Isabella (The Mitchell/Healy Family #2)(53)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I watched her walk away before speaking to my mother. “I know what you’re going to say.”

“Son, is this some kind of sick joke?”

“Mom,” I had to calm her down before Isabella came back into the room. “Please, it’s not at all what you think.”

“The similarities are uncanny.”

I brought her over to the couch and sat her down, noticing that on the end table was a picture of me with my girls. Sydney looked to be around two, and I immediately felt the room start to spin. I sat down in the seat beside her and took a few short breaths. “Listen to me. You can’t say stuff like that in front of her.”

She shook her head and looked up at me. “I thought you were better, son. I thought you’d finally been able to move on, but it’s clear that you haven’t. Why else would you pick a woman that looks just like the wife you lost?”

It was too late for me to hush my mom. I turned my head to see my girlfriend standing behind the couch with a hurt look on her face.

I stood up and rushed toward her, ignoring the fact that we’d just walked in the door. She didn’t argue as I pulled her along up the stairs. She stopped me halfway and stared at a picture that hung on the wall. It was Simone when she was pregnant. She was holding her stomach and looking down at it.

Isabella put her hand over her mouth. “Oh my god. This can’t be happenin’.”

“Come on. Just don’t look.” I tried to get her to budge, but she just stood there looking at the rest of them. Feeling defeated, I sat down on the top step and gave up. This had all been a terrible idea, and the fact that I hadn’t considered this outcome was exactly why I had no business coming here at all. “Please, Iz. Let’s just get a hotel room instead.”

She shook her head and pointed down the stairs, while she spoke in a low voice. “Your own mother can’t even look at me, Rusty. How am I supposed to feel?”

“I don’t know.” I really didn’t know what to say. “I never should have let you talk me into coming here,” I whispered. “How was I supposed to know that my mother would have a whole house as a shrine to them? You think this is easy for me? This is the reason I left this life. I couldn’t stand to be here and see all of this.”

“Look at me and tell me that I’m not a constant reminder of her.” She pointed to my wife’s picture.

“You’re not. I swear. You may resemble each other, but to me you’re different. You know that. We’ve talked about this, babe.” I was trying my hardest to settle her down.

“Babe? Don’t you dare babe me. That’s probably what you called her, isn’t it?”

I put my head down. Nothing I did was right, and I was making it worse as it all played out.

“Iz, I love you. We’re having a baby. This has nothing to do with my wife. She’s dead and she’s never coming back. The life I have with you, our life, it’s perfect. Don’t let this change your mind. You only look so much like her right now because you’re pregnant.”

“So you’re admittin’ it? Every mornin’ you wake up next to me and it’s like bein’ with her again, right?” She started walking back down the stairs. I ran after her, desperate to get her out of the house and away from my confused mother. When she turned the corner and stood in front of mother, I stopped dead in my tracks. “Mrs. Tillman, I’m real sorry that I’ve given you such a shock. I can assure you that the thought never crossed my mind. If it’s alright with you I’m just goin’ to go to the hotel and call it a night. I’ll let you catch up with your son for a while alone.”

She was leaving me?

“Iz, please hold up,” I said as she headed for the front door. She never turned around until she’d reached the truck. Her hands were shaking, and there were tears running down her cheeks. She could hardly get out the words in between her sobs.

“This was what I’ve been afraid of this whole time. I asked you so many times why you were with me, Rusty. You assured me that it wasn’t because we looked alike. You even told me that it wasn’t much at all. Those pictures inside of that house don’t lie. I felt like I was looking at myself in another life.” She opened the truck door more and started to climb in it. I grabbed her shirt preventing her from moving and she jerked out of my reach. “Don’t touch me right now. I’m so humiliated. You brought me all the way here to be treated like a replacement. How could you do this to me?”

“I swear to god that this isn’t what you think. I want to be with you because I love you. This isn’t about Simone, or the fact that you have the same color hair and eyes. I don’t love you for your looks, Iz. I love you for what’s inside.”

“My baby? Is that it? You want a kid so bad that you picked the first one available?”

“No! God no! Why would you even say that?” I was shaking, losing control of myself as my foot continued to drive into my mouth with each comment. “Please don’t go.”

“This truck belongs to the ranch, so I have every right to take it home. You obviously need to work things out with your family, and I need to get out of here. I can’t go inside of that house anymore. There’s even a picture in the bathroom, Rusty. How f**kin’ creepy is that?”

In my defense they were pictures of us in the bathtub. At the time I’d fought with Simone about hanging them, stating that they were inappropriate. “Please don’t leave me. I need you.”

“You need to leave me alone. I’ve got to get away from you. I need to think.”

“About what?” I worried.

“About everything. This is messin’ with my head. All of this is just crazy. That woman looked at me like I was a ghost. Are you goin’ to deny that?”

“Please, just promise me that you won’t leave. I love you so much. I came here for you, for us. I swear that’s all this is. All that’s left of my girls is what’s in that cemetery we went to the first time we came here. I know that. You aren’t some shrine to me. I promise.” I grabbed her hand, clinging to hope that she’d reassure me. “Can I have a kiss goodbye? Will you at least call me when you get to the hotel?”

She leaned forward, but did not initiate the kiss, nor did she comment on calling me.

After I ran in and grabbed her bag, I watched as she pulled away in the truck. For some reason I had this sick feeling that something terrible was about to happen.