Risking Fate

by Jennifer Foor

  “You fucked up, Ty, not me.” She got up and started walking away from me.

  I chased after her. “You’re right. I fucked up. I don’t regret it though, because it may have saved our daughter.”

  “Our daughter Ty, not your daughter. The decision should have been both of ours.”

  I threw my hands up in the air. “Tell me what to do? How do I make this better?”

  She opened the door to the house and put her head down. “Leave me alone, for starters. I’m not ready to talk to you and I’m not sure what to even say.”

  “Baby, please. I’m sorry.”

  She slammed the door, leaving me standing there. I knew walking into the house would have just pissed her off, so I headed toward the barn. When I couldn’t find Harvey, or his alcohol stash, I sat down on a bale of old hay and just sulked.

  I should have known Heather would sabotage my life. Her lies had caused a wall to be put up between me and my wife. Hell, I didn’t even know if she would ever trust me again. It hurt so much.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out, hoping it was Miranda.

  Hello?

  Ty, it’s me, Van.

  Guess she called you.

  Please tell me you didn’t do it.

  I never touched that bitch. I swear to God. I’m not that person anymore, Van. Heather’s a lying bitch. I needed her to get her brother to help me. I swear.

  I was hoping you would say that, because I already told Miranda to forgive you.

  You what?

  You’re not the same guy from college, Ty. Your love for them is beautiful and I can tell that they mean the world to you. I don’t think you should have kept it from her, but I get why you did it. You just need to understand that she’s hurt right now.

  Does she know you’re talking to me?

  Yeah, she loves you Ty. She’s just pissed. Give her some time and everything will be okay.

  I’ve been sitting here wondering how I was going to live if I lost her.

  When you really love someone, you get past it all. Just let her breathe. You know you get all clingy.

  Don’t hate on my kindness.

  Don’t worry, I still think you’re an asshole. An asshole that I love very much and don’t want to see fighting with his wife over a dirty skank.

  I love you too. Thanks, Van. I really appreciate you being here for both of us.

  You’re my family. We stick together, no matter how tough it gets, right?”

  Right.

  Call me tomorrow and check in.

  K, bye.

  Shortly after hanging up with Van, I heard the barn door creaking open. Miranda came walking in toward me and I got up and met her halfway. “Did Van call?”

  “Yeah.”

  She sat down across from where I stood. “I want you to tell me everything.”

  I sat down and started from the beginning. I told her how I knew what Heather’s brother could do. I explained how I wanted to tell her I had to talk to Heather, but didn’t want to get her worried about nothing. I even told her everything I talked to Heather about at her house. When I finished, I looked up at her and saw she was just looking at me. “It’s the truth, Miranda. I never touched her.”

  “You have to understand how she made me feel, Ty. It’s a wife’s worst fear to be called out in public like that. If you would have told me, I could have been prepared. Now she did exactly what she wanted. She caused problems between us.”

  I rushed over to her, grabbing her hands into mine. “Baby, please forgive me. I won’t keep anything from you again. I swear I won’t.”

  I laid my head over her stomach and finally felt her release my hands and run them through my hair. “There won’t be a next time Ty. No more secrets. They ruin marriages.”

  “I promise.”

  Chapter 13

  Miranda

  After hearing Heather’s side of the story, Amy called to check on me. It didn’t take much to convince her that Heather was a liar. Apparently, it was old news to everyone in town. Knowing that it really got to me, Amy gave me the next two days off of work.

  The night of our fight, Ty was quiet. His sarcasm was replaced with sincerity and a lot of kissing up. I’m pretty sure he would have licked the toilet seat if I asked him to. I wasn’t purposely trying to make him suffer, although there was a small part that wanted him to feel bad to insure he wouldn’t do it again. The thing was, I got why he did it and I even understood why he didn’t want to tell me.

  I loved my husband for wanting to protect me, but it still hurt either way. I never wanted to doubt him and the fact that I was so quick to judge, made me mad at myself. Ty’s devotion to me was something he displayed every day. Except for that one night, I knew where he was every minute.

  Still, Heather was someone from his past; someone that was in love with him and after years had passed, still might be. It worried me about the lengths she would take to get Ty. Obviously, the bitch had no regard for me being very pregnant with Ty’s babies. What kind of woman would try to break up a marriage when the man is happy and expecting a child.

  Maybe she hated him that much. Perhaps she finally realized that she never meant anything to him.

  After Ty insisted on doing the dinner dishes, and got Bella to bed, he quietly retreated to our bedroom. I waited for a few minutes before heading in behind him.

  The shower was running and I could hear that he was already inside. I needed to brush my teeth so I headed in to do so. Ty was leaned up against the shower wall. He was looking down and not saying anything. I set the toilet seat down before sitting. He looked so tired and I couldn’t blame him. I was exhausted from crying for half the day. I don’t know whether he had shed any tears, but it had definitely drained him. I also think he was punishing himself. His avoiding conversation with me was a dead giveaway.

  “Ty?”

  I looked toward the shower and saw him jump at the sound of my voice. “Shit! I didn’t know you were in here, Baby. You okay?”

  “Can I come in there with you?”

  He opened the shower door. “That’s a question you never have to ask.”

  I removed my clothes while Ty watched me. He wasn’t giving me the look like he wanted to have sex. He missed me as much as I missed him. It had been only a day, but he was my very best friend and I hated not being close to him for only a minute.

  When I finally got undressed, he grabbed my hand and helped me in the shower with him. Strong arms wrapped around my waist as I slid mine behind his back. “Do you really think this guy can doctor the test?”

  He grabbed the shampoo and started washing my hair. “I do. Look, the lawyer’s office just needs that piece of paper. They have no reason to believe any different and with Tucker not being alive to argue, nobody would ever question that we weren’t together before. It doesn’t matter to me what our family thinks, I know they want Iz to be with us. They would never mention that it wasn’t true. This hospital documentation will prove without a doubt that I am her father. They will submit it to her lawyer and it will all be over with.”

  “You make it sound easy.” I set my head against his chest.

  “None of it’s been easy. It’s slowly ripping me apart inside. I’m trying to be tough and not let it show, but I can’t stop worrying about it. If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what I will do. I just can’t lose her, not any part of her.” He cupped my face with his hands again and kissed my forehead.

  Ty’s lips pressed against mine and he kept them there as the water ran down our heads. “I won’t let you. No matter what happens, I won’t let anyone take that from you.”

  “You keep saying that, but there are no guarantees.” He kept kissing me, even though I knew he was far from relaxed. “Tell me you forgive me. I need you so much.”

  “Promise me it will never happen again.”

  “I already did.” He never hesitated.

  “One thing I am sure of, is my love for you. We need to stay strong and deal with
this together from now on, Ty. I forgive you and I love you for tryin’ to protect me.”

  Ty still didn’t relax, even after we went to bed. He held me tight in his arms and kept waking up, which in turn, woke me up. I was off of work, so it didn’t bother me, but I knew he needed to rest to be able to function.

  Bella woke us around three in the morning. She was screaming from her bedroom. Ty and I sat up and my heart felt like it jumped out of my body. Ty went running to her bedroom. I wasn’t sure what was going on, so I followed him. By the time I reached them, he had Bella in his arms. She was crying.

  “Shhh, just tell Daddy what’s wrong.” He kissed her head and waited for a reply.

  “You and Mommy were fighting and we had to move away like Johnny in my class.” She made no sense, so I sat on the bed for more information.

  “Honey, what are you talkin’ about?” I asked.

  “Johnny’s Mommy and Daddy fought and they got diborced. Now he only sees his Daddy on the weekends. I don’t want you and Daddy to fight. I don’t want Daddy to have to move.” She cried harder against Ty’s chest. The way she said divorced was cute, even though it was a cryptic conversation for a four and a half year old.

  I felt bad for my daughter, but part of me wanted to laugh that she assumed that would happen. She obviously never saw Ty and I arguing and it really made her upset. Ty looked to me with worried eyes.

  I sat closer to him and rubbed Bella’s back. “Sweetie, Daddy and I aren’t gettin’ a divorce. We love each other and aren’t fightin’. Mommy just got sad about somethin’ and Daddy didn’t understand at first. Everything is fine now. I promise.”

  Ty kissed her little head. “Iz, I will never leave you, I promise. Daddy will never leave you.” I reached my arm inside of his as he held our daughter.

  She peeked around him and looked at me, before climbing off her bed and standing in front of both of us. “Mommy, do you still love Daddy?”

  Ty put his arm around me even before I could answer. I turned to him and smiled. “Yes, I love him very much. Even when he makes me mad or sad, I still love him.”

  “Promise?” Her sad little voice made me want to cry.

  “I promise. Now how about we try to go to bed. Princesses need sleep to be beautiful, you know.”

  Ty picked Bella up and started carrying her out of the bedroom. “She’s coming with us, Mommy.”

  For the first time, she started laughing, like her normal self. I totally got why Ty wanted her to sleep with us. One thing he never wanted was for that child to doubt his faithfulness to her. I followed behind them shaking my head.

  A hand stopped me from walking all the way down the hall. “Hey.”

  My brother stood there in the dark hallway. He was in a t-shirt and jeans and it was the middle of the night. “Did you just get in?”

  He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Booty call.”

  I smacked him on the arm. “Do I even want to know?”

  “Probably not. I didn’t drink or do anything else if that’s what you’re wondering.” He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

  I leaned on the opposite wall and looked at my brother. He seemed really happy for some reason. “You weren’t with Brina, that much I can tell.”

  “Nope.”

  “So you’re not goin’ to spill are you?”

  He shook his head and laughed. “It was a one-time thing, Randa. Nothin’ to worry your pretty little self over.”

  “How do you even know people from around here?”

  “I meet people when I go into town. This particular female works in town. I met her when I first got here.” He was being really secretive about this girl. It was making me more curious.

  “Do I know this person? You didn’t meet her at AA did you?”

  He creased his brow and shook his head. “Seriously? That’s kinda frowned upon. She ain’t from no meetin’.” He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “Did you and Shit Brick work things out?”

  “Yeah, Shit Brick and I are better. I’m goin’ to bed.”

  “Goodnight, Randa.”

  My brother watched me as I walked down the hall. I was going to have to start being more nosey around him if I wanted to find out who this mystery girl was.

  Ty and Bella were cuddled up into each other’s arms. It was so cute that I grabbed his phone to take a picture and make it his screensaver. When I picked up the phone, he had a text message.

  If you need a place to stay tonight you know where to find me. – H

  I looked over at my sleeping husband and considered waking him up and screaming at him some more for allowing this stupid bitch to have his number again. Instead, I thought back to how I used to be. An evil grin came across my face as I began typing.

  I’m in bed with my wife. Where I want to be every night. Lose my number whore!

  After the message sent, I quickly erased it and put his phone back down. I immediately felt like I should have told him first, but to be fair he had kept the secret from me and hurt my feelings. When I climbed in bed, I felt like I really showed her who had Ty’s love. Yes, it was immature, but it felt so damn good.

  The next day I worried that Ty would get a call from Heather and he would be mad at me, but he never said a word. In fact for the next two weeks, we never heard anything from her or her brother. When we got the paperwork in the mail from the attorney, Ty started to get worried.

  “Baby, it’s been two weeks. I need to call and find out what’s going on. I can’t just sit around waiting. Besides, I gave the guy a grand. He at least owes me a call back.”

  I hated the idea of him having to call that bitch, but I knew that Bella’s future depended on it. “Just make the call.”

  “Are you sure? You can sit right next to me. I will put it on speaker.”

  Ty looked through his phone and found the number. He had never programmed it in, so it was just a random number in his phone. The ringing was loud as he turned on the speaker.

  She seemed irritated. What do you want Ty?

  I haven’t heard from you. I need to find out if your brother got the papers for me.

  Since you called me a whore I decided we aren’t helping you.

  What the fuck are you talking about Heather?

  You texted me the other night. It said you were laying in bed with your wife and that I was a whore.

  My eyes got really big as Ty looked up at me. I mouthed the words ‘sorry’, but he was already rubbing his face with frustration.

  Look, Miranda sent you that text. She knows you were lying at the shop and took it upon herself to use my phone. Listen Heather, this is really important. It isn’t about who I’m married to, or what happened in our past. This is for my child.

  She isn’t even yours Ty.

  She is. Don’t ever say she isn’t. He stood up and started pacing.

  I’m sorry, but we can’t help you. Have a nice life Ty.

  Ty looked at his phone and threw it across the room. It shattered into pieces. He crouched down and put his hands over his head. I kneeled down beside him, but he pushed me away when I reached out. “Don’t!”

  “Ty, I’m sorry, I….”

  He stood up and walked toward his phone. “You pissed her off and she won’t give me the papers. Do you have any idea what that one text message has done? God, how could you be so careless? Don’t you care about what is at stake here?”

  I followed behind him, picking up more phone pieces. “Of course I do. Ty please..”

  “Now my fucking phone is broke. I don’t even know her number. I had to call around for it before. God Dammit! How could you fucking do that?”

  I stood there and watched him having a fit in front of me. He was pacing around and shaking his head. Conner and Bella walked in the door and Ty went walking out. Conner saw the look in my eyes and motioned with his head for me to go after him.

  I followed after him, meeting him at the edge of the barn. He punched his fist right through it, then held
his injured hand and fell to the ground.

  I sat down beside him, never looking directly at him. When he refused to speak to me, I reached out to check his hand. “Don’t Miranda.”

  Oh God, what have I done?

  “Shut up and let me see it.” I looked at his hand carefully. He could still bend it around, so it wasn’t broken, but it was pretty banged up. While I had a good hold of something that was causing him pain, I knew I could get a full sentence in. “I’m sorry, Ty. Tell me what to do to make it right.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know what you can do. She’s fucking pissed and I have run out of things to say to her. I don’t blame you for calling her a whore. She is a whore, but you could have waited until we had the papers and then called her every nasty name in the book. Now, I don’t know what to do. We need those papers.”

  I don’t know why I said it. “What if you went to her house. What if you apologized?”

  “She won’t care. She only cares about herself.”

  “You have to try. Do you want me to go?” It was a stupid idea.

  “Hell no! She hates you. It’s best if I go alone.”

  “Tell her we got into it and you walked out on me for what I did. Lie to her Ty. Make her think you’re mad at me. She wants you to be mad at me. She wants you to want her.” I could feel the vomit rising in my throat, but I knew it was the truth. Heather wanted Ty and if I wanted to make this right, this had to be the plan.

  What am I saying?

  “I can’t do that, Baby. I don’t want her.”

  I don’t want you to want her!

  I shook my head and started to cry. “I messed this up. I ruined our only chance. I need you to try Ty. Say whatever you have to.” I started to really cry, just imagining what I was about to say. “Kiss her if you have to.”

  “I can’t.” He grabbed my hand with his good one and squeezed it. I felt his lips kissing me on my head. “I can’t do that.”

  I cupped his face with my hands. “Do what you have to do Ty. Just don’t sleep with her. I can’t get past that, no matter what it’s for. I can’t picture that in my head forever. It would kill me.” I turned over and started gagging I was crying so badly. Ty rushed closer to me and pulled my hair back.