“Twice now,” Jack confirmed. He wasn’t keen on sharing Ivy’s private business, but Brian was his partner and he needed someone to unload on. “Yesterday, seconds before Aubrey went down, Ivy saw it. She knew it was coming.”
“Okay.”
Jack was incredulous. “Don’t you think that’s freaky?”
“I think that Ivy has always had a special strength that most people don’t understand,” Brian replied, choosing his words carefully. “I’m not that surprised. This is hardly the weirdest thing that’s happened since you two got together.”
Jack balked. “What does us getting together have to do with anything?”
“Well, I don’t want to tell you your business, but I would say that you two getting together has everything to do with this,” Brian supplied. “Think about it, son. Ivy was withdrawn and hidden away before you. She was friendly enough, don’t get me wrong, but she didn’t have the courage to open herself up for anyone.
“Then you came along,” he continued. “You two fought like crazy and then you fell hard for each other. Right away, things started happening. You shared dreams. Don’t give me that look. You told me about the dreams yourself.”
“I know that.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s just … do you think I did this to her?”
“Did this to her?” Brian cocked an eyebrow. “I think you’re an idiot if you look at it that way. I happen to believe that Ivy was always like this and the only reason it’s coming out now is because she’s no longer hiding.
“You gave her the strength to be who she is without regret or fear,” he continued. “This isn’t a bad thing. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not something we should be spreading around. It’s not a bad thing, though.”
“What do you think it is?”
Brian held his hands palms out and shrugged. “Magic?”
“And you’re okay with that answer?”
“Ivy is a good girl and you two have made each other ridiculously happy,” Brian replied. “I happen to be fine with that answer. The question is: Are you?”
“I love her more than anything,” Jack replied. “I don’t care if she can see things … or sense things … or even talk to beings that aren’t really there. I do care that she’s freaking herself out over this – and no matter what she says, that’s exactly what she’s doing – and I care that she’s sad and worried.”
“Have you considered that she’s taking her cues from you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Son, your face is an open book,” Brian said. “Ivy loves you, but this is happening to her. She’s spending all her time worrying about how you’ll react rather than looking inward and studying what’s happening to her. That can’t be healthy.”
Jack worked his jaw. Brian’s words made sense in an odd sort of way. “I didn’t really think about it.”
“Well, think about it,” Brian said. “She’s going to be your wife. For better or for worse, you’ll be taking this part of her on, too. I’m going to guess that doesn’t bother you all that much. Sure, it’s new and you’re grappling, but it doesn’t change the way you feel about her, does it?”
Jack shook his head. “Nothing ever could.”
“I know. I think you need to tell her that, though, so she knows.”
Could it be possible that Ivy didn’t know? The thought made Jack uncomfortable. “What about the case?”
“We’ll meet for breakfast at the diner tomorrow and make a plan for the case,” Brian replied. “Hopefully we’ll have test results back from the state lab by then. I’ll ask them to put a rush on things.”
“Thank you.” Jack moved toward the door. “I’ll talk to Ivy. We’ll all have breakfast together tomorrow. We’ll figure this out.”
Brian’s smile was kind. “Just talk to Ivy. I’m more worried about things smoothing out between the two of you than forcing her to help with the case. It’s going to be okay.”
“I know it will.” This time, the smile Jack offered up was small but legitimate. “As long as I have her, things will always be okay.”
“Oh, well, good. The schmaltz is back.”
“Get used to it.”
“I’m working on it. Go home. Spend time with Ivy. We’ll pick another plan of attack tomorrow.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
Ten
The house was dark when Jack arrived. He sat in his truck, staring at the quiet cottage for a full five minutes before exhaling heavily and heading inside. The first thing he noticed when he walked through the door was a blanket and pillow stacked at the foot of the couch. It was clear Ivy expected him to sleep there rather than in their bed.
Fury pooled in his stomach as Jack stalked toward the bedroom. He pulled up short when his hand closed around the door handle, though, his mind busy with a myriad of potential outcomes should he force the issue. Ultimately he retreated to the living room, stripped out of his jeans and shirt, and planted himself on the couch.
The couch wasn’t overly long so it was uncomfortable for his tall frame. Still, he shifted until he got as comfortable as possible … and then proceeded to stare at the ceiling. This was the second night in a row he was forced to sleep on the couch. The first was because he and Ivy got comfortable together. Even though they were crowded and cramped, that was a much better scenario than this.
He hated sleeping alone.
Before Ivy, he slept alone most nights – especially after he was shot – and he was fine with it. He didn’t trust anyone enough to close his eyes and sleep with them in the same room and women were finicky about being kicked out right after sex. Since his former partner was the one who did the shooting, Jack had issues with trust. Ivy changed all that.
Jack felt comforted knowing that Ivy was next to him while he slept. He could feel her. Even though they didn’t dream walk as much as they did initially – they both believed real dreams were important, too – their bond was unshakable. Even though Ivy was angry and hurt, Jack knew they would make it through this trial. They were too strong together to crumble while apart.
Of course, that gave him an idea. Remembering the frequency with which they used to dream walk, Jack slowly closed his eyes and sucked in a cleansing breath. Ivy said she was the one who supplied the power for their dream-walking adventures. She also said Jack was the one who inadvertently called to her when it first started. That’s exactly what he was going to do tonight. He was going to call to her, and if she didn’t come, he would find a way to stalk her in sleep until she relented and forgave him.
He could think of nothing else but getting back in her good graces.
“Ready or not, honey, here I come.”
IT TOOK IVY FOREVER to fall asleep. It was early when she decided to lock herself in the bedroom. Alone. It wasn’t so much that she was closing Jack out as much as she was turning inward. She needed to think. Her anger with Jack’s reaction at the barn was simply a convenient way to get time alone … even if it ultimately hurt them both.
She took a dose of cold medication before going to bed, hoping that would enable her to sleep through Jack’s return. He was liable to be angry, maybe even pick a fight, but he wouldn’t if she was already asleep. Ivy knew it was cowardly, but she couldn’t help herself. She needed a spot of solitude, and that’s why she escaped in dreams before Jack returned home.
Ivy wasn’t surprised when she woke in a dreamscape. She did some of her best thinking in dreams, and she hoped this one would be no different.
The breeze was a soft kiss on her skin when she opened her eyes, her lips curving when she recognized her fairy ring. The place was real – a spot in the woods about half a mile from her house – and she visited often when the weather permitted. Suffice it to say, the weather never made for comfortable visits in February.
“Oh, it’s pretty.” Ivy lifted her face to the sky and smiled as the sun hit her. It felt like summer, even though she knew it was an illusion and would wake to snow in the real world. “I can
’t wait to come here for real.”
“Are you talking to yourself?”
Ivy jolted at the sound of Jack’s voice, swiveling quickly to find him stretched out on a blanket. He had what looked to be the makings of a picnic next to him, and his expression was hard to read as he watched her.
“What are you doing here?” Ivy asked, stepping forward. She was barefoot, which was not recommended in the woods, but since it was a dream she paid little heed to her lack of footwear. “Are you really here, or did I conjure you?”
“What do you think?”
“I … um … don’t know. That’s why I asked.”
“Come sit over here.” Jack patted the empty spot on the blanket. “We need to have a talk.”
“Oh, geez.” Ivy made a disgusted face. “You’re really here.”
“That’s quite the welcome, honey.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Ivy said hurriedly. “It’s just … I don’t want to have some deep and meaningful conversation. My brain is already busy enough.”
“I know that. We’re still going to do it. So … come here.”
“Fine.” Ivy wasn’t happy, but she could hardly run from him … even in dreams. He came to her for a reason. She needed to acknowledge and accept that reason. Ivy heaved out a sigh as she sat on the blanket, being careful to keep from touching him as she leaned back on her elbows and stared at the blue sky. “Beautiful day, huh?”
Jack pursed his lips to keep from laughing at her avoidance technique. “Everything about this dream is beautiful.” He never moved his eyes from Ivy’s face when he said the words.
“I’m sorry I locked you out,” Ivy started.
“I don’t think you are. That’s only part of the reason why I’m here, though.”
“You found me in a dream on your own. That’s pretty impressive.”
“It probably wouldn’t have been possible if, deep down inside, you really didn’t want me to find you.”
“Do you think that’s true?”
Jack nodded. “I think you wanted me with you as much as I wanted to be with you. I also think you’re too stubborn to admit it.”
“I’m not stubborn.”
Jack snorted. “You’re the most stubborn person I know.”
“You’re way more stubborn than me.”
“Oh, puh-leez.” Jack made an exaggerated face before sobering. “I was serious about talking. We need to do it.”
“I know.” Ivy was pained. “I don’t know how to explain what happened. If you expect me to do that, I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for this,” Jack chided. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“It doesn’t feel that way.”
“That’s because you have a martyr complex.” Jack moved his hand to Ivy’s hair and slipped a strand behind her ear. “Brian said something interesting to me tonight. Do you want to know what that is?”
“If it involves a straightjacket, the answer is no.”
Jack widened his eyes. “Is that what you’re worried about? Do you believe that I’ll somehow convince everyone to lock you up?”
“That’s what they do to crazy people.”
“You’re not crazy.”
“You don’t know that,” Ivy argued. “I could be crazy. I’ve started seeing things before they happen. What’s crazier than that?”
“I think you’re confusing the word ‘crazy’ with ‘magical,’” Jack countered. “As for being magical, I’ve known you were that since I found out we could share dreams together.”
“Do you really not think I’m crazy?” Ivy looked so hopeful, so worried at the same time, it almost broke Jack’s heart.
“Honey, the only one who is crazy here is me. I’m crazy about you. As for the rest … you’re special, Ivy. I’ve known it for a long time. Nothing that’s happened changes how I feel about you. Nothing ever will change how I feel about you.”
“What if it changes how I feel about myself?”
“Ah. I think we’re getting to the root of the problem here.” Jack’s lips curved as he grabbed her around the waist and wrestled her to his lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around her as he pressed his chest to her back. “Don’t second-guess yourself. These things have been happening with more and more frequency. There’s a reason for that.”
“What reason?”
“I talked to Brian today.” Jack opted to return to his original point. “He said some things that made sense to me. The first of which is that you’ve always been magical. He thinks you’ve only been comfortable to let it out as of late because of me.
“Now, I might like this theory because it reflects good on me,” he continued. “It also makes sense. You trust me enough to relax, and when you relax, your magical side comes out. There’s nothing wrong with that, honey. In fact, it’s downright amazing.”
Ivy wasn’t convinced. “But will you still say that in five years? Ten?”
“I’ll say that forever. I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want you. I’ve never loved anything as much as I love you. I expect that to grow in the future, which is terrifying because it shouldn’t be possible, but I know those feelings won’t shrink.”
“Oh, geez.” Ivy rested the back of her head against Jack’s shoulder. “You always know the exact right thing to say. How do you do that?”
“I don’t always know the exact right thing to say,” Jack countered. “I’ve stuck my foot in my mouth more times than I can count.”
“Like when you told me to be quiet this afternoon?”
Jack chuckled. “I knew we would get to that. I’m sorry your feelings were hurt. I couldn’t take your side in front of all those girls, though. It would’ve reflected badly on the investigation.”
“And we’re still dealing with the poisoning of a teenage girl.”
“And the potential poisoning of another teenage girl.” Jack pressed a kiss to Ivy’s cheek. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”
“You’re the one who should be sorry,” Ivy said. “I was going to massage you until you started gnawing on your own foot.”
Jack chuckled. “I guess I’ve been punished, huh?”
“I guess.”
“Honey, we’re going to get through this exactly how we get through everything else,” Jack said. “To do that, though, you can’t shut me out. We need to share information and talk. Do you understand?”
Ivy sighed. “Yeah. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too.” Jack tightened his grip on her. “Now, I brought us a nice picnic lunch and I thought we could spend some quiet time together in this dream. We don’t even need to talk.”
“That sounds nice.”
“Good. Then, tomorrow, we’re having breakfast with Brian at the diner and going through all the information we’ve managed to gather.” Jack was firm, refusing to give Ivy room to wiggle out of the meeting. “We are going to figure this out. All of it.”
“Okay.” Ivy shifted so she could bury her face in Jack’s neck. “Can we spend five minutes doing this first.”
“Doing what?”
“Just this.”
Jack smiled as he pulled her body as close to his as humanly possible. “This is the perfect way to spend an afternoon.”
“Yeah.” They lapsed into amiable silence. “Jack?”
“Hmm.”
“I love you.”
“Oh, honey, I love you, too. Now … shh. It’s a magical dream afternoon. Let’s just enjoy it.”
DESPITE THE DREAM, Jack woke on the couch. He wasn’t alone, though. Sometime in the night, Ivy left the bedroom and joined him on the couch. She stretched out on top of him – just like the night before – and Jack was warm and comfortable when he woke.
Even though it was the last thing they both wanted, Jack and Ivy had to hurry through their morning routine. By the time they met Brian at the diner, they were wide awake and unbelievably flirty.
“I see you two made up,” Brian said dryly
as they slid into the opposite side of the booth. “I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to know that I’m going to have to listen to you guys gush over one another for an entire meal.”
Ivy beamed. “Thank you for whatever you said to Jack last night.”
Brian’s expression softened. “As long as things worked out, I’m genuinely happy for you.”
“Things were always going to work out,” Jack supplied. “It was just a matter of how loud the fight would get until that happened.”
“And how loud did the fight get?”
“Barely a whisper.” Jack smiled at the waitress as she delivered a mug of coffee and a small pot of tea. She took their orders before disappearing through the swinging door. Once it was just the three of them, Jack turned to the business at hand. “What do we have?”
“Well, for starters, Aubrey is showing signs of improvement,” Brian replied. “She hasn’t regained consciousness, but the doctors are working tirelessly and she is getting better.”
“Do they have a prognosis?” Ivy asked.
“She’s still not completely out of the woods,” Brian replied. “As for the bottle Ivy knocked out of Mackenzie Sutton’s hand last night, the state police ran a rapid test. There was antifreeze in it. Since most of the water spilled on the ground, it’s hard to say how much, but the lab technician believes it was enough to do serious damage.”
“I don’t suppose there’s any way to find out who put the antifreeze in the bottle, is there?” Ivy queried. “That would be a big help.”
“It would,” Brian agreed. “There are multiple prints on the bottles, though. Apparently Simone refilled them at regular intervals and no one had their own bottle.”
“Could Mackenzie have randomly ended up with the bottle?”
“That’s a possibility, but it’s impossible to know without a suspect,” Brian answered. “What we do know is that Simone reportedly filled all the water bottles, so that makes her a legitimate suspect.”
“Is there anything we can do to get her away from the pageant?” Ivy asked. “I know she’ll fight it, but I don’t think those girls are safe as long as she’s in charge.”
Wicked Hearts (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 9) Page 9