Letting Go (Mitchell Family #1)(59)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Being that he was being labeled as critical, we weren’t able to be in the room with him. I asked my mother if she wanted to go home and rest, but she insisted that she wouldn’t leave. After being up with Ty the night before and rushing around tryin’ to get here, I was exhausted. I couldn’t leave the hospital, especially not knowin’ if I would ever see my father again.

My father could afford the best doctors and for one of the first times, I was glad he had the money. A specialist was already on their way, but time was of the essence. He obviously had internal bleeding and they were doing their best to get it contained and stopped.

I took a short bathroom break and when I came back the doctor was standing over my mother. She was shaking her head and crunching up her face as it filled with tears.

I sat back down next to her and reached my arm around her, as the doctor nodded and walked away. “What is it?”

“It’s not good Colton. It’s not good at all.” She said as she put her head into my chest.

My father always told me men don’t cry. I could feel the wetness fillin’ my eyes and tried to fight them. My mother needed me to be strong. I wasn’t sure if I was hurting for myself as much as I was hurting for her. The idea of her being without him was unbearable. He was in his early forties, not some old man. They had so much life left to live. How fair was it that it could be cut short.

“What did they say?” I finally asked.

She shook her head. “They are having trouble getting the bleeding to stop.”

“How long did it take for someone to find him in that barn?” I asked.

“I don’t know honey. He was in the office on the phone and came rushing out saying that he had to go help Conner since Earl is out with his wife. She is having a baby you know. Anyway, Conner came in yelling that your father had fallen. We called for an ambulance, but when they asked Conner about it, he said he hadn’t seen your father for at least an hour. He found him just lying there.”

“Hell, that aint good.” I admitted. I squeezed her hand. “He is a stubborn man. He will fight.”

She looked over to me and tried to smile, but it wasn’t necessary. “I hope you are right. I can’t imagine losing him.”

I had to look away from my mother. She was tryin’ her damndest to be positive, but right now we had no guarantee. My father could die any second and there was nothin’ that either of us could do.

“I am so glad you are here Colton.”

“Mom, there is no other place I would be. He and I may not see eye to eye, but I do love him. I just wish I could have told him that.” I confessed.

“He knows. You are both so much alike. You may not see it, but I do.” She said as she stroked my cheek.

I tried to give her a smile. “Yeah, maybe.”

“Did Conner go back to the ranch after he dropped you here?” She asked.

Conner was my cousin and since his father died four years ago, my mother had taken in her sister and her kids. Conner was the oldest and he worked his ass off for my father. He may not have the Mitchell last name, but my father treated him as if he was a son.

“I brought Sam home. I didn’t know what was goin’ to happen. He took her back to the ranch and said he would be back to get us whenever we needed him to. Is Aunt Karen coming?”

She shook her head. “She said she would be here after she was done with a prayer tree for your father. I need all the prayers I can get.” She immediately changed the subject. “How is Tyler? I feel so bad that we didn’t come out for his party. You know things are so hectic this time of year. We were sponsoring that festival in town this past weekend and had to be there, otherwise you know we would have come.”

“It’s fine. They understand. Ty is back to his normal self, minus the fact that he is out of shape and has a bum leg. He walks with a gimp for now.”

“Is that pretty girlfriend of his taking good care of him?”

I pulled my arm back from around her neck and looked down. For the first time I felt like I was going to be a disappointment for the news I was about to give her. “They aren’t together anymore.”

That wasn’t enough for my mom. “What do you mean? They have been together forever?”

“They broke up before the accident. She was just being a good person sticking by his side until he woke up.”

“I had no idea. I mean, your aunt seemed to have issues with her, but she is funny about her son. So do you think they will get back together?”

I chuckled and looked to my feet. “I doubt it. She has someone new in her life now.” I couldn’t look her in the eye. Beads of sweat were formin’ on my head.

“That town is so small. Does Tyler know the new guy?”

I couldn’t take it anymore. “Mom, he has known the guy since he was born.”

She gave me a weird look.

“It’s me.”

She put her hands on her face as if it would wipe away what I just said. When she looked at me with her new face, her eyes were huge with shock. “How could you do that Colton? You know better.”

“Mom, it is so complicated. Ty had been cheating on the girl for years. He used to call me and brag about it. She never had a clue. After the accident, the whole town disowned her. Some people even jumped her and beat her up, calling her a murderer. I happened to be there to witness it. She was alone and injured and I just wanted to take care of her. I wanted to keep her safe for Ty.”

I rubbed my hands into my head. “We couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stop myself. I tried at first. It just happened.”

“Does your cousin know? You have to excuse me for being confused. I heard they got engaged at his party.”

I let out an air filled laugh. “Yeah well, we had trouble tellin’ Ty our secret. He cornered her into that proposal and she couldn’t embarrass him in front of everyone in town. It doesn’t really matter because he caught us the next night together.”

“I am guessing that is where the black eyes came from?”

I had forgotten all about them. She hadn’t even mentioned them. With everything going on with my father, she probably hadn’t even noticed. “Yep! It was the first of a few fights between us.”

“What does your aunt and uncle think of this? They must be furious?”

“Not really. They wanted Ty away from Savanna. I guess I did them a favor.” I replied.

“You are talking like you are serious about this girl. Forgive me for saying this, but do you think she is after the money?”