Christian (The Mitchell/Healy Family #3)(9)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“Okay, well you know your brother doesn’t relay that stuff to me. Also, I’d like it if you had a talk with your sister. Your dad found out she’s been seeing that guy again. We’re at our wit’s end.”

“I don’t know why you think I’ll be of any help. She and I have nothin’ in common.”

“Please, Christian. Just try.”

I rolled my eyes. It was harder said than done. “Whatever. I’ll attempt to talk some sense into her, but I’m not makin’ any promises.”

“Between the two of us, I’m worried she’s going to get herself into trouble. She’s promiscuous, and I’m terrified it could lead to her getting pregnant or even assaulted.” I heard my mother beginning to sniffle. When it came to my sister my mom had struggled. She was defiant, and the more they tried to help her, the worse she became. “I hate watching her making bad choices. I pray every night and nothing changes.”

Church had always been important to my family. The power of prayer had been proven many times through the years, but my sister’s drama was self-inflicted. She didn’t want to get better, because she liked her life. She should have been named trouble instead of Addison. It didn’t help that she was the youngest who, for better argument, had a more lenient upbringing. My father was a strict man, who’d been brought up with old-fashioned morals. My brother had the hardest time, especially since I was so quiet. Addy just couldn’t stay out of trouble. “Mom, calm down. I’ll be there tomorrow and talk to her. Don’t get yourself in a tizzy, because then daddy will freak out and make it worse.”

She sniffled a few times before answering. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I know you’re tired of hearing it. It’s probably why you moved out in the first place.”

“I moved out because it was time to act like a grown woman. I can’t keep dependin’ on you and dad to take care of me forever.”

“Just promise me that you’ll always make good choices, Christian. I can’t handle it if I fail with both of my beautiful daughters.”

It pained me to hear her talking like that. My mom hadn’t failed, and neither had my father for that matter. My sister needed to wake up and realize what she was doing to our family. I thought about what my mom was asking me. Last night I’d made terrible choices for a very selfish reason. I shouldn’t have done it, and now I knew I’d have to live with my decision for the rest of my life. My guilty conscience would haunt me, and I was going to have to figure out how to accept it and move on.

At the end of the day one-night-stands weren’t going to make me popular. My asinine idea was now like a punch to the gut.

How could I have been so foolish?

Once I’d hung up with my mother I stood in front of my mirror staring at my own reflection. Was I even going to like the person that I was trying so desperately to become?

As ridiculous as it was, I spent the rest of the afternoon washing my sheets, as if it somehow erased what had been done. When Seth called to meet up with me I told him I couldn’t make it. Determined to obliterate my obvious regretful idea, I pretended to be sick to prevent from hanging out with my roommates. By the time the sun set I was back to being alone, crying myself to sleep with less dignity than I had twenty-four hours before.

Chapter 6

Christian

Spending the day with my family was something that I always looked forward to. As much as I liked being away from them, nothing compared to how happy I felt when we were all together.

My family was huge, and I had a ton of cousins. I wish I could say that I was close to all of them, but it wasn’t the case. They’d always treated me like I had the plague, especially my twin cousins Jake and Jax. I knew deep down they cared about me, but they’d never admit it. Since they lived in North Carolina, and only visited Kentucky for special occasions, I found reprieve from their constant badgering.

As I pulled my little gray Fiat down the dirt driveway I felt a sense of relief. I got this way every Sunday when I knew I was at the one place in the world where I was loved. It was funny how when I first left for college my parents would be waiting on the porch for me to arrive. As my freshmen and sophomore years passed their excitement seemed to fade.

When I walked inside of my childhood home, I immediately smelled my mother’s cooking. My dad’s voice could be heard from his office, located down the hall of the first floor. I dropped my keys on the side table. “Hey, I’m home.”

Before anyone replied I saw my brother, Noah, rounding the corner. He leaned against the trim and crossed his arms, giving me a once over. “What’s up, sis?”

I jabbed him lightly in the gut as I walked by. “Nothin’ much. What’re you doin’ here? Don’t you have some hay to bale?”

My brother had once struggled with taking over the family ranch business. It took a huge falling out with our dad, and a new love interest to change it all for him. In so many ways I envied his life. Sure, he had a hard daily routine, but he was so loved by everyone he’d ever been around. Noah never had trouble communicating with people. He spoke his mind, and was very popular with the ladies, at least he was before he met Shalan.

His girlfriend and I had a lot of similar qualities. During her teens she’d withdrawn from a lot when she lost her mother to cancer. After meeting my brother her dreams had come true. Now she was on every radio station around for her hit single, Broken Love Darlin’. It was written about losing my brother, and how she’d never be able to move on. It was that same song that got them back together. The rest is history.

Their wedding had been postponed because our cousin Isabella got pregnant. She wanted to be able to participate more with the wedding, so they decided to hold off on the nuptials. Now it was obviously back on, and the engaged couple wanted all the bells and whistles to make their day perfect. It was another reason I envied them.

After my one-night stand I was more ensured that a happily ever after was never going to happen for me. As much as I wanted to sit back and daydream about having a house built on the family land in order to start a family with my dream guy, I knew it was pretty far-fetched. Not only was I single, but not in any position to remotely look for Mr. Right.

“Where’s Shalan?”

“She’s at the house. Mom asked her to bring some vanilla and we forgot it. I thought you were her comin’ back in.”

“Nope. It’s just your lame ass sister.” I looked down at the hardwood flooring instead of straight into his eyes. My brother had a way with trying to convince me that I was some kind of precious beauty queen. I knew better.