The long game, p.21
The Long Game, page 21
Travis was wagging his head. “He said he’d hurt Grace if I moved an inch.”
“I meant it, too,” Gary said. “You let that kid out of here and his sister’s going to get knocked around.”
Ivy bit her lip until she tasted blood, and fought to keep the panic from her face as she smiled down at Seth’s son.
“It’s okay, Travis. You can stay here with us.”
The boy nodded and kept his grip on Hazel.
Behind the desk, Gary was breathing heavily. She needed Seth in here now.
His phone. He kept it on vibrate.
Ivy handed her phone to Hazel, who scowled, reluctant to set down the lamp. Ivy mouthed, Text Seth, then turned back to face Gary.
“Seth is on his way,” she said. “He’s going to hurt you. He’s going to hurt you even worse if you’re still holding onto Grace when he gets here.”
The red in Gary’s cheeks gave way to a sickly gray. He hesitated, casting frantic glances around the room. When footsteps pounded across the porch he burst into motion, shoving Grace aside as he lunged from behind the desk and toward the door. Ivy hustled out of his way at the same time Seth charged into the house, face thunderous, eyes wild. When Gary spotted him, he spun back toward the office. Meanwhile, Ivy rushed at Grace and gathered the crying girl in her arms. She shuffled her toward Hazel and away from Gary, who was scrabbling at the window latch.
“You son of a bitch,” Seth shouted. “I’ll kill you!” He rushed at Gary, who’d started snatching items off Ivy’s desk and hurling them Seth’s way. A stapler, a tape dispenser, a ceramic mug with two inches of tea inside. Liquid splashed across the carpet as the mug bounced off Seth’s chest and thumped to the floor. Ivy winced, but none of it fazed Seth. He backed Gary into the corner and drove his fist into his jaw. The bald man’s head snapped back against the wall. Plaster dusted the floor as he crumpled.
Seth stood over him, legs spread, fists tight, chest heaving. Veins bulged in his arms and neck. Ivy had a feeling he wouldn’t have minded pounding on Gary some more, but the man was out cold.
Travis wrenched away from Hazel. “Daddy!”
Seth shuddered and pulled a hand down his face. He staggered back a step, turned and went down on one knee. Travis hurtled toward him. Seth squeezed his son against his chest and pressed a kiss to the boy’s white-blond head.
“You okay, Tiger?”
Travis mumbled something and wriggled in tighter. Seth swallowed hard and looked over his son’s head at Ivy. The torment in his eyes pulled a sob from her throat. He held out an arm. Ivy leaned down and rubbed Grace’s back, whispering that her daddy needed to see she was okay. She gently guided her toward Seth, who crushed her close.
“You all right, G?” he murmured into her ear.
She nodded and started to cry again. Seth closed his eyes and gently rocked, whispering to his kids that it was all over, that everything would be fine, that they were brave and special and safe.
Ivy swallowed and turned to Hazel, who’d plopped down into an upholstered chair. The old lady’s hand shook as she finger-combed her hair and wiped at the splotch of tears darkening the front of her pale blue blouse.
“How are you, Hazel? Can I get you a glass of water?”
“Water, hell. I need something with sass. Get the kids some, too.”
Sirens whined in the distance. Ivy checked the corner. Gary hadn’t stirred.
As quickly as she could, Ivy fetched a small glass of wine and watched Hazel swig it, then asked her to keep the kids occupied in the kitchen—and made it clear they weren’t allowed anything stronger than juice. Seth managed to loosen the kids’ hold on him and quietly asked them to go with Miss Hazel.
They both wanted to cling. Ivy couldn’t blame them—she’d have liked nothing better than for Seth to fold her into his arms and never let go. But it was safer to keep the kids out of the way until Gary was en route to jail.
The sirens got louder as what sounded like a pair of patrol cars barreled up the driveway. Hazel herded the children into the kitchen and Seth moved back to stand over Gary. While car doors slammed outside, he shoved both hands through his hair.
“Why the hell didn’t you come get me?” he demanded.
“It happened so fast.” She couldn’t help the defensive note that crept into her voice. “I was in the tack room when I heard Grace scream, and I ran toward the sound. You were on the skid loader. It would have taken too long to get your attention.”
He swiveled, took hold of her arm and tugged. As he pressed his lips to her forehead, she wrapped her arms around his waist for a sideways hug.
“I’m sorry,” he said gruffly.
“Police!” A female voice barked the word from the front of the house. “We’re coming in.”
* * *
SEVERAL TENSE AND TEARFUL minutes later, Ivy and Hazel stood back as Lily helped Gary fold his lanky frame into the back of her squad car. When Hazel pulled out her phone and took a photo, Ivy couldn’t help a snort of laughter, but muffled it as quickly as she could. Seth watched grimly from the front steps, with Grace and Travis tucked on either side of him. Ivy figured Seth needed the distance to help him resist the temptation to land another punch.
She wouldn’t have minded taking a turn herself.
Once her passenger was settled, the sheriff turned to Ivy. “I’ll need you and Seth to provide statements.” She glanced at the porch. “I’ll send someone to Seth’s house.”
“I need to finish the chores first, but I can come in after that. An hour okay?”
Lily nodded and unhooked her keys from her belt.
Hazel squeezed Ivy’s arm and beamed at the sheriff. “Do you need me to come in, too?”
Lily’s impassive gaze locked on Hazel’s fingernails, which were painted a surprisingly tame shade of baby blue. But putting the tame to shame was the decal on each nail—a pink baby bottle, in celebration of Allison’s pregnancy. Ivy had a feeling Hazel knew damned well those baby bottles looked like penises.
“Wouldn’t hurt,” Lily finally said, in a voice that clearly indicated it probably would.
“Sheriff Tate.” Seth and the kids joined them. “We want to thank you again.”
She jerked a thumb over her shoulder, at the backseat of her squad car. “He’s the one who should be thanking me. I’m pretty sure I saved him a butt-kicking by showing up when I did.”
Seth shook Lily’s hand and Travis did as well, eyes wide as he scanned her equipment belt. The sheriff hesitated, color leaching from skin already lighter than ivory. After a moment, she thrust her hand at Grace. Grace echoed Lily’s hesitation, then squeezed her fingers once and scooted closer to her father.
Ivy winced. She didn’t think Seth had noticed, but Grace certainly had. Ivy understood where poor Lily was coming from—Grace looked a lot like the daughter she’d lost.
A shaming heat rippled through Ivy. She dipped her head and brushed imaginary dirt from the legs of her jeans. Did she stare at Grace like that? Make her shrink like that? No wonder the kid thought Ivy didn’t like her.
As soon as the sheriff left, Seth walked Grace and Travis over to his pickup and settled them in the extended cab’s backseat. He shut the door and stared over the truck’s bed toward the lake. Even from this distance, she could see his jaw working. He turned his head and snagged her gaze, and her heart trembled at the intensity in his face.
He opened the door again, leaned in and said something to the kids. After tugging off his hat and tossing it onto his seat, he shut the door and strode back to Ivy.
She waited, her heart thumping faster and faster. She knew what he wanted to say, and she didn’t want to hear it. She’d tried to tell him. Now he was going to take them away, just when she’d resigned herself to caring about them. To caring about him.
He stopped in front of her, his gaze dropping to the arms she’d threaded across her stomach. “I’m sorry to leave you in the lurch like this,” he said.
“Don’t apologize. Of course you don’t want your kids here anymore. I tried to tell you it could be dangerous.” Her voice broke. “Though I never thought they’d be at risk inside the house.”
“Ivy.” He closed his fingers around her wrist, and a flash flood of heat rippled under her skin. He tugged twice, gently, as if to refocus her attention, but since the day she’d met him, no one had ever distracted her like him.
“Thank you,” he said. The grit in his voice shredded her heart. “Thank you for keeping my kids safe.”
“But I didn’t.” It hurt to breathe. “They were here because of me. He threatened them because of me. God, Seth, they’re going to have nightmares—”
“Stop it.” He cupped her shoulders and gave her a shake. “Just stop it. They’ll be fine. Because of you, they’ll be fine.” His fingers dug in. “I want to hold you. I want to hold you so badly I can hardly stand it.” He glanced back at his truck, squeezed her shoulders once and let go. “The kids have enough to deal with at the moment. I have to get them home. But you and I need to talk. Soon. I’ll call you later.” When she didn’t respond, he stroked a finger along her jaw. “Ivy?”
“Take care of them,” she said, and took a step back. “I’ll be fine. I am fine.” She choked out a laugh. “I guess it’s time to get those security cameras.”
He nodded once and cupped her chin. “I’ll call you.” No warning but a flexing of his fingers before his mouth covered hers in a quick, hard kiss. “It’ll be okay,” he said, and then he was gone.
* * *
IVY AWOKE WITH HER bladder in crisis mode. She yearned to stay in bed. Her muscles were lax and happy beneath her satin-trimmed comforter, her toes were toasty, and she hadn’t yet finished with a dream involving sandy beaches and the mostly male cast of a Broadway play.
But the need to pee trumped all.
Somehow she made it to the bathroom, even with her eyelids doing their impression of a faulty garage door. She didn’t dare look in the mirror as she washed up. She stumbled back to bed, opened one eye to check the clock and sagged with relief when she saw it was only nine. She hadn’t been asleep for more than an hour.
Going to bed at eight was something she hadn’t done since she was a kid. But after the day she’d had, she’d been looking forward to hitting the sheets the moment Seth and the kids left. By the time she’d finished taking care of the Jersey girls and running into town to let Lily take her statement, it had been going on seven. Ivy had heated up a can of chicken noodle soup, taken a shower and crawled into bed.
Instead of sleeping, she should have been stepping up her search for a manager. She had to get Seth back to his life, back to his family, for everyone’s sake.
But hallelujah, it felt good to crawl back into bed.
The moment she found the perfect position, her cell rang. She rolled over, snagged her phone off the nightstand and took the call under the covers.
Seth spoke before she could say hello. “It wasn’t your fault,” he said.
“It feels like my fault.” She shifted her head on the pillow. “How are they?”
“Tired. Confused. I can’t leave them.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to. Dell got back shortly after you left and helped me finish up. Not that it matters. Your kids need you.”
“I can’t come over there.”
She frowned. “I know. I just said—”
“But you can come over here.”
She threw the covers off, finding it suddenly hard to breathe. “Seth—”
“I want to hold you. I want to thank you properly.”
“You’re offering me gratitude sex?”
“Trust me, the gratitude won’t be one-sided.”
She sat up and scrubbed a hand over her face. “You’re kidding, right? Do you honestly think I’d be good with this? Finally sleeping together after all this time, only because you feel obligated?”
“It’s not obligation. It’s need. I need you.”
Ivy dropped her head to her knees while everything inside her shifted and tumbled. “You know that’s not a good idea,” she managed. “And not just because your kids might wake up and see me.”
“You could wear a disguise.”
“What, like a French maid’s uniform?”
“Jesus, do you have one?”
She rolled her eyes. “No. I don’t.”
“I see.” He sighed heavily. “I suppose you could come over anyway.”
She got to her feet and started to pace, struggling to tamp down the excitement shimmering through her. “Remember what you said right before you left? The kids have enough to deal with.”
He swore. “You’re supposed to be trying to talk me into this, not the other way around.”
At her bedroom window she closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the glass, not trusting herself to speak.
He exhaled. “I guess I want you here so I’ll know you’re all right.”
“And if I’m not?”
“I’d do my damnedest to make it better.”
“And how would you do that?”
“Superhero bandages and chocolate milk with a bendy straw.”
She laughed.
“Hey, it works with my kids.”
Her feet were getting cold, and in more ways than one, it seemed. She dropped onto her bed and shoved her feet under the covers. “Get some sleep, cowboy. This day has been rough on you, too.”
“All right. But I know what this is.”
“This is me needing my beauty sleep.”
“No. You’re starting to like them.”
Her mouth went dry.
“You starting to like me, too?”
“I was,” she said.
He chuckled, and wished her a gruff good-night.
She scooted down and settled on her back, her comforter tucked under her chin, her phone pressed to her chest.
* * *
TWO DAYS LATER, SETH was amazed by how quickly his kids had bounced back from their ordeal. He’d thought seriously about keeping them home from school, at least on Thursday, then decided they could use the distraction. He’d talked to their teachers about it, and they’d agreed. The school counselor offered to keep an eye on Grace, and her doctor had reminded him that kids processed things on their own timelines. As long as he made himself available to Travis and Grace and reminded them as often as possible that they were loved, they’d be fine.
Himself, he wasn’t so sure about. The rage continued to simmer. Rage and guilt and naked-ass fear. He’d have gotten good and drunk Wednesday night if he hadn’t had to be there for his kids. Especially after Ivy had turned him down. She’d been right to do it, for more reasons than one. Didn’t mean he wasn’t still thinking about it.
The sex part, not the drunk part.
Okay, maybe both.
That wasn’t what had brought him to the farm tonight. The moment Deb had driven away with the kids for the weekend, Seth had attempted to get in touch with Ivy. He’d tried both her cell and her landline. No answer on either. There was a phone in the tack room, but Seth didn’t know the number.
Yeah, it was Friday night, and Dell would have left earlier than usual. But what about Ivy? She’d never leave the place unattended.
Sheriff Tate had Gary in custody. Knowing that didn’t keep panic from jolting through him.
“Ivy?” He walked the length of the bedding barn, cringing at the desperate edge to his voice. If she heard it, she’d be pissed, but he couldn’t help it. Both her vehicles were here. Unless someone had picked her up, she should be here, too. He hesitated on the path to the horse barn.
Maybe someone had picked her up. Maybe Gary’s stunt had shaken her more than she’d let on. Maybe she’d arranged for Dell to take care of the animals in the morning so she could stay the night at a friend’s house.
An equal mix of relief and disappointment tugged at his shoulders. The damp, cool dusk that settled around him suddenly seemed more lonely than peaceful, the sharp scent of wood smoke from a neighbor’s chimney more mocking than inviting.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. If he kept this up, he’d be standing under her bedroom window with a boom box on his shoulder. Earning extra points for pathetic because she wasn’t even there.
He started moving again, gravel giving way to grass beneath his boots. He’d checked the house, the milking shed and the bedding barn. He’d give the horse barn a gander, then call Allison Kincaid, see if she knew where Ivy could be.
He grabbed the rightmost handle of the double sliding doors and pulled. Dammit. She wasn’t in here, either. The lights were off, the emergency lights giving the interior a bluish hue. When a horse nickered a hopeful greeting from one of the rear stalls, Seth stepped inside. Might as well take a look.
Silver Dollar, the palomino Dell usually rode, pressed his muzzle through the grid that created the top half of his stall door. Seth chuckled and stroked his fingers along the velvety length of the gelding’s nose. Silver Dollar blew a rebuke when he realized Seth had come empty-handed. And apparently would leave empty-handed, too—Seth saw no sign of Ivy. He pulled his cell from his pocket.
A muffled whimper, off to his left. His head came up and he went rigid, every muscle on alert. When he heard the noise again, he jammed his phone back into his pocket and strode farther along the row of stalls, slowing to peer inside each one. Three stalls down, he found her.
- 11 -
IVY STOOD WITH HER back to the stall door, arms wrapped around her stallion’s neck, face buried in his chocolate-brown coat. Her slim shoulders shook. Her stifled sobs tore into Seth’s heart.
“Ivy.”
She gave no sign that she heard him. Cabana Boy swung his head toward Seth and stomped one foot, one clueless guy begging another to have his back.
“Thanks, buddy,” Seth whispered. “I got it from here.”
He moved in close and ran a palm down the length of her braid. The softness made him swallow. She stiffened and pushed tighter into her horse. Cabana Boy snorted, and Seth came up against Ivy’s back. He slid his hands along her arms until his fingers tangled with hers. The choking sounds she was making reverberated against his chest.
