Isabella (The Mitchell/Healy Family #2)(3)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Just as I went to pull in next to my father’s pickup truck, a dirt bike came racing in, stealing the spot before I could get there. Jax, one of my younger twin brothers, took off his helmet and flipped me the finger.

I smiled to myself. “So great to be home.”

This was only the beginning. Between my dad, my brothers, and my uncle Conner, I was bound to be amused for my entire stay.

He approached the car, covered in muck from head to toe. I hesitated stepping out, in fear of getting filthy. Of course, the first thing he did was drag me out and pull me into his welcoming arms. “What’s up, sis? I missed you so much,” he said in a sarcastic tone.

I shoved him away, looking down at my now dirty attire. “Seriously, Jax. Was that necessary?”

He slapped me on the backside when I tried to saunter past him. “You bet your ass it was.”

“Where’s your girlfriend?” I inquired, making all attempts to get him to go away, quickly.

“I don’t have a woman anymore. There’s way too much pu**y out there for Jake to have all of the fun,” he snickered. I looked my brother up and down. Even through the filth I could see that his once scrawny body had changed. His shoulders were now broad from years of playing football and working out. By the age of thirteen they both towered over me and my mom, and somehow even though I was years older, they made me feel safe.

Their new idea of womanizing wasn’t something I wanted to stick around and hear about though.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. What is with you two?” My brothers were in college, still learning how to be human, obviously. I tried to avoid them like the plague, failing at every attempt, usually.

“Nope. Last night we went out and took these sisters home. You should have been there.”

I put up one hand to motion for him to cease, while tossing him my suitcase. “No, thank you. I’ll pass on those details.”

He followed behind me, walking straight into the house covered in muddy clothes and boots. My mother smiled when she saw my face, only to look disgusted when she peered behind me. “What the hell, Jax? How many times do I have to tell you to change in the barn before bringin’ that mess in here? I just scrubbed the floors.”

Jax dropped my bag and went back outside, while my mother came toward me. She lifted her arms and stretched them around my back. “Hi, honey. How was the drive?”

“Long and boring.” Kind of like every day had been since being away from home.

“Come in and sit down. Daddy will be out in a minute. We went into town to pick up groceries and ate at this new place. He’s been havin’ problems ever since,” she snorted.

“Well, as much as he jokes about poop, he probably brought it on himself.”

“Exactly.” She grabbed my bag and walked toward the bedroom hallway. “I’ll put this in your room. Everyone is comin’ for dinner tonight. We’re goin’ to eat in the barn so there’s room. Your dad installed a new floor last month. Wait until you see it. I can hardly recognize the place, except for the pool table. I tried to get him to toss it, but you know how much he likes to go out there and shoot balls around.”

I giggled to myself as she disappeared into the hallway. It was horrible that I was so used to pranks that the mere mention of balls caused me to lose it.

I heard the powder room door opening and saw my dad coming out. A huge grin could be seen when he spotted me across the room. Even under a face full of hair, I could see it. “Hi, Daddy.” I only called him that during endearing moments like this one, or when I wanted something.

He walked over and hugged me tight, pulling away to look at my face. “Yeah, you still look the same.”

I laughed and held him tight. “I missed you.”

“I missed you more. Mom’s been cooking all day to welcome you home.” He leaned near my ear. “If it tastes like shit just pretend it’s amazing. She got this new cookbook and everything tastes the same.”

My mom came up behind him and put her hands on her hips. “Seriously, Ty? You told me you liked dinner the other night.”

“I did,” he cackled. “It was good. I just asked if you didn’t make it ever again.”

My mom pushed him out of the way and wrapped her arms around me again. “It’s good to have you home. Ignore your father. When he gets the shits there’s no tellin’ what he’ll complain about.”

“Nothin’ changes, does it?”

My dad grabbed my mom and started rubbing his whiskers over her face. She screamed and pulled away. “Seriously, your father has decided that he wants a beard like those men on television. You know the ones that hunt? Wait until you see your uncle’s face. They are competing on who can grow it the fastest. I wake up every morning havin’ to look at that.”

“She thinks I’m sexy,” my dad corrected.

My mom faced me and gave me a look. I smiled knowing that she hated the beard, not that she could do anything about it. Once he and my uncle had a bet going, it wouldn’t end until someone was declared the winner. This could go on for years.

My poor mother.

“You look like a mammoth already, Dad. Can’t you trim it up a little?”

He rubbed the hair and smoothed it under his chin. “This is how it’s supposed to look.”

“It’s creepy. You look like a pedophile,” I joked.

Dad took a magazine off the kitchen table and mumbled something as he headed back into the bathroom. “That’s it! You hurt my feelings,” he stammered before shutting the door behind him.

“Wow.” I turned to face my mom. “I’ve been here for five minutes and am already exhausted. How do you do it?”

She started working in the kitchen again. “When you’ve been married as long as we have you kind of learn to ignore it. Your dad means well. He is how he is, and we love him for it.”

She was right about that. “True.” I played with a crumb on the counter. “So, what’s up with Jax and Jake? No girlfriends?”

My mom rolled her eyes. “Let’s just say that I’m glad I have a daughter, because the two of them may never settle down. I tell ya, just as soon as we start to like a girl, they’re bringin’ home someone else. I’ve given up on it. I just call every one of them honey, so I can’t hurt their feelin’s when I mix up names.”

We both snickered over it. I would have been devastated if someone I was seeing took me to meet their parents and they called me their ex’s name.