Blinding Trust (17 page)

“Tell me you don’t love him, Savanna.” I needed to get away from them. She was protecting him and I couldn’t stand being around it. I felt like I was back under that tent hearing her accept his proposal, so long ago. It made me want to be sick.

“You know how I feel about, Ty and you know how I feel about you.”

“So we’re back to that? After all this time, we’re back to that?”

Ty moved to the front of Savanna and I was ready to battle. He put his hands up. “Before you go and ruin your marriage, I think you need to know something.” He looked back at Savanna. “He needs to know the truth, Van. Please don’t hate me.”

I prepared myself for the worst, but never expected what came out of his mouth.

“While you were out dealing with Noah, your wife got bad news. She called Miranda crying, but she left her phone home that day and I intercepted the call. I made her tell me what was wrong. Maybe it was wrong of me, but I knew she was alone and she’s my best friend. When I told Miranda, she made me come here to be with Van. I didn’t do shit with your wife except support her. Fuck you, Colt! Fuck you for thinking that after all this time, I would destroy our whole family like that.” He turned around and kissed Savanna on the cheek. “I’ll call you when my flight gets in. John’s picking me up from your parent’s house.”

He pushed past me, knocking his shoulder into mine. I was so worried about Savanna that I paid him no attention.

“What’s he talkin’ about?”

She sank down on the porch steps and cried harder. Instinctively, I sat down beside her and tried to put my arm around her. She moved her body when my hands touched her. It was clear that she was furious with me.

I sat there waiting for her to be able to tell me what was going on. I’d never considered that it could be something bad. I just assumed they were sneaking around behind my back.

“Savanna, please talk to me.”

She was still sobbing, but managed to get out one sentence. “The doctor found a lump in my breast.”

A knot formed in my throat and I could hear the severity in her voice. While I was away with our son, she had been going through hell. Every one of our phone calls had ended badly when she needed my support the most. How would I ever be able to make this up to her?

Chapter 23

Savanna

As angry as I was at Colt for what’ he’d done to Ty, a part of me was so relieved to have him sitting there next to me. I’d wanted his support since this had all begun. He should have been there for me instead of his cousin. Now, poor Ty was going home with a black eye and hard feelings.

Colt put his head down when I told him what the doctor had found. I think the shock of what I’d said had finally calmed him down and brought the man back to reality. God knows, he had been way off base.

As I continued to try to calm myself down, Colt tried once again to put his arm around me. Sometimes actions speak louder than words, and in this case, it was true. I leaned my head against him. “How bad is it darlin’? When are they goin’ to do a biopsy?”

“I had it done this morning. That’s why Ty was here. He took me to the doctors.”

“Oh, hell, Savanna. I didn’t know. I just thought he was tryin’ to take you from me.
” I could tell he felt terrible and there was a part of me that wanted him to. He should have just talked to me, instead of losing his temper. No matter how old he got, some things just didn’t change.

“He was being there for me because he knew you couldn’t be, but it wasn’t because he wanted me for himself. Colt, I’ve known him practically my whole life. He’s my best friend.”

“He was your first love, darlin’. It’s hard for me to not think about that. It’s hard for me to know you still love him.” Colt looked in another direction. “It kills me to know he was here for you. I should have been here. Why didn’t you call me, Savanna? I never would have gone if I’d known.”

“You were taking care of our son, Colt. Just because something bad was happening to me, doesn’t mean we can just give up on our kids. I knew it was important to Noah and with the wedge between us, I couldn’t be the person to ruin it for him.” I wiped my face and took a few deep breaths. “I was just going to go through the tests alone. If it was nothing, than I didn’t want anyone else to have to worry about me. When I left the
office and called Miranda, I was just so scared. Ty sensed it right away and wouldn’t leave me alone until I told him what was going on. Colt, I swear to you that there is nothing going on between us, but I don’t know how I would have gotten through this week without him. That’s why I didn’t ask him to leave.”

Colt’s phone started vibrating in his pants. He pulled it out and hit the ignore button. “It’s Miranda. I know she’s going to tear me a new ass.
I don’t have time for that, right now. I can’t believe this is happenin’. You know I would have been here for you, Savanna. I can’t understand why you thought it was necessary to keep it from me. I don’t even care what I had goin’ on. This was more important than anything.” He covered his face with his hands for a second and then looked over at me. Those beautiful green eyes were watered up. “I’m so sorry, Savanna. I’d fall apart without you, darlin’. Nothin’ makes sense in my life if you’re not in it.” He grabbed my hand and kissed it. “What’s the doctor sayin’? How long until we get the results?”

“My doctor said that he would call me as soon as he gets them.” I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you. I wanted to call you and tell you every day. I was just so upset and I don’t want the kids to know. I don’t want anyone to know that there’s a possibility that I might not be around much longer.” I could barely get out the last words.

Colt held me tight. I could hear him sniffling, but refused to look up at his face. “Please don’t talk like that. I don’t care what it costs, or what we have to do. If the results are positive for cancer, we’ll beat it together. Never talk about it bein’ the end, darlin’. Please don’t ever do that.” Colt was starting to lose it. The sniffling was becoming more frequent and I knew that he wasn’t going to leave my side.

“I’m so scared, Colt. I know I should be optimistic, but I can’t stop thinking about the bad. I just want to be prepared for the worst possible result, so that if it’s any better, I ca
n at least be happy about that.”

He brushed the hair away from my face. “Have you done any research?”

I shook my head. “No. I was too afraid. My doctor said it was a bad idea.”

He stood up and reached out for my hand. “Let’s go inside. I had to wait
hours for a flight at the airport. We were so damn tired that Noah came right in and went to sleep.”

I realized that I hadn’t even asked why he was home a day early. “What happened? I thought you told me you weren’t coming home until tomorrow.”

We went into the kitchen. I sat down at the table while he leaned against the countertop. “It seems Zeke wasn’t as forward for information as we thought. At first, everything was great. His house was unbelievable and Noah was spoiled with attention. I was startin’ to think I wouldn’t be able to get him to leave.”

I got up and poured us both some tea. “So what changed?”

“First, Piper took Noah overnight with the other band member’s wives and their kids, so that Zeke could throw a crazy party. I thought Noah was comin’ home, but I’m glad he didn’t. I had to sleep on my bathroom rug to get away from the madness.”

“I take it that’s the night the picture was taken?”

He started laughing and shaking his head. “Savanna, I went into my room to be alone and two naked chicks were in my bed. Honest to God, they wouldn’t leave. Everywhere I went in the house, there were people havin’ sex with each other. You need to understand that I took that picture to get a rouse out my cousins. I never intended for you to see it.”

I cocked my eyebrow. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“It ain’t like that and you know it. Darlin’, I was missin’ you too much to pay any attention to other women.”

I walked up close to him and pressed my hands against his chest. Sure, I was still mad at him, but I also needed him. Colt made everything seem easier. “Right answer, Mr. Mitchell.”

He ran his hands up and down the top of my arms. “Piper is pregnant by the bodyguard and Zeke only wanted Noah to visit so it could help his troubled image. Anyway, Noah overheard Zeke admitting that he was just using him. Before, I could rip him a new ass, Noah came runnin’ out askin’ to go home. It turns out, all he wanted was his mother.”

I think my mouth hit the floor. Noah had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with me before he left and now I was who he was asking for. “You’re kidding?”

“Nope! He got all upset and said he wanted you. We high tailed out of there and didn’t stop until we walked in the front door. Savanna, I told you he’d come around. You’re his mother and he knows it. That kid will never stop lovin’ you. He couldn’t survive without your love. None of us could.”

He hugged me close, but I pulled away and looked up at him. “What about the lawyers?”

“That’s easy. I told them I recorded their conversation. I don’t think we’ll be hearin’ from Zeke or his lawyer. Plus, I told him I’d kill him if he came near my family again.”

I felt Colt’s arms around me, but then I felt another set of hands wrapping around the front of me. I turned around to see Noah standing there. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, babe. I’m so sorry you had to come home early.” I really wasn’t, but I wanted him to feel better.

“I’m not. Zeke is a jerk. He never even cared about me at all.”

I wrapped my arms around him. “He’s a fool.”

Noah looked up at me. “I was a jerk, too. I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean what I said to you.”

I started crying again. “It’s okay. No matter what happens, I’m always going to love you with all of my heart. Nobody can ever change that. You’ll always be my son.”

He smiled and hugged me tighter. With all of the worry that filled my mind, nothing could have soothed me more than having my son in my arms. Feeling his love was just what the doctor ordered.

He pulled away and looked up at me. “Can I go outside and play with Sam?”

“Of course, as soon as you unpack your things.” His father had spoken and a reluctant kid went stomping up the stairs to do what he was told.

I found my place back in Colt’s arms. “You know you’re going to have to apologize to Ty.”

He patted my back. “Yeah, I know. I’m goin’ to let him sweat for a little while though. He still got to spend entirely too much time with you.” He lifted my chin and kissed me on my lips. “Can we go get our girls? I told your mom I’d wait, but I want to see them.”

I found it to be so sweet that Colt missed his girls. I’m sure they’d missed them because I hadn’t exactly been a fun person to be around. “I just want to warn you that the wedding of Joe and Barbie is in full swing. They were just waiting for you to get home.”

“Great. Should we call a pastor over?” He was teasing and I knew it when he winked at me. “If Christian and Addy have anything to do with it, the whole family will be invited.”

“Probably.”

“Poor Joe!” He shook his head.

“Poor Barbie, you mean?”

Colt smiled. “Yeah, whatever you say.”

He took my hand and led me to the front porch, then called back into the house to let Noah know where we were going. We heard him running down the steps. “Can I go too? I want to tell Grandpa about our trip.”

Colt looked at him like he was crazy. “It was your idea to come home early.”

“Yeah, but we had a good time, didn’t we, dad? I mean, when it was just us?”

Colt put his hands on the back of Noah’s shoulders and guided him off the porch. “Yeah, buddy, we did.”

The three of us climbed on the golf cart, while good ole Sam followed beside us. For the first time in a week, I felt like things were getting back to normal. Now, all I needed were my results to be in my favor and everything would be back to perfect again.

Chapter 24

Colt

It was great to see the smiles of both of our girls. I’d missed them all more than I even knew possible. Our life may have seemed boring to others, but it meant everything to us. Being away, and seeing how some people live, made me appreciate just what I had at home. I think it did the same for Noah.

When we got home, we were all too tired to go to my mother’s for dinner. The little one’s were wide awake, but they were too busy making more wedding plans. I had no idea what that actually entailed, but they were quiet and it wasn’t because they were doing something bad.

Noah sat next to his mother on the couch and they started watching some crazy show about a man from Kentucky that caught wild animals with his bare hands. The one thing I hated about the show was that it made Kentucky seem like none of us had any teeth. Since not one person in my family was missing any teeth, I knew it didn’t apply to everyone. Sure, I knew a couple farmers that had let their mouths go to shit. We took care of our teeth.

As much as I hated his
hygiene, the show was catchy and I found myself cuddling next to my wife watching it.

Before we knew it, the sun was setting and we hadn’t had anything to eat. As a treat, I decided to take out the family to our favorite steak house.
Nothing felt better than to walk into a public establishment with my wife and kids at my side.

When we all got seated in an extra large booth, I looked around the table at them and thought about how precious they were to me. I loved my life and imagining spending a second without my wife was enough to rip my heart straight out of my chest.

While everyone enjoyed their food, I found myself dwelling on Savanna. It pained me that she’d left me out, but I understood why she had. Our children were always her first priority, even when it put her needs on the backburner.

I think she knew what I was doing. She looked right at me and gave me one of her looks. If she could be strong, than I was going to have to do the same. The next few days of not knowing were going to be the hardest. With optimism running in the opposite direction, we needed to find a light at the end of the tunnel. I couldn’t let myself think about a life that didn’t include my beautiful wife.

Suddenly, being out in public wasn’t where I wanted to be. I wanted to be home, with my wife and kids. I wanted to have her in my arms, holding her tight. She needed to know that I wasn’t going to give up, no matter what those results said.

I held Savanna’s hand on the ride home, while listening to three kids argue about what movie they wanted to watch during the ride. She kept looking at me as I drove and I would squeeze her hand so she knew I was paying attention.

By the time we got home it was around nine. The girls were yawning and even Noah seemed like he was tired. Since it was a Friday night, they didn’t have a bedtime. After the girls got a bath, they both settled in and went to sleep in their beds. They’d be in our bed at some point, but for the time being, our king size bed was free.

Noah came downstairs after getting his shower. He handed his mother his IPod. “
Mom, I can’t figure out to remove songs. Can you do it for me?”

She grabbed the device and started looking through the songs. “When did you put these on here?”

His face turned red. “I did it before we went to California. Dad already punished me.”

“This is what you want removed?” She asked.

“Yeah. Just take them all off. I didn’t like them anyway.”

Savanna smiled an
d looked over at me. “Son, I’m sorry we wasted our time goin’ to California. I know you had high hopes of knowin’ your uncle. It’s a shame he turned out to be such a turd, but you need to know it had nothin’ to do with the type of boy you are. Some people can’t see a good thing even when it bites them in the tail.”

“Uncle Zeke was cool at first. I thought I wanted to be like him. He lived in a house bigger than Grandma’s. But…he was a jerk. I saw him kissin’ a lady that wasn’t Piper. I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you would hate him.
I hate him, though. I hope I never have to go back there again.”

Sav
anna reached out and grabbed his arm. “Noah, you don’t ever have to go there again. If someone tries to make you, I will bust them up.”

Noah’s eyes got huge. He looked at me and we both started laughing,
because the idea of Savanna beating someone up was just absurd. She couldn’t hurt a fly.

“Keep laughing you two. I’ll show you how tough I can be when it comes to my kids.”

Savanna grabbed Noah and pulled him down on the couch. She started tickling him. He was screaming and laughing at the same time. Finally, when he pulled the ‘I can’t breathe’ card, she settled down. “I missed you, Mom.”

Savanna hugged him again. “I missed you too, buddy.

“As much as I love to see you two happy again, I think it’s time for us old folks to get to bed. I mean, if you want your mom to still look pretty, she really needs that beauty rest.”

Savanna pushed me. “That’s so wrong!”

“Can we have pancakes tomorrow morning?” Noah didn’t even get my joke.

“Of course we can.” Savanna poked him in his nose. “You have to set the table.”

He started walking up the stairs. “I will. Goodnight!”

I reached out for Savanna
. “Come with me.”

She grabbed my hand and let me pull her up off the couch. I pulled her closer, forcing her body against my hard chest. Her hands slid up to my shoulders. My hands ran down her little waist and got comfortable on that fine ass. I squeezed her cheeks, pulling her into me more. Then I kissed the side of her face. “I want to take you upstairs.” I teased her lips with mine “I want to undress you, slowly.”
I kissed her gently, letting my tongue drag over her bottom lip. “Then I want to be inside of you, darlin’.”

I licked my lips, imagining what it felt like to make
love to my wife. I needed to get her up to our room, before the couch became where we ended up.

We separated, but only to be able to walk up the stairs without tripping. Our kissing continued down the hallway until we made it inside our room. That’s when we paused
while I pulled off her shirt. I kissed on the skin of her neck, letting my lips drag across her smooth skin. She moaned when I kissed her this way and it turned me on every time I heard it.

Savanna didn’t waste anytime either. Her nails tickled me as her hands lifted my shirt up and over my head. She ran her fingers over my naked chest and leaned in to kiss around one of my nipples. I reached behind her back and removed her bra, pulling the cups away from her nipples slowly.

Savanna pulled at the button to my jeans. When they started to come down, I took it upon myself to pull down her cotton pants. As soon as I had her naked, I picked Savanna up and carried her over to our bed. Her kisses became savage, like there was no place else she wanted to be than right there with me. Her fingers explored my skin as if it were our first time together.

When I touched her, she began to tremble. Her lips opened slowly and I watched her tongue wetting them. I couldn’t help but reach in and kiss them. Her taste was so familiar and I couldn’t get enough of her sweet lips.

Her back was laying flat on our bed and my body was lingering over hers. My hands explored every inch of her body, finally coming to the hot spot between her legs. I ran the palm of my hand over her pussy, using the friction to drive her wild. She moaned and moved her body as I continued to tease her with my hand.

I could feel my hard erection pressing against her skin. She was fully aware of what I wanted from her and she wasn’t
about to stop me from taking it. Two fingers slid between her moist folds. As her natural essence lubricated my fingers, I let them penetrate into her most treasured place. She cried out as I started a rhythm with my fingers.

When I knew she was about to explode, I pulled them out of her and brought them up to my mouth. The look on her face was more than I could handle. I dove down between her legs, tasting her sweet juice with my tongue. Her little bud was calling my name and I gave it all my attention. The more I savored, the more she cried out. Her legs tightened and her body bucked against my face.

When she finally stilled, I kissed my way back up her body. Her legs wrapped around me before I could grab them myself. She knew what I wanted and as I entered my wife, it felt like it had been forever, but it was as perfect as I remembered. Her warmth welcomed me and her sexy body did the rest. I leaned down to kiss her and once we started, we couldn’t stop. Her lips were like candy and I wanted to suck the flavor right off of them.

The
slower I tried to go, the faster Savanna grinded against me. She was forcing me to keep going, even though I didn’t have much left before I couldn’t go anymore.

It felt so good, not just to be making love to my wife, but to be home with her. For the short period that I felt like I’d lost her, it was hard to imagine moving on. Savanna was everything to me. She was the rock that kept our family glued together.

Her long nails dug into my back as she arched her own. I ran my nose over one of her breasts, finally letting my tongue reach out and lick her hard nipple. I sucked it into my mouth, hard, changing the natural shape of it. I mimicked my movements on the other side, kissing my way back up to her lips.

Savanna knew I was close. She used her legs to flip herself on top of me. I watched her dark hair fall down over her tits. She was driving me crazy, even before she straddled herself over my erection to perfectly slide me back in. Her body moved up and down, but all I could focus on was her perfect breasts. I reached up and pinched both of her nipples, sending her into a frenzy.

Watching her letting go was hot as hell. I couldn’t hold it much longer after that. I stilled my wife’s body, while my pent up anxiety was released from me. Savanna finally collapsed on top of me. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “It’s good to be home, darlin’.”

She kissed my shoulder. “It’s good to have you home, babe.”

“Savanna?”

“Yes.”

“Everything’s goin’ to be okay. Nothin’s goin’ to take you away from us.”

I felt her fingers sliding inside of mine. “I hope you’re right, Colt, because I can’t imagine not being able to be like this with you for the next fifty years.”

I wasn’t a doctor. I couldn’t guarantee her health, but I believed that God wouldn’t ever take away something that was so precious to all of us.

I wasn’t even willing to accept that I would ever have to spend one day out of my life without Savanna in it.