Isabella (The Mitchell/Healy Family #2)(36)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Colt stepped in, putting his hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “I think it’s best if we all just calm down before we do somethin’ we might regret. Don’t you agree?” The question was for Ty, not me. He waited for him to nod before continuing. “Rusty, I’ve always considered you a good man. Isabella is a beautiful young lady, and I can see where you’d want to get to know her. You’re both adults, and things can happen that is beyond our control. Now, I understand Noah had asked you to not pursue somethin’ with my niece. Is that true?”

I nodded. “Yes. He did several times.”

“And you disobeyed that request?”

My response was more a shrug. “I suppose I did.”

“It takes two to tango, and if anyone knows somethin’ about forbidden relationships it’s this guy here. Once upon a time he was told the same thing as you. So I’m sure he understands how difficult that can be sometimes.”

Isabella’s dad immediately gave his cousin one of those looks that says ‘I’m kicking your ass for this later’, while I tried not to smile. It wasn’t that I wanted them to immediately accept me into the family. My decision hadn’t been based on that at all. I’d done this to protect Isabella, not hurt her. “I can assure you that I’ll do everything I can to support your daughter. I understand what Noah had asked me, but the truth is that I care for her. No disrespect to you, but this wasn’t about the sex.”

“Save it. I can’t think about her that way do you understand? I can’t picture my little girl with child. I realize it is happening, but it’s too new to accept. I came over here to prevent my nephew from making this personal. For now, until I can talk to my daughter, I’m -.”

In the distance we all heard Noah. “I want him off this property!”

Near the stable I could see Isabella walking toward us with her mother and Shalan in tow. “Daddy, wait. Please don’t let Noah kick Rusty out. This ain’t his fault. He’s just tryin’ to protect me and the baby. He can’t lose his job.”

Her dad looked from me to Isabella. “Sweetie, I don’t know what you want me to say.”

She looked right at her father, as if none of us were around. “I want you to say that you love me, and you’ll support me. I know I hurt you.” Her sobs became apparent and Ty wrapped his arms around her without hesitation.

“I do love you, Iz. That’s never going to be a question you need to worry about. You’re my daughter. No matter what you do, I’ll continue loving you. This is all a shock. I don’t even know what to say.”

“Say that you and Mom will love your grandchild. Please. I need to know I’m not alone.”

I watched an upset father begin to get emotional in front of a crowd of people. He sniffled and leaned his face down onto his daughter’s shoulder. My heart broke for the bond that they shared, and I finally realize why she was so afraid. I didn’t know their history, but clearly they were close. Her mother joined in, putting her arms around both of them. I could hear Isabella crying even though I couldn’t see her any longer. They talked amongst themselves while all three becoming caught up in despair.

Colt put his hand on my shoulder and motioned for me to follow him. Since I assumed that my time on the ranch was about to end, I continued looking back at Isabella. It was so juvenile, but I didn’t even have her phone number. If I was being escorted off the property this could be one of the last times I’d get to see her. Surely her family would have her move home, which would make sense. She had nothing keeping her in Kentucky, especially me.

“You need to give them time,” he explained. “This isn’t about you seein’ her, Rusty. To be honest, I think you’re probably a good man. It took a lot of courage for you to stand up in front of everyone and admit what you did. Right now we all need time to take it in. Our family doesn’t do well with secrets, and you’re just about the most secretive man I’ve met.”

He was right. I needed to tell them who I was if I wanted a chance at ever being respected. “Do you want me to leave the ranch?”

“No. However, I do need you to go home. Give her time to talk to them. It’s best for everyone.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll leave now.” It wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I had no other options. I hadn’t thought about the repercussions of such a big confession. Never had it concerned me that I’d be causing a commotion. Isabella was a wreck, and her parents weren’t taking the news as being happy. It was to be expected, but still didn’t make it easier to understand. They didn’t know what it was like to lose their child. I think when that happens you’re willing to let little things go. Given the chance to do it all over I never would have told my daughter no to anything she asked.

While walking back to the trailer I thought about what I was going to say to Isabella. She was so angry with me, and I knew if I didn’t get back into her good graces she was going to push me further away.

Chapter 22

Isabella

As if things couldn’t get worse. Rusty had made my problems double. Standing there in my dad’s arms, hearing him crying, was the epitome of how much of a mess I’d made of my life. That one night with Tate was going to haunt me until the day I died, and I wanted to hate him for it.

Knowing that I still felt guilt about him losing his job, and basically everything else, I was determined to find a way to help him. It wasn’t clear how my baby fit into the whole picture, but I was certainly going to do everything in my power to rectify his current situation. For the time being, I knew I couldn’t hurt my family any more, so Rusty taking responsibility was going to have to stick. That meant that I had to come to terms with it and treat him at least nice while the family was around.

The bottom line was that I was still pissed at him for doing it without talking to me first.

Because of how everything had played out, our family get together didn’t continue as expected. My parents and I headed back to my house, while the rest of the family attempted to pretend that nothing had happened.

I was sure my brothers were getting into trouble, and Shalan was going crazy trying to stay in control. More than anything I wished I could be there celebrating with everyone.

Anything was better than sitting in my living room across from my disappointed parents. I played with the fabric on the out recliner that I was sitting in, trying to think of ways to break the uncomfortable silence in the room. We’d been back for at least a half hour and besides making drinks, none of us had anything to say.