Blinding Trust (Mitchell Family #7)(15)
Author: Jennifer Foor

He sat down and started eating a sandwich, looking at me, but saying nothing.

I sat across from him and took a bite of my apple. We’d played this silent game before. When he was ready, he would spill and I would be there to listen.

I’d almost finished eating the piece of fruit when he sighed and took his last bite. “The damn main motor went up in the east side chicken house overnight. I had to call in the f**kin’ neighbors to help clean the mess. This is the second time that the alarm didn’t sound when this happened. You need to get on the phone with that damn manufacturer and raise hell. They need to come out and give me a new one. I can’t have losses like this. Are they goin’ to pay for me to replace the dead chickens that I’m goin’ to have?”

Colt had paid an arm and a leg for the top of the line alarm system to be installed in all of the chicken houses. If there was anything that went wrong, he would get a text message or even a call. For this to have happened and him not know that it had, wasn’t a good thing. The fact that I had to make the call, wasn’t a good thing either.

It was just one of those days where you wake up and know it’s going to be a bad day. “I’ll take care of it.”

He stood up and stuck his plate in the sink. “Get that frown off your face, Savanna. I can’t deal with that shit right now.”

I got up and walked out of the kitchen before I could say something to start a huge fight. Colt was a good man, a great father and usually a perfect husband. Unfortunately, he’d always been one to hold in his anger until he’d finally explode. The exploding almost always happened when he was around me.

I used to take it so personal, thinking it was my fault, but through the years, I’d learned to just ignore him, no matter how much it bothered me.

I went ahead and called the company, like Colt requested. Then I headed up to Noah’s room again. As soon as I walked in, I could just feel the tension between us again. I started putting away his clothes, hoping to get done and get out before I started to cry again. I got that everyone thought this was just something Noah was going through, but it didn’t make it any less hurtful.

When I opened his sock drawer and saw the marble notebook, I thought about leaving it be. I shouldn’t have been so nosey, considering I was trying to be a great parent. It could have been filled with pictures, or school work. I wished that was all it was, as I opened it up and saw what it said. The first pages had all been ripped out, probably because it was a notebook from a previous year. In black magic marker, written in big block letters, it read: I HATE THEM! I WISH THEY WOULD JUST DIE LIKE MY REAL MOM.

I closed the book, unable to look at his handwritten words any longer. If Colt saw what he’d wrote, he would have busted his little ass, so I put the notebook back in his drawer and just stuck his clothes back on top of it.

With Colt downstairs watching television, I retreated to my room, where I started crying again. I was going to need wine to get through the evening. Hell, I was going to need wine to get through the next week.

Chapter 8

Colt

I was worried about a lot of things and problems on the ranch didn’t make my day any better. I knew I’d pissed Savanna off, but I thought if I gave her a task it would take her mind off of Noah. He was just being a stubborn kid, like I was at his age. Within a couple days he would forget he even said such terrible things about her.

Aside from Savanna being all upset, I had bigger problems involving my son. It had only been one night since Zeke visited, but as soon as I left to do my daily run of the ranch, I got a call from someone claiming to be his attorney. I was so pissed that he’d gone and called the man that fast, that I told him my lawyers number and then hung up before he could get a word in edgewise.

About an hour after that my lawyer called and he didn’t have good news for me.

Colt, it’s Mike Trimmel. Look, I just got a call from some lawyer claiming that he tried to contact you about visitation for your son. He said you gave him my number and refused to talk to him. Tell me you know something about it.

Yeah. He called earlier.

Can you give me an idea of what’s going on? He claims that you are refusing his blood uncle visitation.

That’s right. Are you aware of who his uncle is?

I had to look it up, but yeah, I know who he is now.

Then you can imagine my feelin’s about him takin’ my son.

Colt, I realize that you are the boy’s father and legal guardian, and if this was just some random citizen I would say that they wouldn’t stand a chance in Hell at winning in court. The problem is, this guy has money. He has a lot of money. We both know what that means.

You can’t mean what I think you do. Have you seen the type of lifestyle this guy lives? He doesn’t even know my son. He hasn’t been a part of his life since he was born.

Colt, I know what you’re saying. I do. I’m just trying to be honest. Unless you are willing to get involved with a very costly trial, I would suggest you work something out with this uncle before he proceeds with legal papers.

So you’re sayin’ I should just hand over my kid whenever he wants to see him?

I’m saying that maybe you two could come up with a compromise. Perhaps it would work out if you offered to go with him when he visited.

I run a ranch. I can’t just up and travel all over God’s creation to hang out with someone that I don’t even care for.

Take some time and think about what I said, Colt. I would hate for you to be involved in something that could become a media spectacle. We can’t always agree with our family, but at the end of the day, that’s exactly what they are. I know what you went through when Noah came into your life. Try to put yourself in his shoes. He has an uncle that he didn’t know about. Maybe letting them get to know each other won’t be such a bad thing. Maybe he will figure out that his uncle isn’t someone he likes to be around.

Or maybe he will want to be a rockstar too.

All children have aspirations. That doesn’t mean they follow through with them.

Thanks for the advice, Mike. I get what you’re sayin’. If you really think it’s a good idea, I will try to contact Zeke and see if we can work something out. I don’t want to do it, but I also don’t want my son resenting me or his mother.

Let me know how it goes and you know I am up for it if you do need me to represent you.

After we hung up I felt angry. I thought my lawyer would tell me something completely different. Instead, he told me to allow Zeke to get to know my son. The way he explained things made it seem like I didn’t have a chance in Hell at keeping Noah away from his uncle. Could money really buy verdicts like that? Were judges that careless to allow children to be around irresponsible people? It made me even more mad.