“If she spent half a second with you two, she would know how crazy you are about each other.”
I grabbed my mother’s hands. “Mom, I need your help and your blessing.”
She shook her head but still smiled. “I was wondering when you were going to have this talk.”
“I need to have Grandma’s ring changed. I know Van wore it for only a day, but I want Miranda to have something brand new. I know you have always wanted me to use that ring, so I was wondering if we could have some things added to it.”
“I supposed that it can be done. You sure this is what you want? You won’t just be committing to Miranda you know.”
“I have never been more sure about anything in my entire life. I know it is fast and maybe if the circumstances were different I would wait years, but I can’t lose them, Mom. It would kill me to be that far away from them.”
If I would have known that Van was going to bust into my romantic night, I could have asked sooner. There was still a chance that Miranda would think this was all way too soon and quite frankly say ‘no’.
I had to at least try.
“Well, you know that we love her already. Bella is the cutest little girl. I’d love for her to call me Mimi, like you used to call your grandma.” She looked at me like her heart was full of love. My mother had never liked Van, so for her to be happy about Miranda and Izzy, she must have been excited.
“I have an idea of how I want to do it. Do you think we could call Mr. Harper at the jewelry store. I need to get this taken care of as soon as possible. Is he even open on weekends?”
While my mother got out the old phone book, I headed back to the house to grab my grandmother’s ring. It was just plain white gold band with a solitaire diamond set high in the center. It was a half carat in size, but had a kind of antique look to it. I knew what I wanted done to it, but I didn’t know how long it would take.
Someone in heaven must have been looking out for my sorry ass, because the jewelry store was open. I hated sneaking around behind Miranda’s back, but I felt like us getting engaged would be the only way to make this more permanent, aside of marriage of course.
I’d been so caught up in our relationship to actually look at the big picture. There was one thing that I knew for certain. One thing that I would give anything to have. I needed Izzy to be my daughter. She needed to have my last name. Tucker had given up his claim to her and I would be damned if anyone took that little girl away from me now. Aside from living so far away, I had done everything to be a part of her life since the day she was born. I had no intentions of ever letting her down. If something happened to me and Miranda, I would still want to be her daddy.
I knew that nobody would understand the way I felt about her, even from the beginning I heard their comments. They looked at me like I had some fetish for small children. Sick Bastards!
I loved that little girl more than anything in the whole world. I had to believe that I was meant to be there when she was born. Everything that happened from that day on had led me right back to her. I may not have supplied the sperm, but it didn’t matter to me. She was my everything.
The jeweler was waiting for us to arrive and when we did, he sat me down and listened to my idea. He said that what I wanted would be easy to do and would take about two weeks. I handed him my bank card and watched as he removed two thousand bucks from my account. I honestly didn’t care how much it cost. I needed it to be perfect.
With the ring being taken care of, all I needed to do was keep my cool until the jewelry store called to tell me it was ready to be picked up. I had time to plan.
Izzy spotted my dad as we pulled back into the farm. My mother really got a kick out of how smart she was. In the past month she had gone out and got herself a car seat for her own car and had my father get some of my old shit out of the barn attic.
“Hey Dad. You got a minute?”
My father put the rake he was using down and walked over toward me. Izzy ran toward him and pointed toward the chicken house. “Chicks.”
“Wait a second and I will take you to see the chicken again.”
“I need your advice.” My father was a quiet man. He stayed out of people’s business and he liked it that way.
“What’s bothering you Son?”
“Would you be disappointed in me if I asked Miranda to marry me?”
He shook his head and removed his hat. Colt did the same thing when he didn’t know what to say. “I can tell you really love the girl and this little one here too. I reckon after everything you been through that your just coming to a point in your life where you are ready to settle down. You already know that your mom and I approve. Hell, I plan on starting that addition in the next couple of weeks. I appreciate you asking me though.”
“Do you think I am rushing things?”
“Do you think you are?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Sometimes I guess. I mean, I love them so much and I know that they are it for me. I know it is fast, but I want Izzy to have a daddy. We need to be a family.”
“You already are a family in my book. You take care of each other and you love that little one. I am pretty certain that you are already a daddy in her little eyes.”
I looked at Izzy. She was playing with my dad’s old sweaty hat. She looked so much like Miranda and sometimes I just wanted to hug her and never let go. “Her mother and brother don’t want us together. They will do whatever they can to break us up once they find out we are together. I have to secure their life here.”
“As long as Miranda and you are on the same page, you do whatever has to be done. I don’t want any drama here like with your cousin. You know I don’t like that stuff.” He let Izzy down and started walking away from us. “We will meet back at the house. This little one wants to see the chickens.”
“Don’t be too long. She needs her diaper changed.” I walked back to the house and just sat on the couch. My stomach was in knots and started wondering how much more bullshit Van was filling Miranda’s head with. I went to grab my phone and send her a message, but when I did I realized that Miranda had my phone.
After I got Izzy a fresh diaper we played outside for a little while until she started falling all over the place, crying for no reason. We went inside and laid on the couch together. Within ten minutes she was fast asleep on my chest. I played with her hair and watched her sleeping. There was no way that I could ever be without them.
It would just kill me.
Chapter 23
Miranda
Dress shopping with three people that had major issues with my boyfriend was not my idea of a fun time. From the moment that Van picked me up, she began to give me the third degree about Ty. Apparently, she had been up all night so upset that I let myself get involved with such a ‘man whore’.
There were a couple times where I felt like slapping her out of her current conversation. As if that wasn’t bad enough, her friend Brina, who was a total bitch, talked trash about Ty the rest of the day. At one point I ducked into a bathroom and started crying.
They could say everything they wanted about Ty, but I didn’t know the guy they were talking about. My Ty wasn’t selfish. He never put himself before Bella and I. He wasn’t rude. He never looked at other girls. He didn’t keep secrets. He never lied about where he was.
They didn’t want to hear that he changed, or that maybe he just never found the right person to make him happy. All they wanted to do was convince me that I was making a horrible mistake.
I loved Ty. They weren’t going to change my mind. There had been something brewing between us for over a year and in that period of time we had become friends. We couldn’t hold back what we wanted any longer and I was so glad that we hadn’t. He treated my child like he was her father. He loved her, bought her things and took care of her. There was nothing that he wouldn’t do for that child.
To see them together, just reassured me how serious he was about being with us. All along he had known I had a child. H
e wasn’t trying to get into my pants. I had been with a lot of guys. My track record was worse than his. If anyone should be running, it should be him.
After spending the entire day listening to them and trying on a million dresses, she finally drove me home. I was so happy to walk in that door and see the two of them sleeping. Van came in behind me and just froze when she saw them. I felt like turning around and giving her the finger after the earful that I had gotten all day. She was a great friend, but Ty talk should have been off limits.
To be nice I had invited her to dinner. It was unlikely that she would actually stay, but I needed to make sure that my mother and especially my brother didn’t find out about my relationship. I was an adult, but they would make my life miserable anyway. My biggest fear would be them threatening to take Bella away from me, on account of me being an unfit parent. My family was close, but they would do anything to prevent me from being with Ty.
When I walked over to grab Bella out of Ty’s arms, he woke startled and squeezed her tighter until he saw me. He smiled and finally let go. I was glad she stayed asleep long enough for me to lay her down and return to the living room before they killed each other.
“How long have you been asleep?” I asked.
“What time is it?”
“Six.”
“Shit! Over an hour. I guess we were comfortable,” he admitted.
“Do you want me to order a pizza?” I asked.
He stood up and stretched, before leaning over and kissing me on the lips. “No baby. I will make something.”
I caught Van rolling her eyes. “Do you want any help?”
Ty shrugged and kept walking toward the kitchen. I sat down on the chair next to her as Ty pulled out some bacon and started cooking it. “BLT’s good? I had a lot to eat last night and I am still feeling really full.”
It took everything I had not to laugh at his comment. I know what he meant and it wasn’t the food he was talking about. The comment was for me, but Van got it too.
“You’re sick!” She blurted out.
“You’re a prude,” he retorted.
She turned to face me. “How can you be in love with this guy?”
“He’s is perfect to me. How can I not?”
“Well you must give really good head to have him be so faithful and honest. That is all I can think of.” Van looked from me to Ty waiting for a response.
Ty leaned over the counter and looked directly at Van. “She gives the best head that I have ever had. In fact, last night on our way home from dinner, she gave me the best blow job in the history of blow jobs. You know what else she is good at?”
He was taunting her now. I just sat there, speechless.
“I am afraid to ask,” she noted.
“Everything. Just close your eyes and think of the kinkiest shit possible and she is good at it. She can also put her legs behind her head. It’s fucking awesome.”
I was laughing so hard that I was crying and Ty loved that he had finally shut her up. He winked at me again before attending to his food preparation.
A messy haired Bella came walking out into the living room looking around. “Ty?”
“I’m over here sweetie.”
My heart melted every time she would look for him. With one arm he scooped her up and accepted her booger faced kisses. She started to point toward Van when she got over her Ty obsession.
“Hey little girl. Can Aunt Van get a hug and kiss?”
Bella shook her head and hid in Ty’s chest. “No!”
Of course Ty had to rub it in. “Can Ty get a kiss?”
Without hesitation she puckered her lips and kissed Ty.
“You brainwashed her, dickhead,” Van said while laughing.
“I didn’t have to brainwash either of them. They love me all by themselves. And I love them too.”
Van looked around the place. I knew she had been here a million times. Even though I knew that they weren’t ever getting back together, it still made me jealous. I hated the reminder of who he had been with.
Ty finally finished making our plates and we all sat down and watched movies. I caught Van a few times just watching the three of us interacting with each other. She seemed especially interested in the attention that Ty gave to me and Bella. He was constantly stroking my arm or kissing my hand and head. Bella jumped all around on our laps and he welcomed her in as well.
When the movie finally ended Van said she had to go. We both stood up and walked her out to her car. Bella leaned down and finally gave her a kiss, making her smile a little more.
“I don’t know what to say about you guys. I mean, it’s clear that this isn’t about sex, but I just don’t get how the two of you have changed so much for each other.”
It didn’t matter what she thought. I was trying to be rude about it, but this was clearly between Ty and I.
“Are you going to tell Colt?” I asked.
“No. I told you before that I don’t want to get involved. If they ask I will tell them that you and Bella were here alone. You two can be the bearer of bad news. After my wedding of course.”
As Van climbed into her car, Ty slapped me on the ass. “Now let’s get inside and have hot sex all night long.”
She rolled her eyes and rolled up her window. I think she actually floored it when she pulled away from us.
“Way to scare off our company,” I joked.
“She was being a prude. How much bullshit did she give you today?” He asked.
I shrugged. He really didn’t need to know, it would only hurt his feelings. “You know how they talk. I didn’t listen to them.”
“I think I need a lot of kisses for reassurance. No actually, I think I need some naked time.”
Bella started jumping in between us. We separated and started chasing her around the room. “The naked time will have to wait until after someone goes to sleep.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Well we can chalk that promise up and stick it in the jar of IOU’s. Ty was nice enough to give Bella a bath while I cleaned up the rest of the house. It wasn’t really that messy so I finished in less than ten minutes. I laid on the couch just listening to the two of them playing in the bathroom. He better have put towels down because with the amount of splashing that was going on, we might have a flood. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I was being carried to the bed.
Just like every Sunday, we woke up and started getting ready for church. Ty was in a really good mood, considering he didn’t get his naked time. He woke me up with kisses and coffee before getting Bella dressed in a new outfit he insisted on buying her. She was wearing a little sailor dress and little matching shoes with anchors on the toes. He got her two matching bows for either side of her hair and made his best attempts to style it himself.
“Hey baby, what do you think? Did I do good?”
“Aww, she looks so cute.” She did too.
“I was thinking we should all get sailor suits and wear them next Sunday,” he said sarcastically.
I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to apply eye liner and busted into a laughing fit. The eye liner smudged all over my eye lid. “There is no way I am doing that.”
“Oh come on, it will be fun.”
“It sounds like a terrible eighties picture.” I was now removing my makeup to start over again. He didn’t understand that I wanted to look my best for him all the time. I never wanted to give him a reason to look anywhere else.
“Why are you putting that stuff on your face? You look beautiful without it.” Ty came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“You’re just tryin’ to get me to hurry up.” Although, his statement gave me butterflies.
“I fed Izzy and we are ready when you are.”
“Okay. Be out in a second.”
When I walked into the living room, Ty and Bella were sitting in front of the T.V. They were watching some little baby show where giant animals
were dancing around. Bella was dancing all around to the music, while Ty recorded her on one of our phones.
A little girl came on the screen next with a man that was reading to her. It was clearly her dad and he was tucking her in for bed. The little girl snuggled up to her daddy telling him that she loved him. Bella just stood there staring at the television. I kept watching her realizing how close she was getting to turning two. We still had a few months, but time was flying by. She was paying more attention to things, like she was to this particular show.
She freaked out when Ty came up and turned the show off. “No Ty!”
“I’m sorry Iz, we have to go to bye bye.”
She looked at him curiously. “Bye bye?”
“Yep, your mommy is finally done her primping.” I stuck my nose up at him.
We finally got packed in the car and were on our way to church. Things got super quiet in the car for some reason or another and out of the back seat I heard my daughter saying something that made my stomach drop. “Daddy. Daddy. Daddy.”
Three times right in a row.
I thought Ty was going to roll us into a ditch. He looked from me to the rear view mirror. “Did she just?”
I held my hand over my mouth. “Yeah.”
“Do you think she knows what it means?”
I looked back at Bella who still kept repeating it. “Daddy. Daddy.” This time she was pointing. Right at Ty.
I knew he saw her in that mirror. I was speechless as I watched his shocked face. We were pulling up at church but just sat in the car instead of jumping right out. Ty turned around and looked at Bella, sitting in her car seat, pointing at him. “Daddy.”
I had no idea how she could pick that up from watching a show, but she knew exactly what it meant and she thought Ty was her daddy. There was no denying it. Ty reached back and touched Bella’s foot. Tears rolled down his eyes. I didn’t know how to react. I was still in shock from hearing it myself. If I ever wondered if he was serious about being with both of us, his actions were giving me the answer.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He laid his head against the seat to the car and wiped his eyes. “She called me Daddy.”
Folding Hearts Page 16
