Eighteen
“I’m not hungry.”
Ivy was still pouty when Jack led her to the kitchen table after returning home. She tried to make a quick escape, pointed herself toward the bedroom where Jack was certain she would lock herself in, but he was ready for the move and grabbed her by the elbow before she could run. He directed her to the table, sat her dinner in front of her, and then positioned himself between Ivy and the hallway so he could eat.
Ivy wasn’t thrilled with his actions.
“You’re going to eat if I have to feed you myself,” Jack said, breaking his dinner roll in half and slathering it with butter. “You need to keep up your strength. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.”
“A big day that doesn’t include me,” Ivy reminded him. “I’ll be stuck here while all the action is happening in Traverse City.”
“If you want to be with me at the hospital, I can arrange it.”
Ivy stilled, surprised. “You can?”
Jack bobbed his head. “I would actually prefer you with me.”
“Why?” Ivy was legitimately curious.
“For several reasons,” Jack replied. “The first is that I always want you with me. You’re easy on the eyes and downright sweet when you want to be.”
“Ha, ha.” Ivy poked his side and Jack was relieved to see a genuine smile flitting around the corners of her mouth. “You’re very smooth.”
“That doesn’t mean I wasn’t telling the truth.”
“When am I sweet?”
“When you want to be.”
“Well, I’m not going to want to be sweet tomorrow.”
“I’ve already figured that out myself.” Jack used the ketchup packets to flavor his cheeseburger how he liked it. “I also wouldn’t mind having you around because of those flashes you’ve been having. You might be able to tell when the person we’re looking for is close.”
Ivy tugged on her bottom lip as she absorbed the statement. “You don’t think that makes me a freak?”
“We’ve been over this.”
“I know but … .”
“I don’t think it makes you a freak,” Jack supplied, cutting her off. “I happen to love you no matter what. I think the problem is that you think it makes you a freak. You’re not ready to come to terms with it yet.”
“Come to terms with what?”
“You’re special.”
“I’ve always known I’m special,” Ivy shot back, her ego coming out to play. “This is different, though.”
“It’s really not.”
“It is,” Ivy argued. “How can you say you love me when these flashes might come back to haunt you one day? I don’t think you realize what this could mean for us.”
“On the contrary, I know exactly what it could mean for us. If you keep seeing crimes, we’re going to be working together more often. That’s stressful at times because we argue, but I also like it because it means more time together.”
“But … .”
“No.” Jack extended a warning finger. “You’re trying to make something out of nothing. Nothing is going to change the way I feel about you, not even this mood. I know what you’re doing, by the way. I’m not going to let it happen.”
“And what am I doing?”
“You’re trying to pick a fight so you can get away from me,” Jack replied, refusing to back down. “You don’t want me to press you on what happened during your pageant. You think I will and you’re uncomfortable at the prospect.”
“I … that’s not true.”
“It is true.”
“It’s not.”
“Don’t fight with me.” Jack’s tone was firm. “I’ll win on this one. We both know it.”
Ivy made a petulant face as she picked through her dinner. It was stir fry again. The diner didn’t have a lot of dinner options that didn’t feature meat.
“I’m going to take you out to a nice dinner tomorrow,” Jack added. “The pageant should be over in the afternoon. Hopefully we’ll have the arrest wrapped up in the morning and paperwork and questioning done by the time dinner rolls around. That means you get a romantic dinner at a restaurant where you don’t always have to eat the same thing.”
“I like the stir fry.”
“Yeah, but you shouldn’t have to eat it three times a week,” Jack said. “I love Shadow Lake, but it definitely needs more restaurant options. We’re going out to dinner tomorrow, and you’re going to like it. In fact, you’re going to like it so much I bet you end up kissing me in thanks for the rest of the night.”
Ivy didn’t want to laugh. It would only encourage him, after all. She couldn’t stop herself, though. “You’re cute when you want to be.”
“I know.” Jack grabbed Ivy’s hand and gave it a good squeeze. “You’re always cute.”
“Not always. I wasn’t cute tonight. In fact, I was a total baby tonight.”
“That’s because you’re bothered by something and you won’t talk about it. I’m not going to tell you that you would feel better if you told me.”
“That’s probably a good thing … for you.”
“You don’t trust me enough to do it. I get that.”
Ivy wrinkled her forehead. “That’s not it.”
“No? What else could it possibly be?” Jack knew he was playing a dangerous game. He also knew Ivy would feel better – whether she knew it or not – if she confided in him. He was going to use whatever means at his disposal to make her open up, even though there would likely be fallout when she realized what he’d done. She was too emotionally on edge to see it now, which he took as a bonus.
“I trust you, Jack.” Ivy’s voice wavered. “It’s just … ridiculous.”
“How is it ridiculous?”
“It’s something stupid from when I was a teenager,” Ivy replied. “I shouldn’t still be upset about it. I don’t know why I am. I can’t quite let it go. If you think I feel proud of myself because of that, you’re wrong.”
“I don’t care about any of that.” Jack was earnest. “I care about you. Tell me and we’ll deal with it together. If you want to keep it to yourself, though, I understand. Apparently we’re not as far along on the trust train as I thought.”
Ivy was appalled. “That’s not it. Criminy! Don’t you know that I trust you more than anyone?”
“What am I supposed to think when you won’t tell me this?”
“I … fine.” Ivy blew out a sigh, resigned. “I’ll tell you. Is that what you want?”
She looked so miserable about the prospect that Jack almost backtracked and gave her a way out. Ultimately, he knew that wasn’t what was best for her. She needed to get this off her chest and move on. “Only if you trust me enough to tell me.”
It was a dare. They both knew it. In the end, Ivy couldn’t back down. “You’re going to laugh. It’s so pathetic, you’ll have no choice but to laugh.”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that, huh?”
“I guess.” Ivy rolled her neck and stared at the ceiling for a long beat. “I told you I was angry with my mother for making me sign up for the pageant. I didn’t tell you the entire reason I was angry with my mother, though.”
“Okay.” Jack bit into his burger and methodically chewed, forcing himself to remain patient while Ivy gathered her courage.
“Even ten years ago the pageant was a big deal,” Ivy began. “I never understood it. I always thought I was safe. I mean … you’ve met my mother. A pageant is the last thing she would be interested in.”
“That was my initial thought.”
“She got baited to do it,” Ivy explained. “Maisie’s mother pushed her, saying things like it must be easy to have a ‘troubled’ daughter so Mom had a ready excuse to keep me out of the pageant. She shouldn’t have risen to the bait, but she did. She can’t help herself sometimes. She’s easy to bait.”
“That must run in the family,” Jack teased, attempting to ease the heaviness of the moment.
“Yeah, I guess
.” Ivy scratched a nonexistent itch on her nose, mostly so she had something to do with her hand.
“Honey, just spit it out,” Jack prodded. “I swear it’s going to be okay. You’re going to feel better when you do.”
Ivy wasn’t so sure, but it was too late to turn back. “I argued with my mother, kicked up a fuss because I didn’t want to be involved. She put her foot down because she didn’t want to lose face with Maisie’s mother. That was so unlike my mother I couldn’t help being ashamed of her … and I told her that.”
“I see.” Jack rested his hand on top of Ivy’s as a form of solace. “Teenagers often say things to their parents that they don’t mean. You should’ve heard some of the things I said to my mother when I was seventeen.”
“I apologized after. She understood. She apologized, too. We got over it.”
“What didn’t you get over?”
“It sounds so stupid … .”
“Tell me, honey.” Jack’s voice was almost a growl.
“So we did a week of practice and everything and I wasn’t interested in it,” Ivy said. “I really am rhythmically challenged. I wasn’t making that up. Ava and Maisie were on me constantly because I had trouble learning the dance steps. Even when I got them right I looked like a moron.”
“I like it when you dance, especially because you put your head right here and actually let me lead.” Jack patted the spot above his heart and smiled.
“It’s a different type of dancing.”
“I know.”
“Oh, geez. I don’t know why this is so hard for me to say. It’s ridiculous but … at some point I became competitive and wanted to win. That’s when Maisie and Ava turned from bullies to outright predators.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“They took photos of me in the dressing room,” Ivy started, licking her lips. “This was before everyone had a cell phone. They brought in a camera, but I didn’t see. It was one of those ones with the little chips you inserted. You remember those, right?”
Jack nodded, his stomach twisting as he swallowed hard. He had a feeling he knew where this story was going to go and he didn’t like it one bit.
“I didn’t know they took the photos. Even then I wore long skirts and was mostly covered all the time. I was an idiot and didn’t realize what they were doing.”
“Did they show the photos to anyone?”
“Each other. All the other girls. They threatened to show them to the boys – essentially make them available for everyone – if I didn’t drop out of the pageant. They also said they were going to make sure the judges got copies because … well, just because, I guess.”
Jack ran his tongue over his teeth to give himself a few seconds to gain control of his emotions. “And what did Simone have to do with this?”
“She gave them the idea. Apparently she got a girl she thought was unworthy to be in the pageant to drop out by doing the same thing her year. Of course, that’s when film was still around so she actually had to get her photographs developed.”
“Why didn’t you tell the police?” Jack was incensed.
Ivy widened her eyes, surprised by his reaction. “I did. Well, I did after. That’s not all there is to the story.”
“I figured.”
“I was angry when I found out,” Ivy explained. “Actually, I was embarrassed and ready to cry when I first found out. It turned to anger once I slept on it, though.”
“What did you do?”
“I broke into Maisie’s house and found the memory card. Because I had to be certain, I also took her computer and threw it in the lake to make sure the photos were gone. I guess she could’ve emailed the photos – that was fairly prevalent then – but she didn’t think to do it and I lucked out.”
“But?”
“But I was caught at the lake and Maisie’s mother tried to press charges,” Ivy replied. “My mother came to the station and got into it with her when she found out. Maisie’s mother thought it was funny when she heard what Maisie did, but Brian didn’t think so and said he would be more than willing to press charges against me for vandalism but then that would mean he had to press charges against Maisie and Ava for what they did, too.”
Jack held back a smile. That sounded like Brian. He would’ve been offended on Ivy’s behalf. He also would’ve worked overtime to make sure nobody knew about the photos because it was what Ivy wanted.
“I was embarrassed,” Ivy continued. “I didn’t want people to know. I know I told you that I lost the pageant, but I didn’t even show up for it on the final day. I thought everyone knew and I decided to hide instead. My father ended up taking me out to a movie and shopping to get me away from everything, but when I came home Max couldn’t stop gushing about the pageant and how great Maisie and Ava were.”
“Honey, why didn’t you tell him what happened?”
“How could I?” Ivy’s voice broke, causing Jack’s heart to crack. She almost never cried. In fact, he could count on one hand the number of times he’d borne witness to legitimate tears. He caused one set of them and would never forgive himself. What he saw now was enough to make him want to hunt down Ava and Maisie and punish them after the fact.
“It was embarrassing,” Ivy said. “I didn’t want anyone to know, especially Max. If he found out … if his friends found out … they would’ve been terrible to him.”
“He would’ve survived and I know him. He would’ve wanted you to tell him.”
“It wasn’t his fight. Besides, after it was over, I just wanted to forget it.”
“Come here.” Jack grabbed Ivy around the waist, ignoring the way she protested as he carried her to the chair at the edge of the living room and sat in it. He gently ran his thumbs over her cheeks to wipe away the tears before tugging her to him and resting his chin on the top of her head. “I’m sorry you went through that. I’m not sorry you told me. How could you possibly think I would find that story funny?”
“Because it’s so pathetic,” Ivy answered. “I’m still holding a grudge over childish antics from ten years ago.”
“It’s not pathetic. It’s illegal. I wish you had pressed charges so those little guttersnipes went to jail.”
“Brian said, because of their ages, that it wasn’t a foregone conclusion and he let me make the decision.”
“And you just wanted it to go away.” Jack heaved out a sigh as he smoothed her hair. “Ivy, what happened to you wasn’t fair and it wasn’t right. It’s also not pathetic for you to hold a grudge. I get it.”
“You don’t think I should let it go?”
The question caught Jack off guard. “I don’t know. On one hand, I wish you would because I think you would be happier if you did. On the other, I’m a vindictive soul and I want you to unleash holy hell on all three of those women.”
He was so vehement Ivy couldn’t stop herself from giggling, the sound warming Jack to his soul.
“You’re right. I do feel better about telling you,” Ivy volunteered. “Why do you think that is?”
“Because you wanted to tell me all along.” Jack pressed a kiss to her forehead. “It’s okay. I’m glad you told me. I don’t think you’re pathetic. I’m angry on your behalf. I also get your pageant hate.”
“It will be over tomorrow,” Ivy said. “Once it is, I don’t ever want anything to do with it again.”
“I don’t blame you. I think we can both say goodbye to this particular festival in the future. We’ll start our own tradition next year, host our own Festival of Love right here at the house.”
“That sounds like a way for you to get me naked for a week … and in a way, I like that idea compared to what happened back then.”
“That’s exactly my plan.” Jack readjusted his arms so they were both comfortable. “Ivy, I love you. You’re extremely strong. That story doesn’t make me feel differently. I want you to know that.”
“I know. I feel like a goof for hiding it.”
“You should.”
; They lapsed into comfortable silence for a second, Jack finally breaking it. “Do you want to eat a mountain of junk food and watch a bad scary movie with me?”
Ivy brightened. “That sounds like my kind of night.”
“Somehow I knew that.”
“You always know exactly what I need. I hope that never changes either.”
“That makes two of us.”
Nineteen
Jack left Ivy in front of the barn early the next morning, planting a firm kiss on her lips and promising to do his best to be with her when the pageant kicked off. He obviously couldn’t vow to be there no matter what, but Ivy knew he would try.
Jack was melancholy as Brian drove to Traverse City, his gaze focused out the window and his mind busy. When his partner first came to town, Brian was well aware of his quiet nature. Once Jack met Ivy, that seemed to disappear. Now it was back with a vengeance.
“What’s going on with you?”
“What do you mean?” Jack ripped himself from quiet contemplation and focused on Brian. “Nothing is going on.”
“You’re more introspective than usual.”
“Oh, well, I just have some things on my mind.”
“Things to do with the case?”
Jack offered up a rueful smile. “I should probably say yes but … no. I was thinking about Ivy.”
Brian snorted. “When aren’t you thinking about Ivy?”
“Very rarely. This is different, though.”
Brian chewed on the inside of his cheek as he waged an internal debate. Finally, he decided to ask the obvious question. “Did she tell you?”
“Yes.”
“I guess I owe you twenty bucks, huh?”
“No. It’s not funny. I shouldn’t have bet on it. I don’t want your twenty dollars.”
“Wow.” Brian let loose with a low whistle. “I guess she really did tell you. I thought maybe she would give you a version of the story that left out a few of the important bits. I’m guessing that didn’t happen.”
“As far as I know, she told me all of it.”
“Which is?”
“She told me about the photos. She told me it was Simone’s idea. She told me about stealing the camera chip and Maisie’s laptop, about throwing them in the lake, about almost getting arrested. I’m pretty sure she told me all of it.”
Wicked Fun: An Ivy Morgan Mystery Books 7-9 Page 55