt her warm lips surrounding the tip of my cock allowed me to block out my emotions and accept a physical charge, giving me strength, pride and satisfaction. I reached down and moved her hair out of my view, so I could watch those lips applying the perfect pressure to my erection.

  She massaged my thighs while she worked her mouth. As her own saliva lubricated my shaft, she grabbed the base with one hand and began jerking me off. I kept my eyes focused on what she was doing to me, what she was making me feel.

  Miranda pulled away and sucked hard on my tip before spitting on it and taking it into her mouth again. She massaged my balls, and then tickled them while her masterful lips worked their magic.

  My body began to react by i
tself. First my ass muscles tightened, and then my feet straightened. Her movements were too intense to ignore. I needed release.

  She bobbed faster, moving her head up and down at a vigorous pace, taking me as deep into her throat as she could, sometimes even making herself gag as my dick brushed over her tonsils. I dug my hand into her blonde hair and pushed her into it harder. The more I did it, the more she gagged. I wanted to come in her mouth and fill her with my heated release, but Miranda had other plans for my hot juice. She jerked me hard, aiming my load to explode all over her supple tits.

  I got off on looking at her nipples and watching as my hot cum squirted all over them.

  When I finally relaxed, she giggled and ran both hands over her wet tits. “How was that, babe?”

  I closed my eyes and smiled. “That felt awesome.”

  She hopped up and started walking toward the bathroom. “I’m goin’ to shower and then we can have round two, if you’re still awake.”

  I sat up and watched her naked body walking out of the room. “Oh, I’ll still be awake, but I might need a sandwich or some ice cream.”

  I could hear her laughing as she turned on the shower. I needed what she’d just given me and it had done exactly what I thought it would. I knew it was temporary, but at least for a little while, I wanted to feel as close to my wife as I could get. At least, if all hell broke loose in the morning, I’d still have something I could smile about.

  Chapter 20

  Miranda

  It was nice to feel the hot water running all over my face. Considering the state that my husband was in, I couldn’t exactly spill that I was just as stressed as he was. However, I did have one thing that he didn’t.

  I had faith.

  I believed that things were going to work themselves out. I believed that in time, this would all be forgotten, and he and Bella’s relationship would be as strong as it ever was.