The Mitchell Family Series BoxSet 1-4.5 (14 page)

Chapter 24

Savanna

I cried the whole walk back to the farmhouse. The rain had put out the fire, but I noticed people still standing around in the tents. The girls weren’t around Ty anymore, and he immediately spotted me as I was walking in. “Van, are you alright? What happened to you?” he asked.

“I saw you with those girls and I got upset. Before I knew it, it had started raining. I climbed up in a combine and waited out the storm.”

“Why don’t you go inside and get some of my warm clothes on,” he suggested, while avoiding the part about the other girls.

I wrapped my arms around my wet clothes as I made my way into his house.

His mother greeted me at the door. “Where were you?”

“I got caught in the storm,” I admitted.

“If I find out that you were sneakin’ around with my nephew just moments after my son put that ring on your finger, you will have hell to pay,” she threatened.

I kept walking past her. It wasn’t worth the fight and she would be able to tell more than anyone would that I really had been with Colt. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I left him out there, not willing to give him a straight answer. He told me he loved me and I still walked away.

When I got into Ty’s room, I grabbed a hoodie and pair of boxers and changed out of my wet clothes. My heart started racing and I considered running back out there. In fact, I knew it was exactly what I needed to do.

Throwing caution to the wind, I started walking out of the house, only to be stopped in my tracks by Ty. He was wheeling himself toward the couch when he spotted me. “There is my future bride. Don’t you look all cute in my clothes. I tell ya, I can’t wait to sleep with you in my arms tonight,” he confessed.

I just froze. How could I hurt him right now? How could I rip out his heart and not feel bad about it? Did he even deserve that? Wasn’t I the one that set all of these events in play?

Ty held out his arms, once he got on the couch. “Come over here and give me some love.”

I swallowed my pride and went and sat next to Ty. His strong arms wrapped around me as he started kissing me on my neck. Between the smell of women’s perfume and booze, I wanted to gag. How could this not have bothered me before? Was I so blinded by our fairytale life that I never noticed how much of an ass he really was? Did it really take me falling in love with someone else to see the real Ty?

Due to the fact that I was not really into his kissing, Ty pulled away and looked at me. “Something is wrong, babe. Can you please tell me what’s going on? I know that you waited months for me, but it was only a day in my eyes. You have to excuse me for loving you just as much as before the accident. Just tell me what’s going on. Are you still mad about what happened that night?”

I leaned forward and put my face in my hands. “It’s all just so much to take,” I admitted.

“Van, I hate to ask this, but you haven’t been yourself since I woke up. Something is different about you. You used to want to touch me all of the time. You used to kiss me a million times a day. Do you realize that I have had to ask you for affection? I need you to be honest with me. I won’t be mad, in fact I won’t judge you, but I just need to know. Was there someone else in your life while I was in the hospital? Is this why you are being so distant? Listen, I will forgive you. I will understand if you just needed to let loose. We can get past it, babe.”

This was my chance to come clean. To tell him I couldn’t possibly marry him. This was my opportunity to get him to break up with me.  I swallowed my pride and looked into those eyes that I had loved for so long. “Ty, at first there was nobody, not even your friends were nice to me. I was all alone; feeling like everything was my fault. One day someone came into my life. They listened to me and offered good advice about never giving up on you. One night after a few drinks things happened. It had nothing to do with my feelings for you, but I just wanted to feel wanted. Do you understand?” I bit my lip and waited for him to respond. Tears filled his eyes, and I swear it was the first time I had ever seen him cry since we were little kids.

“Wow! I never pegged you as someone that could have a one night stand babe,” he said and just sat there. His fingers moved my still damp hair away from my face. “Van, did you think if you told me I wouldn’t want to marry you? I deserved it really, for what I did to you the night of my accident. I knew you would be at that party. I knew you were going to show up looking for me, but I was selfish and thought with my dick instead. Shit, I did it with no regard for anyone else. I am sorry for that, babe, but I want you to know that I forgive you.”

This was the opposite of what I expected. Now Ty knew I had slept with someone else. He didn’t know who or how serious it got, but he knew. This was not good.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen,” I added.

“So, you going to tell me who the lucky guy was?”

Oh Shit!

“It doesn’t matter. He wasn’t even from here or from school,” I admitted.

“Mysterious. Okay, we don’t have to talk about it.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Can we talk about our future now? I was thinking we could get married this fall, here at the farm when the leaves change colors.”

I tried to be calm. To pretend I wasn’t upset that he didn’t seem to even care that I had been with someone else. Why wouldn’t he care? If I found out he was with someone, I would want to know every damn detail. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was hiding something himself and maybe that was why it was so easy for him to forgive and forget.

“Van. Earth to Van?”

“Sorry. A fall wedding? This fall? Don’t you want to finish school first?”

“We are both going to be twenty this fall. I figured it would be a fine time to get married. We can still finish school and do everything we always planned. I just want to hear you with the last name Mitchell when we graduate.”

I started coughing, gagging really. I did not expect that to come out of his mouth. “Ty, can we please talk about all of this tomorrow? I am exhausted and after being out in the rain, I feel like I am getting sick already.” I tried to weasel my way out of the conversation.

He shook his head. “Okay. Well, can I get a little ass before we go to sleep?” he asked in his normal conceited way.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You just got out of the hospital.”

Ty stood up and worked hard to balance himself on his two legs. He slid into the wheelchair and started heading for his bedroom. “Nothing is going to stop me from sleeping with my girlfriend tonight.”

I couldn’t do this. I had just slept with Colt and there was no way in hell I was going to be with Ty an hour later. 

I followed him back to his room, but insisted that I wanted to take a hot shower.  Thinking he would fall asleep while I took my time, I headed into the bathroom and started to undress.  I could easily sneak out of the house and run back to Colt, but his family would find me and Ty would never forgive him. After our conversation and the fact that being with someone else didn’t even faze him, this was no longer about me. It was about Colt and Ty. Whatever decision I made, I needed to keep their relationship intact.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, I heard the bathroom door opening. After a bunch of banging, I saw the curtain opening. Ty stood there looking at me. His main focus was from my chest to my crotch. “Why don’t you help me get out of these clothes so I can join you?”

Figuring that he had to use all of his strength to hold himself up, I helped him get undressed, thinking he couldn’t possibly be able to want sex in this shower. I helped him inside and although the room was tight, we managed to be facing one another. “You are so beautiful, Van. I thought I lost you that night. I can’t believe you are really here,” he said as he leaned in and kissed my lips. He pulled away when I didn’t kiss him back, but then he froze. His eyes were fixed on my chest. When I looked down, I saw why. On the side of my right breast, there was a mark from where Colt had sucked. “What the fuck is that?” he asked while raising his voice.

I tried to play it off. “Brina pinched me tonight. She said I was being a wallflower.”

“For a second I thought it was a hickey. I was ready to beat some dudes ass.”

I was guilty of so many things and the lies were just building up. Why did I even come back to this house? I was so stupid.

I played it off and gave him a weird look like he was insane. Finally, he realized that we couldn’t be intimate in his weakened state. I helped him get washed, which I noticed he was enjoying way too much. Even as I washed him, I couldn’t help but look at every inch of his body. He had lost almost all of his muscle, in fact I heard him saying he lost thirty pounds. His chest was always broad, so he didn’t look too skinny, even after the weight loss. Ty was a determined person and I knew he would gain back the weight and get right back to where he was before the accident.

With a little maneuvering, I managed to get him out of the bathroom and tucked into bed. It took us a good thirty minutes and once he realized my struggle, he gave up on trying to get into my pants. I pretended to be exhausted when he wrapped his arms around me. My back was facing him and he couldn’t see the tears falling down my face. He didn’t know that I was constantly thinking of Colt. I wanted to run to him, but I couldn’t. I was stuck in this situation and I knew that someone would get hurt no matter what direction I went.

When I woke up the next morning, Ty was still sleeping. Knowing that he would have a hangover, I snuck out of the room quietly. The house was empty, so I ventured outside to start picking up from the party. I noticed Harvey and Ty’s dad taking down the tents. They saw me and looked all around.

“Where did you come from?” Ty’s father asked.

“Inside the house. Ty is still sleeping,” I explained.

He turned and shook his head, then got back to taking down the tents. For the next half hour, I walked around with a trash bag, cleaning up beer cans and trash. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted someone coming up the lane. Colt had his head down; his still wet shirt was strung over one of his shoulders.  I tried not to look, but I couldn’t help wonder what he was thinking. He had to be mad. There was no way around it. I left him lying in that combine while I ran back to his cousin’s bed. I had become a common whore.

Ty’s mother broke my stare. She got close enough that she didn’t have to yell, which was always a bad sign. “Funny how my nephew looks exactly like you did when you came in last night. I warned you about seeing him. I don’t know what kind of games you think you are playing, but it won’t be on my watch.”

Her threats couldn’t stop me from looking one more time at Colt. He nodded as he walked by, but his brows were creased and I knew immediately that he was pissed.

I wanted to talk to him, to explain that I hadn’t changed my mind, but with his aunt watching my back, it was impossible. What made matters even worse was when Ty came hobbling out the door on a set of crutches, the same time Sam came running out of the carriage house and ran right to me.

He caught me off guard standing behind me, grabbing me into a hug. “Looks like you made a friend,” he said as he kissed the back of my neck.

“I didn’t expect you to get up so early. I tried not to wake you,” I explained.

I turned around to face him. He shrugged and smiled. “I wanted to surprise you. I had my dad get these out of the attic last night,” he said holding up one of the crutches. “I think I did pretty good getting around. I didn’t fall on my ass yet.”

We both smiled.

“So I was thinking that since Colt is in town, we could all go out tonight. Let’s go talk to him about it,” he suggested.

I did not know what to do. The last thing I wanted to do was be in the same room as both of them. Especially not after what happened last night.

I saw Ty’s mother giving me a dirty look again as I followed behind him. “Wait. He might not even be awake yet.” I tried to divert him by lying.

“I will wake his ass up then. Will you just come on? I need you to get the door for me.”

This was such a bad idea.

Chapter 25

Colt

After the wild sex in the storm and sleeping in the combine, I felt like shit. Savanna felt so good being in my arms. My mother always said life throws you tests. Well, I wasn’t sure if Savanna was one of them, but I was definitely failing.

After she ran away last night, I sat there for the longest time tryin to figure a way out of this mess. She was right. One of us was going to get hurt no matter what choice she made. I had watched her last night with him, and even when he proposed, she never seemed happy. When she found me in that field and told me she loved me, I believed her.  I could see it on her face and feel it when she touched me.

There wasn’t any other woman that had ever made me feel the way she did. She had turned me into someone who cared about someone other than myself. I just couldn’t let her go, even if it meant losing my cousin.

I heard the front door opening just as I was climbing in the shower. I hurried up and did my best to wash the dried mud off my body. After a few minutes, I climbed out.

“Knock much?” I said as I kept walking into the bedroom. I saw them both standing there, but I just couldn’t look at her, not with him standing there too.

“Fuck you, cuz. We came over to invite you out for a night of food and drinks,” Ty yelled while I was grabbing some clothes.

This kid had no idea. He had no clue that last night I told his fiancée that I loved her, and then I bedded her in the field, because I couldn’t help myself. I was a piece of shit. I knew it. I felt like hell when I woke up this morning, but I didn’t regret a second of it.

I don’t know why I did it, but I came out of the room in just a pair of shorts. When Savanna noticed, I saw her eyes get really big. Good thing she was standing behind my cousin. I had to keep the peace with Ty, at least until Savanna figured out what the hell she wanted. “Yeah, that sounds like it would be fun.”

“Sweet! Well, make sure you wear something without the word John Deere on it. I think I know a few blondes that would love a piece of you,” Ty replied, giving me some secret eye signal.

I looked down and tried not to laugh.

“You don’t have to set me up. I’m kinda seein’ someone already,” I admitted. “She ain’t even a blonde.”

Ty came in further and sat down on the couch. I assumed it was still hard for him to stand, but got the impression he was really trying. “You still seeing the one that lives with you?”

I shook my head. “Nah, she’s history.”

I leaned on the other side of the couch while Savanna stood behind Ty. She did it so she could watch me without him knowing. I wanted to look at her too, but really didn’t want to cause more problems than I already was.

“So who is this new girl? She a redhead?” Ty drilled me.

I shook my head again. “She has brown hair actually.”

“Damn, why didn’t you bring her with you?” Ty asked.

“She spent a couple weekends with me,” I confessed.

At this point Savanna was beet red. I glanced up and wanted to laugh out loud. She was giving me these giant eyes, mouthing the words, “Shut up.”

Then, I just couldn’t help myself. “You know, I think I will be open-minded tonight. It’s like you always said about different zip codes. Maybe my future wife will be there tonight.” I looked right up at Savanna when I said it.

She tried to play it off. “Zip codes? Really? When did you all discuss something like that?” Her question was directed to Ty.

He turned around toward me. “What the fuck, man?” Then turned back around to Savanna. “He used to say that shit, not me. You know how he is with women. Don’t listen to him, babe. You know you are the only one for me.”

I rolled my eyes while he was talkin’ to her. I saw him rubbing some girl tits just last night. Being a cheater was just how my cousin lived. It was a damn shame Savanna never figured it out before.

Savanna decided to change the subject. “If we are going out, I am going to need to go home and get clothes. Did you want to take me on the way tonight or get my stuff now?”

I grabbed the crutches and leaned with them under my arms while Savanna and Ty decided what they were doin’. “Well, being that I can’t drive, I guess Colt will have to drive you. You think you can run her to town real quick for me?” He stood up and reached for the crutches. “Give me those. I got to piss.”

I watched him hobble to the bathroom. “I can take her.”

Once he was out of sight, I turned to look at Savanna. “We can’t be alone,” she whispered as I broke the distance between us and brushed my lips against hers.

“Making love to you in that field was the hottest thing I have ever done,” I whispered to her before moving to the kitchen before the bathroom door opened.

Savanna couldn’t keep a straight face. She looked down and tried really hard not to smile or blush, but I knew I got under her skin.

“Can’t you ride along too?” Savanna asked Ty, while giving me another warning look.

“I guess I can. Did you guys want to head out now? We can get breakfast in town,” Ty suggested.

“Let me grab a shirt and we can go,” I replied.

I wanted to take Savanna without Ty, but knowing her leg would be pressed against mine on the ride was good enough for me. I met the two of them outside, and after Savanna ran and got Ty’s wallet, we headed out.

Savanna told us to wait for her while she got her things together. Ty and I rolled all the windows down and sat there quiet until she was out of sight.

“Something is different with her, man. Last night she admitted that she slept with someone else. After all the women I’ve been with behind her back, I couldn’t be mad at her, but I would be lying if I said that it didn’t bother me,” Ty said.

I looked straight out at the road. After being with me in that field, I felt like she left me, but she really was trying to look for reasons to make him break up with her. “Do you trust her?”

“That’s the thing. I have always trusted her, but she was really secretive about this guy. She wouldn’t even tell me his name. How do I know it’s over if she won’t tell me?”

She was going to kill me but I was a grown man and I couldn’t wait forever. “How is she bein’ different? Didn’t she stay with you last night?”

“Dude, I tried everything last night. I tried to sweet talk her, tried to shower with her, hell I even cuddled with her, but she wouldn’t show me any affection. Things are different. I really thought after putting that ring on her finger she would be happy.”

I wanted to smile, but I felt bad for my cousin. Still, Savanna didn’t run into his arms last night like I thought. She was fightin’ him instead. “I don’t know what to tell ya, Ty. How bad was it before the accident?” I pretended not to know.

“We weren’t together at all. She said she couldn’t focus on school with all my partying. I think she thought I would stop for her, but you only live once and I want to enjoy my college years. If Van doesn’t want to party with me, than there are a lot of other chicks that will,” he admitted.

“Besides proposin’, have you even talked about your relationship since you woke up?”

He shook his head. “I hate talking about that shit. What do you think is going on? Have you ever been cheated on?” he asked.

“Yeah, it sucks, but I also had never done it back so it really hit me hard. Maybe Savanna had a hard time when you were in the hospital. Maybe she felt alone and turned to someone for support. I can tell that things are strained with her and your parents. Your mother seems to be really givin’ her a hard time.”

“My mom just wants me to be happy. She always said Van wasn’t right for me. Maybe I am just over thinking everything. Van has never even been with anyone else before. I guess I am just jealous that someone else touched her. I always felt like she only belonged to me. She’s so damn pretty now. Hell, I remember her getting all pissed at you for calling her a boy. I can tell you, there ain’t nothing boyish about that girl,” he admitted.

I got ready to say something but he wasn’t finished. I was glad too. I knew exactly how hot she was. I could imagine every inch of her body. I had it memorized.

“You should talk to her and see if she will open up to you. Just try to find out who the guy is tonight. Here she comes. Act like we are talking about football.”

Savanna got back in the truck. Her hair was wet and she smelled amazing. When I climbed in next to her, I couldn’t help but press my leg against hers. We had to touch in the truck while driving but being this close to her, when she was smelling so good, was making me crazy.

We stopped to get something to eat but I could tell from Savanna’s body language that she was uncomfortable.  A bunch of people came up to our table and started talking to Ty. I caught Savanna giving me a couple glances and I tapped on her foot with my own. She gave me a half smile and continued eating her food.

After what turned out to be lunch, we headed back to the farm. I wasn’t really looking forward to watching my cousin paw all over Savanna, especially hearing from him that they never really got back together. Technically, she never cheated on him. And, since they weren’t sleeping together, I just wanted her more. When this began, I was okay with just being her friend, but my idiot cousin was proving more and more that he was the wrong person for her. I knew it because I was the person she should be with. I wanted to protect her, and to cherish her every day.

We parted ways once we got to the farm. Ty had an appointment with a physical therapist, who had arrived minutes after we pulled in. Savanna headed right into the barn to be with Daisy and I made my way toward the cornfield. The irrigation system kept turning off, so I promised my uncle I would take a look at it.

I had all my tools sprawled out across the dirt as I tried to put the new part into the motor. I heard the sound of hooves approaching and looked behind me to see Savanna. She jumped down and approached me before I could say anything. In her hand was a bottle of water. She handed it to me and I looked directly into her eyes while I took a big drink. “Thanks!”

“I just wanted to say hi,” she said.

I grabbed her chin and leaned into her. My lips touched hers and I kept them there for a few seconds before pulling away. “Hi yourself.”

“I have to go before they come looking,” she said as she started to walk away.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her back to me. “He wants me to talk to you tonight about the guy you were seein’.”

“Really? What are you going to tell him?” She asked.

I kissed her again before responding. “Part of me wants to tell him that you are crazy about the guy and to just give up, but it would look terrible when he finds out I am the guy.”

Her arms wrapped around me. “It’s the truth. I am crazy about you. It doesn’t help that you’re so damn sexy.”

“Stop talkin’ like that or we will have to get muddy again.” I kissed her one more time and then smacked her ass. “Get back before they start wonderin’. I will see you later, darlin’.”

I watched her ride away from me. I didn’t know how we were going to keep doing this. We needed a solution before I took matters into my own hands.

My uncle wanted me to stay here and help out with the farm. I didn’t mind helping, or even staying, but my problems with Savanna were definitely a huge conflict. Ty had no idea how awful he was to her. The poor girl had been a victim in it all. I felt sorry for her.