Loving Her (Mitchell Family #9)(14)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“Yeah, I’m eleven, not five, dad.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m aware of how old you are, Iz. I was there when you were born, remember?”

She smiled and looked over at me. “I can’t forget it when you remind me ALL the time.”

“That day changed my life. I can’t help it if it’s one of the best days I’ve ever experienced. I want everyone to know. I’ll scream it from the rooftops and tell every boy that tries to date you. I say try, because there is no way I’ll ever let you date a boy.”

“Dad, stop. Please. You’re embarassin’ me.”

“Do you know that if you tongue kiss a boy, you can get pregnant?”

“Eww! Gross. Kissin’ with a tongue?”

I was happy that she didn’t seem to know what French kissing was. “It’s true. Don’t you ever let a boy stick his tongue in your mouth, you hear me?”

“Yes. I hear you. Can we please talk about something else?”

I laughed, ignoring the fact that I’d lied. She needed to be scared of boys, so that they wouldn’t have the chance to ever hurt her.

I pulled up at the address a little while later. Iz refused to talk for the rest of the ride. I think she was regretting going with me because of my choice of topics. When she was an adult she’d understand.

We knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer so we could see the puppy. I wasn’t about to buy some mutt. Colt would want the real deal when it came to a puppy. He’d always had Labs growing up, so I knew I wasn’t going wrong.

A woman, looking to be my age, opened the door. She invited us in and froze when she saw Iz. She looked from me to my daughter and then back to me again.

I shook it off, thinking nothing of it.

We walked into the kitchen, where we saw one puppy and its mother. The mother came over to smell and greet us, and within seconds so did the pup. She was chocolate in color and had light hazel eyes. Iz picked her up and kissed her, while I went to ask about the pup’s health.

The little chocolate Lab was going to be perfect, so I pulled out the cash and paid for her, excited that I had something for everyone to smile about.

The seller filled out the paperwork for me to take and we were almost out the door before she came running. “Wait! I have puppy food you can take with you. I won’t use it anymore.”

She handed me the bag and leaned down to pet the puppy that Izzy was holding. “I really hope you enjoy her. She’s super sweet.”

Izzy smiled. “She’s not for me. We live in North Carolina. This puppy is for my cousin and his family.”

“How sweet is that? Does he have a big yard for her to run in?”

“They own the Mitchell Ranch.”

The woman’s eyes got wide. “Oh my goodness. That’s why you look familiar. You’re Miranda Healy and Tucker Chase’s daughter. It was a shame he was such a loser. He sure did make a pretty little girl.”

My stomach dropped and I immediately jumped in front of them. “I’m her father.” I looked over at Iz. “Put the puppy in the truck, sweetie.”

I watched as she climbed in the vehicle, and then turned to the woman. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I’m the only father that child has ever known. You may have just ruined my life, lady.”

She put her hands over her face. “Oh God. I’m so sorry. Miranda and I were friends. I knew she was married, but I didn’t know.”

The damage was done.

“I better get home.”

I didn’t know who this person was, but in a matter of seconds I saw the wheels turning in Izzy’s head. As soon as I got into the SUV, she started asking questions that I didn’t want to answer.

“Who’s Tucker? How did that lady know Mom? Why would she say he was my dad?”

“I don’t know, sweetie. She must be confused.”

“Maybe Mommy knows who Tucker is.”

I thought about Miranda, Van, and everyone else whose life Tucker Chase had ruined. He wasn’t just an evil ghost we never wanted to think about again. He was the only thing that I’d never be able to be. His blood ran through my daughter’s veins, and I couldn’t fathom her knowing it.

The problem was, the more she questioned and got no answers, the more curious she became. By the time we pulled back up at the ranch, my stomach was in knots, and I was certain I was going to throw up my lunch from earlier.

Miranda was back at the guest house when she saw Iz getting out with the puppy. I stayed in the car and waited for her to walk over to open the door. “I can’t believe you went out and got them a puppy. That is the sweetest thing, Tyler Mitchell. You see there are reasons that I love you so much.” When I sat there, emotionless, Miranda got concerned. “What is it? What’s wrong? Did Colt say he didn’t want the puppy?”

“The person we got the puppy from knew you. She asked if Iz was yours and Tucker’s daughter.”

The words hurt to say.

They hurt so much.

Miranda looked as shocked as I felt. “Oh, baby. I’ll tell her that I don’t know who Tucker is, okay? She never has to know.”

I just sat there.

“Ty, nothin’ bad is goin’ to happen. I’ll tell her she was mistaken. It’s goin’ to be fine.”

I let her hug me as I climbed out of the vehicle, but I didn’t feel reassured. I couldn’t as long as Iz was questioning it. A lie like that could ruin my life and the bond we shared. If I lost that, I didn’t know what I’d do.

“I hope you’re right, Miranda. Right now, I feel like my heart is going to be ripped out of my chest.”

“I promise.”

Somehow, doing something good for my family could have cost me my happiness, and they didn’t even know it yet.

Chapter 10

Miranda

When I saw the look on Tyler’s face, I knew something was very wrong. Then he told me what had happened. It felt like the life was being ripped out of me. I wasn’t sure who he’d bought the puppy from, or if they were ever considered a friend to me, but whatever they’d said to him may have ruined the secret we’d spent years trying to cover up.

People may have said we were bad parents for living with a lie that was so serious. As a mother, all I ever wanted to do was protect my children. I needed to protect them from the evil that was out there in the world.

Tucker Chase was the devil. He’d beat me, cheated on me, lied to me, and that wasn’t even the worst of his actions.