“Shhh, I know she is. You have to calm down, Ty. If Bella or Miranda sees you like this they are going to get upset. You have to be strong for them until we can figure out what to do.”
I kept my head against her shoulder. “I’m so scared, Van. I’ve never hurt like this. Please tell me how to be strong for them, when all I can think about is losing my family.”
She pulled away and looked me in the eye. “Ty, no matter what comes out of this, you will be her Daddy. Even at the worst, and she finds out about Tucker, you are still her father. She will always be Isabella Mitchell. Miranda had every right as her mother to change her name. We will get this figured out, I promise.”
I knew she meant well and maybe she even believed it herself, but it didn’t take away from my fear of losing my daughter’s trust. I’d prayed this day would never happen.
“Thanks for coming out here with me,” I grabbed her hand and kissed it. “and being my best friend, even when I’m a shithead.”
She wiped away my tears. “Ty, we’ve been through so much, but through it all, I can’t imagine you not being a part of my life; my family. You and Miranda mean so much to me and I love you. I love you both. That’s never going to change. You have one of the biggest hearts and you’re a great husband and father. I’m so proud of you for who you have become. Without you I wouldn’t have been able to get over the whole vagina thing at the hospital.”
“I knew how much you wanted to be a mother and that you knew damn well that shit wasn’t going to look like that forever.”
“Yeah, but what you said, it just helped me get over the shock. You made me realize what I was there to do.”
“All I said was, ‘get your mind off of your giant snatch and into this game. Do you want to have this baby or not? The faster you push her out, the quicker it goes back to its normal size.’ It was the truth.”
“You got me back on track, so thank you.”
“Thank you, Van. For everything.” She knew I loved her and appreciated her friendship. “You’re pretty darn awesome yourself.”
She smiled and stood up. “Tell me something I don’t already know.” Her smile made me smile as she held her hand out for me. I took it and let her guide me back into the house. Colt nodded as I let go of his wife and went upstairs to be with mine. She needed me and this was my time to be that person she could always count on. We promised for better or worse and I stuck to my promises when it came to family.
Chapter 9
Miranda
It was like a bad dream; like all of my happiness was being taken away from me. I couldn’t sit at that dinner table any longer. There was no way I could look at Ty and not burst into tears. I could feel his pain and his worry without even talking to him. I knew it was ripping him apart.
I was so relieved when everyone suggested that I lay down for a little while. Van had come upstairs and tried to get me to relax, but I couldn’t help from worrying. There was a chance that Bella was going to find out that Tucker was her real father. As much as that hurt me, it was killing my husband.
After Van left, I cried myself to sleep. I just wanted the pain and worry to go away. I wanted to wake up from this nightmare.
Strong arms wrapped around me and woke me from my sleep. As I opened my eyes, I wasn’t awake enough to be prepared to see his eyes so bloodshot. He didn’t say anything, as he tried to smile when I looked up at him. Unfortunately, as I reached my arms out for him, he started to cry again. It hurt me so much hearing him like that. I’d seen Ty cry before, but it was out of happiness, not pain.
There were no words I could say to make it go away. My body trembled in his arms, but I refused to let go of him. I refused to back down from being there for him.
“We are goin’ to be okay, Ty. You are the only daddy she is ever goin’ to have. Nobody can make her stop lovin’ you.”
He wiped his eyes and shook his head. “One day she will hate me. One day she will understand the truth and hate me for lying to her. She will resent me. I should have never thought I could have her for myself. I never should have believed that she was mine forever.”
“Ty, she is yours, in every single way that matters, Babe. She chose you from the very moment she was born. Tucker has nothing to do with who raised her. It was all you. It’s always been you.” I wiped his face and kissed his lips. He kept his eyes closed and just held me close to his body.
He buried his head into my chest and I stroked his hair. We said nothing and that was probably for the best. Bella was his breaking point. She could make him cry with the drop of a hat, but normally they were happy tears from him being so excited about something she’d done. This was something so terrible.