Folding Hearts (Mitchell Family #2)(19)
Author: Jennifer Foor

How could they want me to go stay with the one person they made a point to try to keep me away from?

“Yes. I know it isn’t what you want, but just go there and lay low, at least until we can figure out if there is anything to worry about,” My mother suggested.

My brother looked out the window. I could see him clenching his jaw. He didn’t like this idea one bit. “This is only temporary Randa. We just need to make sure this son of a bitch is not goin’ to be a problem for you. Give it a couple of weeks and then you can come home.”

For the next hour my family tried to convince me that leaving was my best and safest option. It wasn’t like I was fighting them; I just wanted to be able to make my own decisions. When it was all said and done, the decision was final. Tomorrow morning I would wake up and pack as much as I needed and be on my way to a different state. By the time the discussions were done it was too late to call and talk to Ty about how his parents really felt about me coming to stay with them. I was sure that the last thing they wanted was for a baby to be in the way of their everyday life.

The next morning was hectic. My family got me up at the crack of dawn. They insisted that I drive Van’s new car instead of taking my own, on account of Tucker not being able to tell whether I was still in town or not. My aunt handed me a envelope full of cash and a new cell phone before I pulled out with a road map and a long trip ahead of me.

I felt like I was going into a witness protection program. My family was famous for overreacting, but in this case, I wasn’t really sure what Tucker was capable of. I couldn’t take any chances when it came to Bella.

It was hard to watch everyone kissing Bella goodbye, and it honestly felt like it was a forever instead of just a few weeks. At any rate, it sucked something fierce.

When I had finally pulled out of the ranch, it was already one thirty, so with all of the stops it was nearing dark before I pulled onto the farm road. Bella was great the first two hours and then she got on this crying fit that forced me to pull over five separate times. It didn’t help that it was pouring down raining for most of the ride.

I wanted to call Ty and let him know how close I was to getting there, but my new phone had no numbers programmed in it. I figured that he would be standing there waiting for us to arrive, but that isn’t exactly how it went down.

Chapter 12

Tyler

It had been months since Miranda and I had seen each other. Ever since I was forced to leave the ranch, we hadn’t been as close. It was probably for the better to keep some space between us. When I was there visiting, I started thinking that maybe I wanted more from her than I should.

Apparently, Miranda must have caught on to my sexual innuendos because she backed off from our friendship and hadn’t really been the same since. I tried to talk to her and still do occasional video chats with Izzy, but something changed between us.

The longer I was apart from Van, the more I started to understand that I had considered her more of a possession then an actual partner in our relationship.

Most of my friends were starting to get into serious relationships while I was still single, and quite frankly pretty miserable. My booty calls became less frequent and eventually had almost become non-existent. It wasn’t like they weren’t still coming in. Hell, even Heather called every once in a while. I don’t know why she couldn’t just give up, I mean, I hadn’t been with her since before my visit to Kentucky.

I missed Izzy more than I wanted to admit. I couldn’t explain the connection I felt to that little girl, but it was always there, almost making me want to be a better person. It was like the strain on mine and Miranda’s relationship had caused me to re-evaluate the things that I wanted in my life. Well, that, and the fact that everyone seemed to have someone to share their life with, while I went home to an empty house every night.

Life had been hard for me in the past year. I got so bored being at home that I went out and found myself a full time job working on cars. It wasn’t what I pictured my future to be, but it gave me a steady income. It wasn’t like I had many bills. I was living at the carriage house rent free. My parents would, in due time, leave me the farm anyway, so they weren’t very pushy about me moving or having to pay rent. Since my uncle’s life insurance had paid off their house, they were doing good financially.

Being that I worked five days a week, I was tired by the time I got off at night. It had been pouring down raining all damn day and my mood was being affected by the gloomy weather. My phone had been blowing up so much with calls and text messages that my boss had asked me to leave it in the car after lunch. I figured someone was almost certainly having a big party and I didn’t really feel like going anyway. By avoiding the calls, I didn’t have to piss anyone off for not showing.

After stopping by the liquor store and grabbing a case of beer, I headed home. There was no telling which one of my friends would end up crashing later on, so on weekends I kept the fridge stocked with beer and waited for people to show up.

My mother hated it, but she couldn’t argue with the fact that I wasn’t drinking and driving. When I finally got inside, all I wanted to do was get a hot shower. Smelling like gasoline and motor oil got old after a while. I popped open a beer and went into the bathroom. I let the water pound down on my back until it started to get cold. That is when I hopped out and heard someone knocking at my door.

I figured it was just one of the guys, so I wrapped a towel around my waist and headed for the door. A drenched Heather stood in the doorway, taking in my almost naked appearance. I rolled my eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“You going to let me in or make me stay in the rain?”

I didn’t answer, but instead opened the door wider so that she could walk in. She took off her jacket and of course was in some red little skimpy number.

“Seriously Heather, I am not in the mood for you tonight.”

“I miss you Ty. I was hoping that I would be able to change your mind.”

Heather was a pretty girl and the old me would have loved her dropping by unannounced, offering free pu**y or a damn good blow job, but the bitch had done too much for me to have any respect for her. I tossed her the jacket. “You should probably just leave. Sorry you wasted your gas driving out here.”

She sat the jacket down beside her and walked toward the door. “I had guessed that you would react this way, so I came with reinforcements to get you out of this funk you are in.”

I had no idea what the hell she meant, but with one wave out the door another blonde came walking in. “Shew, it is so cold out there tonight.”