Loving Her (Mitchell Family #9)(50)
Author: Jennifer Foor

My problem was him having to ride home upset and alone. It made me nervous, and my heart hurt for him at being able to put himself in that kind of situation.

When my boys came running through the door, I was more than happy to see them. While they both hugged me and started talking about all the fun they’d had, Bella headed straight to her room. I looked at my mother and John, and they both shook their heads and looked at one another. “Why don’t you take your stuff to your room?”

I watched them running back to their rooms. My mother approached me. “She hasn’t said much this morning. I think she feels bad about worrying me last night.”

I looked down at the floor, finding it hard to tell my mother what we were thinking of doing with Bella. “Mom, I think you might want to sit down.”

“What is it?” She remained standing.

“Colt and Van are goin’ to keep Bella for a few weeks. I still have to call her school and get somethin’ worked out, but we’ve already decided. If there’s a chance that pushing her away will bring her back to us, we’ve got to try it.”

I could tell that my mother was upset. She’d seen us struggling and knew how hard a decision like this was for us. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but it could actually work. I get that she’s upset, but most of it is her acting out. She doesn’t hate either one of you. If you distance yourself and make her think that you’re done trying, it might cause her to admit her feelings.”

“That’s what we’re hopin’.”

“I can check on her as much as I want to. If Van needs help, she knows she can call me.”

I started to tear up. “I know. Thanks, mom.”

“Do you need us to stay another night, to take her home with us?”

“Ty’s goin’ to take her. Colt thinks it’s a good idea. He thinks it will force her to hear him out. They’ve never been alone like that since everything happened. She won’t be able to walk away, and I think if we’re going to send her away, she needs to hear what she’s givin’ up.”

“I agree.” My mother got that look on her face when she knew we’d done something wrong and she was disappointed. We were all disappointed with Bella, but we hadn’t lost hope.

We talked a little more, and then she and John announced that they were going to head out. My mom loved to antique, and Sundays were the best day to do it. It was still early enough in the day that they could make several stops before they all closed.

The kids came out and hugged her, and I said goodbye for Ty, who was still resting. As soon as they pulled away, I headed back to Bella’s room, where she’d run off to. I found her sitting on her bed looking at a shirt she’d gotten on their trip. I sat down next to her. “Did you have a good time?”

“Yeah, it was okay.” She wouldn’t look me in the eye.

“Bella, you scared us to death last night. You can’t leave like that. Grandma was responsible for you and we all thought you’d been taken.”

She looked up at me with a sad face. “I’m sorry. I told you why I did it.”

I put my hand on her thigh. “Sweetie, I love you with all of my heart, but I can see that you’re not happy here. You’re dad and I have tried to be there for you and help you get through this, but you won’t let us in. We had to make the decision that will help this family heal. It hurts me to tell you this, but you’re goin’ to go live with Uncle Colt and Aunt Van for a while. I can’t have this constant drama around your brothers. It’s not healthy. I get that you’re mad at your father, but he’s never goin’ to give up on you.”

“You want me to leave?”

“I want our family to be the way it was before, but we both know that can’t happen anymore, especially after the things you’ve said about your father. I understand why you think you have to hate him, but it’s wrong. He’s done nothin’ but love you for your whole life. It all just breaks my heart.”

“I’ll do the exercises, I promise.” I wanted to smile, hearing her react like she hadn’t this whole time. It was at that moment when I realized how well Ty knew our daughter. Even after she’d ripped his heart out, he’d been strong enough to see what I couldn’t. He knew how to break her and bring her back to us.

“It’s not about that anymore. This is best for everyone. It’s not like we won’t be able to visit. We’ll come as much as we can.” I was lying through my teeth and I hated it, but it needed to be said. The more I saw her reacting, the more I knew it was working. Normally I’d be against manipulating my daughter, except we’d tried every other type of resorts and failed. This was a last resort. It was killing me inside, even if it was a ploy. I’d never send my child away if I didn’t feel like it was necessary.

“I’m sorry, mom. I won’t make you mad again. I promise.”

“You should have thought about that when you told the only man who has ever raised you that he wasn’t your dad. Bella, things like that have consequences. You can’t treat people that love you this way, no matter how angry you are at them. Family sticks together, through the good and the bad. I get that we hurt you by keepin’ the secret, but we didn’t do it for that reason. We did it because we both wanted to protect you. It’s only ever been about keepin’ you safe and loved. If you’d just given him a chance to explain, he would have told you that.” When she really started to cry I wanted to comfort her. She’d expect me to, so I hugged her and held her while I spoke. “Sweetie, this is the only way we can be happy. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want to be happy in your own home?”

“Yes,” she whispered sadly. “I won’t be mean to him anymore.”

“Actions speak louder than words, sweetie. I think some time apart is what we all need.”

God, I felt like the worst parent. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that it was clearly working. She was showing more emotion than she had in weeks.

She sobbed and looked down at the floor. “Do you still love me?”

“Of course I love you. That man in the other room, the one that you said wasn’t your father, loves you more than his own life.” I held her hand. “Bella, I know you’re goin’ through changes, and I get that things have been hard for you, especially learnin’ about Tucker Chase. I’m not tryin’ to push you away because you know. I am sending you to Kentucky so you can have some time to heal. I think that you bein’ here is makin’ it hard.”