We sat there for a little while so that I could calm down. The three of us were afraid of having to explain to our parents how I’d gotten so messed up. By the time we pulled down the lane the light was on in the kitchen. Jake turned off the ignition and opened the door, sticking his hand out to help me get down.

  Jax got out and came around to our side. “Bella, let us go inside. You can come in through my window.”

  “Seriously? I haven’t done that in years.” “Do you want them to know what happened?” Jake asked.

  “No.” I looked down, realizing it was the only way to keep the peace. “Fine. I’ll meet you at your window.”

  I marched out back while they went inside. It felt like it took them forever, but finally the light came on and I watched the window sliding up. Jax leaned out and took me into his arms. With ease, he pulled me inside. Jake was standing there behind him with his arms crossed.

  I sat down on Jax’s mattress and covered my face with my hands. “Sorry about all of this, guys.”

  Jake touched my shoulder, causing me to look up. “Everyone was in bed when we came in. They must have left the light on for us.” He kissed my cheek before heading out to his room.

  I stood up and followed. “Thanks again, Jax. See you in the mornin’.” In all of the years that my brothers had annoyed me, I’d finally gotten to a point where I could appreciate that I had them. They’d saved my butt, and comforted me when I needed it. If there was some way to tell my parents how they’d come to my rescue, I would have done it. Though, I knew I’d never let them know about what had happened, not after I’d sworn to them all that I was done with Tate.

  He caught me before I could get all of the way out of his room. “Make that afternoon. My ass isn’t getting out of bed until after lunch. Oh, and by the way, you owe me big for tonight. I was about to get my dick wet when you called.”

  I scrunched up my face, imagining my brothers being old enough to actually have sex with a person instead of their hands. “Spare me the details. I probably kept you from makin’ a mistake you’ll soon regret.”

  “Like you just did?”

  I flipped him the finger and pulled the knob behind me. Of course he’d bring that up. Once I was out of his room I crept through the hallway quietly. I walked down the hall and opened my bedroom door, flipping on the light before closing it back up. When I turned to head in the direction of my bed I saw my dad lying above the covers, as if he’d been there waiting for me. I had a sudden flashback of being a teen and sneaking out with Tate my senior year. I didn’t climb in my window until the sun was coming up, and boy was he pissed.

  He opened his eyes and looked around the room, finally catching my stare. “Iz. Where have you been?”

  I placed my hands over my hips. “Dad, I’m not a little girl. Did you come in here to punish me?”

  He brought his feet to the floor and started to stand up. I could see how he was looking at me. “What are you crying for?” I opened my mouth to talk and felt the door opening behind me. My brother handed me my purse. “You left this in the truck.” He looked over and saw our dad standing up. “Oh,

  hey, Dad. Did we wake you up?” “No.”

  “Well, I’m hitting the sack. Bella drank us under the table tonight. Jax is already passed out.”

  “Where’d you three go?” His questions were making me nervous, as if he was giving me the third degree.

  “Out to a bar, then to the barn. Don’t worry, we didn’t drink any of your good bourbon,” Jake looked to me after his explanation, as if to make sure I was going to agree with him.

  “I’m glad you all had a good time, but do you mind telling me why your sister’s been crying?” I closed my eyes, knowing he could see right through me.

  Before Jake could get us into a deeper lie, I spoke out. “I got a little emotional. It’s just that bein’ home makes me miss this place even more. I love Kentucky, don’t get me wrong, but it’s never goin’ to be home to me, not while you’re all here.”

  My dad walked over and put his arms around me. “This will always be your home, no matter what. I know you’re an adult, but I still worry. It’s late, Iz. Why don’t we all head to bed and we can catch up more tomorrow. I know you’ve got to be exhausted.”

  I nodded and watched the two men leave my room. Once I changed and climbed into bed, I cried myself into a desolate stupor. I’d been so optimistic about my relationship with Tate, never even considering that it would end so horribly. My biggest regret was sleeping with him. I hated myself for letting him get into my pants, especially without a condom. If he was sleeping with me and Jenn, there was no telling how many other women he might be involved with.

  I was going to have to get tested to be sure he hadn’t given me anything. The idea of getting some kind of STD was revolting to think about. It made me hate him even more. The emotional pain consumed me, driving me to curl up in a ball, and think about all of the time that I’d wasted loving Tate. He’d destroyed me from the inside out, leading me on to only end up destroying me with his web of lies. The fact that I’d let myself fall to his prey again left a bad taste in my mouth. He was the epitome of a man, who didn’t deserve to ever be happy.

  All I could hope for was that Jenn would wise up and leave him too. He didn’t deserve her devotion. For the first time I felt sorry for the girl, realizing that he’d played us both. At least I didn’t have to tell my family what a lying cheater he was. There was no way that I could let them know I’d made such a horrible mistake, after they’d warned me time and again not to.

  I thought about all of the nights that I fought with Noah. I didn’t heed his warnings to stay away from Tate, or to stop talking to him. The idea of admitting to everyone that they were right and I was wrong annoyed the shit out of me. I’d been in such denial, letting my heart blind my judgment. The signs of his ways had always been there, I’d just been too stupid in love to notice.

  At least there was one good thing that could come out of this horrible evening. Tate and I were done forever, and this time I wasn’t going to regret it.

  Chapter 5

  Isabella

  The next couple of days went by too quick. I kept my phone on silent, trying to avoid the slew of messages that

  Tate was leaving. What started out as threats quickly changed to begging. I ignored them all, determined more than ever to be done with him forever.

  The night before I left, my mom made my favorite meal. While my brothers shoveled the food into their mouths, like it was the end of times, I savored every bite. My aunt Van could cook and bake up a storm, but there was always something about my mom’s cooking that made it the best. I looked down the long table, taking in my immediate family, including my mimi and poppy. It had been good to spend time with everyone, and I knew I’d see them again in a couple of months. It still scared me with them getting older, never knowing when I’d get that call telling me something bad happened.

  While deep in thought I felt something slap into my face. Jax ducked down behind my other brother. I took a napkin and rubbed mashed potatoes off of my cheek. “Seriously? Are you five?”

  “He’s going to miss you, Bella. That’s all,” Jake explained.

  Instead of firing back I simply sat there and smiled. This was my crazy family that I loved more than anything in the world. No matter what happened they’d be there for me, and protect me from myself if I needed it. Knowing that would give me the strength to move on and accept the things in my life that I couldn’t change.

  Saying goodbye to all of them was always bittersweet. As an adolescent I would have said different, but as an adult I’d learned to appreciate just what I had; two loving parents that were willing to risk their lives to keep our family together. Two brothers that drove me crazy, but always kept a smile on my face. Two grandparents that had paved the way for it all. Grateful wasn’t even enough to describe all of them.

  That’s why when it came to driving away from it all, I lost my shit, every time.

  This was the worst by far, considering that I was already holding back the tears of being heartbroken.

  The moment my dad wrapped his arms around me I just about broke down. “I love you, Iz. You better call us as soon as you get to Kentucky.” He refused to call it home, not when he knew where I’d always belonged.

  “I will, Dad. I always do.”

  I pulled away to hug my mother, but he tugged me back. “One more hug.”

  He was so silly, although I didn’t fight it. There was no comparison to the way it felt to be held by my father. No matter where I was in life, I knew he’d support me. They said that blood is thicker than water, but that’s bullshit when it applies to my dad. Blood meant nothing, not anymore. He’d been my father since the moment I took my first breath. Sure, it took him a while to make it happen officially, but we’d always known, somehow in a fate kind of way. My mom used to tell me that I chose him. There’s no real explanation for it, but it was definitely there. “If you squeeze me any tighter I am goin’ to explode everything I had for dinner.”

  “That accent is getting stronger. It’s driving me crazy.”

  I giggled and turned to my mother, who apparently sounded just like me. I’d never really noticed it that much. “Do you hear this guy?”

  She held me tightly in her arms. “He loves it. Don’t let your dad fool you.”

  “I’m going to call as soon as I get home, I promise. Thanks for puttin’ up with me this weekend. It’s still hard being here and knowin’ that I can’t stay.”

  “You’re always welcome to come home,” she added.

  I knew that, also knowing my life was now in Kentucky. I had a great job, and even new friends that didn’t know Tate or the history that we’d shared.

  After saying the rest of my goodbyes, I hopped in my car and started on my journey. The first few miles were filled with sobs. For so many reasons I wanted to turn the car back around. For a different set of reasons I wanted to get out of the state as fast as possible.

  I arrived home around nine at night. Noah was watching a football game on television and nodded when I came in carrying my suitcase. I sat it down and wheeled by him quickly. The last thing I wanted was a third degree the moment I stepped in the door. I’d spent the past five hours torturing myself. That was plenty of enough time to accept that I’d been a fool.

  All I wanted to do was get a long, hot shower and wash away all of the shitty decisions that I’d made. It was time to start over new, to reinvent myself to be the woman that I deserved to be. In the morning I’d change my number and only let my family know what it was. My times of being vulnerable were about to end.

  After grabbing some clean clothes, and a fresh towel out of the hall closet, I opened the bathroom door to display a shocking reveal. My eyes tried to adjust to what I was actually seeing. In my personal bathroom, that nobody else used, was a naked man, desperately trying to cover himself with a small towel.

  It took me a second to be able to cover my eyes, turn around, and scream all at the same time. “What in the hell?”

  I heard Noah yelling from the other room. “Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you. Rusty’s water heater went up in his trailer. I told him he could stay in the other bedroom until we got it figured out.”

  Rusty, a ranch hand that had been around for a year or two, lived on the property in one of the single-wide trailers that our family provided the full-time workers with. I didn’t know much about him, except that he was in his thirties and kept to himself. Aside from seeing him naked, in all of his glory, I’d always been creeped out by the way he stared at me. Sure, he was easy on the eyes. His dark, almost black hair was so wavy, and his irises were a blue-gray. For being in his thirties he was obviously in great shape, not that I was paying that much attention, or maybe I had noticed.

  “I’m real sorry, ma’am. Noah told me you wouldn’t be home tonight.”

  He approached me in the hallway with a towel finally wrapped around him. Water glistened over his rock hard chest, and it took a lot for me to not peek at it longer. I moved away from him, finally making it inside of the bathroom before closing the door without a reply.

  Perhaps I could have said something kind to the man for his apology, except after seeing his dick just hanging out, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything at all.

  Once in the shower, I let the water fall down over my face. As much as I’d enjoyed my visit to the Carolinas, it was good to be back in Kentucky, far away from Tate and all of his lies. The distance was going to help me to be strong. Hopefully, I’d be able to forget about him this time, considering that he’d shredded my heart apart.

  If it weren’t for my dad, and maybe my uncle Colt, I’d think that men couldn’t be faithful. Although, Noah had even proven that men could change. Even if it were to happen for Tate, I wouldn’t believe him. He’d gotten his last chance.

  When the water became cool, I stepped out and dried off before getting dressed. Noah and Rusty were both in the living room when I came out. I said nothing as I walked past and went into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. I’d no sooner reached in the refrigerator when I felt a presence behind me.

  Rusty was standing there, his eyes looking at me like he was peering into my soul. It gave me the immediate chills. “Did you want somethin’?” I scooted to the side to move away from how close we stood to each other.

  “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry you caught me in a bad way. I mean you no disrespect. Your cousin was kind enough to let me stay here while my trailer gets repaired. The water leaked all over the floor and now there’s a hole we have to fix. I’ll make sure to stay out of your way while I’m a guest.”

  I tried to keep my cool, just in case the weird vibe was just me being overcautious. “It’s fine.” I took a sip of my water before continuing. “I’m tired from drivin’ and didn’t really see nothin’ anyway. Don’t even worry about it. As far as stayin’ out of my way, you probably won’t need to work hard at it. I plan on stayin’ clear of Noah until his fiancée gets home. He acts like a dickhead when she ain’t here, and I’m not his momma.” I left the room before he could reply back. Having a conversation would only imply that I wanted to talk, in which I did not.

  I passed by Noah again on my way back to my room. He gave me this look that annoyed me. “What?”

  He lifted his bottle and pointed to me. “You know what. Did you see him?”

  I played it off like I didn’t know he was talking about Tate. “See who?”

  “You know who. Did you see him, because the way you’re actin’ is makin’ me feel like you did?”

  “Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” I rolled my eyes, trying to play off the fact that he was right.

  Rusty came back in the room with a water in his hand. It caught my attention since I noticed a few beer bottles on the table in front of Noah. “Excuse me,” he said as he passed me and sat down in the chair. I avoided eye contact with our creepy guest and waited for Noah to respond.

  “If I find out you saw that douche bag, you’re never goin’ to hear the end of it. You got me?”

  I threw my hands up in the air. “Yeah, Dad. I hear ya.” Annoyed, I went back to my room and locked the door. If he wanted to control me like that, I was going to be difficult.

  That night I lay in my bed with so much on my mind. The pain and humiliation of what Tate did to me was still too fresh to let go of. The guilt of going against my family was chastening. I was pretty sure that both of my parents knew something had happened. They at least sensed that I was different after that first night. My brothers may have covered for me, but at some point I had this bad feeling they would spill. It was only a matter of time.

  Speaking of that. I’d have plenty of time to get over my cheating ex. If they ever discovered the shameful truth at least they’d know that I learned my lesson the hard way. Hopefully they’d feel sorry for me and pity me, instead of letting me know how stupid I was for going against all of them and doing it anyway.

  While staring at the empty side of the bed beside me, I wondered if I’d ever be able to find someone that could be faithful to me. Maybe I had this hidden sign on my head that told men they could cheat, lie and treat me like dirt. It was possible that I’d be one of those women that never found true love. It was hard to consider when the adults in my family were all so happy. To long for that kind of life was realistic, but unreachable.

  It was heart wrenching, to say the least.

  Chapter 6

  Rusty

  She was so beautiful, but the resemblance was uncanny. I couldn’t stop looking at her and seeing my old life;

  the one I’d walked away from years ago. Seeing Isabella was like reliving it over and over again. On one hand I couldn’t look away when she came into the room. On the other, I wanted to be as far from her as humanly possible.

  It wasn’t just her figure, or the color of her blonde hair either. Those eyes, green and pure, brought back so much regret.

  As much as I tried to keep my cool around her, I knew I was freaking her out. If she only knew what I was thinking she’d hate me more.

  The Mitchell family had been so kind to hire me without doing a background check. I don’t know if they saw something desperate in me eyes, or maybe they just needed help that bad. Either way it was a job that offered me a roof over my head. After all, I wasn’t just running from my old life, I was running from everyone that had ever known the man I used to be.

  Having secrets came with consequences. It forced me to start over, with nothing to show for. To the Mitchell family I was a drifter. They couldn’t know what I’d been through, and I was determined to make sure the truth never came out. This was my fresh start; my second chance.

  After Isabella walked into the bathroom on me, I felt overwhelmingly conscious. It was hard to be sensible on an average day when I saw her walking by, but standing naked in her bathroom was unimaginable. The shock on her face said it all, and then our encounter in the kitchen let me know that she wanted to get as far away from me as possible.