Sure, she recognized that she’d lived without him before he came into her life. She didn’t know about him then, though. Now that she knew what he was, felt an all-encompassing love every time she looked at him, she understood on a basic level that she would never be able to move forward if he wasn’t in her life.
“Stop staring,” Jack murmured as he stroked his hand down the back of her head. He didn’t even have to open his eyes to do it. It was instinctive. “Please tell me you slept.”
“I did ... and I slept hard,” Ivy reassured him. “I’m good.”
He wasn’t certain if he believed that, but he didn’t push her. “Are you ready for the last day on the river?”
“Technically tomorrow is the last day on the river,” she reminded him. “After breakfast tomorrow, we have to do an hour to get to the shuttle lot.”
“We could do an hour in our sleep.”
“Probably.”
“Today is the big day.”
“It is.” And she’d been thinking about it a lot. “I don’t like that we’ve been moved to the front of the group. That feels deliberate.”
Slowly, he opened his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that we’re usually at the back because we like that position, we can help people if they fall behind. Now we’ll be at the front and everything that might happen will occur in the space behind us.”
He worked his jaw. “I didn’t really think about that, but you’re right.”
“Do you think we can force them to change our position?”
“Maybe, but Tyson seemed pretty adamant.” He was thoughtful. “If we bring it up, they might be suspicious. Maybe we should just slowly slip back to our regular position.”
“That might not be as easy as you’re envisioning given how rough they’re painting the current. I mean ... you need to concentrate on steering.”
It felt like a pointed jab. “I’m steering. You need to focus on the other stuff. I’ll handle the steering.”
It made sense, although Ivy didn’t want to admit it. “We should probably get up and dressed. I want to watch everybody over breakfast to see ... well, just to watch I guess. I don’t even know what I’m looking for, but I feel as if I need to watch.”
“Then we’ll watch.” He gave her a soft kiss. “Do you know what I’m thinking?”
“That at this time tomorrow we’ll be an hour from civilization.”
He smirked. “Other than that.”
“No. What?”
“That you’re the smartest person I know. You have amazing instincts. You’re going to figure this out.”
It was a simple statement and yet it bolstered her all the same. “Then let’s figure it out.”
“Okay.” He gave her another kiss. “Make sure you eat your breakfast. I have a feeling we’re both going to need our full strength today.”
Ivy nodded in agreement. “It’s going to be a long one, Jack.”
“We’ve had worse.” He hoped that was true. “Let’s go, my little crime-fighting diva. I’m ready to put this leg of our honeymoon behind us.”
Honestly, Ivy had reached that point, too. “Okay.”
“You’re totally wearing a coconut bikini in real life when we get to the beach, by the way. It’s happening.”
She laughed. “I’m sure we can figure something out.”
“Oh, it’s most definitely happening, though. Prepare yourself now.”
BREAKFAST CONSISTED OF LOADED OMELETS, hash browns, toast, and sausage links for the carnivores. Ivy readily dug in and proceeded to study their river counterparts. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Jack left her to it and instead read through the brochure he’d grabbed from Ivy’s bag as they were packing up their stuff. He’d looked at it the day she’d initially broached the subject of course, but he’d spent very little time actually looking it over once he’d decided to give her what she so desperately wanted.
“This says we’re supposed to have three guides.”
Ivy was so lost in what she was doing that it took her a moment to register that he’d spoken. “Did you say something?”
“There are supposed to be three guides.” Jack extended the brochure so Ivy could look at it with him. “Right there. It says we’ll have three guides.”
“Are you sure?” Ivy took the brochure and looked it over closely. “It does say that.” She raised her chin. “I guess I read that before and didn’t think about it when we got here and there were only two guides.”
“Is something wrong?” Carter asked from the spot next to Ivy.
“Did you know we were supposed to have three guides?” She tapped her finger on the brochure for emphasis. “The brochure touts three guides.”
“I ... don’t know.” Carter was taken aback by her vehemence. “Does it matter?”
Ivy thought of the blood Vanessa had discovered. “It does if there’s a person missing.”
“Or maybe one of the guides didn’t show at all.”
“It seems to me that they would have backups in place for that,” Jack noted. “I mean ... this is a professional operation. If they’re promising three guides, it seems we should have three guides.”
“You guys are pretty excitable this morning,” Carter noted with a twinkle in his eye. “You crack me up.”
He didn’t look worried, Ivy noted. He also wasn’t as used to trouble showing up as the two of them. “I want to know what happened to the other guide.” She craned her neck and looked toward the end of the table. As usual, Tyson was there, sitting directly across from Bart.
“Let me,” Jack said, placing his hand on Ivy’s wrist before she could blurt it out. “We need to be smart about it.”
Ivy shot him a combative look. “You just spent the morning telling me that I’m the smartest person you know.”
“And I stand by that. I’m a cop, though. I’m trained in ferreting out information.”
“Oh, whatever.” Ivy turned back to her breakfast. “Knock yourself out, Detective Smartypants.”
Jack ignored her tone and shifted his attention to Tyson. “Do you have any early reports on the state of the river after yesterday’s rain?” he called out.
Tyson lifted his head and smiled. “We have scouts out right now. It should be fine, but we’ll know for sure before we head out.”
“That’s good.” Jack’s inflection never changed. “I’m a little nervous. I’m not going to lie. I just got my wife. I don’t want to risk her so early in the adventure.”
“There’s nothing to be worried about.” Tyson was calm. “We’ve got everything covered.”
“I’m surprised you guys don’t have an extra guide for this leg,” Jack pushed, not missing a beat. “I mean ... that way you could have someone at the front, back, and middle.”
“We won’t be that far apart. It’s safe. Everybody will be wearing their life jackets.”
“Your brochure says we were supposed to have three guides for the whole trip,” Ivy pointed out, ignoring the quelling look Jack shot her. She had no intention of easing into the conversation. She was loaded and ready for bear.
“Excuse me?” Tyson lifted an eyebrow, feigning confusion. “What do you mean?”
“The brochure says we’re supposed to have three guides for the entire trip.” Ivy waved the brochure in front of her face. “How come we only have two guides?”
“Oh, well, we try to have three guides for every trip, but it doesn’t always work out that way.” Tyson averted his gaze and focused on his coffee. “I believe the third guide for this trip had a family emergency.”
Ivy wasn’t buying that for a second. “If you advertise something, you should follow-through.”
Tyson shot her an exasperated look. “I’m not sure what the problem is.”
“I think my wife, much like myself, is simply curious about why we’re missing a guide,” Jack replied easily. “After what happened yesterday — us being left behind — it’s a natural concern.”
/> Something dark flashed in the depths of Tyson’s eyes, but he recovered quickly. “I’ve apologized for that numerous times.”
“You have,” Jack agreed easily. “The simple fact remains that it wouldn’t have gone down the way it did if there had been three guides.”
“It seems to me that you’re trying to cover the middle and the back when you should only be handling one area,” Ivy noted. “You’re overextended.”
Tyson pressed his lips together. “If you have a problem with the way we’ve run our tour, you have every right to complain. What happened yesterday was unacceptable. I’m sure the company will offer you a refund if you express your complaints upon the end of the trip tomorrow.”
Exasperation bubbled up and grabbed Ivy by the throat. “I don’t care about the money. Jack and I managed to make it on our own yesterday, and I’m not actually blaming you. It’s obvious that you have your hands full. If you believed those in the middle needed better monitoring, you made the only choice you could.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated, though,” she continued. “No matter what you say, that was blood Vanessa found behind her tent. Now, it could’ve belonged to an animal — it likely did — but you’ve gone out of your way to make Jack look like an alarmist ever since he correctly identified the substance on the ground.”
“Was it blood?” Vanessa turned to Tyson. “I mean ... you said it was coffee.”
“I said it was likely a liquid,” Tyson corrected. “I stand by that. Why would it be blood? All our people are accounted for.”
“Except for the missing guide,” Jack pressed. Ivy had opened this can of worms in a way he wasn’t fond of, but he had no choice but to continue peeling back the lid. There was no way to go back and slide into the conversation on smoother footing. They were stuck now.
Tyson’s eyebrows practically flew off his forehead. “Are you suggesting that someone killed a guide? That’s ludicrous. We were down a guide when we started.”
“Has a guide ever caught up after the fact?” Jack asked calmly.
“No.”
“Never?” Jack didn’t believe that for a second. “You said it’s not uncommon for guides to drop out at the last second. Why is that?”
“I ... don’t know.” Tyson held out his hands, bewilderment wrapping him in a shroud of defensiveness. “You’ll have to ask them. I’ve never missed a trip, except for illness. That’s happened once.”
“And Cara?” Ivy turned her attention to the silent female guide. “Do you miss a lot of trips?”
“No.” Cara’s answer was automatic, but Ivy saw a beat of hesitation there.
“Are you sure?” Ivy pressed.
“This is a hard job,” Cara replied. “It’s not like working in an office.”
“Or a nursery,” Tyson added darkly.
“People get sick sometimes,” Cara insisted. “They have family obligations. We normally have three guides. This time it only worked out that we have two. We’ve been fine so far.”
“Except for Jack and Ivy getting left behind during a storm yesterday,” Carter noted.
“Which I’ve apologized for!” Tyson slapped his hands on the table. “I screwed up. That’s on me, not the company. You’ll be asked for feedback after the trip. I have no doubt that will be brought up.”
“Except we don’t blame you for that,” Jack replied calmly. “We get it. We survived just fine. The thing is, we’re bothered by a few other things on this trip.”
“And we’re not even counting Bart’s ego when we say that,” Ivy added, earning a glare from the man in question.
“I would feel better knowing that the other guide who was supposed to be on this trip really is okay,” Jack pressed. “You might think I’m an alarmist — and that’s your right — but I’ve been concerned for days now. I just want confirmation.”
“And if I call and get that confirmation, will that make you happy?” Tyson demanded.
“It will shut me up,” Jack replied. For now, he silently added. “I’m a detective. I can’t stop myself from worrying.”
“Then I will place a call to the home office and get them on it,” Tyson said as he stood. “I’ll report back to you as soon as I get the information.”
“Great.” Jack turned back to his breakfast. ‘One thing about your company that I’ll absolutely rave about is the food. You’ve outdone yourself there.”
“Well, at least something makes you happy,” Tyson groused.
17
Seventeen
“What do you think?” Ivy asked as she watched Jack stow their gear after breakfast. She was antsy, which meant she needed to talk things to death.
Jack arched an eyebrow as he regarded her. “I think that ... we need to wait and see what he says after talking to the home office.”
That wasn’t the answer Ivy was looking for. “Oh, you think that, huh?” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t trust him. Can we call Brian to have him checked out?”
The suggestion should’ve taken Jack by surprise, but it didn’t. He’d already considered that possibility. “We have no cell service out here.”
“We don’t?” Ivy hadn’t bothered to check her phone in days. She knew reception would be spotty anyway and she trusted her father to take care of the nursery and Max to take care of Nicodemus so it wasn’t necessary to call home. They were on their honeymoon after all. There was no reason to think about anything other than Jack. “When did you check?”
“While you were finishing up in the bathroom of our tent.”
“Oh. So ... like five minutes ago.”
He smirked and nodded. “I thought it was a good idea. I can’t get him on the phone, though.”
“That makes you nervous, doesn’t it?”
Jack hesitated and then held out his hands. “I’m a little nervous. I would be lying if I said otherwise. We’re going to be together, though. Between your brains and my brawn, we’ve got this.”
“You still wish you had your gun, don’t you?”
Jack considered hiding the fact that he’d fashioned a weapon because he did feel naked in this instance without his gun and then decided it was best she know. “Come here.”
“Why?” Ivy was instantly suspicious. “You’re not going to cuff me to you, are you? That will be a mistake if we end up tipping over.”
He chuckled. “I thought I would save the cuffs for our tropical destination. They’re fuzzy anyway. They wouldn’t hold you for long.”
Ivy was taken aback. “Wait ... do you actually have cuffs?”
“I do. They were meant as a joke. They’re in the suitcase at the hotel, so it doesn’t matter anyway. I just need you to look.”
Ivy was baffled by his sudden intensity. “Look where?”
“There.” He indicated the space where he was supposed to sit for the duration of their trek.
Ivy leaned down and looked inside, her eyes widening to the size of saucers when she got a gander of what was inside. “That’s like a stabby piece of wood, Jack.”
“Shh,” he admonished her, glancing around before fixing her with a stern look. “I’m well aware of what it is. I sharpened it this morning and shoved it in there. If something happens, I want you to know where it is.”
“You want me to stab someone with a piece of wood? This isn’t a vampire movie.”
Jack pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself. “I know it’s not a vampire movie. What I have in there is something I made just in case something happens.”
“And what do you think is going to happen?”
“I don’t know, but thanks to your big mouth, everybody at that table knows we suspect somebody died.”
“Even though there’s no body. How do you know they don’t just think we’re nuts?”
“I’m sure at least three of the couples think we’re nuts.”
“And the fourth?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tyson?”
“I definitely don’t know.
” Jack leaned close and kept his voice low. “He’s agitated. There are a couple reasons he may be feeling that way.”
“What’s the biggest in your mind?”
“He really could feel guilty about what happened yesterday. I mean ... maybe he feels guilty about how all this played out and it’s manifesting in a weird way. It’s possible that he’s covering for another co-worker and simply doesn’t want to get a friend in trouble.”
“That would make him a good guy but potentially stupid,” Ivy noted.
Jack grinned. “It would. I mean ... are you telling me that you wouldn’t cover for Max and me under the same circumstances?”
“You and Max would never put me in that position.”
“No, but ... maybe whoever was supposed to be here is normally conscientious. Maybe it really is some sort of family emergency. Tyson could simply be covering for a friend.”
Ivy tilted her head, considering. “And Cara?” she asked. “Do you think she’s doing the same thing?”
“Cara is an enigma. She’s barely interacted with us. She always takes the front, doesn’t really talk to the people she’s guiding, and basically disappears after meals every night. She seems to watch everything very closely, but I haven’t gotten a very good feel for her personality.”
“She hangs at the bonfire long enough to tell ghost stories, too.”
“She does. She’s the reason your dreams seem so important. I haven’t been able to get a read on her, though. There’s something off about her — or so it seems — but she could just be an introvert. I would imagine that a lot of people who gravitate toward a tour guide job like this do it because they love nature and hate people.”
“Like me,” Ivy mused.
Jack chuckled. “You don’t hate people nearly as much as you pretend to. You’re charming and gregarious when you want to be.”
“I don’t think anybody has ever used the word ‘gregarious’ to describe me.”
“I just did.” Jack was serious as he held her gaze. “I don’t know what’s going on here. I am convinced that you’re right and we need to be wary. I feel as if something is going to happen today.”
Wicked Honeymoon (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 19) Page 17