Risking Fate(46)

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.”