Loving Her (Mitchell Family Series BK9)

by Foor, Jennifer

  The ambulance bumped around the road as we drove, and I held onto the handle while reaching over and placing my other hand on my daughter’s arm.

  “We’ll be at the hospital in about ten minutes. She’s in good hands, ma’am.”

  I hoped that he was right. “You hear that Bella? He says you’re in good hands, honey. Just hold on.”

  When she didn’t even budge I began to sob. How was I supposed to hold onto hope when I was watching her fading away? It’s unrealistic to think that in this type of circumstance anyone can sit there and be optimistic. Her body was a different color, she was burning up, and hadn’t been responsive. This wasn’t a normal action for a kid. It wasn’t normal for anyone.

  I could tell we were pulling into the hospital when the ambulance made a sharp turn and went over a traffic calming hump. I braced myself for the vehicle to stop and waited as the paramedic opened the rear exit doors. “Hop on out and step to the side.”

  I did as he told me and watched as they made sure Bella was strapped and ready to be transported inside of the hospital.

  She was still burning up, and I couldn’t keep from losing all sense of composure. She’d been sick plenty of times in her life and never had it gotten to be this extreme. I knew in my gut that something was very wrong.

  I followed close behind them, paying little attention to the slew of other patients and people that were with them. It was as if I had tunnel vision going on, blocking out everything else except for Bella. I wasn’t worried about other patients or how life threatening their prognosis was. All I cared about was getting my daughter the medical attention that she needed.

  I grabbed a nurse, who was standing around chatting with a co-worker, and forced her to look at me. “Please, help my daughter.”

  She looked over my shoulder and then back at me, as if to weigh in on how desperate I was.

  I must have looked lost, because the woman put her hand on my back and we both walked into the room where they were transferring Bella to a bed. She started talking to the paramedics and getting the information that she needed while hooking her up and starting on her own batch of vitals.

  Her friend came in the room and she immediately ordered her to prepare for an I.V. that would pump Bella full of Acetaminophen in order to bring down her temperature.

  After the paramedics were done with their reports, they left the room. I sat there watching the nurse, hoping she could shed some light on what was happening. “You say she was fine before this? No fever? Not lethargic?”

  I shook my head. “She was running around with her cousins all day yesterday.”

  Right then Ty came in, pulling me into his arms, not taking his eyes off of Bella.

  We sat there, waiting and watching them do what they could for her. When the doctor came in, I admittedly felt better, like he could magically fix whatever was wrong. I wish that were the case and that they could provide patients with miracles. However, life doesn’t work that way.

  He asked us questions, ordered tests, and then we had to play the waiting game.

  Ty held me as I cried and stared at the nurses, who continued working on Bella. I couldn’t look him in the eyes, knowing his fears. I had to keep my eyes on her and make sure that she was going to be okay.

  After tests and a diagnosis of Lyme’s disease, which we got on our phones and looked up everything we could on it, we were hopeful. Even in the worst cases, it was manageable with antibiotics. They gave them to her intravenously. Bella seemed to be improving. Her temperature dropped and a little bit of life was showing when we tried to communicate with her.

  We called the family and let them know that she was going to be fine. For a few short hours, I believed that everything was going to be alright. We were settled on the idea of taking her home and providing her with all the attention she needed to recover.

  Nothing could have prepared us for what happened next.

  Chapter 3

  Tyler

  Once again, it is important to stress how much family means to me. Without them, in a stressful time of need, I don’t know how Miranda and I would have gotten through. All we were concerned about was our daughter. We didn’t have time to talk to everyone when they tried to call, not to mention the fact that it stresses a person out more, having to talk about it a hundred times.

  Amy and Conner took care of phone calls and letting the family know what had taken place. I knew my mother-in-law and everyone else was going to be heading our way. When bad things happened we always banned together. It’s how our family worked, and at that moment we needed all of them.

  Miranda and I took turns going home and being with the boys. We were like soldiers, standing guard over Izzy. From the time she was brought into the hospital, she’d never been alone. I missed my wife and the support she offered when we were together. We both knew my mother and the rest of the family would have been happy to watch the boys, but they were a handful. I couldn’t burden them with their mischievous actions for days on end. They’d never talk to us again.

  In the past six months, they’d set things on fire, broke a full-sized tractor, took a farm truck for a joyride, and shaved their cousin’s head. No one was volunteering because they wanted to.

  After the third day, I think the doctor realized that his first diagnosis couldn’t have been right. Izzy’s symptoms were returning, as well as some new ones. Reluctantly, Miranda left the boys with Van, who had come to town for a funeral.

  I was so glad to have her there, knowing she’d keep those boys in line. If they didn’t listen, they knew she’d ship their asses to Colt and he would put them over his knee in a heartbeat.

  Just the fear of that happening usually made them act better.

  It was hard, worrying about our daughter and fearing that our sons couldn’t behave while we were away. I needed to keep my mind in one place, but I found it difficult.

  Being a father was the greatest gift that God had ever blessed me with. I’d do anything for my children, and so would Miranda.

  Izzy’s vitals dropped on the fourth night.

  Her initial tests for Lyme’s came back negative, as the doctor said they would. They ran the tests again along with some others, in hopes to figure out what was doing this to her body.

  Every once in a while she’d scream out in pain, like her limbs were being torn apart. When she wasn’t sleeping she whined, and we could tell she was utterly uncomfortable.

  All I could do was hold her hand and promise that she’d be okay, even when I didn’t know if it was the truth. I tried not to imagine that her life was in danger, but how could I know what was happening? I wasn’t a doctor.

  She was suffering and I hated seeing her like that. No parent wants to see their child in the hospital, and certainly when there was no diagnosis, no plan for treatment to rid her of whatever was happening.

  They pumped her full of pain medication on the fifth day and got her comfortable while the testing continued. She’d been pricked and pulled for days and we were losing hope. My aunt called her doctor and asked for him to make a special trip from Kentucky. We were that desperate for answers. The good news was that it hadn’t come to that.

  Finally, after almost a week, they discovered she was suffering from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever after she’d woken up covered in a rash. They couldn’t explain to us why she hadn’t been tested for it yet, and all we were worried about was getting her treatment.

  Unfortunately, the longer you wait to treat the disease, the more serious the condition becomes. Izzy was admitted into the intensive care unit on the seventh day. When untreated, the disease affects the cells that line the blood vessels. In serious instances, like Iz’s, damage to other organs can occur, including the liver, spleen and kidney.

  The first antibiotic, called doxycycline, caused her to have an allergic reaction, resulting in more time where the disease was untreated. As Iz’s health failed, so did my will to go on. Minutes, hours, even days passed, and I forgot to eat, sleep and somet
imes even breathe. I felt like I was sitting around watching my daughter slip away, and there was nothing I could do about it.

  Everyone wanted to blame the hospital, and maybe it was their fault, but it wouldn’t matter. All we cared about was getting her better, no matter what it took.

  Izzy’s kidney’s started to fail on the twelfth day. Specialist were called and offered a surgical procedure that would help salvage her organs. I didn’t know that agreeing to it was going to cause such a ripple effect in our lives. Nothing was more important than the doctors treating Iz. We weren’t thinking about anything else.

  On top of everything, I longed to be close to Miranda. Our alternating shifts were exhausting and I missed her terribly. I hated sleeping without her in the house, or when I had to sleep at the hospital, knowing she was home. We’d never gone for long periods of time without being affectionate, so the time apart had definitely been straining. I was mentally and physically exhausted, refusing to take care of myself until my daughter was safe at home.

  It didn’t help that my ex, Heather, was back in town for her mother’s funeral. Miranda took the news horribly, making it a reason to fight with me. I got that she needed to lash out at someone, at something, to hide what we were both fearing.

  I tried my best to put her mind at ease. Obviously it had been years since she’d caused problems with us, but the scars on her heart were still there. I almost lost my boys because of her actions.

  I hated her and it was never going to change. It didn’t matter to me that she was in town, or if I ran into her. There were plenty of people that I’d pass on the street and never speak to. It was part of life.

  Still, it seemed like everything bad always happened at the same time, making my stress so much worse.

  Izzy’s treatment was long and extremely slow. She’d do well one day and then fall behind the next. All we could do was take turns watching her suffer. It was awful, knowing that we couldn’t help alleviate any of her pain. Her stomachaches seemed to be the worst. She would hold on and cry out when the pain became excruciating.

  For me, watching that day after day crushed me. Several times I had to walk away and either call Miranda or find a place in private so I could get over my emotions without people seeing.

  A couple of the nurses saw me crying, not that I cared what they thought. She was my everything; my world revolved around my children, but our bond was like nothing I’d ever experienced. Imagining losing it, or her, was devastating to think about.

  I prayed, like the way I had for my wife and twins when they had almost died. I wished it was me lying there instead of her. She didn’t deserve to suffer and be so scared. All I could do was sit there promising she’d get better, when I feared she wouldn’t. Each day that passed, I woke up and made sure she was moving forward and not getting worse again.

  On the nights that I stayed at the hospital, I’d slide my chair all the way over to her bed and we’d hold hands. She wanted the comfort, but it meant the world to me, too. I think she knew I was sad, because she asked me to make her laugh all of the time to cheer me up.

  I couldn’t joke about anything, though.

  I couldn’t be happy as long as she was in the hospital.

  I needed my daughter home, healthy and back to her old self again, before I could begin to feel complete once more.

  Miranda

  Chapter 4

  Our family was in disarray, spending our time bouncing back and forth between home and the hospital. Our family members could only stay so long before they had to go home and tend to their own lives, leaving me and Ty. Between Conner and Amy, and Ty’s mom, we had support, but it didn’t help the distance that had been put on me and my husband.

  I wouldn’t have traded being with Bella over a date night with Ty, but I longed for his touch, maybe more than I ever had before.

  It wasn’t just that we were alternating shifts with Bella, but also because knowing Heather was back in town was stressing me out.

  I trusted my husband, more than most women were capable of. My frustrations weren’t because I thought he would stray.

  Ty hated her.

  He’d made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with the woman, but knowing she was in town, where we could run into her often, was enough to send me to the loony bin.

  Maybe dwelling on Heather being in town was keeping my mind off of Bella’s battle, enough to be able to manage. My mind could have been protecting itself in some irrational way. At any rate, it was overwhelmingly annoying.

  Once Bella was out of the woods, it became easier to be with her without having to hide our emotions. We knew that she was recovering. Still weak, she got her personality back, and we brought everything we could with us to the hospital to make her long stay more comfortable. She had electronics and board games, magazines, and even a hidden stash of candy from her Poppy.

  I don’t know whether my husband had suggested it, but his mother offered to spend the night at the hospital with Bella to give us both a much-needed night out together. Seeing Bella excited for her Mimi to stay, I didn’t have to think twice.

  Conner and Amy took the boys, promising to keep them overnight.

  The house was quiet when I got home. My neck was stiff from sitting in the uncomfortable chair in the hospital all day, so I headed into the bathroom without looking for my husband.

  I didn’t expect to find him in there, with candles lit all around a running bubble bath. He stood there in only a pair of boxers and handed me a cold beer out of a small cooler that sat on the vanity.

  “Hi, baby.” He kissed me softly as our hands touched. “I miss you.”

  I nestled my head into his neck and wrapped my arms around him. His skin was so warm and welcoming.

  I needed this.

  We needed this.

  He lifted my shirt over my head slowly, in between kisses. I looked deeply into his brown eyes and got lost in the moment. I pushed him against the sink and pressed my hand down his boxers. Ty placed his hands on my shoulders and let me take a handful of his cock into my hand.

  I’d missed him so much, longing to be close and make love to him. After years of marriage, we’d never gone so long without being intimate. My heart wanted to move slow, but my body was suddenly reacting to the moment.

  I needed his hands all over my skin and for him to be inside of me.

  Ty sensed my desire for him. He reached down and pulled off my yoga pants, not even waiting for me to step out of them. I was lifted onto the vanity and my legs were forced open so that he could wedge himself in between them.

  Our breathing was heavy, our kisses intensified. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him against my body, feeling his erection pressing against my sex. He nuzzled on my ear, sucking the lobe into his mouth. My head fell back, reacting to even the smallest of touches. My nipples tingled, and I couldn’t remember the last time my body had reacted like this.

  Ty and I didn’t have boring sex, but this was different. Every inch of my skin was begging to be touched, kissed, and satisfied.

  The clasp to my bra opened and my breasts sprung free. Ty cupped them, pushing them together and sucking them into his mouth at the same time. A cry escaped me as I felt the moisture growing between my legs. He knew where and how to touch me, having memorized every inch of me after so many years.

  I ran my hands through his hair while watching his tongue tease my nipples. I wanted them in his mouth again, but instead he dragged his wet bottom lip over them. The heat of his breath kept them hard and begging for his mouth to suckle them once more.

  I felt my breasts being freed as he trailed a hand down under the elastic of my panties. He moaned when I felt his fingers spreading me open and sliding inside of me. Our mouths met for a deep kiss. As he pulled away to catch his breath, he groaned again. “I want you so bad, baby. You’re so wet and tight. I need you so fucking bad.”

  Hearing him saying it, wanting me equally as much as I wanted him, was enough to make my body t
ingle. I rocked my hips against his hand. Ty didn’t need permission. I belonged to him in every way. He owned my heart and my body.

  I was too consumed in the moment to realize that the water was still running in the tub. Ty pulled away and looked down at his feet. The water had overflowed and he was standing in a puddle. “Shit!”

  We grabbed towels that were hanging and got down on the floor after he’d reached over and turned off the faucet. I was laughing while he cussed more under his breath. When our saturated towels met in the middle of the room, he saw the shit-eating grin on my face. I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sorry. I know you were tryin’ to be sweet.”

  We were naked, kneeling on the bathroom floor, surrounded by sopping wet towels. Ty reached over and kissed me on the lips. He climbed over the towels until our bodies were up against one another. “Just go with it.”

  I could still hear dripping as our lips met. When our bodies reacted, the sloshing of wet towels surrounded us. Ty pulled me on top of his lap as he sat down, taking the brunt of the wet towels against his ass. I straddled him, letting the wetness of our bodies work to our advantage. He backed us up to the tub and grabbed a bottle of bubble bath, squirting it all over us.

  I was in shock, wondering if he was deciding to play instead of make love. Then he took his hands and started lathering up my body, starting with my thighs and then my breasts. It felt so good that I forgot all about being on the wet floor, sitting atop soaked laundry that I’d have to wash.

  When I didn’t react the way he wanted, Ty cocked his brow. “Woman, I’m trying to get freaky with you.” He took my hands and placed them on his chest.

  I giggled and began lathering up his chest, running it over the small patch of hair in between his nipples. He finished and grabbed my ass, digging his fingernails into my skin so that he wouldn’t slip as he pulled me into him. The soap made it so slippery, and I understood why he’d come up with the idea. I reached down, trying not to get his cock soapy. He watched me, teasing my opening with his erection. I rubbed it against my clit and threw my head back, feeling the heat of his erection making contact with my throbbing bud.