Isabella (The Mitchell/Healy Family #2)(13)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Chapter 8

Rusty

Day after day I would see her. Even if it were only seconds, it was enough to satisfy the constant ache. I’d tried several times to be nice to her, only to get shot down repeatedly. Keeping my distance was getting easier, especially when imagining being with her was less hard than the real thing. Isabella gave difficult a new definition.

I woke up one Sunday morning and noticed that it was raining. My chores were going to suck, and I wasn’t going to be able to work with Titan until it cleared.

Just as I’d started in one of the chicken houses, I got a call on my cell phone.

“Hey, it’s Noah. Listen, can you head over to my old place and give my cousin a hand? She’s bitchin’ about something with the plumbin’, and I’m tryin’ to get this paintin’ done over here.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll head over there as soon as I’m done.”

“Take your time, man. The longer she has to wait the more it will annoy her. After the way she’s acted for the past few months she deserves it.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

We hung up and I picked up my pace. Little did Noah know that I wanted to be around his cousin. He may have wanted to wait, but I couldn’t get there fast enough.

A little less than an hour later I was knocking on the kitchen door. Isabella spotted me standing there in the rain and hesitated before unlatching the lock to let me in. I could tell that she expected to see Noah, and was annoyed that he’d called me instead. “Noah says you need some help.”

Right away I could smell puke. She started to walk away before I could ask. “The clog is back here. I’ve tried to get it out, but it’s makin’ me sick. I’ve thrown up three times today.”

I wasn’t going to let her know that the house reeked of it. “Hopefully I can get it fixed for you.”

She led me to the bathroom and tossed me a towel. “Here. You look like you just jumped in the pool.”

“It’s really coming down out there.”

Isabella smiled, making me do the same, as if it was contagious. “Anyway, the clog is here. It’s full of hair, and gunk. I’ve tried using the scrub brush to pick it, but every time I get close I start heavin’. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve seen blood, snot, and every other kind of bodily fluid and never been bothered.”

For a couple seconds I wondered if she could be pregnant, though I’d never seen her with a gentlemen, or noticed her going out anywhere. Besides, that was definitely not my business to ask about. Knowing her, she’d probably slap me for bringing it up.

I sat down the towel and got on my knees to address the problem. The moment she saw me picking up the lump of hair she fell against the toilet and started vomiting. Quickly I grabbed the trashcan and discarded the wad of nastiness. Then I turned all of my attention to her. I wet the towel and handed it to her. “Put this on the back of your neck. It will help with the nausea.”

She did as I told her, but lingered over the toilet. I made my way out of the bathroom and sat down on the bed to make sure she was all right. When she finally walked into the room her face was pale. I’d never seen her look so bad before. She sat down next to me and slowly let her head fall down on the pillows. “I feel horrible. It must be somethin’ I ate.”

“I’ll get you some water.” I headed into the kitchen and grabbed her a bottle before returning to the room. Her eyes were closed, but opened when she heard me coming in. “Here. Sip this slowly.”

She took a sip and sat it down on the table next to her. “Thanks. I’m actually glad you came instead of Noah. He’d give me a hard time about being creeped out so much over a glob of hair.”

I wanted to reach over and grab her hand, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. She didn’t know me, and as much as she reminded me of someone, I had to keep telling myself that she wasn’t. “Do you need me to stick around for a bit? I can go watch television or something. With the rain I can’t exactly work with Titan today.”

“I don’t care if you stick around. I probably won’t be good company though.”

“It’s fine.” I stood up and started to head out of the room. “If you need anything just let me know. I’m just going to turn on a movie.”

Once I was in the living room I sat on the couch wondering what I was actually doing. This woman didn’t want me sticking around bothering her. Clearly she wasn’t feeling well. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to leave her.

A couple minute later she surprised me by coming out and joining me on the couch. I pulled a blanket down over her legs and rested her head on the opposite end of the furniture. I flipped through the channels until I found a movie, and was content with whatever it might be about.

I’m not real sure how long I was there before I fell asleep. Isabella must have dozed off before me, otherwise she probably would have asked me to leave. Instead I woke to someone yelling at me.

It was Noah, and he didn’t look happy.

In the doorway between the kitchen and living room he stood, both hand on his hips. “What are you doin’?”

I sat up, realizing that I was leaning over on her knees. It was an honest mistake, but he wasn’t seeing it that way. “We were just watching a movie, that’s all. I must have fallen asleep.”

It would have been easier to explain that she’d been sick, but from the look on her face I could tell that she didn’t want him knowing anything. “What’s the big deal, Noah? He helped me fix the bathroom and I told him to stay and watch a movie.”

He got up in my face and pointed his finger. “You need to leave.”

I stood up and smiled at her before walking outside. Honestly, I’d never seen Noah so upset, and certainly hadn’t done anything to deserve that type of response out of him.

I could hear screaming coming from the house, but refused to go back in. A couple minutes later Noah came out and walked toward me. “You need to back off when it comes to her, Rusty. You do a lot around here and I appreciate it, but my cousin is off limits. I don’t’ care how many chicks you take to your trailer. Your business is your own, but she’s my business. I’ve protected her our whole lives, and I won’t have her hurt again, especially by someone that works for me. Are we clear?”

Even though I hated what he was saying, I valued having a roof over my head, and to be able to hold a job without question. I had to abide by his rules, no matter how hard they were to do. “Yeah, I get it. Just to be clear, nothing happened. I’ve never even tried to touch your cousin.”