Loving Her (Mitchell Family #9)(29)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“I need to get back inside, before the boys burn down the house.”

“I’m coming, too. Maybe if I stalk her, she’ll give up and realize she has to love me.”

I appreciated that he was trying to joke. I just wasn’t sure if it was going to sway her decision, not this time.

Chapter 19

Tyler

Things didn’t get any better once we got inside of the house. Izzy had gone back to her room. Miranda went back to check on her and found that she was packing a suitcase.

She came out of the room, asking me to go and talk to Iz. Even though I didn’t think it was a good idea, I went anyway, not giving up on hope that she’d let me be the shoulder she needed to cry on.

I made it to the doorframe and almost lost my cool when I saw her packing up her things. “What are you doing, Iz?”

“I’m goin’ to Mimi’s.”

I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall. “What’s that going to solve?”

Izzy sighed and plopped down on her bed. “I don’t like it here right now.”

I walked over and sat down next to her, for a second it seemed like she moved away, showing me that she didn’t want to be close to me. It hurt, but I decided to focus on the matter at hand, instead of adding fuel to the fire. “I know you’re mad at me, but I don’t want you to leave. Who is going to keep the boys in line? You know they’ll come in your room and mess up all your things.”

She looked up and rolled her eyes. “You’re just sayin’ that so I’ll stay here.”

“No, I’m not. I’m saying it because it’s the truth. Come on, Iz. You can’t hate me more than I hate myself.”

She let out a chuckle. For a moment, I felt like we were on common ground. “I don’t hate you.”

I put my hand over hers. “I love you, so much.”

She refused to look at me. “Do you love Jax and Jake more than me, because you’re their real dad?”

Never had I considered that she would think that. I loved all of my children the same, but I shared a bond with Izzy that was unexplainable. I didn’t have a favorite child, because they all made me proud and frustrated. “Of course not, Iz. I told you this already. To me, you’re mine. Why do you think we never wanted anyone to know about Tucker?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. You told me he was a bad man, or Mom did.”

“It’s not just because of how he was. Look, maybe you’re too young to understand this, but when a woman gets pregnant, the man doesn’t really have any control over what she does with the baby. Some people choose to give the baby up for adoption, some even have a medical procedure where they terminate the pregnancy, but some women, like your mother, choose to have the baby. She didn’t care if he didn’t want to be a part of your life. She wanted you anyway. Iz, it sucks that he was too stupid to want you, but I have to believe it happened because you were always meant to be mine. Your mother and I wanted to be a family. We chose to raise you as mine, because it was the right thing to do. You can be mad at me. You can run away to Mimi’s or Uncle Conner’s, but my feelings are never going to change.”

We sat there quietly. Jake came running in the room with a pair of underwear on his head and a rubber sword in his hand. “I’m Captain Underwear!”

Iz let out a little laugh as we watched him run back out of the room. It was silent again and I knew she was still feeling let down.

“Do you need help packing?” I figured that it was time to give her space. She may have only been a child, but she was smart one. This was where I stopped begging and let her be. I put my hand on her knee and waited until she looked at me. “How about I go call Mimi and let her know you’re coming?”

I wanted her to say that she’d changed her mind; that she wasn’t going to leave me sitting there with a broken heart.

“Okay.”

I walked out of the room, unable to keep my composure. My phone was up to my ear and I was talking, but everything seemed to go into tunnel vision. I needed to find Miranda, because she was the only person who could begin to understand how broken I felt.

My mother was more than upset when she found out what had taken place. None of us wanted to lie about Izzy being blood, but we also never considered her anything else. Afraid that she was going to upset her, my mother promised to keep her composure and not talk about it unless Izzy brought it up.

I felt deflated, but knew she was in good hands with my parents.

It had been a frustrating night and thankfully, the boys passed out early. I carried them to their room and tucked them into bed.

Miranda was waiting for me on the couch. She patted the spot beside her. As soon as I plopped down, she had her arms around me and was climbing on my lap. I reached around and grabbed her ass, holding her there against me. “I love you, baby.”

She leaned back and ran her hands over my face. “I love you, too. Have faith, Ty.”

“It’s so hard when I feel like I failed her. She put all of her trust in me and I was holding in the truth from her.”

She kept staring into my eyes. “We did what we had to do. I’ll never regret it.”

Her kiss started out as comfort, but as soon as our tongues collided, it became so much more. I picked her up and started walking towards the bedroom, kicking the door open and closing it by leaning my body into it. Miranda reached over and locked it. I flipped us around, pressing her against the wall. My hunger was fueled by stress and this was the only way I knew how to deal with it. I need to feel my wife, her love, and everything else she was willing to give me.

Miranda’s legs started to fall, so I carried her over to the bed and tossed her on the mattress. She backed up, steadily watching me to see what my next move was going to be.

I pulled off my shirt and began to unfasten my jeans. She followed my lead and started taking off her clothes. Miranda still looked young, with almost the same body as before the twins. Sure, she’d gained a couple pounds here and there, but I never thought she’d been more beautiful.

She held up her index finger and motioned for me to join her on the bed. “Come let mama make it all better.”

I let out an air-filled, heavy laugh and did as she requested, all the while knowing that this was the best therapy for me.

I’d no sooner made it back onto the bed when she grabbed my hair and guided to me to lay down. I tried to kiss her, albeit she pulled away, teasing me like she knew turned me on. I found her nipple and pinched it between my fingers. Her body reacted and I heard a tiny cry escape her. That’s when I kissed her, sliding my tongue on her mouth and feeling her immediately reciprocate. She climbed on top of me, shoved me down on my back and leaned down, putting her tits right in my face, by pushing them together. I opened my mouth and let my teeth drag against them.