Blinding Trust (Mitchell Family #7)(40)
Author: Jennifer Foor

As she continued crying, I cleared my throat, getting her to look at me. “My wife and I had a lot of problems conceiving. When she finally did get pregnant, she was kidnapped and held by a criminal. While tryin’ to get free, she was injured and lost the baby. We were devastated. Noah came into our life right after that happened. He was the miracle that Savanna needed to move forward. Children are a great gift, but bein’ a parent is the greatest gift of all. Listen, Piper, I don’t know how you feel about Pete. It’s obvious that he cares deeply for you. Zeke doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who is ready to just give up his life and start raisin’ a family. Do you really want your child subjected to this kind of lifestyle?”

She shrugged and wiped away the tears on her face. “I love Zeke, but he loves himself. As much as I want him to change, I don’t see it happening.”

“What are you goin’ to do?”

She looked worried. “Are you going to tell him?”

“It ain’t my place.”

She covered her face. “I feel so ashamed. No one was supposed to know.”

“Where I come from, marriage is sacred. I promised to love and be faithful to my wife and I meant that shit. I think you need to be honest with yourself before you can make decisions for other people.”

She nodded, while still crying. “You’re right. I know that’s what I have to do. It’s just so hard. Every move I make is plastered in the magazines. I feel like I can’t breathe. If this comes out, it could be career ending for Zeke. Right now, he has to have good media. He’s dug himself so deep into a hole that he may not be able to crawl out with dignity.” She grabbed a pack of cigarettes and lit one up. “I guess I need to quit these.”

“Piper, I ain’t sayin’ nothin’ to Zeke or the media, but I need to know somethin’ from you in return.”

“Sure. Anything.”

“What does Zeke really want from my son? It’s obvious that he wouldn’t just come around without a reason. I just don’t buy what he’s been telling me. If my son is in some kind of danger, I need to know the truth, so I can protect him.”

She took another drag of her cigarette and then put it out in an ashtray. “All I know is that Zeke came to me and told me he had a nephew he wanted me to meet. As you can probably tell, we aren’t exactly Fred and Wilma. Zeke goes weeks without even calling. Most of the time, I don’t even know where he is.”

I felt sorry for this girl and I couldn’t help but wonder if it applied to the lifestyle that they were involved in. It made me appreciate my life back in Kentucky even more. “I hope you get things worked out. If you’ll excuse me, I need to call my wife.”

One thing that I hated more than drama, was knowing secrets. They always had a way to come back around and bite you in the ass.

I found a quiet spot on the outside patio and dialed my wife’s number. Hearing her voice was going to make everything better.

Except, she didn’t answer.

She was spending time with Tyler and couldn’t even take my calls. If he laid one hand on her I was going to kill him.

Chapter 21

Savanna

Getting drunk with Ty was never a good idea, especially when there wasn’t any other adults around us. I never thought that it would become romantic. We were best friends and he was being my shoulder to cry to on.

We’d had a couple of shots and both of us were starting to feel giddy. Ty was determined to keep my mind off of the procedure that I was having done the next morning. He told dirty jokes and made fun of everyone that we knew.

As the night progressed, my mind never venture far from my husband and son. As angry as I was at Colt, I still wished that I was there with them. Maybe the decisions would have ended up the same. I just wanted the opportunity to have a say.

Ty got this bright idea that he wanted to Ding Dong Ditch my parents. I went up and checked on the girls. Unless they got sick, they wouldn’t wake up until the next morning. Just to be safe, I called over to the main house and asked Lucy if she could sit with them for ten minutes.

Ten minutes later, her and Colt’s mom came walking through the door. They were both in their pajamas. “What’s wrong?”

I walked up to my mother-in-law, but couldn’t stop giggling. “Nothing is wrong. We want to play a joke on my parents.”

She put her hands on her hips. “What kind of joke?”

“I want to Ding Dong Ditch them. You want to come?” I couldn’t believe that Ty asked her.

A huge smile formed across her face. “It’s been a long time since I had a good laugh.”

Just like that, we left Lucy to listen for the kids and headed out on the golf cart. It was so dark on the ranch, especially when you drove to areas that were off the beaten path. It just so happened that my parents were way off it.

We turned off our headlights when we got close enough to see their house. The bedroom light was on and we could see the television flashing. Suddenly, I became the quiet one, while I listened to Ty and his aunt discussing their strategy.

Colt wouldn’t have believed me if I told him that this was happening.

Since the golf cart was extremely quiet, we were able to pull up on the side of their house without making a sound.

“Okay, this is what’s going to happen. You two are going to drop me here. Go park in the front yard, facing the house. I’m going to knock and run out to you. When they open the door, we will all three yell it. Are you ready?”

We both nodded and watched Ty jump off the cart. While I drove and parked where he told me to, he was running up to the door. Not only did he beat on it, but he was screaming and making crazy sounds. Then, just as fast as he’d knocked, he came running back to the cart.

We were laughing so hard that we almost didn’t see my father opening the door. He had a fireplace poker in his hand. I flipped on the lights, blinding him so he couldn’t see us.

“DING DONG DITCH!”

I spun us around in the grass and we flew down the lane as fast as the little golf cart could go. The whole while we were laughing so hard at what we’d done.

She and Lucy ended up staying for anther hour before they went back to their place. Colt’s mom was always surprising me. One day she could be the most sophisticated women I’d ever met. Another day, she was just as comical as Ty. It was pretty cool.

Before they left, she asked me again if there was something wrong. It brought me back to reality when I had to think of my procedure and how I was hiding it from everyone that cared about me.