Isabella (The Mitchell/Healy Family #2)(56)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“If that’s the case then just appease me with this. How many times has he called you Simone?”

I didn’t have to think about it, because the answer was obvious. “Never.”

“There’s your answer. If Rusty had some hidden complex about you becoming his ex wife, he would have slipped by now.”

He was absolutely right. Maybe it took my dad giving me the advice to realize it. I think a part of me would always wonder if the little things I did reminded him of her, but for the most part that could happen in a relationship. We’re all human, and we share the same tendencies. It was only natural for me to say or do something that would remind him of his old life.

I just needed to learn that we we’re going to make our own memories. “He’s a good man, Dad. I promise.”

“You know,” he paused to pull out onto the main highway. “Your mom is so excited to take you shopping tomorrow. I think she might be a little too excited about being a grandmother. She had me up in the damn attic last week digging around for your old stuff.”

“Did you find anything good?”

“I found your rocking horse I made you. There was a crib up there, and a changing table. Most of your clothes went to your cousins, but your mom saved some of the special things.”

“Is the crib in good condition?”

“It is, but we were thinking we could get a new one for your house, and keep the old one here, for when you come to stay with us, which we hope is more often. I’ve got a feeling your mom isn’t going to want to be away from that baby for long periods of time.” I couldn’t help notice that my dad wasn’t talking about his excitement. It could only mean one thing.

“Dad, are you mad at me for gettin’ knocked up?”

He peeked at me before turning his attention back to the road. “I’m not going to lie and say that thinking about my daughter with a man doesn’t disturb me. You’re always going to be my little girl, Iz. Nothing can change that. As far as being mad at you, well that’s not the case. I think it’s more of a personal fight with myself. You see, I always pictured having grandkids, but never before I had white hair and balls that sagged down to my knees. Since none of that has happened yet, it’s freaking me out.”

“Dad, really? I don’t want to hear about your testicles.” Leave it to him to make a joke out of something serious.

“You’re my daughter. Anything that comes from you is also a part of me. You’re a reflection of me and your mother. I know you’ll be a good mom, and I’ll be very proud of you.” This was yet another reason why I’d never felt adopted by my dad. He believed with his whole heart that I was his child. It only personified the relationship that we had. It also reminded me that Rusty could be the man that I wanted him to be.

“Thanks. That means a lot to me.” It did too. Of all the people in my life it had been my father that I looked up to the most. Making him proud had always been a reward.

Pulling up at our farm was always an exciting feeling. It would always be my home, no matter how old I’d gotten.

After a nice dinner I retreated to my room to get some much needed rest. Before tucking myself in, I pulled out my phone to call Rusty. Since we’d been living together I’d convinced him to get one. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours and I was already missing him.

How is it going? – I

I miss you something fierce. Spent some time with my dad today. It was good to see him after so long. My mom says she’s sorry again. It’s going to be hard sleeping without you tonight. – R

I just got into bed. Dreading waking up without you next to me. I miss you too. Going to register for the baby in the morning. – I

I love you, Isabella, not because you look like someone else, or because you’re carrying a baby in that beautiful body of yours. I love you because every second with you makes me happy. I hope you know that. – R

I love you too. I’ll call you tomorrow. – I

It was easier to be able to sleep alone knowing that he was thinking about me. Questioning the way he felt was silly, especially when I knew in my heart that his feelings were genuine. When I closed my eyes I thought about my little girl, and how she’d want for nothing. It certainly made me feel content.

Chapter 35

Isabella

My mom woke me bright and early to get started on a day of shopping. She fed me pancakes before we were off on our girl’s day. Being with her, alone, was so special to me. It wasn’t that I minded having my brothers, because I didn’t. It was just that sometimes I wanted her all to myself.

My mom parked the car and we headed into the huge baby store. Because I basically needed everything, we decided to separate with the scanners to cover more ground. My mom was going to handle all of the necessities, since she knew about them more than I did. My job was to pick out décor, and bigger items like strollers and swings.

I made my way to the aisle with all of the car seats and started looking at the features of each one. When I approached the third one, a gentleman was squatting in front of it appearing to have been checking out the wheel mechanism. After noticing that this model converted for when the child outgrew it, I wanted to find out more about it. I bent over, trying to read the tag without being in this particular guy’s way.

That’s when I saw him.

My eyes did a double take and I took a few steps backward. “Tate?” I couldn’t believe that it was him. Did he know I was pregnant? Had my brother’s told someone, who had in turn told him? My life was flashing in front of my eyes as I stood there contemplating what I was going to say to him. Still, I couldn’t figure out why he’d even be in this kind of store, unless he was somehow making an attempt to win me over, by showering me and my baby with expensive gifts.

“Bella? Holy shit. What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

I watched as his eyes scanned my belly. “Holy shit. You’re pregnant?”

He didn’t know. Confusion hit me all at once as I tried to figure out why he’d be in this store if he’d not learned about my pregnancy. “Obviously.”

I waited for him to do the math, but he didn’t even seem interested. “Well, it’s good to see you. I know I was shitty to you on the phone when you called. Everything was a mess for a while.”

“So it’s better?” I wanted to know.

He nodded and smiled. “Yeah. Actually, it it’s great. For a while I thought that giving up was my only option, but something happened, and now it’s all how it is supposed to be. What you did to me was wrong, but it made me see what I’d been doing. I treated you and Jenn badly, and neither of you deserved to be lied to.”