Wicked Respite
An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book Fourteen
Lily Harper Hart
HarperHart Publications
Copyright © 2019 by Lily Harper Hart
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Contents
1. One
2. Two
3. Three
4. Four
5. Five
6. Six
7. Seven
8. Eight
9. Nine
10. Ten
11. Eleven
12. Twelve
13. Thirteen
14. Fourteen
15. Fifteen
16. Sixteen
17. Seventeen
18. Eighteen
19. Nineteen
Mail List
Acknowledgments
Books by Lily Harper Hart
One
Jack Harker was a brave man, but he never thought shopping for camping supplies would be on his agenda. It wasn’t that he thought of himself as an indoor guy as much as he thought sleeping on the ground was for the young. Despite that, he found himself pushing a huge cart inside an outdoor adventure store as his fiancée Ivy Morgan studied each aisle with great detail.
“Is there such a thing as a heated tent?” he asked.
Slowly, Ivy tracked her eyes to him. “What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. I don’t like being cold.”
“We could get a space heater and take it with us. We’ll have to buy batteries but there are chargers we can get that run off the battery of your truck to charge them, if that’s what you want.”
Jack made a series of popping noises with his lips as he pretended to study the wall of sleeping bags to his right. “Do you think we should do that?”
Ivy managed to keep her face placid even though it was a chore. Jack was a city boy, she reminded herself. He grew up in the rough neighborhoods surrounding Detroit. No one camped in that area ... at least not at a place that didn’t feature a cartoon bear on the brochures.
“Maybe we should do something else,” she hedged, wrapping her hand around his wrist and carefully pulling him away from the sleeping bags. “We could go to a hotel for a weekend or something. That’s easier and still a chance for us to get away.”
Jack’s gaze was withering as he pinned her with a dark look. “No. I said we were going camping.”
“Yes, but ... .” Ivy was at a loss. She loved Jack beyond reason, but she had things to say. Those things were unlikely to go over well if she didn’t measure her response and take Jack’s feelings into consideration.
Jack knew Ivy better than anyone. They’d been introduced a little more than a year ago. In that time, however, they’d completely fallen head-over-heels for one another. Their lives were so intertwined from the start that Jack never labored under the delusion they wouldn’t end up together. From the start, it seemed they were destined to be each other’s forever. He still believed that, despite the conundrum he found himself in now.
“We’re going camping.” He was firm as he turned back to the sleeping bag display. “I’m perfectly capable of roughing it in the wilderness of the Upper Peninsula. It was a simple question.”
Ivy, her long brown hair (which was streaked with hints of pink) hanging over her shoulders in a wavy sheet, tilted her head to the side. “We can get the heater.” She wanted him to be comfortable more than anything else. If he was worried about being cold, that would be the source of unneeded stress. “It’s a good idea.”
The look he shot her was full of annoyance. “You’re laughing at me inside, aren’t you?”
“No.” Ivy immediately started shaking her head. “I’m not. I love you. I would never laugh at you.”
She was so earnest Jack took pity on her. “Ivy, I love you, too. I’ve never doubted you love me. Your head is full of laughter, though. You might as well admit it because we both know it’s true. You’re not fooling anybody.”
Ivy worked her lower jaw as she debated her options. Finally, she blew out a sigh. “Okay, here’s the thing: The tent we’ve got is relatively big, but it’s also warm. I know this because I helped pick it out. It’s thermal. We’re not going to freeze to death.”
“This is earlier in the season from last year, though,” he pointed out. “The afternoons are fairly warm now, but the nights are still cool. Plus, we’re driving two hours up north. I mean ... we’re going to be in the official north of the north. That means it’s going to be colder.”
Ivy had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Jack was the sort of man who liked to plan things out to the best of his ability. She, on the other hand, was more willing to fly by the seat of her pants and manage the outcome as it occurred. They were very different in that respect and yet she believed they were perfectly suited for one another. Her heart broke out in song whenever she caught sight of him. Her skin hummed when he drew near. It was as if their souls recognized one another from the start, she often mused. Once meeting, they both knew they couldn’t make it without one another. It was folly to ever try.
“Hey.” Jack snapped his fingers in front of her face and frowned. “Where was your head? I’m having a serious conversation with you. I don’t want to freeze to death ... and it’s as if I can see you rolling your eyes even when I’m not looking at you.”
Ivy heaved out a sigh. It was obvious he was about to melt down because he thought she was internally laughing at his lack of outdoor acumen. “Jack, we’re not going to freeze to death.” Gently, she reached out and linked her fingers with his. “Do you think I would risk that? We have two thermal sleeping bags. We’re going to zip them together like before. We’ll be sharing warmth so it will be hotter than you think.”
She didn’t realize that she’d let a double entendre fly until she saw the wicked intent in his eyes. “Oh, geez.” She made a face. “Your mind just went to a dirty place, didn’t it?”
“You have no idea.” Jack’s smile widened as he slid an arm around her waist and tugged her to him. “Basically you’re saying that our chemistry is combustible and we’ll be sweating no matter how cold it is.”
“I didn’t say that. Not even remotely.”
“Funny, that’s what I heard.”
“That’s because you’re a pervert.” Even though she was faking annoyance with him, she couldn’t hold on to one iota of faux anger as she snuggled close and pressed her lips to his strong jaw. “I love you, Jack.” The words escaped long before she realized she was going to utter them. Before he came into her life, Ivy was the sort of person who flew off the handle when she was angry but thought long and hard about the things she was going to say when she was trapped in the moment. With Jack, she could say whatever she wanted and not live in fear. He never held it against her.
He tilted her head back so he could stare into the sea blue of her eyes. “I love you, too, honey.” He lowered his lips to hers and gave her a smoldering kiss. It was so hot, Ivy’s eyes rolled back in her head and she momentarily forgot where they were.
Then she heard whispering.
When they pulled apart, Ivy found herself staring at two women in their thirties. They were down the aisle looking at lanterns but didn’t bother to hide their interest in what was going on between Ivy and her intended.
“Sorry,” Ivy offered lamely, wiping the corners of her mouth. “We just got distracted.”
Neither woman smiled.
“This is a family store,” one of them point
ed out. She was a brunette with a bob haircut and some rather unattractive blunt bangs that made her face look a little too square. “This is not a sex store.”
Ivy’s contrition disappeared. “We weren’t having sex. Get over yourselves.”
“It was close enough,” the second woman shot back. “I mean ... this is Michigan, not Vegas. It was almost pornographic.”
“Oh, geez.” Ivy made an exaggerated face. “I can’t even ... .”
Jack moved his hand to her back and slowly rubbed as he regarded the women. “We weren’t doing anything,” he said finally. “Stop staring and focus on doing ... whatever else it is that you’re doing. It would probably be best if you stay out of our business. We’ll gladly do the same for you.”
“Or perhaps we should call the police,” the first woman countered, her eyes flashing. “I’m sure they would be interested to know what you were doing just now.”
“I think that’s a fabulous idea,” Jack agreed without hesitation. “Since I myself am a police officer, I’m looking forward to that conversation.”
Ivy arched an eyebrow as she waited to see how the women would respond. After exchanging obvious eye rolls, they turned the corner and disappeared down the next aisle. Annoyance flashed through Jack’s eyes before he slid them to Ivy.
“I think you need to learn to keep your hands off me in public, honey,” he said after a beat. “You just offended those women.”
Ivy snorted, genuinely amused. “And somehow I can’t make myself care.”
“Me either.” He smacked a loud kiss against her lips and then propelled the cart down the aisle. “Okay, if we don’t need a tent or sleeping bags, what else do we need?”
“Our first camping trip was a trial run of sorts,” Ivy explained, her mind briefly traveling back to one of the first trips she took with Jack. “That was sort of camping light. This is going to be a more serious effort.”
“Does that mean we’ll be hunting and killing our own food?” He asked the question with a straight face ... but just barely.
“No, it doesn’t. We need some cooking utensils, though. We need a good cooler. The one I have is really old and it’s picked up a smell. Not a good smell either, mind you.”
“I think that sounds doable.” He linked his fingers with hers as they turned the corner. The women were back — they’d positioned themselves down two aisles and were pretending to stare at air mattresses — but Jack knew without a shadow of a doubt what they were really doing. “I think they’re jealous,” he whispered close to Ivy’s ear, sending a chill up her spine as his voice vibrated against the sensitive ridge of her ear. “Should we give them another show? I think they’re hot for me and that’s why they’re hanging around.”
“I think we should just ignore them. It will irritate them more than if we said something ... or started fornicating in one of the aisles. Trust me.”
“Let’s not be hasty.” Jack’s expression was flirty. “Tell me more about this idea you have for fornicating in the aisles.”
“Ha, ha, ha.” Ivy rolled her eyes as she moved down the next aisle. “Okay, here’s the stuff I’m talking about. We need cooking utensils, either one big cooler or two smaller ones, and a bunch of these ice packs.”
Jack immediately forgot about the judgmental women and widened his eyes when he saw the things Ivy gestured toward. “That’s a lot of stuff. I don’t even know what we should need. How about I leave it to you to decide and I’ll just pay the bill? I think that sounds like a plan.”
Ivy poked his side. “You said you wanted to learn.”
“I do want to learn. It’s just ... this is a lot of stuff.”
“We’re going to have kids one day,” she reminded him. “The whole reason you wanted to learn to camp was so we could go on family vacations with little ones one day.”
“That’s not the whole reason,” he argued, his hand absently moving to her back as she started looking at coolers. “I knew you liked camping. I wanted you to be happy.”
She stilled. “Is that the only reason we’re doing this? If so, we can pick another activity. I love camping, but I don’t want you to be miserable.”
He wanted to smack himself in the head for saying something so stupid. Ivy had a giving soul. She would gladly subvert her needs for his if she thought it was the best thing for him. He recognized that in her because he was willing to do the same when the roles were reversed.
“How about we stop trying to do what we think will make the other happy and instead focus on what’s good for both of us?” he challenged, choosing his words carefully. “You love camping. I love you. I want to give camping a shot. I don’t think our first trip counts because it was such a mess.”
Ivy thought back to the trip in question and smirked. “You mean because one of your old friends died and another was responsible? The whole week was spent investigating a murder.”
“That’s exactly what I mean.” Jack’s expression was grim. “I want an actual vacation. I want us to spend quiet time together, to hike ... and to do whatever people do under the stars.”
Her lips curved. “As I seem to recall, you liked the camping nookie just fine. It was the other stuff you didn’t like.”
He flicked his eyes to her, his heart filling with love as he thought back on the shared moments that had cemented their relationship. “The camping nookie was awesome,” he agreed. “I liked looking at the stars ... and your face under the stars.
“We’ve had a busy couple of months,” he reminded her. “Between old witches in the woods ... and reality shows ... and a teenage girl killing her own mother ... we haven’t had a lot of time just for ourselves. That’s what this trip is for.”
Ivy lifted her finger and ran it down Jack’s cheek. He had a strong face and it was serious now. “Okay. You have to help with the decisions, though. I can’t do this entirely by myself. This is something we’re supposed to be doing together.”
“Then we’ll do it together.” Jack was calm and collected as he turned back to the cooking utensils. “For starters, I recommend two smaller coolers rather than one big one. They’ll be easier to carry and arrange in the back of the truck.”
Ivy brightened considerably. “See. Right there.” She jabbed a playful finger into his chest. “Now you’re thinking. This is going to be a great camping trip.”
“It is,” Jack agreed. “Even if it rains every single day and it’s just you and me alone in a tent, it’s going to be the best time of my life simply because we’re together.”
Ivy’s heart rolled at his earnest expression. It was no wonder that it had been him practically since the moment they met. They somehow fit together as if they were always meant to be a unit. “Let’s finish up our shopping and head home. We need to put together a packing list. We’re out of here in a day and a half.”
“I love that you’re so efficient.” He slipped his arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her temple before shuffling over to the coolers. “I think we should get two different colors in case there’s a reason we need to separate food items.”
“Good idea.” Ivy beamed at him. She was starting to enjoy herself. “I happen to like the blue and purple.”
“Blue and purple it is. What’s next?”
“Cooking utensils.”
“I live for shopping for cooking utensils.”
Ivy snickered. “That’s laying it on a bit thick.”
“I knew that the second I said it.”
JACK’S TRUCK WAS PACKED WITH new items when the couple landed at the cottage they shared in the woods outside Shadow Lake, a small town in Northern Lower Michigan. The hamlet had been a place for Jack to escape when he was running from his past. Ivy had always lived there, ultimately buying the cottage from her parents when they moved to another place in the same area, and the town was her solace. Together, they’d taken Ivy’s childhood home and turned it into their future. In two months, they would be married ... and then a whole new adventure would begin.
To Ivy’s utter surprise, her brother Max’s truck was in the driveway when they landed. “I wonder what he’s doing here.”
“I’m sure he’s looking for food,” Jack replied as he killed the engine and pocketed the keys. “I think he eats frozen dinners when you’re not cooking for him.”
“No, he has a new girlfriend,” Ivy reminded him. “I bet she’s cooking dinners for him these days ... even though he seems reticent to let us meet her.”
“I met her very briefly at that farmers’ market last weekend.”
“Yes, when I somehow managed to miss her.” Ivy’s expression darkened. “I still maintain Max slunk off when he realized we were there because he wanted to hide her from me. There’s no other explanation.”
“You don’t think they simply could’ve been done and left?” Jack was amused despite himself.
“No. He’s hiding her from me. He’s afraid I won’t like her ... which means there’s clearly something wrong with her.”
Max and Ivy were as tight as brother-and-sister duos were allowed to be without raising some eyebrows. Jack was aware of that before he got involved with his pink-haired siren. That didn’t mean the logistics of their sibling relationship didn’t occasionally grate on him. Ivy and Max had a unique way of interacting and it wasn’t always comfortable.
“Well, I happen to think she’s a perfectly nice woman,” Jack countered. “She was pleasant — maybe a little nervous — and she got along great with Max. I think you’re going to like her.”
“That is if I ever meet her.”
“There is that.” Jack was all smiles when he exited the truck and found Max descending the front walk. The elder Morgan sibling happily shook Jack’s hand in greeting before sliding his eyes to his sister.
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