The Mitchell Family Series BoxSet 1-4.5 (23 page)

He stroked my hair. “I’m sorry for how I acted. I shouldn’t have shut you out. It was all just too much for me to talk about. I promise I will tell you my feelin’ from now on, Savanna. I won’t take you for granted again, darlin’.”

I touched his arm that was still in my hair. “I missed you.”

“I don’t want you to leave,” he confessed.

“I’m not.”

“No, I don’t want you to ever leave,” he reiterated.

I smiled and leaned in to kiss him. “I know what you meant, Colt. I’m not leaving. I don’t know what I am doing about school, but I don’t want to be without you. If I went home, I wouldn’t be able to focus on school or anything else. Maybe one day I can go back, but for now I feel like I am right where I need to be.”

“What if you didn’t have to give up anything to be with me?” he asked.

“I don’t understand. It isn’t really possible.”

“Darlin’, it’s possible. Next week, when the funeral is over and all of the family has gone home, I say we jump in one of the ranch trucks and drive to North Carolina. We can pick up all of your things and stop by the farm to get Daisy. When we get back you can pick your courses for fall classes. You can decide if you want to take them online or to drive to Louisville every day,” Colt’s said confidently.

“I can’t afford college. I don’t have a job,” I explained.

“I am going to need an office assistant. You are going to need that business degree. All perks of your new job of course,” he joked.

“I can’t let you do that. I will save up and finish.”

He took his hands and put them on both sides of my face. “One day you will be my wife. Let me do this for you. You are moving here for me, so let me pay for you to finish school. I have all kinds of information printed on my desk. In fact, I spent the better part of the afternoon researchin’ it all,” he confessed.

“Was that before or after you got drunk?” I joked.

“Before. Smart ass. So are you going to give me an answer?” he asked.

“What was the question? I forgot!”

“Do you want to be the wife of a rancher? Can you handle this life I live? We have plenty of room for the eleven children you want to have.”

“After seeing a birth today, I think I may draw the line at two children,” I laughed.

“I promise to give you everything,” Colt added.

“I might hold you to that.”

“I hope you do, darlin’.”

Epilogue

Colt

It had been two weeks since we buried my father. My mother was doing better, but only time would heal the emptiness she felt without him. The night after the funeral she hugged me and told me that one day they would be together again. She meant those words and they even made me feel better.

Losing my father was unexpected, but I guess everything in life is that way. When you find something special, you should never take it for granted, even when you have to fight for it. Every time I look at Savanna, I see his words.

We had a long ride back to North Carolina. Ty insisted on driving back with us. We took the big ranch truck with a back seat. He sprawled all out and talked for the entire trip. I couldn’t complain much, because ever since he helped deliver Miranda’s baby, he hadn’t been trying so hard to get in between Savanna and me. In fact, since he’d chewed my ass out about me being an idiot, he had left us alone.

Ty helped us load the truck up with everything from Savanna’s house. He wasn’t supposed to be lifting heavy things, but you couldn’t stop that kid from doing anything. I was surprised at how supportive her parents were being about her move. Her mother made us a huge lunch to eat before we got back on the road.  She gave me a big hug and thanked me for saving her daughter. I never felt like I saved her from anything. I think she saved me.

If she hadn’t been there for me the past two weeks, I don’t know what would have happened. Before finding Savanna, I cared about myself and never worried about anyone else. She changed me. She made me want more.

My father’s death was another eye-opener. I had new responsibilities on top of the old ones. The ranch was my responsibility and I promised my mother that I would keep it going.

When we got to Ty’s farm, my aunt and uncle came out to greet us. While shaking my uncle’s hand, I slipped him an envelope. He didn’t know that inside of it was a quarter of my father’s life insurance policy. We didn’t need the money, but my mother insisted on splitting it up among the family, including starting a trust account for my unborn children. She told us about it one night at dinner. I wasn’t sure who was more shocked, Savanna or me.

I guess she needed things to look forward to. Savanna was becoming her new favorite person. She had dragged her all over town and spent most of her days showing her off. Before we left, she told me I needed to go ring shopping soon. She said Savanna was too pretty to walk around town without a ring on her finger. I would have gotten her a ring eventually. We were practically engaged anyway. I knew we would be married one day, and so did she, but it was important to appease my mom.

Daisy wasn’t that happy to be leaving Thunder. Both of them were steady yelling and bucking all around. My aunt wanted us to stay for dinner, but Daisy was too wound up to attempt moving her later. We got her loaded in the horse trailer and said our goodbyes.

Ty wasn’t too happy about this being the real goodbye. His head was down and he avoided sayin’ much. Savanna walked over and put her arms around him. She kissed him on the cheek and he pulled her back into a hug.

“Are you sure you want to move in with this douche bag? We can still get married,” he joked loud enough for me to hear.

She gave him a playful smack on his chest. “Very funny.”

“Seriously though. I love you, Van. I always will.”

I couldn’t be mad or jealous. He didn’t mean it in a way like he was going to wait for her. He meant it as a caring friend, or soon to be cousin.

She touched his cheek and told him to be good before saying her goodbyes to his parents. They were lucky they got that after being so mean to her for all those months.

When we pulled out of the farm, I saw my uncle opening the envelope. The check was enough for him to pay off all of his loans and be debt free. My father would have wanted that for his brother and his family.

Savanna reached over and grabbed my hand. I squeezed it back. “You sure about this?”

“Drive fast so we can get home tonight. I want pancakes tomorrow,” she teased.

“Darlin’, you can have pancakes everyday for the rest of your life.”

END OF BOOK 1

Folding Hearts

BOOK 2

Chapter 1

Tyler

Losing my girl to my cousin was bad enough, but sticking around while they tried to figure things out was probably the worst decision I could have made.

My uncle had just passed away and my cousin Colt wasn’t taking it well. His girlfriend, my ex Van, had come all the way to Kentucky, courtesy of me, to support him in his time of need. Colt wasn’t the type of guy to talk about his feelings. He would rather shut everyone out and drink himself numb. So, besides the fact that I came along with Van to navigate, now I was being her shoulder to cry on while she made the decision to stick by him or not.

If I could have changed the past, I would have. I lost her because I
couldn’t keep my dick in my pants
. They were actually the exact words Van had used on the night I found out she was leaving me for Colt.

Last year I had been in an accident that left me in a coma for seven and a half months. During that time, Savanna had been abused by my ignorant friends and non-understanding parents. She stuck by my side, mostly because they made her feel like my accident was her fault. Unfortunately, my cousin Colt came to town, to help my parents get through a desperate summer of farming, and through the time they spent together, ended up falling in love with each other.

I probably deserved it, but my own cousin being the reason was pretty fucked up. I knew that she had been involved with someone while I was in the hospital, she had admitted that, but after her being so secretive, I started noticing things. They claimed that they tried to stay away from each other once I woke up, but obviously it didn’t happen. I caught them the night after I asked her to marry me.

She only said yes because I put her on the spot. It was like a kick in the gut. When I say that I caught them, I really mean it literally. I left them alone at a bar and watched as they pawed all over each other on the dance floor. After a short amount of time, and some skin on skin touching, they took their little private party to my father’s truck outside and fucked.

I don’t know why I waited and let them finish.  Maybe it was because I wanted a good reason to fucking kill Colt. He knew how long she had been mine. He saw her say yes to me the night before. I had just got out of the fucking hospital for Christ sakes. I just stood there leaning against a nearby dumpster as the windows of that truck began to fog up. I saw a hand pressing against the glass and watched as the truck rocked back and forth. I was even close enough that I could hear their panting. Even though I was watching it all unfold, I was in shock. Van wasn’t the cheating kind, in fact neither of them were. I hoped that it was a bad dream? An effect of the pain medication I was taking, mixed with the alcohol? Maybe I deserve this for everyone I had slept with behind her back?

They were all of the questions that I was asking myself while I watched my heart breaking before my eyes. Sure, I had been a shitty boyfriend, but this was fucked up.

Five years of being together was over. The truth came out that night. Once she found out about my cheating in our relationship, I knew I didn’t have a chance in getting her back. She had already made her choice. I wasn’t sure about it that night, but she later confessed it to me, after I calmed down of course.

My cousin Colt was like a brother to me. We spent every summer together when we were kids. He couldn’t help falling in love with Van. Anyone that didn’t would be a fool. She was perfect in every way. 

It hurt like Hell.

I may not have been faithful, but damn, I didn’t expect my own cousin to take the only girl I ever cared about away from me.

I made the decision to forgive them, against my better judgment of course. I even went as far as to help Van get to Kentucky. She needed a friend and for some reason I wasn’t ready to just let her go. Maybe I am weird like that, but I needed to be around them. I wasn’t okay leaving things unsettled.

I spent most of the time that first week with Van. Colt was busy at the hospital and then later making funeral arrangements, so Van and I just hung out a lot. Miranda was with us most of the time, not that I minded. She was fun to be around and it also made Van more comfortable being around me. I had made several attempts at getting kisses and trying to talk her out of being with my cousin. I knew all along it wouldn’t work, but damn I would miss those lips.

While Van and Colt struggled to work things out on what was in store for their future, I was left to hang out with a very pregnant Miranda more and more. She was Colt’s cousin, but not mine. Their mother’s were sisters, which meant we had no blood relation, although for years we had considered ourselves family. I visited a lot of times in the past when she was around. Her and Conner, her brother, had moved to the ranch when their father passed away years ago. I wasn’t exactly sure what their mother did, but it had something to do with the cattle. The last time I had visited she was on a business trip looking to acquire some new steers.

When Van and I had originally arrived at Colt’s ranch, I acted like I didn’t know her to get a rise out of Van. She overreacted, even more than I could have imagined, and almost left without an explanation from Colt. For the few minutes it lasted, I had to laugh. Of course, I was the only person there that thought it was a damn bit funny at all.

A few days later, right before my uncle’s funeral, Miranda went into labor. Van and I got her into the car and rushed to get her to a hospital in time. Regrettably, we didn’t make it. Miranda delivered a little girl in the backseat of Van’s car. I don’t know how Van and I managed it, but we were able to get her through it. Miranda and her little baby girl were later taken to the hospital by ambulance, where it was determined that both were healthy.

Being there for that birth was the most scary, disgusting, and perfect thing I had ever witnessed. Parts were so fucking gross, I had to close my eyes, but when that little baby belted her first cries, something happened inside of me. It took everything I had not to burst into tears too. My heart started to race and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

When the ambulance started to pull away with both Miranda and the baby, that she later named Isabella, I found myself running after them. I don’t know what made me do it, in fact I think about it all the time. That little girl was so fragile and perfect, it was silly, but I felt like she needed someone there with her.

I stuck around the hospital that night, at least until the father decided to show his face, then I made a beeline to the outside of the room. His name was Tucker Chase and he was nothing to be proud of. Miranda introduced me as her cousin, which I was totally fine with. I wasn’t there as some kind of love interest, or replacement boyfriend.

Her boyfriend appeared to be a real piece of shit. His arms were covered in tattoos, and not the kind that look remotely decent. They seemed to be hand done, maybe by himself or a drunk friend. He had one of his ears pierced all the way up his lobe with little studs throughout. He had a hoop between the cartilage of his nose that looked like the ones the cattle have and a tear tattooed under his left eye. He was a filthy looking punk. His clothes were dirty and he had made no effort to clean himself up to be around a newborn. When he got there, he paid more attention to his cell phone instead of his new baby girl.

It made me happy when Conner and my aunt finally showed up to give her the attention that she needed. They crowded in the room and I followed behind them, not really worrying about the creep. One thing I think I will never forget was how unresponsive he was to that baby. He held her for only a second and once the family came in, he made his exit promptly. Not one person from his family even showed up with him.

I hated the fucker. Miranda may not have been blood, but she was my family.

Due to the fact that we had to bury my uncle, I was able to stay in Kentucky for another two weeks. While Colt and Savanna swooned over each other more and more, I spent most of my time at the main house, which in turn enabled me to spend time with Izzy. Miranda hated that nickname and decided she was going to call her Bella for short, but that never changed my mind. I think I fell in love with Izzy immediately, but when I finally held her for the first time, I knew how special she really was to me.

Of course she was tiny. Her fragile little body could fit in one of my hands. I found myself holding her for long periods of time, even taking turns feeding her. I liked how I could put my finger against her hand and she would hold onto it. It was amazing she could respond like that.

My family kept making fun of me, even asking if I was using the baby to earn brownie points with Van. The funny thing was, when I was with Izzy, I never even thought of Van. Of course, at first, I did remember the times we talked about having kids. I was never really the settle down kind of guy, so it was all to appease her. However, this little girl, well I was pretty much in awe of her.

Being that I stayed in Kentucky for that extra time, I was able to make peace with Van and Colt. I loved them both and just came to the conclusion that I wanted them to be together. It seemed fucked up to explain, but they were the two people that I never wanted to lose. Their relationship was real and it was solid.

I didn’t leave with my parents. Instead, I rode home with Van and Colt. They had to drive back to the Carolinas to get Van’s belongings, which included her horse that
I
bought her. I had to laugh at how I was pretty certain she loved that damn horse more than she ever loved me. Anyway, Colt took one of the ranch trucks and I tagged along with them. They told me I talked entirely too much, but it beat the idea of them talking about each other or what they did when they were alone. To Hell with that shit!

Saying goodbye to them was hard, but they ended up leaving my parents with part of my uncle’s life insurance money. It was enough to get my parents out of debt, pay my medical bills and still leave them with something saved. My father would be forever grateful, even though I knew he just wanted his big brother back.

After my uncle’s unexpected death and the birth of Izzy, my family seemed to get closer. I spoke to Van on a day to day basis. Colt never seemed to mind. He would yell smart ass comments through the phone at me at least once a day, but I think he was just jealous that I never wanted to talk to him.