“That could simply be because I’ve got you worked up.” Ivy was rueful. “What if I’ve made all this up in my head, Jack? What if there really is nothing out there?”
He hesitated and then shrugged. “Then at least we’ll have been prepared. I don’t think you’re making it up, though. You’ve shared your dreams with me.”
“That’s it, though. Those were dreams. When I see stuff on the river it’s not that vibrant. I don’t see the shadows.”
“You feel as if someone is watching you, though. Honey, your senses are amazing. The dreams we’ve shared have turned out to be real some of the time. Alas, none of those times were when you were wearing a coconut bra. They’re real enough, though.
“If you say something is going on, then I believe you,” he continued. “You have the best instincts of anybody I know. They propelled you to pick me, right? That means you’re brilliant and intuitive.”
“Jack, what if I’m wrong, though? What if I ruined our honeymoon for nothing?”
“You haven’t ruined anything. We’re together. We’ve had a few laughs. I’ve gotten to fall asleep holding you every single night. This has been the best honeymoon because of that alone.”
They both knew that was crap, but Ivy nodded anyway. “It will make a good story one day. You’ll sit down every year on the eve of our honeymoon, pull our kids into your lap and tell them the story about how their mommy lost it and thought the forest had come alive with ghosts.”
“Or I’ll tell them the story of how mommy knew there were souls out there that needed saving and she put them to rest because she’s the bravest person I know.”
He was so solemn tears burned the back of Ivy’s eyes. “I love you, Jack. You do amazing things for my ego.”
“You do amazing things for my everything. Now ... .” He broke off when he saw Tyson heading in their direction, shooting Ivy a warning look to make sure she didn’t pop off at the mouth right before they were due to set off on the final leg of their trip. “Hey, Tyson.”
“Hello.” Tyson’s expression was hardly friendly. “I thought you would want to know that the main office did a home check on Connie.”
“I’m assuming that’s the guide who didn’t show up,” Jack replied calmly.
“Her mother is sick. She has cancer. She’s going through chemotherapy and Connie isn’t comfortable leaving her right now. She has a brother, but he got called out of town on a job. He’ll be back next week, so Connie will be back next week.”
Tyson’s clipped tone told Ivy that he’d had about as much as he was going to take from the Harkers.
“Thank you so much,” she offered, having the grace to look abashed. “We really appreciate you checking.”
“Anything to keep the customer happy,” Tyson drawled as he turned on his heel to walk away.
Jack called out to stop him. “I know you think we’re jerks,” he started.
“Not jerks,” Tyson countered. “Theatrical and prone to histrionics? Yes. In desperate need of attention? Yes. I don’t think you’re jerks, though, because you’re obviously worried about a woman you’ve never met. Jerks wouldn’t do that.”
Ivy popped her lips as she debated if she should respond. Finally, she decided the best thing she could do was take the onus of the man’s obvious disdain on her shoulders and try to save Jack from constant ire while they were traveling down the river.
“This is my fault,” she insisted, drawing Tyson’s attention to her. “Between the blood ... and Bart ... and the nightmares I’ve been having, Jack has had to deal with a lot. You shouldn’t blame him. He’s just trying to protect me.”
Tyson’s expression was hard to read. “I didn’t realize you were having nightmares.”
Ivy decided to tell the truth ... or as much of the truth as she dared. “Women in the river. They’re upset, screaming. I let my imagination run away with me. That’s not on Jack, though.”
Tyson clucked his tongue sympathetically. “It’s okay,” he reassured her. “I’m not angry. I just ... I’m sorry you’re having bad dreams.”
“I let myself get carried away because that’s what I do. I really am sorry.”
Tyson held up his hands. “It’s okay. There’s no harm done.”
“I’m still sorry.”
“We’ll deal.” He flashed a smile. “We’re heading out in five minutes. Decide which one of you is taking the back today and get ready.”
“We’ve already dealt with that.” Jack offered up a half-wave to Tyson’s retreating back, although his attention was completely for his wife. “You let him off the hook pretty quickly. Do you really believe what he said?”
Ivy made a face. “Heck no. Something is definitely going on. I don’t know if that story about Connie is true or not, but something is definitely going to happen.”
“If you believe that, why did you tell him about the ghosts in your dream?”
“I wanted to see how he would react.”
“And?”
“And he’s a douche nozzle. Whether it’s because he thinks we’re going to ruin his five-star Yelp rating or not, I can’t say. I don’t like his attitude, though, and I still think trouble is coming.”
“Well, then we’ll deal with it.” Jack started for the back end of the kayak. “I need you to be ready and remember what I showed you before he came over here. If something happens to me ... .”
“Nothing is going to happen to you.”
“Of course we both want that, but if something does ... .”
“Nothing is going to happen to you.” Ivy was insistent. “We’ve got this. I’ve almost got it figured out.”
“You just told me an hour ago you haven’t figured any of it out.”
“No, but it’s right here.” Ivy tapped the side of her head for emphasis. “I just need to let my mind get to that place where it falls into the answers.”
Jack’s face was blank. “Did you just explain something to me?”
“I guess we’ll see.”
THEY WERE ONLY ON THE RIVER FOR fifteen minutes before the water began to get choppy. Jack immediately gripped his paddle tighter and gritted his teeth as he focused on the elements rather than the mystery that was consuming his wife.
“Do you think this is it?” he asked, having to raise his voice so Ivy could hear him over the rapids.
“Are you asking if I think we’re going to die?” Ivy was horrified. “Of course not.”
“Not that.” Tension lined Jack’s face as he concentrated. “Do you think this is the worst it’s going to get?”
“Oh.” Ivy lifted her eyes to study the river in front of them. Cara was a good fifty feet ahead and hadn’t bothered to look over her shoulder once. “I don’t know.” Suddenly, Ivy wondered if she should’ve agreed to Jack’s suggestion that they catch a ride into town rather than hit the river. “I’m sorry about all of this.”
“You’re sorry about what?” Jack couldn’t completely focus on Ivy because the river had the bulk of his attention.
“I shouldn’t have brought you here. I knew it wasn’t what you wanted and yet I pushed all the same. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, geez.” Jack used his paddle to keep them from going too far to the right, to where a fallen tree had the capacity to trap them. “I don’t want you to be sorry. I like my women — or woman, in this case — boastful and unapologetic.”
“I’m really sorry.” Ivy used her paddle to nudge them back left. The river wasn’t overly dangerous at this point, but it was fast enough that it was going to take both of them being uber focused to get through without becoming trapped by an extended branch. They seemed to be everywhere, despite Tyson’s earlier protests to the contrary. “I promise to never make you go camping again.”
“Don’t tease me.”
The growly response elicited a giggle from Ivy, although she couldn’t help but feel that it was the exact wrong way to react. “I’m being serious. You’ve gone above and beyond. We’ve been camping three times and
all three of the trips have ended in disaster.”
“Technically, the first camping trip was my fault.”
“Still ... .”
“The second camping trip was nobody’s fault,” he insisted. “Well, it was Amy’s ex’s fault, but that’s neither here nor there. What’s important is that none of this is your fault.”
“You don’t think this is my fault?” Ivy risked a glance over her shoulder.
“Watch the river!” Jack jabbed out his index finger. “And, no, I don’t think this is your fault. You just wanted to have sex with your husband under the stars.”
“I wanted the s’mores and kayaking, too.”
He laughed. “But I was the most important part of that scenario, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, we got to do what we both really wanted. Yes, things could’ve gone better. We’ve had worse camping trips, though.”
“You might not say that if you die.”
“Nobody is going to die, Ivy!” Jack was furious that she kept saying things like that. He was nervous enough as it is. “Everything is perfectly fine. We’re on the river, I’m steering like a pro, and you’re being bossy and making a scene as usual. This is exactly how I expected this trip to go.”
“I’m not bossy!”
“I like how that’s the part of my statement you hold onto.” Jack didn’t mean to be grouchy with her, but the effort he was putting into steering had his patience running short. “The trip has been fine. It’s been ... great. I’ve been with you. That’s all I care about.”
“I know but ... .” Ivy trailed off when she realized that they’d caught up to Cara. The woman sat in her single kayak, staring ahead, and even though Ivy knew it was ridiculous to think, there was a moment when the witch believed she could see directly through the other woman.
“What is it?” Jack asked, instantly alarmed.
Ivy didn’t answer him, instead focusing on the other woman. “Cara?”
The guide didn’t immediately respond.
“Cara, are you okay?” Ivy was close enough to touch the woman’s kayak and she lightly tapped her paddle on the back of the vessel to get the guide’s attention.
When Cara turned to face Ivy, her face unnaturally white, there was no doubt in Ivy’s mind that they’d reached the part of their honeymoon that they would tell stories about for the rest of their lives.
“What is it?” Jack asked as he glanced between his wife and the guide. They seemed to be having an unspoken conversation despite the choppy water and he couldn’t wrap his head around it. “What’s going on?”
Ivy’s stomach felt like a hollowed-out shell as she took a long moment to look Cara up and down. In this particular place, with the sun shining directly on the guide, it was obvious that Ivy had missed something very big.
“She’s dead, Jack.” Ivy’s voice was squeakier than he was expecting. “She’s ... like ... totally dead.”
“What?” Jack’s bafflement was profound. “What are you even saying? Of course she’s not dead. She’s ... .” He broke off as he took another look at Cara, this time really seeing her. The sun made it easy, and however faint, he could most definitely see the shoreline on the other side of her. It was as if she was only ten percent transparent, but she was most definitely not a normal woman. “Oh, geez.”
“This is the bad spot,” Cara said as she flicked her eyes to Ivy. “This is where he does it.”
“Where who does what?” Ivy demanded.
“He’ll be here soon.” Cara’s voice was low and full of warning. “He’ll be here ... and then someone will be gone. You have to go through now so it won’t be you.”
That was the least of Ivy’s worries. “Jack ... .”
“I heard her.” Jack was grim as he glanced over his shoulder. Somehow, they’d gotten ahead of the rest of the group, which Tyson had deemed impossible. He’d done it on purpose. Jack was certain of that. “He said Connie didn’t make it because her mother had cancer, right? That’s basically the same story that Harold told me about his brother yesterday.”
“Which is probably where Tyson got the story,” Ivy surmised. “What do we do?”
“We turn the tables on him.” Jack was grim. “We can’t do it from the water, though. He has an advantage on us when we’re all in kayaks.”
“Right.” Ivy nodded and pointed. “We can wedge the kayak in there, next to the tree. We’ll take him by surprise when he hits this part of the river.”
“That sounds like a plan to me.” Jack was grim as he flicked his eyes back to Cara. “I don’t understand what she’s doing here. I mean ... she’s dead and yet she’s still acting as a tour guide.”
Ivy was having trouble figuring out that one, too. “Let’s get in position. Then we’ll tackle the ghost.”
“There’s a sentence I never thought I would hear you say.”
18
Eighteen
“Tell me what’s going on,” Ivy insisted of Cara as Jack fought the current to get them into position. The tree still had leafy branches on it, which meant it hadn’t fallen all that long ago. Was it the storm the previous day? Ivy couldn’t be certain. Tyson said he was going to check, but she didn’t believe anything that had come out of his mouth since they’d joined his group.
“This is where he likes to do it,” Cara replied. “This is where it’s roughest.”
“I noticed,” Jack muttered, grimacing when he finally got the kayak in the position he wanted. The only problem was, he needed to use his paddle as leverage to keep them there, which meant he couldn’t be the one to tackle Tyson out of his kayak as he passed. “Ivy, this isn’t going to work.” He was serious as he glanced around. “We need to come up with another plan.”
Ivy craned her neck to see over the branches. She had a clear view of what was down the river, and the first members of their group were in sight, although still a few minutes off. “I don’t think that’s going to work either, Jack.”
“Well, we have to do something.” All Jack could think about was Ivy. She was at the front of the kayak, which meant she would be the first person Tyson saw. She wouldn’t be able to stop herself from going after him. She was magical, her powers had expanded greatly, but this was the sort of situation that she could lose control of fast. “We need to get out of the kayak.” He made the decision on the spot. “There’s nothing we can do in the kayak, so we have to abandon it.”
Ivy jerked her eyes to him, incredulous. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I’m deathly serious. I can see the bottom here. That means we can stand.”
Ivy leaned over so she could stare at the water. “It still has to be almost four feet deep, Jack.”
“You can get to the shore in four feet of water, even in this current.” He gestured toward the area in front of them. “It gets deep over there. You can tell.”
“Seven feet deep,” Cara agreed dully. “The current is bad in that spot, too. There’s no getting out if you go in there.”
Ivy pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead as she tried to grasp what Jack was suggesting. “How are you going to get him if you can’t wade out in the water?”
“I’m going to hunker down by the branches up there.” Jack pointed toward what had been the top of the tree at one time. “He won’t be able to see me. Then, right as he passes, I’m going to nail him with this.” He hefted his paddle and then made a grunting sound when he realized he’d allowed the current to start pushing them. “At least that’s the plan.”
As far as plans go, Ivy didn’t think it was the worst thing she’d ever heard. There were holes, though. “What about me?”
“You’re going to the shore.”
“Not without you I’m not.”
“Then we’ll both go together and let him kill whoever he has designs on. Are you comfortable letting him kill Carter or Damien?”
“He only kills women,” Cara offered. “He likes hurting women.”
Jack’s stomach twisted
. “I am so sorry for what happened to you. I promise we’re going to make him pay. Right now, though, I need to get my wife out of here.”
“You do.” Cara was solemn. “He’ll want to hurt her, especially since she’s stirred up so much trouble. He’ll need to take you out to do it, though. I heard him talking. He knows he won’t be able to get Ivy on her own, that you won’t leave her side. He’s prepared to take both of you out.”
“You heard him talking to who?” Jack demanded.
“Me.” Cara had one of those innocent faces that made Ivy’s heart hurt. She was young, impossibly so, and she’d obviously been through a terrible ordeal. “He tells me all of his plans.”
“But ... you’re dead,” Jack said blankly.
“Something Tyson knows,” Ivy pointed out. “He killed Cara ... although, doesn’t he think it’s weird that you’re still hanging around after he killed you?” The realities of Cara’s ghostly condition had Ivy stumped.
“He was surprised when I came back. I was confused, you see, and went to work because I didn’t want to be late. I never wanted to be late. The look on his face, though, when he saw me was worth it all. He was terrified, thinking I’d somehow survived the drowning. It didn’t take him long to realize I was somehow ... other.”
“You’re definitely ‘other,’” Ivy agreed as she tentatively reached out to touch Cara. She couldn’t quite reach. “You look solid, not like a normal ghost. The only reason I could tell is the sun.”
“You’re the only person who has ever noticed. Even the people delivering the food didn’t comment when I never ate my meal.”
“Probably because you’re not my first ghost.” Ivy gave up trying to touch the other woman. She couldn’t manage it from her current position and she didn’t want to end up face first in the water. “You are my first sort of solid ghost, though. I just ... have never seen anything like it. I wonder if it’s because you thought you were still alive, although that doesn’t quite fit the facts either.”
“Maybe it’s the water pixies,” Jack suggested. “They were part of the story, too.”
Wicked Honeymoon (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 19) Page 18
