Isabella (The Mitchell/Healy Family #2)(50)
Author: Jennifer Foor

The technician printed out the pictures and caught my attention when she handed them to me. In return, I put them in Rusty’s hands. “This is our daughter.”

They were just four words, and probably not the four he was waiting to hear, but I watched that grown man smile with such compassion in that moment. Maybe he was always meant to come into my life to teach me what real devotion felt like. At the end of the day my mind was made up. Rusty was my future, and nothing was ever going to change that.

In the weeks that followed, Rusty and I grew as a couple. We spent our free time learning everything about each other; our flaws, our dreams, and mostly our desires. Each day I fell in love with him a little more, and when I thought there was nothing left to feel he’d surprise me and show me that it was never ending. I’d been blessed, truly, and looked forward to the journey of being a family.

At the six month mark of being pregnant we sat down and had a heart to heart about his family. It was too hard for me to watch him with my own family and not wonder about his parents, and all of the people that he’d shut out so long ago. With the baby’s due date getting closer, it was important for me to reach out to him, in case he wanted to include them in our future.

We sat on the couch, so close that our bodies were touching. His focus was on the television, while mine was on the amount of food that I’d consumed at dinner. I held onto my growing bump while addressing my concerns. “Can I ask you somethin’ without you gettin’ mad?”

He looked away from the show and smiled, having no idea what I was about to say. “Sure. What’s up?”

“Are you happy?” I needed to start out slow and work my way to the point.

He seemed confused that I’d asked something so ridiculous. We were clearly happy. “You know the answer to that. I’ve got everything I want sitting on this couch with me.”

“Not everything.” I paused to prepare myself. “If you’re happy, why haven’t you gotten back in contact with your parents? I mean, if we’re goin’ to raise this little one together, don’t you think they should be a part of it too? I just feel like if we’re going to make this kind of commitment than all parties should be involved. Whether you’re adopting her or not, she’s still going to be your daughter. I want you to treat her like she’s your flesh and blood.” I think it was hard for me to imagine different when I’d been raised by a man that refused to admit he wasn’t my sperm donor. I think in his mind he was the one and only dad, no matter what any kind of test could prove. I needed Rusty to be that committed, because at the end of the day, he was going to be her only daddy.

Rusty sighed, but never let his eyes move from mine. “It’s been bothering me for a while. I reckon it’s easier to ignore them than to face them. It’s not that I don’t want them knowing about you, and about the baby. It’s just that I don’t know how to approach it. I left my dad in such a bad way. Honestly, I don’t know if he’d even want to see me.”

“He’s your father. Of course he wants to see you.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you? You’re going to keep on me until I break down and go to see him?”

I nodded. “I’ll go with you. We can do it together.”

Rusty reached over and touched my cheek with the back of his hand. “I know you will. If it means that much to you, I’ll reach out to my parents, but I can’t make you any promises where they’re concerned.”

“I just want you to try. It’s important to me.”

“If it’s important to you, than it’s also important to me. We’re a team, remember?”

Though it was getting difficult to do, I sat up on the couch, bringing my legs overtop of his lap. I faced him wrapping my arms around his neck. He immediately touched my back with both hands, holding me there on top of him. His smile let me know that he wasn’t irritated with my request. “How did I get so lucky to find a man like you?”

“I found you, remember?”

I reached forward, pressing my lips against his. When I pulled them away his eyes were still closed. “I love you, Rusty Tillman.”

I could tell from the way those same eyes shot open that he was shocked I’d finally said it. “I was wondering if you were ever going to say that to me. It’s okay if you didn’t. I would have stuck by my decision no matter what, but it’s sure good to hear. Honestly, Iz, it feels good to be loved again. You don’t know how long I’ve waited to feel this way again, especially when, for the longest time, I thought it couldn’t happen.”

I lifted my hand up and touched his cheek, running my palms over the coarse hairs that were growing in. “It is happenin’. You and me, we’re better together.”

Rusty rocked us forward, lifting me in his arms while he stood. He held me tight as he started carrying me back to our bedroom. Once inside, he sat me down on the mattress and then joined me. “I think this calls for a celebration, don’t you?”

I nodded and accepted his next kiss. “I think we have a lot to celebrate.”

Chapter 31

Rusty

It wasn’t just the idea of calling my parents. It was a matter of admitting I was in the wrong. I’d run away from my problems, leaving everyone else to have to deal with my mess. Losing my wife and daughter hadn’t just destroyed me. I watched my own mother break down more times than I cared to admit, and each time it had broken me a little more. The idea of seeing them made all of those ill feelings come rushing back, and I wasn’t sure if I was willing to give up what I had at the moment to rehash something I never wanted to go back to.

But she’d asked me.

She knew what I needed to do, even if I wasn’t willing to admit it myself.

Isabella had made good points, leaving me with no choice than to reach out to them.

I waited until the next morning to call them, considering that it was already too late to get into any kind of detail. Even as I dialed their home telephone number, inside I was dying.

Then she answered.

I knew my mother’s voice. It was something that one doesn’t forget. Even her one-word greeting sent shivers through my spine. This was the woman that I’d abandoned in her time of need. We should have grieved together, but I’d left and given her more reasons to suffer. I’d been a coward, and it was time to make amends, or at least do my best to try.

“Hello?”