Saving Us (Mitchell Family #6)(12)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Okay, I shouldn’t have gotten my feelings hurt and maybe it was my pregnant hormones, but I felt like, at that moment, he was pushing me away. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t share with me.

I climbed up and went to lean against the car while he had his moment. I watched Conner sitting there with one hand on that headstone. I knew he was getting emotional and maybe he felt ashamed that I would see him that way. It was no secret that he and Miranda loved their father. I’d seen Conner upset before, so it made no sense why he would want me to walk away.

Thinking I was just being irrational, I got back into the vehicle and waited for him to be finished. Neither of us said a single word to each other the whole ride back to the ranch. It was extremely unusual and for the first time since we’d made a real commitment, I felt shut out.

Chapter 8

Conner

This was my least favorite day out of every year since that very day I’d lost my father. Had it not been for my mother, I wouldn’t put myself through the pain of visiting my father’s grave every damn year. It wasn’t like I wanted to forget about him; I just hated looking at that rock, knowing his dead body was in the ground beneath it.

I remembered when I’d been to his grave last year. Afterwards, I headed straight to the bar and drowned my pain in liquor. Amy and I weren’t really anything at the time. Sure, I’d met her, but she wanted nothing to do with me. I’d been a cocky prick to her on our first couple encounters. I was lucky she hadn’t kicked me in the balls. Luckily they still worked fine, because my little boy was steady growing inside of her.

That’s another thing that really bothered me. I hated knowing that my kid would never meet my father. He would never sit on his lap and get that special feeling like when they’re with their pop. Ty’s father enjoyed those grandkids so much. I know my dad would have been the same way. I wondered if Colt felt that way about his father, every time he looked at Noah and Christian.

Allowing Amy to see me that vulnerable wasn’t an option. She needed to see me as someone who would do anything to keep her safe, not a damn pu**y. I appreciated that she gave me time to myself on the way back to the ranch. She stared out the window and never even said a word to me. Maybe she was just enjoying the Kentucky scenery. Either way, she was content and I could get my shit together without a third degree.

Amy laid down as soon as we got back to my mother’s house. I didn’t want to disturb her, so I headed down to Colt’s to hang out until she called me. Noah and Bella were taking string and tying it around all the trees around the house. It was like they were trying to fence themselves in. "What are you two up to now?"

Noah kept working on tying a knot. "We are fixin’ to keep out the witches."

"The what?"

Bella looked over at me and put her hands on her hips. "Uncle Conner, the witches live in the woods. They steal little boys at night, so we are setting up traps to keep my brothers safe."

I checked one of the lines. "Looks good. So how did you hear about the witches?"

"We heard my mom talking about it. She said it was very scary," Noah explained.

I had no idea why Van would talk about witches in front of her son. He had to be mistaken. "Noah, did your mom tell you this herself?"

"No, I heard her telling Aunt Miranda. I told Bella and she is helping me protect the family. I don’t want any witches takin’ my cousins away at night. The woods is scary and they won’t have any clean diapers or nothin’."

I was trying not to laugh. I helped him secure one line to another tree before heading in to find out from the adults what was going on. I’d no sooner walked in when I saw Ty attacking Van with a can of cool whip.

"Stop it, Ty! I mean it. Get off of me."

Ty had her pinned.

Miranda and Colt sat in the kitchen and watched their spouses acting like children. As Van tried her hardest to free her hands, Ty sprayed the cool whip all over her face. You couldn’t see her eyes or nose. She kept spitting it out as she tried to breathe and scream at the same time. "I hate you!"

"You know you like it. Ask Miranda how much she loves Ty sundaes."

"I know all about your dumb sundaes. You’re disgusting!" She continued to try to free her hands.

I decided to stay out of it. No matter where we were, the two of them would always get into trouble. My sister was in the kitchen feeding Jake. He was wearing his little blue tractor hat like always. It was easier to tell the twins apart when they wore them. Jax had a green one. He’d learned to take his off though. "Hey. Where’s Amy?"

I sat down next to my sister and kissed the top of her head. "She’s at mom’s takin’ a nap. I think she’s worn out from the ride or somethin’. She was real quiet at the cemetery."

"She better be up to a nice dinner. We’re all goin’ out for steaks later." Miranda shoveled another bite of something green into my nephew’s mouth. He smiled as I scrunched my face up. It looked nasty, but he kept eating it anyway.

Colt cleared his throat. When I looked in his direction, I saw he was holding Christian. She had a pacifier in her mouth and was playing with a strand of her own hair, while her head rested against her father’s chest. "Daddy’s little girl, I see."

Colt kissed his daughters head. "That she is. Just wait until you have one of your own. You’ll see. You can’t help but love them."

Just then, Ty came back into the kitchen. His hat was off his head and his clothes were all wrinkled from wrestling. "You can’t help but want to have meat like mine?"

Colt and I looked at each other and pretended that we didn’t hear him. Giving Ty attention only fueled him. "I’m having a boy."

My sister chimed in. "You don’t know that for sure."

"Yeah, I do. It’s goin’ to be a boy."

Everyone just shook their heads. "Dude, I love my boys, but I gotta tell you, there ain’t nothing like seeing your daughter look into your eyes and knowing you are the only man in her life. Tell him Colt."

Colt looked from Ty, then back to me. "I hate to admit this. He’s right, though. Boys grow up to be tough, but our little girls always need their daddy to protect them. I always want to be her hero. Just wait."

"Yeah, it has to be a boy. I’m sure of it."

Van walked into the room still wiping her face off. She tossed a towel towards Ty. "Thanks to you, I have to go up and get another shower. I have this crap all in my hair."

"Does it take you extra time since your belly is so giant?" Ty backed up against the counter as he said it. He knew she was going to kick his ass.

"I am not fat. Take it back!"