Risking Fate(5)

“Daddy, please!”

I turned to look at Miranda who had this dumbass neck pillow wrapped around her face. “Baby, is it alright if we just stop and eat now?”

She sat up and looked over at me. “I’m kinda hungry, so yeah, that would be fine.”

We pulled into a fast food joint about five minutes later. Izzy probably wasn’t that hungry, but every damn time we passed a billboard with a fast food picture on it, she claimed to be just dying for something to eat.

Since Miranda and Izzy both had to use the bathroom, I went and stood in line for our food. They both ordered the same thing everywhere we went, so I always knew what to get them. It was an average crowd of people standing in line and I was about three people from ordering when I felt my daughter plow into the back of my leg. I could see the ladies room door from where I was standing and looked up not noticing Miranda. “Hey, where’s Mommy?”

“There was only one stall and she wanted me to tell you she wants a milkshake. She told me to run right to you.”

I patted her on the head and moved forward one spot. The lady standing in the line next to us kept checking us out, more than someone would normally stare. I tried to act like I wasn’t noticing, but it was kind of creeping me out.

Finally when I was about to get all defensive for the way she was watching my child, she leaned down and started speaking to her. “You are a very pretty little girl.”

Izzy grabbed my hand and clung to my side as she eyed the woman up. Not wanted to cause a scene, I patted her on the head. “Say thank you, Sweetie.”

“Thank you,” She said quietly.

“What’s your name?” The lady asked.

Now this lady looked like she meant no harm. She had curly gray hair, all of her teeth and continued to acknowledge me as well as Iz. I had no reason to feel threatened by her presence.

Izzy looked up at the woman. “Bella, but Daddy calls me Izzy.”

“Is that short for Isabella?”

I smiled at the woman and felt someone come up at my side. I turned to see Miranda and she was not happy. “We need to leave RIGHT NOW!”

I looked toward the woman, then back to Miranda. “We haven’t got our food yet. What is the matter? Are you sick?”

“No, Ty, Please listen to me. Please can we just go,” she begged. She was grabbing me by the arm and pushing Izzy behind her, shielding her from the woman’s view.

Before I could react, the woman began speaking. “Hello, Miranda.”

I had no idea she knew Miranda, but it started to make sense when I looked into my wife’s eyes. Miranda was afraid and I needed to get them the hell away from this woman, whoever she was.

“Ain’t you gonna say hello?” The woman put her hands on her hips and looked from Iz to Miranda. When she bent down to address my daughter, I felt Miranda throwing herself in between us.

“I have nothing to say to you and neither does my husband or our daughter. Leave us alone!” Miranda and I drug a screaming child out of the food place as fast as we could. Once we all were in the car safe and pulling away, I reached over and rubbed Miranda’s back as she hunched over and began crying.

“Baby, what is going on? Who the he…..” I looked back at Iz and remembered I was trying not to use profanity. “Who was that?”

She shook her head and refused to speak. I knew she needed to calm down before she could tell me and as much as I wanted to know, I knew it was best to wait. I got about a mile down the road and pulled into another place to eat. Once I had the car turned off, we just sat there in silence.

“Daddy, can we eat here? I want some chicken nuggets. Why couldn’t we eat at the last place? Were they out of chicken nuggets?”

“Yeah, Sweetie, they were out of nuggets. Just sit tight and let Mommy calm down. I’m going to get you dinner.”

I went to climb out of the car and Miranda grabbed my arm. “Ty, please don’t leave me.”

I closed the door and grabbed her hand. “Baby, I’m never going to leave you. What is going on?”

“That was his mother, Ty.”

“Whose mother?”

In an almost whisper I heard my wife say the name we promise to never say. “Tucker.”

Before I could comment, or comfort, Izzy started talking from the backseat. “Who is Tucker?”

Just hearing that name come out of her mouth was like being punched in the face, no, it was more like having someone rip my heart out of my chest. I hated lying to her, but she was mine. That little girl was all mine and there wasn’t anyone that could tell me any different. I wanted to be the one to answer, but Miranda beat me to it.

“He was a very bad man that hurt your Aunt Van a long time ago. He died.”