I settled into his chest and looked back at him. “Did you tell them?” I could feel the nausea rolling in my stomach. I didn’t want to hear their response, but I had to know what I was going to be dealing with.
“They were bursting at the seams with excitement.”
I pulled away from him to shove his shoulder, resulting in a laugh from him. “Very funny,” I grumbled.
“Their reaction is what we imagined it to be.”
“Pissed off and irate? Threatening to cut you off and disown you?”
“Something like that, but they’ll get over it. Give them time.”
“But what if they don’t?”
“Then that’s their loss.”
“I want to let you know one thing. If they keep insulting me, I’m not letting my child be around them. I won’t have my baby around that kind of venom.”
He nodded. “I completely agree.” His lips hit my forehead before he got up and threw his hand out my way. “You ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
I grabbed his hand, and he carefully brought me up. My hand stayed in his as we walked down the stairs. I grew sweaty with each step as I got closer and closer to revealing the truth. Kenneth and my mom were already at the dining room table waiting on us. I’d given my mom a heads up that Dalton would be joining us for dinner.
“Dalton, it’s nice to see you,” Kenneth said, giving his nephew a head nod.
I tightened my hold on Dalton’s hand and froze up, inches from entering the dining room. “I’m pregnant,” I blurted out, the same way I’d done with Dalton. Obviously, it was my way of telling people shit I didn’t want to say. Get it out and over with.
My eyes pinned to my mom, waiting to see her first reaction. I flinched when a smile spread across her red lips.
Kenneth cleared his throat while we all waited for her reply.
“Are you being serious?” she asked.
I nodded, still not walking into the room. Dalton stood awkwardly at my side, not sure what to do.
Her hand went to her chest. “Wow. I’m going to be a grandmother.” She paused and looked over at Kenneth while taking it all in. “I’ve always wanted to be a grandma. Sure, it’s earlier than I imagined, but I can’t wait to meet that special person growing inside of you.”
“You’re not mad?” I stuttered out. How was she so calm and collected? I was eighteen and knocked up by someone I wasn’t even dating.
“I’m shocked, but definitely not angry with you.” She looked over at Dalton. “I take it you’re the father?”
He nodded in response. My hand jerked and stretched out when he took a step forward. “I am. I promise to stay by her side and be there for her and our baby. I’m in love with your daughter and nothing will change that.”
My mouth fell open at his response, and my mom’s smile grew. “I’m happy to hear that,” she said. “I expect you to keep your word.”
“Have you told your parents?” Kenneth asked. He leaned back in his chair, a glass of red wine in his hand.
“I did. I went there before coming here.”
He let out a chuckle. “I’m sure that went well.” He gave him a nod. “If you don’t have their support, I want you to know you have mine one hundred percent. If you two need anything, you let me know. Take care of our girl, you hear me?”
“You have my word,” Dalton said. He looked at me, and I took a step forward for him to lead me into the dining room.
Dinner went by smooth. My mom listed a few things I needed to do immediately. Make a doctor’s appointment. Get prenatal vitamins. Then the pregnancy wasn’t brought up again. She was giving me time to take it all in before overwhelming me with questions and plans.
I was headed back to my bedroom with Dalton on my heels when my phone rang.
“It’s Asher,” I said, nervously looking back at him.
He nodded. “Do whatever you think you have to do.”
Two more rings passed.
Asher and I had texted back and forth a few times since I left his apartment. The night of our almost drunken hookup was never brought up, and I was sure me leaving answered his question of whether I wanted to go there with him.
“Hey,” I finally answered, catching it just before the call went to voicemail.
“Hey babe. I just got out of practice,” he said, sounding almost out of breath. “Coach really kicked our asses today. What are you up to?”
“Just finished having dinner with my mom and your dad.” Dalton raised a brow when I didn’t mention his name. I rolled my eyes.
“You’re home? That’s great. I knew you and your mom would work things out. I’m happy for you.”
“Yep.” Tell him. Tell him. Tell him.
“How’s the Ivy killer-hunting going?”
“We’re working on it.” I paused, fighting for courage. “Asher, I need to tell you something.”
“Tell away, kitten.”
“I’m pregnant.”
Silence. I swear a good minute passed. “I see. Is this a good or bad thing for you?”
“Well, bad, in the sense of this being the last thing I need right now. Good, in the sense that I think it’ll make me happy in the end.”
“That’s all that matters.” Disappointment lingered with his words. “Have you told him?”
“I have.” I fell down on my bed because my legs were feeling weak.
“And?”
“He seems okay with it.” I glanced up at Dalton, who was leaning back against my wall, his eyes blazing towards me. “He told his parents and was with me when I told my mom and your dad.”
“At least he’s taking responsibility and not running away like a little bitch. You let me know if you need anything, you hear me?”
“You know I will.”
“Okay. Get some rest.”
We ended the call, and I kept my eyes on Dalton.
“How pissed is he?” he asked.
I shrugged. “He seems okay with it.”
He stepped away from the wall to come my way. “Will you come home with me tonight?”
“I don’t know. I’m exhausted. I’ve had a long day.” I’d spent the entire day going door to door telling everyone I was knocked-up and then dealt with all of their reactions. That shit was rough.
“I understand. What if I get you some dessert? We can watch a movie or something. True Blood?”
“I don’t know, Dalton.”
His hands went together in a pleading motion. “Please. I’m not asking you to sleep with me or get back together. We have shit we need to talk about. We can do that here, but I’d prefer privacy, and I think you feel the same way.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DALTON
Gabby stirred in her sleep while I quietly started to get dressed. I wanted to slip out of the bedroom without waking her.
I failed.
“Where are you going?” she asked, startling me as I stuck a leg into my pants. I frowned, slowly turning around to find her stretching out her arms and yawning.
“I have to go see a man about a dog,” I said, zipping up my pants.
I stepped to the side to dodge a pillow coming my way, and it smacked into the wall. “Really, Dalton? It’s way too early to mess with me.”
I blew out a breath, failing to meet her eyes. “Fine. I’m going to talk to some people about Ivy.” I slipped my wallet into my jeans, fully prepared to dart out of the bedroom before she had a chance to tag along. I had to do this alone. I didn’t want her involved anymore.
Her eyebrows scrunched together as she eyed me warily. “You were going without me?”
“I won’t be long. I’m going to talk to them briefly, get what little information I think they’ll give, and then I’ll be back to take you to lunch.”
She whipped the blankets off of her and hopped out of bed. “I’m going with you.” She yawned again and brought her arms up. I couldn’t help but lick my lips when I noticed her top rise, giving me a glimpse of her smoo
th stomach. Jesus, even this girl’s damn stomach turned me on. I was a goner for her.
“You’re pregnant,” I argued, stupidly; like there was a chance she’d forgotten our baby was growing inside of her.
Her hands clasped onto her hips. “Pregnancy isn’t a handicap, Dalton. It’s not going to hold me back from getting out of bed, going out in public, or even questioning someone who can get us off the hook and out of this mess. It’s not like I’m going to be waving around a gun and shooting people.” I leaned back against the wall, watching her shuffle through her bag and pull clothes out. “I’m getting in the shower. You better still be here when I get back. If you’re not, I’m staying at Cora’s house tonight.”
I shook my head and crossed my arms while holding back a smile. “You evil, manipulative woman.” She knew the best threats to get her way. “Hurry it up.”
I didn’t release my smile until I heard the bathroom door shut. My girl was a go-getter. She got shit done, she made sure she knew the details, and I couldn’t be upset with that.
Last night, I stopped and grabbed us some ice cream on our way home. We talked for hours on the couch, mostly about our plans for the baby, but we hadn’t ventured there yet. We didn’t bring up our relationship. She was letting me back in, but I was still giving her time. I didn’t want to rush in fear of losing her.
I handed her a folder when we got into my Tesla. “These are the best leads I have so far. John wrote some notes on here for us.”
She opened it up and scanned the first page. “John’s wife, Edith, obviously.” She turned the page. “Malcolm, his brother.” Another page flip. “Bill Wheeley?” She looked over at me in question. That name hadn’t come up during our brainstorming in my office. Bill Wheeley was a source John had given me at his cabin.
“He’s another candidate who was planning on running for the Republican Presidential bid,” I explained. I nodded towards the folder for her to read John’s notes. We’d composed a short profile and motive for each person, with the exception of Edith. John wouldn’t even entertain it possibly being his wife.
“Politicians are sneaky bastards.”
“Never put anything past people in power, babe.”
I’d spent enough time around my dad and his power-hungry acquaintances to know they’d do anything to stay in their position or move up higher, even if it meant sabotaging or killing someone else. People were ruthless.
She closed the folder with a groan. “So where to first?”
“Edith’s.”
“Oh yay,” she grumbled, rolling her eyes. “I’m putting my money on her. At first, I was rooting for her, but now, not so much. There’s something about her that rubs me the wrong way.”
I stopped at a red light and nodded in agreement. “She’s strange, but do you really think she’d kill Ivy? She doesn’t seem like the murdering type.”
“Do I think she has Ivy’s blood on her hands personally? No. My bet is that she hired someone to do the job for her.” I kept my eyes on her, my eyes widened in interest. “Oh come on, all of her problems would be gone. She’d figure out some way to get her money back in her greedy hands, the mistress who’d been a pawn in her plan of destroying her husband would be quiet, and all would be good in her life. A woman like ‘ knows how to get what she wants. I don’t put anything past her.”
I turned and drove a few more miles until we reached John’s gated community. I headed towards their personal entrance leading up to their driveway, and the gate was surprisingly open. It was like she’d been given a heads-up we were coming and was inviting us in.
I told John that we were going to be paying her a visit today. He did what we’d asked him to do. He left the cabin and went home. He made a statement, sent his respects to Ivy’s family, and informed the media where he’d been staying for the past week. He claimed poor cell reception and no cable on his delayed reaction.
Did the people buy it? I wasn’t sure.
But he hadn’t been arrested yet, so that was a plus.
“This place still gives me the creeps,” Gabby said, with a shudder. “There’s something about it that just makes you feel dirty.”
“Tell me about it,” I muttered. “You couldn’t pay me to live here.” I circled around the driveway and parked in front of the massive, stone home. I shifted the car into park before shutting it off. “Let’s see if she’ll even talk to us.”
“She’ll talk to us,” she replied, unbuckling her seatbelt. “She’ll talk to us and give us some bullshit excuse as to why she had nothing to do with Ivy’s murder.”
I grabbed her hand when she got out of the car and led us up the stairs. The front door swung open before we made it to the top step. A tall, lanky figure stood in the doorway.
Edith Gentry.
“What a pleasant surprise,” she said, coming more into view. Her tone was condescending. Her smile nasty. Just like last time we’d met, a string of expensive pearls were clasped around her neck. She was sporting another pantsuit. She hadn’t changed one bit, and she definitely didn’t look the part of a distraught women worried about her husband being MIA for days.
“Mrs. Gentry,” I greeted, forcing myself to smile. “It’s nice to see you again. Do you have a minute to talk?”
I was waiting for her to tell us to get fucked and slam the door in our faces.
She didn’t. Her face only morphed into a grimace. “Edith,” she corrected. “Just Edith. I’m not going to be married to John much longer.”
“Okay, Edith. Do you have a minute to talk?”
“I guess I can spare a few.” She stepped backwards with her arms swinging out to the sides, directing us to come in. “I take it this is either about my husband disappearing off to his cabin or his whore’s death.”
We both stopped at her words. Gabby tensed up next to me. This woman had no heart, only bitter blackness where it was supposed to be. We both jumped when the door slammed shut behind us.
“That poor thing,” Edith went on, no sign of empathy in her voice. She didn’t give two shits about Ivy. She led us back into the white room. I waited for Gabby to carefully sit down on the couch before I fell down next to her.
Edith sat down across from us, adjusting her pearls and crossing her legs. “You want to know if I did it,” she said, cutting straight to the chase. “You thought you’d come here and convince me to confess to it.” She let out a patronizing laugh.
“Yeah, pretty much,” Gabby said, answering before I had the chance to. “It would save us and everyone else a lot of time if you’d just admit it now.” She shrugged, failing to meet my eyes when I looked at her in question. Had she lost her damn mind? This was definitely not the plan we’d talked about earlier. “What?” she asked, finally looking my way. “We need to get this over with.”
Edith didn’t look shocked at Gabby’s words. She sat there patiently, watching us with her hands folded in her lap, without saying a word.
“Have the police questioned you yet?” I asked her.
“No,” she answered.
She’d most likely not been brought in for the same reason John and my father hadn’t. They were rich, filthy fucking rich, and affluent. The force didn’t want a lawsuit without having enough evidence. They didn’t mind fucking with me. I was a nobody in the corporate and political world. I knew as soon as they did, though, they’d pounce.
I opened my mouth, ready to ask another question, but stopped. She was staring at Gabby, awestruck.
“You … you look just like him,” she told her. “I don’t know why I didn’t see it before, but I do now. There’s no mistaking it.”
I looked back and forth between her and Gabby as a heavy feeling settled in my stomach. I wasn’t sure how her question was going to affect Gabby. He told Edith about her? That surprised me, given John lied as much as the dude pissed.
Edith’s eyes still didn’t leave her. “You didn’t think he’d tell me?” she asked, but I wasn’t sure whom she was talking to. “As soon as he foun
d out, he was distraught. He came home that night and told me everything about you and your mom. I had no idea until that night.”
I could hear Gabby trying to hide her heavy breathing. “Lovely,” she said, her tone harsh. “But I didn’t come here to talk about me. We’re here to talk about you and where you were the night of July 6th.”
Edith chuckled. “And I see you’re just as snarky as before. You probably got that from your mother because your dad … he follows orders. He follows them to a tee, as long as he’s in public.”
“Again, we didn’t come here to talk about me. I don’t talk to strangers about my personal business.”
“Personal business?” Edith asked. “It seems it’s my business, considering my husband is your father. That would make you my stepdaughter.”
Oh fuck. I got myself ready to stop Gabby if she decided to jump up and pull Edith’s hair out.
“The husband you’re divorcing is my estranged father, which means I’m not shit to you, nor will I ever be. My personal life isn’t important at the moment. What’s important is finding out what happened to Ivy, and if you were involved in her murder.”
Edith’s cheeks flushed. “I was having dinner with my children here that night.
How convenient.
“So you were here all night?” I asked. “You didn’t leave for anything?”
“Yes. My children and housekeeper will verify that, if need be.”
“I bet they will,” Gabby muttered.
Edith flashed us a fake smile and got up. “Now that you have my alibi, and I’ve assured you I have nothing to do with this, I think our visit is over. I have plans.”
“She knows something,” Gabby said, when we got back to my car.
“She definitely knows something,” I replied.
“More confusing pieces that don’t fit in this chaotic puzzle.”
I turned to look at her before starting the engine. “How are you feeling?” I was more worried about her than any of these other assholes.
She flipped her curls over her shoulder and shrugged. “It is what it is. John is my father. People know that now, and I need to get over it.”
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