Letting Go (Mitchell Family #1)(39)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“I have an announcement to make.” He said as he looked all around. “I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight. You don’t know how much it means to me. I hope everyone is enjoying themselves tonight.” A bunch of whistles and screams came from somewhere in the yard. Ty laughed then continued. “As most of you know, Van and I have been together for a long time. We haven’t always seen eye to eye, but through it all, we managed to find our way back to each other. I wanted you all to be here tonight to witness me taking our relationship to the next level.”

My heart started beating out of my chest as I watched Ty drop down on one knee. This couldn’t be happening. He pulled something out of his pocket and put it out in front of me. “This was my grandmother’s ring. I want you to wear it and say yes to being my wife.”

In the crowd there were a bunch of noises, mostly people clapping and yelling what my answer should be. I looked around the room. First seeing the shocked look of Ty’s parents, then seeing my own. My mother knew my true feelings, so I saw the anguish in her eyes and knew exactly what she was thinking. Finally, I found the one person I was looking for. Colt stood in the corner of the tent. His arms were crossed but he was looking right at me. Even from a distance I could see disgust in his eyes. He didn’t want me. I closed my eyes and tried not to look back.

I could say no and give up the only real relationship I ever had. Or, I could say yes, considering that at least I could have the forever I always wanted. I really needed time. This was all too sudden. Ty was acting as if nothing had happened. But, the truth was, I never wanted to feel that alone again.

“How about an answer beautiful.” Ty asked again.

I looked down at him, with tears in my eyes that had nothing to do with his proposal. “Yes. I will marry you.” I helped Ty stand up as he wrapped his arms around me and brought his lips to mine. I looked in the direction of where Colt had been, but noticed he was gone.

I didn’t get the clapping and celebration that I had always pictured and honestly I wasn’t that excited. I mean, I looked down at the ring on my finger, the ring I always knew would be mine someday, and I felt nothing.

I distanced myself from Ty, almost immediately as he continued to mingle with all of his friends. I needed to be alone. There wasn’t one person here that could ever understand how confused I was.

Brina finally showed up just as everyone was starting to leave. Ty was not her favorite person and she claimed she had to work. She wasn’t too happy with what was sitting on my finger either. My parents had already left, after asking me a thousand times if I was okay. Ty’s parents still wouldn’t look at me.

His frat buddies had pulled him away and I could hear the rowdy bunch of them somewhere out in the dark field. Brina came over and put her arm around me. “Need to talk?”

I shrugged.

“Van, where have you been this past month? You stopped returning my calls. You were never home and when I saw your mother, she thought you had been with me. You need to tell me what is going on. Did you join a secret cult? What gives?”

“I can’t talk about it.” I said as I started to head toward the barn. I just wanted to be with Daisy. I didn’t care about the party at all. Ty had already ditched me just like always to hang out with his friends. He still had no idea how awful they had all been to me. Didn’t he notice that not one of them came up to congratulate me?

Once we got in the barn, Brina spun me around to face her. “Spill! Now!”

“I was seeing someone, okay? It’s over now and I just can’t talk about it.” I admitted.

“Holy shit! Just tell me who it was. Please tell me.” She begged.

I started to cry again. “I can’t tell you. I can’t ever talk about it. It doesn’t even matter anymore. It was over the moment Ty woke up.”

She grabbed me and wrapped her arms around me. “Jesus Van. Whoever this mystery person was, they did a real number on you. I am so sorry sweetie. You don’t deserve to hurt like this.”

“It hurts so much.” I confessed.

“Give it time. Everything is going to be okay. You have a wedding to look forward to. You can have the life you always wanted now.”

That was the problem right there. This wasn’t what I wanted anymore.

When Brina finally calmed me down, she stayed until I insisted I was fine. I told her I was going to find Ty and see if he was ready to call it a night. I watched her pull out of the driveway and noticed the light to the carriage house was already out. Maybe Colt had met a cute girl and was giving her a whirl, just like Ty had always said he did.

Thinking about him was like a kick in the gut. I rushed over to the field where people stood around a small fire. Sitting on Ty’s lap was the blonde who had beat me to pulp. I stood there just staring, not knowing what to say or do. Before I even knew what was happening, I was running. I ran away from everyone, as fast as my legs could take me.

Ty was never going to change and Colt didn’t want me. I just wanted it all to be over with. I couldn’t take the pain anymore.

The thunder rolled in the distance and lightening continued to crash, but I continued to run. Nobody would be looking for me. Nobody cared.

Chapter 23

Colt

I couldn’t stand around anymore actin’ like nothin’ was wrong. I went to the carriage house and grabbed my cell phone. After a twenty minute phone call, I was able to book a flight for tomorrow night. I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of this town.

I couldn’t believe she said yes to his proposal right in front of me like I meant nothin’ to her.

Savanna was breaking my heart over and over again. I needed to get away from her so that I wasn’t constantly reminded of what I couldn’t have.

I grabbed a six pack of beer and headed out to one of the fields. After I finished beer number five, I heard the thunder rollin’ in. I decided that I didn’t want to talk to anyone for the rest of the night, so I climbed up into the combine and got myself comfortable. After the bottle of rum I had finished off and now the beer, I was too drunk to find my way back before the rain came.

When the first drops hit the combine’s windshield, I could tell it was a serious storm. The lightening was hitting every couple of minutes and the rain was so heavy it sounded like rocks.

Even through the loud patterin’ of the rain, I could hear somethin’ else. I thought it was an animal, or possibly Sam followed me out here and was scared of the storm.