Blinding Trust (Mitchell Family #7)(14)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”

She loved watching the men with the long beards goofing around. Colt never missed an episode and now he had the whole family watching it. Of course, Ty and Conner took their love for the show to a whole different level. On several occasions they had a whole conversation with each other by only using lines from the show.

At first it was funny but, after a while, it became so annoying.

“Did you have fun with Grandma and Aunt Lucy?”

She nodded and started playing with her doll. Addy had a handful of banana and was shoving it into her mouth. Her eyes lit up when she saw me smiling. It melted my broken heart a little.

Colt smiled as I poured myself a cup of coffee. “Mornin’, darlin’.”

I smiled back at him.

“So, I talked to Noah this mornin’ and told him that he wasn’t comin’ out of that bedroom until he thought long and hard about what he said to you. Until he apologizes, he is not to step foot outside that room unless he has to piss.”

“Piss! Mommy, is piss a bad word?” Christian asked calmly.

Colt shook his head, smiling, as I gave him one of my looks, like he should have known better. Addy put her little hand over her mouth and started laughing. I feared that soon they would both be saying it in unison.

“Yes, honey. It’s a bad word. Let’s try not to say it again.”

“When I’m a big girl, can I say piss?”

“Christian, your mother said not to say it. Daddy is sorry for slipping. I will put a dollar in your piggy bank.” Colt was trying not to curse in front of the kids at all. To help with that process, he would give each child a dollar if he cursed in front of them.

Soon they would need new piggy banks.

“How was Noah when you checked on him?” As hurt as I was, he was still my son and it mad me sad that he was stuck in his room, even if it was because of something that he deserved to be punished for.

“I woke him up to talk to him. He didn’t say much.”

I handed him a rag to wipe off Addy’s face. Our little piglet always got more on her face than in her mouth. She was getting too big to eat like that. She moved her head to the side. “No! Stop it, Daddy.” It was cute how she talked.

“Your face is dirty. Maybe if you’d eat slower you wouldn’t wear it,” Colt teased.

She jumped down from her seat and went running after her sister. It was great that they were finally old enough to play together. They still fought and got jealous of each other, but other times they were the best of friends.

Colt had to make his run around the farm, like he did every day. He kissed me goodbye and said bye to the kids, before leaving. I took a deep breath and walked up the stairs to Noah’s room.

He was putting on his shoes when I entered. “Your dad made breakfast. You need to hurry and eat so we don’t miss the bus.”

He stood up and walked by me, like I didn’t exist. “Noah, I know what your father said to you.”

He grabbed his book bag by the front door and stormed out. I put on a pair of flip-flops and ran out on the porch after him. That kid was already on his electric scooter and halfway down the dirt road. The girls were at the door, making sure I wasn’t leaving them there.

Knowing that I still had to get both of them ready for school and pre-k, I couldn’t take the time to chase after my son.

The girls were good for me and we climbed on the golf cart to head to the bus stop.

“Mommy, look it’s Noah.” Addy pointed toward her brother. He was leaning against the ranch sign with earphones on his head.

“He’s grumpy, so I want you both to leave him alone today.”

“Why is he grumpy?” Christian asked.

“He just is. Boys can get grumpy sometimes.” Thankfully, the bus pulled up.

Noah held his hand out and walked Addy onto the bus, like he did everyday. At least he wasn’t mad at his sisters, like he was at me. Addy sat down in one of the first seats, like the preschoolers had to. Christian sat in the seat behind her and Noah went to the back of the bus. When it started to pull away, I saw him looking directly at me. His eyes were filled with hate.

I was so upset over it, that I took the golf cart straight to my parent’s house. They were sitting out on the screen porch drinking coffee. I think they knew something was wrong. Right away, my mother made me a cup and they both gave me their attention. It took about an hour to tell them everything that had happened. They were so reassuring and tried their best to make me feel better.

After I had heard enough positives from them to aid a hurricane relief party, I headed back to the house to start on my daily routine.

Usually, by the time Colt came in, around lunch time, I’d have the house picked up and his lunch ready. I was doing good, getting all the beds made and the dirty clothes picked up from each room. It wasn’t until I got to Noah’s room where I got distracted.

On his pillow was a picture of Krista. I’d hung the picture for him when he came to stay with us, but after a few years, we redecorated his room and he stuck it in his closet. I didn’t even know he remembered where it was.

I sat down on the bed and held the picture in my hands, just tracing the photograph. It was hard to imagine what Noah was going through. I was raised by my parents who were still living. Who knew how much of his mother Noah could remember, but it was obviously bothering him.

I hated that I was the cause. More than anything in the world, I wanted to be able to solve any problem for my children. This wasn’t just about his uncle visiting. No, he’d stirred something up in Noah’s mind and now the child was all broken up over it.

No matter how much I wanted to fix things for Noah, I knew that I was the last person to be able to do it. It made me feel left out, among other things. When it was all said and done, as much as I wanted to be Noah’s mother, I would never be able to fill those shoes completely.

Once I was home, and had all of my morning duties completed, I filled up the large soaking tub with hot water and bubbles and sank down in it. I didn’t want anyone thinking that I wanted their sympathy. One could only hope that this was just a reaction that Noah was having after overhearing his father’s words. I had every inclination that it was all just going to blow over.

Colt didn’t come in until after one in the afternoon, which was late for him. I could tell from the way he was slamming cabinets that his day wasn’t going the way he wanted it to. I avoided approaching him as I headed in to grab an apple.