Isabella (The Mitchell/Healy Family #2)(9)
Author: Jennifer Foor

After grabbing some clean clothes, and a fresh towel out of the hall closet, I opened the bathroom door to display a shocking reveal. My eyes tried to adjust to what I was actually seeing. In my personal bathroom, that nobody else used, was a naked man, desperately trying to cover himself with a small towel.

It took me a second to be able to cover my eyes, turn around, and scream all at the same time. “What in the hell?”

I heard Noah yelling from the other room. “Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you. Rusty’s water heater went up in his trailer. I told him he could stay in the other bedroom until we got it figured out.”

Rusty, a ranch hand that had been around for a year or two, lived on the property in one of the single-wide trailers that our family provided the full-time workers with. I didn’t know much about him, except that he was in his thirties and kept to himself. Aside from seeing him naked, in all of his glory, I’d always been creeped out by the way he stared at me. Sure, he was easy on the eyes. His dark, almost black hair was so wavy, and his irises were a blue-gray. For being in his thirties he was obviously in great shape, not that I was paying that much attention, or maybe I had noticed.

“I’m real sorry, ma’am. Noah told me you wouldn’t be home tonight.”

He approached me in the hallway with a towel finally wrapped around him. Water glistened over his rock hard chest, and it took a lot for me to not peek at it longer. I moved away from him, finally making it inside of the bathroom before closing the door without a reply.

Perhaps I could have said something kind to the man for his apology, except after seeing his dick just hanging out, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything at all.

Once in the shower, I let the water fall down over my face. As much as I’d enjoyed my visit to the Carolinas, it was good to be back in Kentucky, far away from Tate and all of his lies. The distance was going to help me to be strong. Hopefully, I’d be able to forget about him this time, considering that he’d shredded my heart apart.

If it weren’t for my dad, and maybe my uncle Colt, I’d think that men couldn’t be faithful. Although, Noah had even proven that men could change. Even if it were to happen for Tate, I wouldn’t believe him. He’d gotten his last chance.

When the water became cool, I stepped out and dried off before getting dressed. Noah and Rusty were both in the living room when I came out. I said nothing as I walked past and went into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. I’d no sooner reached in the refrigerator when I felt a presence behind me.

Rusty was standing there, his eyes looking at me like he was peering into my soul. It gave me the immediate chills. “Did you want somethin’?” I scooted to the side to move away from how close we stood to each other.

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry you caught me in a bad way. I mean you no disrespect. Your cousin was kind enough to let me stay here while my trailer gets repaired. The water leaked all over the floor and now there’s a hole we have to fix. I’ll make sure to stay out of your way while I’m a guest.”

I tried to keep my cool, just in case the weird vibe was just me being overcautious. “It’s fine.” I took a sip of my water before continuing. “I’m tired from drivin’ and didn’t really see nothin’ anyway. Don’t even worry about it. As far as stayin’ out of my way, you probably won’t need to work hard at it. I plan on stayin’ clear of Noah until his fiancée gets home. He acts like a dickhead when she ain’t here, and I’m not his momma.” I left the room before he could reply back. Having a conversation would only imply that I wanted to talk, in which I did not.

I passed by Noah again on my way back to my room. He gave me this look that annoyed me. “What?”

He lifted his bottle and pointed to me. “You know what. Did you see him?”

I played it off like I didn’t know he was talking about Tate. “See who?”

“You know who. Did you see him, because the way you’re actin’ is makin’ me feel like you did?”

“Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” I rolled my eyes, trying to play off the fact that he was right.

Rusty came back in the room with a water in his hand. It caught my attention since I noticed a few beer bottles on the table in front of Noah. “Excuse me,” he said as he passed me and sat down in the chair. I avoided eye contact with our creepy guest and waited for Noah to respond.

“If I find out you saw that douche bag, you’re never goin’ to hear the end of it. You got me?”

I threw my hands up in the air. “Yeah, Dad. I hear ya.” Annoyed, I went back to my room and locked the door. If he wanted to control me like that, I was going to be difficult.

That night I lay in my bed with so much on my mind. The pain and humiliation of what Tate did to me was still too fresh to let go of. The guilt of going against my family was chastening. I was pretty sure that both of my parents knew something had happened. They at least sensed that I was different after that first night. My brothers may have covered for me, but at some point I had this bad feeling they would spill. It was only a matter of time.

Speaking of that. I’d have plenty of time to get over my cheating ex. If they ever discovered the shameful truth at least they’d know that I learned my lesson the hard way. Hopefully they’d feel sorry for me and pity me, instead of letting me know how stupid I was for going against all of them and doing it anyway.

While staring at the empty side of the bed beside me, I wondered if I’d ever be able to find someone that could be faithful to me. Maybe I had this hidden sign on my head that told men they could cheat, lie and treat me like dirt. It was possible that I’d be one of those women that never found true love. It was hard to consider when the adults in my family were all so happy. To long for that kind of life was realistic, but unreachable.

It was heart wrenching, to say the least.

Chapter 6

Rusty

She was so beautiful, but the resemblance was uncanny. I couldn’t stop looking at her and seeing my old life; the one I’d walked away from years ago. Seeing Isabella was like reliving it over and over again. On one hand I couldn’t look away when she came into the room. On the other, I wanted to be as far from her as humanly possible.

It wasn’t just her figure, or the color of her blonde hair either. Those eyes, green and pure, brought back so much regret.

As much as I tried to keep my cool around her, I knew I was freaking her out. If she only knew what I was thinking she’d hate me more.