Loving Her (Mitchell Family #9)(34)
Author: Jennifer Foor

About an hour after I’d called Ty, he called me back. I should have known that she was going to be defiant.

“Hey, babe. Is she home? Did you find out what happened?”

“We’re home, and all the principal said was that she punched a boy because he said something she didn’t like.”

“Well, did you ask her about it?”

“Of course I did.”

“So what’s her excuse?”

“Baby, she’s ain’t talking to me. In fact, she said I wasn’t her dad and she didn’t have to listen to me. To be honest with you, I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I’ve never wanted to smack her ass, but when she acted like that, it was all I could do to keep from spanking her.”

I felt horrible hearing that not only had she not listened to Ty, but also that she’d been so hurtful to him. “I don’t care how upset she is about all of this. She has no right to treat you like this. You are her father, and this shit is not goin’ to fly. I have two more clients and then I’ll be home. Are you okay for now, or do I need to see if Amy can help me out?”

“She’s in her room. I told her not to show her face until you got home. The boy’s will be getting off the bus soon, and I’m going to keep them outside. The chicken coop out back hasn’t been cleaned in a week and it’s starting to smell. Once they collect the eggs, I’m getting on their asses about keeping up with it. You know they promised they would, and that’s why I agreed to let them get the damn things in the first place. I’ll be damned if I’m stuck with taking care of another one of their pets. I already have to take care of the dog when they forget to feed her or let her in at night.”

I could tell he was looking for reasons to bitch, to elude what was going on with Bella. Who could blame him? Besides, the kids did need to be more responsible. “I’ll be home as soon as I can. Don’t worry about dinner. I’ll make something.”

“I already put a roast in the crockpot.”

Bella hated roast and he knew it. “Well, that’s one way to piss her off.”

“Yeah, if she’s hungry she’ll eat it, won’t she?”

“Baby, I know you’re irritated. I’m so sorry for this.”

“Go back to work and just get home to me. Everything’s so much better when you’re here with me.”

“I’ll be home soon. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Amy gave me a look when I hung up the phone. She had one client under the dryer, so we knew she wouldn’t be able to hear what we were saying. “How bad it is now?”

I sat in my chair and covered my face. “Girl, I don’t even know where to begin. Now she’s tellin’ him he’s not her father and she doesn’t have to listen to him. What am I supposed to do? I can’t believe this is happenin’ to us.” I couldn’t stop the tears from falling, and Amy was at my side in an instant, trying her best to be the supportive sister-in-law and best friend that she was.

“I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”

“It just sucks, because he loves her so much. I get that she’s pissed off, but how can she not think about the impact that he’s had on our lives? How can she look him in the eyes and say somethin’ like that, without regard for his feelin’s? He’s so torn up over this. He hasn’t been this upset since my accident.”

“Have you considered putting them into therapy together? You know there are doctors out there that work with families? They’d probably be able to help all three of you get through this.”

I nodded and wiped my eyes. “Yeah. I told her this mornin’ that I was going to call.”

Amy hugged me. “Conner and I are right down the road if you need anything. I don’t care what time it is. If you two need to walk away for a minute, you know where to go. If you need to ship her off to our house, just drop her butt at the door. I’m sure your brother would like to get his opinion in.”

I thought about Conner scorning Bella. She hated it almost as much as Ty and I telling her what to do. Conner always said that Bella got special treatment, so I was sure that he’d almost enjoy putting her in place. “That’s definitely an option. The way things are goin’, I might ship her to move in.”

“Miranda, it’s not going to get that bad. She’s rebelling. Bella’s hurt. She feels betrayed, and I think it especially hurts because she loves Ty so much. Sure, she’s saying and doing terrible things, but put yourself in her shoes. This isn’t about her becoming a bad child. It’s about not knowing how to cope with something so devastating.”

“I know. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Be patient. When she’s settled down, hopefully she’ll come to you. In the meantime, I’d call that doctor. You’re going to need someone who isn’t in the family to be the middle ground.”

My client walked in the door and we dropped the subject. I turned around to walk to the bathroom to make sure my tears hadn’t caused too much damaged on my eyes.

Once I came back out and started working, I focused on the task and tried not to think about how bad the night was going to be. As much as I wanted to be able to just cut this person’s hair, my mind kept going back to Bella and Ty. There had to be a way to find a common ground, before things got any worse.

I knew Ty, and him hearing her say that to him this morning had to have been awful. I wouldn’t have been able to handle it the way he had.

Then my mind went back to our wedding day, and that’s when I completely lost it. I thought back to Ty, getting down on one knee and including Bella in his vows. He’d promised to not just love me forever, but her as well. She may not have remembered that day, but it was something that I would never forget.

Ty hadn’t just been a good dad to Bella. He was amazing, never taking her for granted for a single second. He didn’t deserve any of this.

I placed my scissors down at my station and ran into the bathroom. My sobs could probably be heard by everyone, and when Amy came running in after me, I was sure of it.

She took me in her arms. “I knew I should have sent you home. Miranda, I’ll finish up your client. She’ll be fine about it. Get your things and go home to your husband and daughter. They need you so much, because you are the glue that holds everything together.

She was right. I had to be strong. My family’s future depended on it. “Okay. You’re right. I need to find a way to get through to her. We can’t be miserable like this forever. I won’t let it destroy everything we have. She doesn’t understand how lucky we are.”