For the Love of Ivy: An uplifting feel good holiday romance

by Cindy Kirk

  “A survey,” Lauren said.

  Ivy frowned. “What’s that?”

  Lauren looked at Seth, but he’d picked up the iPad and was pretending to read the news.

  “It’s a bunch of questions,” Lauren explained. “The answers tell me who in this area could be my good friend.”

  It was a simplistic explanation, hopefully easy for a seven-year-old to understand.

  Ivy smiled. “It’ll say me.”

  “Me?” Now Lauren was the one confused.

  “No, silly.” Ivy giggled, pointing with her cast to her chest. “It will say I’m your good friend, ’cause you and me are bestest friends.”

  The sincerity in the little girl’s tone threaded a ribbon of love around Lauren’s heart. Over the past few weeks she and Ivy had grown close. Now to discover the child considered Lauren to be her “bestest” friend brought a lump to her throat.

  She cast a sideways glance at Seth to see if he’d heard the touching words, but his eyes were still on the screen.

  “If you could take the survey,” Lauren said to Ivy, “I’m sure it would show we are meant to be best friends. But this particular survey matches men and women. It matched your aunt Anna with your uncle Mitch. And Stacie and Josh.”

  Ivy’s lips pursed together for a moment then she smiled. “And you and Daddy.”

  Seth choked on his sip of coffee, telling Lauren he wasn’t as engrossed in the news as he’d appeared.

  “You and Daddy are bestest friends, too.” Ivy’s smile was triumphant, as if she’d put the answer in a box, tied it with a bow and presented it to Lauren.

  “You’re right, princess.” Seth set the iPad on the table. “But there are other men in town who could be Miss Lauren’s good friend, too. Like Mr. Nordstrom. He and Miss Lauren have a lot in common. They both—”

  “Seth.” Lauren softened her interruption with a smile. She could see by the distress on Ivy’s face that the talk of other men was upsetting her. And for no good reason.

  She might not match anyone. Look at Seth. He’d never been matched. For all his talk about her supposed compatibility with Adam, as far as she was concerned the professor’s boorish behavior on the trip they’d taken to Bozeman for the psychology lecture had disproved that assumption.

  He hadn’t been interested in the speaker at all. In fact, he’d read e-mail on his phone during the presentation. Talking about her father all the way there and back hadn’t been much fun, either. But the way he’d slammed Sweet River every chance he got had been the last straw.

  “Did Mrs. Barbee also tell you Adam is doing a lecture next week at your alma mater?” Lauren asked, more than ready for a subject change.

  “What about?”

  Lauren shrugged. “I heard the words cluster species and algorithms and tuned him out.”

  Seth raised both eyebrows. “Sounds interesting.”

  “Yeah, right.” Lauren laughed. “Only if you’re a math geek.”

  “Are you going?”

  Lauren didn’t even have to think about her answer. “You couldn’t pay me enough.”

  Seth gazed into the crackling fire. His chores were all done. Ivy had been in bed for hours. He assumed Lauren was asleep by now, too. She’d gone to her bedroom after dinner to work on her dissertation...and because she probably sensed he needed some time alone.

  He’d been distracted all evening, but instead of badgering him to tell her what was wrong, she’d let him be.

  Even if she’d asked and he’d wanted to tell her, he wasn’t sure what he’d have said. All Seth knew was that ever since his conversation with Mitch several days earlier, he’d felt unsettled.

  He looked up at the sound of footsteps on the stairs and his heart flip-flopped in his chest. He hadn’t expected to see Lauren again this evening.

  His smile of welcome faded when he saw her tears. Seth jumped to his feet and hurried to her side. “What’s the matter?”

  She swiped at her cheeks with the tips of her fingers, her smile wobbly. “Sorry. I thought you’d already gone to bed.”

  Seth shot her a wink. “I was waiting up for you.”

  He was rewarded with a slight smile.

  “I came down because I couldn’t sleep.”

  Seth forced a teasing tone. “And to see me, of course.”

  This time the smile reached her eyes. “How’d you guess?”

  He tapped his temple with an index finger. “Psychic.”

  She laughed and the tense set of her shoulders eased.

  “Come sit with me by the fire.” Sensing her embarrassment, he pretended not to notice her red-rimmed eyes.

  When she hesitated, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the sofa. “C’mon, I don’t bite.”

  When she sat, he dropped down next to her. ‘Talk to me.”

  “About what?”

  “What’s keeping you from sleeping might be a good place to start.”

  “You mean, other than you?”

  He grinned. “Other than me.”

  Her gaze shifted and the smile faded from her lips. Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back. “My father called.”

  Seth shifted in his seat and took her hands, trying not to show his alarm. “What did he have to say?”

  Lauren shook her head. “You should get to bed.” She tried to pull her hands away, but he held on. “You’re still recovering. You don’t need to listen to me whine about my life. I’ll just make some warm milk and—”

  “Lauren,” he said gently but firmly, cutting off her nervous chatter. “I can’t make it better if I don’t know what’s wrong. Did something happen to your mother? Or your dad?”

  “No. No. Nothing like that.”

  Seth released the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “Then what?”

  “Okay, but please understand.” A hint of pink tinged her cheeks. “I’m not some child desperate for a father’s love and approval. I’ve known for a long time exactly where I fit into his life.”

  “Understood.”

  “I grew up with every material advantage. Now, after observing firsthand what a home filled with love looks and feels like, I realize that I was shortchanged. It makes me angry. And hurt. And...”

  As he listened to her talk, Seth realized she wasn’t the only one who’d had her eyes recently opened. Lauren’s presence had brought completeness to his world. While he loved the ranch and his life with Ivy, there’d been an emptiness inside him.

  An emptiness only Lauren had been able to fill. His gaze settled on her face. He couldn’t deny it any longer. He was falling in love with her. No, he was in love with her. Instead of joy, despair flowed through his veins.

  “This situation doesn’t lend itself to a quick-fix solution,” she added.

  Truer words had never been spoken.

  Seth squeezed her hands. “My grandmother used to say a burden is always lighter when it’s shared with someone who cares.”

  “I hadn’t spoken with my father since Thanksgiving, and that was when I called him.”

  Seth bit his tongue and smiled encouragingly.

  “Edmund didn’t call to ask about my Christmas or to see how I was doing.” Though she spoke calmly, he heard the underlying hurt. “Adam had e-mailed him about his lecture in Bozeman on Monday. Since my father was already flying to the East Coast for a symposium in New York, he changed his airline reservations so he could stop over and listen.”

  “And so he could see you,” Seth reminded her.

  “Actually, he made it clear he was stopping in Montana only because Adam was speaking,” Lauren said lightly, her smile not reaching her eyes.

  “He must think a lot of the guy.” Seth couldn’t think of anything else to say. Or at least anything that didn’t involve a few choice cuss words.

  Lauren gave a humorless laugh.

  “Still, he’s going to see you while he’s here. I mean, he’ll be just down the road.”

  “I asked. He hadn’t built in the extra time to
come all the way to Sweet River.” Lauren’s eyes were now dry, but the sadness lingering in the emerald depths tore his heart in two.

  “Why even bother to call?” Seth asked.

  “He asked if I was interested in driving to Bozeman to listen to the lecture. Said I could go to dinner with him and Adam afterward. He hinted he may have news about one of the colleges where I’d interviewed.”

  Seth’s heart stuttered. “That’s right. You’ll soon be starting a whole new exciting life.”

  Lauren stared into the flickering flames. “I’m really going to miss it here. My clients. My work on the crisis line...everything.”

  What about me? he wanted to ask. Will you miss me?

  “Hopefully you can still do counseling wherever you end up.”

  “Colleges are cutting budgets.” Lauren shrugged. “I’ll have a heavy class load as well and be expected to do research and publish. I wouldn’t be able to do justice to the clients.”

  “You’ll be a great professor,” Seth said. “You’re someone who’ll be successful at whatever you choose to do.”

  He gazed at her for a long moment, tempted to ask her to stay. But the words wouldn’t come. She deserved so much more than a friendship or an affair. Besides, there could be no prestigious career in Sweet River. He cleared his throat. “Are you going to go to dinner?”

  “Therein lies the problem,” Lauren said. “A few things my father said make me think Adam is giving him the impression he and I are involved.”

  “You’re not involved.” Seth cleared his throat. “Right?”

  Lauren jerked her hands from where they’d been sitting very nicely in his. “You know he’s not my type.”

  Her gaze met his. Though they came from different worlds, she understood him. And he understood her. He was her type, not Adam Nordstrom.

  No man would ever love her as much as he did. There was a certainty to the knowledge that was absolute. Even though he didn’t plan to act on his feelings for Lauren, he’d go with her to the dinner, help smooth things over with her father. He’d make nice with Adam, too, even if it killed him. “What if I went with you? Would that make it easier for you?”

  “You’d do that? Why?”

  “Anything for a trip to Bozeman.” Anything for you.

  Lauren laughed, but quickly sobered. “What about Ivy?”

  “Anna and Mitch wanted to have her over sometime this week,” he said. “I’ll call in the morning and set it up for Monday.”

  “Why are you doing this?” Lauren tilted her head, her expression clearly puzzled.

  “Because.” He tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. “I want you to be happy.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Lauren’s father was not at all what Seth had pictured. He’d envisioned a small man in his fifties with a mop of wiry gray hair. Instead Edmund Van Meveren was just over six feet with dark hair that was cut short. He looked to be in his late sixties, which, now that Seth thought about it, would be about right if Lauren had been a late-in-life baby.

  The lecture had been boring and attended by mostly graduate students. The restaurant Edmund had chosen was one of Bozeman’s finest, aptly named the Steak House. Instead of peanut shells on the floor and plank tables, there were linen tablecloths and an extensive wine list.

  For Seth, seeing the shock on Adam’s face when he’d walked in at Lauren’s side had made the entire trip worthwhile. Lauren’s father had been polite but cool. But then he’d been distant with Lauren, too. Instead of hugging her, as Seth had expected, he’d simply shaken her hand.

  Seth took a sip of iced tea and listened with one ear to the conversation. The way he saw it, he was here to lend Lauren moral support, not hijack the meeting between her and her father. That appeared to be Adam’s role.

  For the past twenty minutes Adam and Lauren’s father had been talking mathematics while Seth and Lauren ate.

  “I don’t know if I mentioned it,” Adam said, “but I had a chance to read over the compatibility survey Lauren devised for her research project. Very well done.”

  Edmund looked at his daughter for the first time in almost half an hour.

  Though Lauren just smiled, the flare of hope in her eyes told Seth how much her father’s approval meant to her.

  “In fact,” Adam continued, “I was so impressed I decided to fill out one of them myself.”

  Edmund raised a brow. “Why in the world would you do that?”

  “Curiosity,” Adam admitted. “After all, this is a dissertation project.”

  For a second Seth thought Edmund snorted, but then he coughed, so he wasn’t sure if he’d imagined the response. Until he glanced at Lauren and saw the flash of anger in her eyes.

  “Actually, sir—” Seth forced a conciliatory tone “—Lauren has had some marriages result from the survey candidates she sent on dates.”

  Edmund didn’t acknowledge that Seth had spoken. Instead his gaze shifted to his daughter and he shook his head. “You wonder why I don’t take this discipline seriously. Your research sounds like nothing more than a matchmaking service.”

  Seth had been taught from an early age to respect his elders, but the patronizing tone in the older man’s voice roused his protective instinct. “It’s not—”

  “You’ve missed the point.” Lauren’s voice was as strong and firm as the look she gave Edmund. “The weddings illustrate that the survey was a good tool for assessing compatibility. Not only were these couples compatible on paper, they fell in love.”

  Her father appeared to weigh her words and Seth felt a surge of hope. All the man needed to do was give Lauren a little recognition for a job well done. Surely that wasn’t too much to ask.

  Edmund took a sip of wine. “Who did you match with Adam? I can’t believe there are many women around here who’d be his equal.”

  Seth tightened his fingers around his iced-tea glass. Apparently, a little recognition was too much to ask.

  “You forget, Professor. Your daughter lives here,” Adam said, smiling at Lauren. “Surely you would find me an acceptable match for her.”

  Edmund placed his glass of wine on the table. His piercing gaze narrowed on Lauren. “You completed a survey? Surely you’re aware this will compromise your results.”

  Lauren lifted her chin. “I did it after I’d compiled and analyzed all my data.”

  The fact that Lauren didn’t mention Adam’s encouragement to complete the survey didn’t surprise Seth. He’d come to realize that Lauren was a woman who took responsibility for her actions.

  “So did I match with someone?” Adam asked, his tone a shade too eager.

  “You mean, did you match with Lauren?" Seth tried to keep the irritation from his voice, but failed. Regardless of what her father might think, this guy was not anywhere near good enough for Lauren.

  Adam ignored Seth’s comment.

  “You did get a hit.” Lauren smiled. “Kim Sizemore.”

  “Kim?’

  Seth swore Adam’s voice jumped two octaves. He took another sip of tea, the tightness gripping his chest suddenly gone.

  “Why are you so surprised?” Lauren asked him. “Word around town is you’ve been sleeping with her. Maybe you should try taking her out on a date, even talk to her sometime. I think you’ll find you have more in common than you think.”

  “Lauren.” Edmund’s voice was sharp with disapproval. “That’s quite enough.”

  “Kim is content with our relationship the way it is,” Adam said stiffly, refusing to look Lauren in the eye.

  Coward, Seth thought. He can’t even be honest with himself.

  “That may be what she says.” Lauren shot him a steely look. “I guarantee she wants more from you—”

  “Forget about Adam’s social life. Concentrate on your own future.” Edmund’s lips rose in a smug smile. “I have it on good authority that King’s College, a small but well-respected private college in Virginia, will be offering you a position once you have your doctorate.”
/>   “Why, that’s...wonderful,” Lauren stammered.

  “A friend is the chancellor there.” Edmund waved a dismissive hand. “I’m certain I don’t need to tell you this is an excellent opportunity.”

  “I realize that,” Lauren said. “I appreciate your efforts to get me that offer.”

  “Of course you’ll accept.”

  “I’ll certainly consider it.”

  “Consider?” Her father’s brows pulled together like two dark thunderclouds. “What is there to consider?”

  Seth couldn’t believe her father didn’t know. He wasn’t even related to Lauren and he knew how much her crisis work and private counseling meant to her.

  “It’s a wonderful offer. I’d have to be crazy to turn it down,” Lauren said, then immediately changed the subject to a recent accolade her father had received.

  Seth focused on his food while the three talked. Seeing the distance between Lauren and her father made him realize he’d been lucky. He’d always been free to chart his own course in life. Even when he’d dropped out of school, his dad had been disappointed but understood that was Seth’s decision to make.

  “I understand from Adam that you’re a rancher,” Edmund said, finally acknowledging Seth.

  “That’s right.”

  “Seth graduated at the top of our high school class,” Adam said. “Beat me out for valedictorian.”

  Lauren shifted sideways in her seat to face Seth. “You never told me that.”

  “Ancient history.” Seth couldn’t believe Adam had even brought up the topic. “Definitely not a big deal.”

  “You could have gone far.” For some reason Adam refused to let the subject drop. “Of course you’d have had to leave Sweet River to realize that potential.”

  “You didn’t pursue higher education?” From the horror in Edmund’s voice, Seth surmised there could be no greater crime.

  “Seth has a degree in biology,” Lauren said before he could answer. “And three years postgrad in a veterinary program.”

  Edmund frowned. “Those programs are usually a four-year course of study.”