Folding Hearts (Mitchell Family #2)(28)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I had f**ked up, but the worst part of it all was that she found that happiness in my cousin. I had to see her when I visited my family. I had to hear about their upcoming nuptials and how I should be a man about standing up beside Colt, being his best man. Did anyone realize how much that hurt me? Not just because it was Van, it was because after losing her, I realized it may have been what I wanted all along. I didn’t know how to be in a faithful relationship, with someone that was my best friend. I was completely jealous of their life.

Having Miranda and Izzy come to stay had forced me to rehash all of the feelings again, reminding me of how lonely I would be when they left. I had an instant ache in the pit of my stomach just thinking about it.

I needed to stop being a selfish prick, get over what happened last year and move on. For the second time, I had almost kissed Miranda and I was certain this time that she wanted to kiss me to. We had been friends for a while and talked about everything, in fact she knew all about my feelings, because she was the person I confided in. The problem with Miranda was that she had made it clear that we were just friends, almost family even, and because I had agreed, it had made the situation carved into stone.

I was starting to wonder if I was actually having feelings for Miranda, and not just because I was already in love with her daughter. I needed to figure it out without ruining our friendship and definitely before she headed back home to Kentucky.

When I went back into the carriage house, Izzy was getting a much needed diaper change. The smell of fresh shit filled the room and I covered my nose. “Ewww somebody has a stinky hiney.”

“That would be your little cutie over here.” Miranda started laughing as she pointed to the wrapped up diaper. I grabbed a plastic bag and held my nose as I walked over toward the stink bomb.

“I will take this outside and bury it,” I said as I scooped it into the bag and tied it shut. When I reached the door, I fanned it open and shut. “How can you sit in there and not gag?”

“You get used to it,” She laughed.

Izzy ran toward the door. “Bye bye?”

“No. Uncle Ty will be right back,” I explained.

I didn’t bury the diaper, but I threw it in the dumpster behind the barn. I wanted that smell to be as far away from human contact as possible.

When I got back inside Miranda was cleaning up. “Your cell phone keeps ringing.”

I grabbed my phone and noticed I had thirty-seven missed calls. I shook my head and sat down, scrolling through the numbers. Ten calls were from my mother, and the rest were from my friends, including Van and Colt’s number. I had seventeen text messages.

Most were asking about Miranda and Izzy, so I answered everyone from Kentucky back that things were fine and I just left my phone somewhere. I had a bunch from Heather, telling me what I had missed out on, and some from my best friend Mike.

Every year the fraternity had a big ABC party. The concept of the party was that you could wear anything but clothes, and let me just say that people my age were very creative. To say that a lot of skin was revealed would be an understatement. The outfit malfunctions themselves left for great entertainment.

Miranda must have noticed me smiling just thinking about it. “What are you smilin’ about?”

“There is an ABC party tonight at the frat house. I was just thinking about how much fun it was last year.”

“I have always wanted to go to one. I even know what I would wear. I am sure you are goin’ to have a good time. Take pictures so I can see them tomorrow.”

That wasn’t acceptable. “What if I can find a sitter? I mean, we won’t go until after nine so Izzy will be asleep anyway.”

“We just got here. I don’t know anyone to ask. Izzy would freak out.”

“My mother will do it. We can find out at dinner.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know if that is a good idea. We didn’t come here so I could go party with college people. I came here to protect myself and daughter.”

“I am inviting you to come out for a little while. I won’t even drink.”

“You really think she will watch her?”

“I think that after spending ten seconds with her earlier, she is filling a craving for her own grandchild, that obviously she isn’t going to have anytime soon.”

For the next half hour Miranda seemed excited, but still feared my mother would say ‘no’. Izzy was running around the couch, itching for me to keep chasing her. Every time I got close, she would scream at the top of her lungs and yell ‘no’. I would grab her and tickle her.

I managed to run over and ask my mother if she would babysit, before the girls arrived for dinner. I knew that after seeing Izzy for herself, she wouldn’t be able to resist. She agreed without even giving it a second thought.

Dinner worked out great. We brought Izzy’s seat over and hooked it right to the table. My mother got herself so excited about watching Izzy, that she had my father run to the church to borrow a porta-crib. While the girls did dishes, we tried to get it set up ourselves. Of course Miranda came walking in and had the damn contraption set up in three seconds flat.

Izzy saw what it was and ran away from it, like it had teeth.

ABC parties required planning, due to the fact that it was an anything but clothes party. I had already set out something for myself to wear, but I had absolutely no idea what Miranda was planning. She grabbed a few things from my mother’s pantry and headed over to the carriage house to get ready, while I went in my old bedroom to do the same. My costume consisted of a small orange cone and some caution tape. The cone was to cover my goods, while the tape was wrapped around to cover the rest. Last year I had used the tape and it got ripped off, so this year I secured it better with Duct tape. Because we still had to drive there, I threw on a sweatshirt and some large jogging pants. I tried to avoid my parents as I walked past them, with what looked like a giant hard-on.

My mother gasped and shook her head, probably regretting the idea of babysitting while Miranda and I walked around half-naked.

“It’s just a party Mom, and all of the private parts are covered,” I assured her.

“I don’t want to know,” She said as I walked out the door.

I was dying to see what Miranda was wearing, but she already had on a jacket that came down to her knees when I walked in. “Can I get a peek?”

“Nope. You can be surprised just like everyone else.” After only being able to see a pair of red high hells, I was more than curious.