by Siera London
“Hey,” he said capturing her hand and placing it on his thigh. “You okay?”
Cai piped in from the backseat. “Daddy, you going to taste her again?”
Four-year olds and their fixations. Owen swore the kid just liked saying the word taste. But he pulled on the patience that came with being a parent.
“Cai, no more talk about and tasting, Mrs. Petry, or kissing.”
“Ivy?” Cai called.
“Yes, baby?”
“Can I have some of your unmunchables?”
Ivy’s jaw fell slack and Owen choked on his own spit.
“Wh…what?” she stammered.
Owen recalled her very adult joke about her unmentionables with him yesterday morning.
“You told daddy not to put your unmunchables in his pocket.” Ivy muttered a few indiscernible words before mouthing the word help. “I asked Ms. Petry if I could have some unmunchables from the snack drawer. She said you two need to start talking in private.”
“Cai,” Owen warned. “No more questions.”
Owen could see a confounded frown on Cai’s face from the rear view mirror, but the inquiries halted.
Turning his attention back to the woman beside him. “Ivy, answer me. Are you okay?”
She pulled her hand away. Had Cai’s line of questioning upset her?
Owen encouraged his son to ask questions about the world around him. He never considered curtailing the behavior because it was just the two of them. He wanted the type of relationship with his son where Cai would seek him out for guidance.
“Look, if Cai’s questioning upset you-,”
She looked at him. “It’s not that.”
His first thought was to doubt her statement, but then she smiled, and it reached her eyes. “Ms. Petry’s right. We need to be more careful.”
Relief washed through him. The way she framed her response meant there would be a next time for them.
“You got it,” he said, recapturing her hand and placing it above his knee.
“Daddy?”
Owen gritted his teeth, remembering Cai watched closer than a Catholic school nun. “Yeah, buddy?”
“Since you get to taste, Ivy. Can I at least hold her hand?”
For the first time Ivy turned to face Cai.
“You can hold my hand whenever you want, baby boy.”
Cai responded with an enthusiastic string of clapping.
Owen had to ask. “Does this mean you’re going to be around for a while?”
She swallowed and Owen tried not to notice the smooth movement along her slender neck. Tonight he’d use his lips then his tongue to trace her there.
A shadow briefly fell over her eyes. “Owen, it’s probably not a good idea, but I’ll stay as long as I can.”
Owen slid a calloused finger along her jawline, wondering what caused that shroud of sadness to appear behind her normally sparkling eyes.
“Good, because I wouldn’t let you leave.”
She grinned. “How would you keep me?”
He thought about how she came apart under his touch on the golf course.
“Oh, sweetheart, you forget. I have the stroke to make a hole in one.”
She laughed, soft and sweet, and the sound did weird things to his heart. He wanted to hear her laughter in his home, in his life, now and forever.
“Owen Tate, I do believe you’re set on playing house with me.”
Good gravy, he hoped Cai would think Ivy referred to a game. If he mentioned playing house to Mrs. Petry in the morning, Owen would probably receive a call from that awful school principal before noon.
Now it was his turn to smile. “You can count on it.”
Ivy agreed to stay. Now, if he could just get her to tell him why she felt she had to leave them. No one had come looking for her. Tonight, he’d ask about her fears, and pray she trusted him enough to be honest about why she thought to leave Endurance and him behind.
* * *
The next two days came and went in a dizzying blur of running the bar and prepping for the birthday party. Four days with no sign of Poe didn’t make her feel safer. The opposite had taken hold. Why had Ivy promised Owen that she would stay in Endurance? He would expect her to honor her word. Even now, he trusted her to take care of Cai while he got caught up on the books and balancing the bar and grille registers.
He said she owed him. The robbery that got Johnny killed had gone sour. And now, Johnny’s debt was hers. Poe was smart and vicious. Was he already in Endurance?
Why had she offered Owen a life she had no way of delivering? And more than her problems with Poe, if her relationship with Owen went south, it placed him in a precarious situation with his son.
Owen seemed as uncomfortable as she with Cai’s questions. In the past, she had been careful when it came to men. Not that she had any experience with men and their children, but she never wanted to leave Owen alone to explain her disappearance. So, what had she done? Offered a solution that served to complicate matters. Even now, she recalled the hope reflected in Owen’s eyes when she’d said that she would stay.
“What are you doing?” a small voice asked.
She turned to find Cai seated in his booster seat at the table. His streaming program must have ended. She found Cai’s inquisitive nature refreshing. The fact that he seemed to enjoy having her close by made her yearn for the home life Owen had built in Endurance. The kitchen felt like home to her. Would Autumn bake for Cai once Ivy left?
“Making you something for an after-school snack,” she said, placing a lunch plate in front of him. She’d made a small fruit salad with raspberries, strawberries, and a palm sized amount of blueberries leftover from breakfast. Placing a couple of spoonfuls onto Cai’s divided plate, she dished the rest into bowls for her and Owen. Cai loved cheese, so she’d taken a slice of sourdough bread made at the Cupcakery and added a thick slice of American cheese. In under an hour three grilled cheese sandwiches and a pitcher of fresh-squeezed lemonade were ready to be served.
“Goody,” Cai exclaimed. “What’s for lunch?”
She gave his cheeks a light squeeze. A rosy color remained when she released him.
Ivy decided she liked taking care of Cai—and Owen. To wake up every morning and find a loving man and this boy who delighted in her every gesture waiting for her, sent a thrill through her blood. Ivy dared not let herself dream up a reality not meant for her. It was wrong to lead Owen to believe in them being a family. No one counted on a woman like her to stick around, but Owen did. He didn’t question, he accepted that she would deliver on her word.
“Ivy,” Cai said, half his sandwich hanging out of his mouth.
“Careful, baby. I don’t want you to choke. Chew, swallow, and then talk.”
When he opened his mouth she presumed to agree, she put a finger to his lips. “Chew.”
He nodded. In typical little boy fashion, he opened wide and chomped with gusto rushing to clear his mouth of the offending cuisine. Far be it for food to keep Cai from asking his questions. He was so smart, and she took pride in Owen’s child-rearing abilities. To know that he was raising a well-adjusted kid as a single father garnered her respect, and only made her love him more.
An audible gulp came from Cai’s recently vacated throat, the sound like a frog’s croak. When Cai glanced over as though prepared for a reprimand, a wide smile spread over his cherubic face when he spotted her smile.
“Can I hold your hand now?” he asked.
She took the chair next to his, and extended her hand, palm up, in his direction. When he placed his hand, rounded and small, into hers, she enfolded her fingers.
“How’s that?”
Instead of answering, Cai used his opposite hand to tentatively pat her knuckles. The touch left faint circles of melted butter on her skin. Emotion squeezed her heart for all this little boy had lost.
“Did my mommy send you?” he asked, a surreal quality to his voice.
The question so shocked Ivy that she wa
s rendered speechless. Why would he think her arrival had a connection to Caitlyn?
Overwhelmed with compassion, Ivy pushed her chair back from the table and scooped Cai into her lap.
“No, baby. One of my friends, Johnny got hurt really bad. His family wanted me to stay, but I had to leave real fast, so I came here.”
Cai rested his head on her chest.
“Did you help him, too?”
On instinct, Ivy dropped her nose to his hair, inhaling the green of grass, the warmth of summer, and the rumbustious nature of a little boy.
“I tried, baby, but it wasn’t enough.” At first, traveling west with Johnny seemed like the adventure of a lifetime. But, then they’d reached California and moved in with his brother, Poe. It didn’t take long for Ivy to discover Poe earned his money through nefarious means.
“I’m no angel, Cai.”
“But,” he whined, “Daddy said Mommy would send an angel to take care of me.”
Unbidden, tears sprang to her eyes. Oh, how he must miss his mother. Though Crystal Summers left much to be desired in the nurturing department, she had been a constant in Ivy’s life…until one of the uncles took her away. She and her mother never had a traditional mother-daughter relationship, Ivy hadn’t imagined life without her until she was gone.
“Your dad is right. Mommies have special angels that they share with their little ones.”
“I glad you’re my angel.”
Oh God, how could she tell this precious little boy that she was far from angelic? No one had ever mistaken Ivy’s actions for heavenly attributes.
“You’re such a sweet boy, Cai Tate. But, I’m just Ivy.” She angled her shoulder towards him, leaning down. ”See, no wings.”
“But if you’re not an angel, then that means you might leave.”
His voice had risen an octave, and the whites of his eyes began to shine with red vessels.
“Shh, don’t cry.” She pulled him into an embrace and began to rock from side to side in an attempt to comfort him. “Don’t cry. Don’t cry.”
“Daddy said angels care for us because Mommy sent one just for me.”
Ivy heard his sniffles, right before wetness spilled on her blouse, soaking through to her shoulder. “Shh, now. Don’t be upset. Maybe, you’re right. I’m here.”
He lifted his head.
“Really?” he asked, his eyes wide with sincerity.
“Yeah, baby. There has to be a reason I’m here, right?”
Lifting his head from her shoulder, he nodded. Ivy gave him a nervous smile, sure her eyes were as red as his. God, please let her be doing the right thing in reassuring him. What would Owen say once he found out what she’d done?
Cai grabbed her face. “Oh,” she stammered.
He kissed her cheek. “You taste sweet to me too, Ivy.”
Shocked Ivy looked up to find Owen standing in the archway leading from the small office.
He saw the tears in her eyes, and an indiscernible expression crossed his face. Seconds later he was at her side. He bent and kissed her forehead, and then lifted Cai into his arms.
“You and Ivy, okay?”
Cai looked so much younger in his father’s arms. For the first time, Ivy realized she could never willingly walk away from them. Owen must have recognized the change, because he opened his arms and she rose and walked into his waiting embrace.
He pulled her so close, Ivy thought it impossible for anything to come between them.
“We’re good,” he said to them, but Ivy thought it was for him, too. “Trust me to take care of my family.”
And they were a family, each meeting a need in the other.
“Daddy,” Cai whispered.
“Yeah?”
Ivy heard the patience and love in Owen’s tone. “Now, we can both taste Ivy because mommy sent her.”
Ivy felt Owen’s hand on her neck, his fingers sliding into her hair. “I know, buddy. Told you Mommy would send an angel to take care of you and me.”
Ivy’s breath hitched. Did Owen really think her a godsend? She tilted her head to better see his face. When their eyes met, she saw the truth. He believed every word.
* * *
Owen sat on the floor with Cai seated between his folded legs. Autumn would arrive soon, but after the conversation he’d overheard with Ivy, he wanted to hear more of Cai’s fears. Since Caitlyn’s death, he often asked about Mommy’s angel. It never occurred to Owen that Cai would translate Ivy’s arrival to being his angel.
“Daddy, Ivy said she’s not my angel.”
“I heard her, buddy.”
“But, she came. And now you and me are happy again.”
Gosh, Cai was right. In less than a week his house buzzed with the activity and conversation of a loving home again.
“Yeah, she did that, huh buddy?”
“She has to stay. Make her stay, Daddy.”
It was rare Cai allowed him to put him over his shoulder like when he was an infant, but this time he did.
“I’m working on it, Cai,” he sighed. “I’m working on it.”
Owen had heard Ivy’s comment about her friend being hurt, but the chill in her voice said the injury had been serious, maybe fatal. And why did the family want her to stay around if the person connecting them was gone? Was that why she had him pay her in cash? Was she now trying to get back to this family who wanted her to stay. He didn’t think so. The woman was definitely running from someone. Whether she knew it or not, now that she’d run to him, Owen swore he’d slay her dragon, and claim his prize. Starting tonight, he’d claim every part of her, including her heart.
“Promise, Daddy?”
“Yeah. And you know your daddy never breaks a promise.”
Placing Cai in front of his tablet, Owen pulled up an easy read, and placed the square pad in his hand. “Read. When Autumn arrives tell her all about your story.”
“Yes, sir.”
Away from hearing distance, Owen dialed up the local sheriff. When Keith Fullerton picked up the line. Owen began as soon as the sheriff rendered a greeting.
“It’s Owen Tate. In the past week, have there been any accidents involving a man getting seriously hurt or injured? Maybe between San Diego and Culver City?”
Keith listened as Owen gave him different scenarios. Considering Ivy had confessed to Cai, she had omitted a lot of detail. Thinking back he tried to piece together everything he remembered from when Ivy walked into his life. “Guy’s name may be John or Johnny.”
Keith grunted. “This friendly inquiry got anything to do with the woman living at your place?”
How had the news reached Keith? Owen hadn’t seen the guy in a couple weeks. He hated to admit it, but Keith had been the one to inform him of Caitlyn’s death. After the way he’d crumbled at the scene, Owen found it hard to face the man. Not that anyone judged him, but he hadn’t been available when his wife needed him.
“Didn’t realized I’d mentioned that to you, Keith.”
“Cut the crap, Owen. Some woman walks into town and you let her shack up at your place. The whole town’s abuzz with the news.”
Who had spread rumors about Ivy’s arrival? Autumn would never betray his trust and Delaney had been MIA.
Owen growled his displeasure. “I don’t shack up. Ivy’s with me.”
“Is she now?”
The skepticism in Keith’s voice rubbed him raw. Maybe he needed to make his connection to Ivy crystal clear.
“Yeah, she’s mine.” Heck, he sounded like a Neanderthal. “If anyone else in town needs to be set straight about Ivy’s place in this house, I’ll be the one to do it.” Anyone who thought to approach Ivy as anything less than what she was, the woman he loved, would answer to him.
“I’ll look into this. Expect a visit when I have something.”
“A call will do.” He didn’t want Keith sniffing around Ivy. He had the distinct feeling Ivy would not appreciate a cop paying her a visit.
Chapter 9
Ivy wa
s dead on her feet. It was after one in the morning, when she took to the backstairs, eager to put her head on the pillow. After her conversation with Cai, Owen had disappeared behind closed doors with his son until the evening crowd began to pour in. She had been delivering drinks when he entered the bar. It surprised her that he hadn’t sought her out. A sinking feeling settled in her stomach. Had he overhead the discussion she had with Cai? She’d studied his features when he’d taken Cai into his arms. She believed him when he said they were fine. But, maybe she hadn’t read him as well as she thought. In reality, he had taken his son and left her alone.
Ivy thought back to this afternoon when she became aware of Owen’s presence. He couldn’t have been in the room when she told Cai. If he had been within earshot, was it possible for him to piece together the real story from the details she’d shared with a four-year-old?
Hand on the doorknob, she pushed against the wood, putting a little extra power into the move to shoulder the door open. Stepping inside she froze. Owen sat in the chair by the window. The moonlight bounced off his muscles, making him appear as a male god etched in black onyx. He wore a plain black t-shirt and dark drawstring pants. His feet were bare.
“Been meaning to oil the door hinges. I’ll do it in the morning.”
Tossing the bar towel from her shoulder to the footboard, she gave Owen a shaky nod. “Okay—thanks.”
Owen pointed to the open door at her back. Why was she standing pole still, afraid to move? A quick drop in her stomach signaled the answer. If she went to him tonight, she would be his forever. He’d make sure of it. She lowered her head, closed her eyes, and tried to take in a steadying breath. Her body hummed with energy, every cell on high alert. Owen Tate somehow had become the most important person in her chaotic life. He anchored her, comforted her, and now he would claim her. Would it be too soon if she told him how she felt? Would he want her love along with her body?
