Saving Us (Mitchell Family #6)(13)
Author: Jennifer Foor

He continued to laugh, even as she approached him. We all watched Van get up in his face. She grabbed his cheeks and squished them together. The more Ty laughed, the more angry she got. He knew she couldn’t physically hurt him, so he kept taunting.

Finally, she pushed away from him and walked out of the kitchen. Ty leaned down and wiped off his son’s face with the rag. "Tell Mommy to stop getting you dirty. You need to look good for all those little hot toddler chicks."

The twins were going to grow up thinking they were God’s gift to women. Sometimes, I found it ironic how everyone had always said that about us guys too. I guess it was a vicious circle.

I only stayed at Colt’s for about a half hour before they all started to get hungry and request that I go get ready for supper. Amy was in the shower when I got back to my mom’s house. I slipped into the bathroom and removed my clothes. She screamed when I opened the curtain at first, but calmed down once she saw that it was me. I grabbed the soap and started washing her back. "How was your nap?"

She shrugged and leaned her body against mine. "Fine. How are you?"

"I’m fine, Blaze. Why would you even ask that? I’m always fine." I didn’t feel like talking about my father, or the reason that we were in Kentucky in the first place. I’d come and done what I needed to do. That was the end of it.

"I was worried about you, that’s all."

"There ain’t nothin’ for you to worry about. Just drop it, alright?" I felt bad for being a dick, but I wanted her to shut up. I wasn’t going to let myself be vulnerable in front of her. It wasn’t going to happen.

"Fine, geesh, you don’t have to be mean."

I rinsed off my hair and climbed back out of the shower without saying a word. I had a chip on my shoulder and didn’t feel like talking.

By the time Amy came out of the bathroom, I was already dressed and heading out into the living room. I just wanted to get with all my family so that she wouldn’t bring it up in private. Amy was the only person in my life that could make me emotional about things. I loved that she was special like that, but hated that it was possible.

I could tell she was annoyed with me, so I struck up a conversation with John about hunting. The women climbed in the backseat of the car and we headed to the restaurant.

The place where we had planned to eat was like a bar and grill. It was also a popular hangout of my past. Since we came from a small town, it was almost certain that I would see some old friends. The tension was building up knowing that I hadn’t seen any of them since I was using drugs. I hadn’t even kept in touch with anyone after meeting Amy. She’s consumed my life and made me never want my old life again. Still, the fear of seeing them was getting to me.

We were seated at a large table in the center of the place. Amy was sitting next to me, at first, but then Bella had a fit and wanted her to sit with her. After we order our food, I saw a group of people sitting at the bar. I slouched down in my seat when I realized who they were. Three out of the four girls I had slept with. Two of my mudding buddies were standing around behind them with beers in their hands. I needed to change seats so they couldn’t see me.

It was too late. From across the room, I heard my name being called out. When I looked up I saw my friends approaching the table. Matt reached out his hand. "Long time no see, dude. When did you get back?"

"I’m here visitin’ with family."

Parker patted me on the shoulder. "It’s good to see you, man."

"You too."

Amber, a blonde with hair down to her ass, pushed her way through the two guys. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in for a hug. "Why didn’t you call me when you got back? We need to hang out. Shelby is having a party at her daddy’s barn. You should come by. It’s goin’ to be so much fun."

I knew Amy was watching and because she knew me so well, I also knew that she was probably figuring that I’d been with this chick. Amber had always been a good time. On her inner thigh she had a tattoo that said ‘the fun starts here’. She wasn’t exactly quiet about being adventurous and always lived up to the hype too.

"Yeah, I can’t this time."

"Oh, please change your mind. You know it would be just like old times."

I heard a fork drop loudly on the table and turned around to see my sister standing up. "Hey Amber, have you met my brother’s girlfriend Amy? We’re here celebrating the fact that he’s goin’ to be a daddy. He left town and fell in love. Ain’t that great?"

My sister hated Amber and her herd of bitchy friends. I knew what she was doing. This wasn’t really for me or Amy, it was for her own personal amusement. Still, Amber looked from me then over to Amy. She cocked her eyebrow and turned her attention back to me. "Well, you know where to find us if you change your mind. We all know how fickle you can be."

They walked away, but the damage was done. I was afraid to even turn around.

Chapter 9

Amy

This trip wasn’t going the way I wanted it to. Conner was being distant and I felt like he was pushing me away. Then we go out to have a nice dinner and this group of his apparent friends come up and invite him out. It was like he had forgotten about me sitting there at the table for a second. The way she put her hands around the back of him made me crazy mad. If it wasn’t for Miranda, I may have made a fool out of myself over it. I needed to calm down. He was in his hometown. He was going to run into people he knew. Although, I couldn’t help but wonder if he had history with the girl.

I felt my blood boiling at the way she reacted when Miranda announced who I was and that we were expecting. My stomach started to feel upset, so I stood up to head to the restroom. Conner came up behind me and spun me around, just before I reached the ladies room door. "Blaze, it ain’t like you’re thinkin’."

"Guilty conscious?"

He scrunched up his face. "I would have introduced you myself."

I cocked my eyebrow and felt myself getting defensive. "Are you sure about that? I didn’t even see you look back at me until your sister spoke up. Maybe you don’t want any of your friends knowing you have me back at home."

He pressed me against the paneled wall. "Don’t say that. It ain’t true and you know it. You know what’s important to me."

"Do I? Maybe you should have left me home so you could hang out with your old friends. Is that what you call it here? Is it called hanging out, or hooking up?" His eyes got huge. When he turned around to calm down, I slipped into the bathroom. Knowing he was probably coming in, I locked myself in a stall and started to cry. I hated being over-emotional. I wasn’t the type of person to be that way in public. When I heard the bathroom door open, I shook my head. "Conner, just go away. I don’t feel like talking to you right now. Just go out tonight and have a good time like I know you want to."