“Really?” JJ made guppy motions with his lips. “I’ve never been fishing before.”
“I think we can make sure that’s not a thing for much longer,” Michael offered, grinning at the boy. “Then, in the winter, you can go sledding with Max. He’s also an expert sledder.”
“I am,” Max agreed gravely. “No one sleds better than me.”
Ivy raised her hand. “Um … I do.”
“Please.” Max rolled his eyes. “I’m the one who taught you how to sled. I’m way better than you.”
“That’s a big load of crap,” Ivy muttered, frowning. “I can’t wait to beat you over the head with a sled, that’s so ridiculous.”
JJ laughed, the delightful sound filling the room. “Sledding sounds fun. Not as much fun as fishing, though.” The last person in the group he stared at was Jack. “You’re big,” he said finally. “Like … huge.”
Jack chuckled. “I’m tall,” he agreed. “That comes in handy when you’re fishing. I think I’ll go with you and Max a few times this summer, just to make sure he’s teaching you the right way to do it.”
“Okay.” JJ seemed happy with the offer. “Do we have to stay here, though? I don’t like it here.”
“You mean Shadow Lake?” Amy’s brow creased with concern. “I thought you liked Shadow Lake.”
“Shadow Lake is cool. I meant the hospital. I was kind of hoping we could get some ice cream.” The sly look JJ sent his mother told Ivy the boy knew exactly who to go to when he wanted something. That number would only grow with time.
“I think ice cream sounds fabulous,” Ivy offered, stepping forward. “I’m supposed to rest, but I think a dose of ice cream first is just what the doctor ordered.”
Jack started to shake his head and then darted a look toward JJ. He was resigned when he spoke. “Fine. Ice cream first. Then bed.”
“Yay.” JJ clapped his hands. “I love Superman ice cream,” he said to Max. “Can we get that?”
“Absolutely.” Max extended his hand for JJ to take and the boy slipped his much smaller hand into Max’s without a moment of consideration. “Superman is my favorite, too. I think we’re going to get along fine.”
“I think that goes for all of us,” Ivy offered, holding Amy’s watery gaze. She looked happy, if a bit nervous about the new life she had in front of her. “Welcome to the family.”
She meant it. Amy and JJ would be part of them now. They wouldn’t want for anything, which was exactly how it was always meant to be.
Wicked Decisions
A Harper Harlow Mystery Book Fifteen
One
Early summer in Michigan was a magical time. The weather was warm, but not hot. The trees had finished filling out. The birds were singing ... and Ivy Morgan was a happy woman despite the fact that she was about to embark on a shopping excursion.
If there was one thing in the world she hated, it was shopping.
“Do you know what you’re looking for?” Amy Johnson, her blond hair pulled back in a simple ponytail, widened her eyes as she looked at the offerings in the display window of Shadow Lake’s one and only bridal boutique. “Oh, that one is pretty.”
Ivy glanced over the woman’s shoulder and frowned at the dress. She liked Amy. Actually, she liked Amy a great deal. In addition to being her brother Max’s girlfriend, she’d also become a close friend in a short amount of time. That didn’t mean she liked the woman’s taste in wedding dresses.
“I don’t think that’s really me,” Ivy hedged, wrinkling her nose as she took in the endless reams of white lace and ruffles. “It’s a bit ... big.”
Amy slid her eyes to Ivy, contemplative. Even though the woman’s hair was streaked with pink and she wore an ankle-length skirt of a Bohemian variety, she didn’t go for fancy when it came to her clothes. “No, you probably want something simpler.”
“I definitely want something simpler.” In truth, as much as Ivy was looking forward to marrying Jack Harker — a man who appeared out of nowhere to steal her heart and complete her life — the wedding was giving her fits. “I would be happy if we eloped at the county building and called it a day.”
Amy immediately started protesting. “No. You can’t do that. Think of your poor parents.”
Ivy’s parents were the only reason she hadn’t pressed for the elopement. As the only daughter of Michael and Luna Morgan, they were expecting to throw a party for her wedding ... especially since there was a time they weren’t sure a man would’ve ever been able to tame their tempestuous daughter. Of course, Ivy wasn’t tamed. She’d simply dragged Jack to the wild side along with her.
“They’re not the only ones who want the wedding,” Ivy admitted after a beat, shifting from one foot to the other. Just being close to so much white material made her uncomfortable. “Jack wants the wedding, too.”
“Oh, now we’re getting to it.” Amy’s eyes sparkled with amusement. She’d only known Ivy and Jack for a few weeks, but she’d caught on to the intricacies of their relationship very quickly. Basically, Jack bent over backwards to give Ivy everything she wanted. Then Ivy did the same for him. They couldn’t give enough to each other. “Does he want a big wedding?”
“Not big. He’s agreed that it can be small. It’s just ... he wants us to stand in front of our friends and family and recite vows to one another.”
Amy was confused. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“No. It’s just ... he wants us to write our own vows.”
“Ah.” Amy smirked at Ivy’s reticent features. “And you’re afraid you’ll get up in front of everyone, pour out your heart, and then Jack will steal the show with better vows.”
Ivy’s mouth dropped open. “No. That’s not what I was thinking.” She paused for a moment and then her smile turned rueful. “How did you know?”
“Because you and Jack like to compete,” she replied simply. “Max told me that when you first met you were competing over who could uncover a killer.”
“That’s not exactly the way I remember it,” Ivy hedged.
“Max also says that you guys compete over yard work ... and cooking ... and morel mushrooms, although I don’t know how anybody can compete when it comes to mushrooms.”
“You would be surprised.” Ivy pressed her lips together and turned back to the window display. “I’m worried Jack has this vision in his head and it’s one I’m not going to be able to fulfill.”
“And what vision is that?”
“You know ... white dress.”
“This is all about the dress?” Amy arched a dubious eyebrow. “No offense, but I find that unlikely. Jack would be fine if you wore a potato sack.”
“But he talks about the wedding constantly. I mean ... that’s all he wants to talk about.”
“That’s not true.” Amy adopted a reasonable tone. “Last night he spent twenty minutes talking about the blueberry pie you made and how it was the best thing he’d ever eaten. Then Max chimed in and said your apple pie was better ... and then they kind of got into a boasting match.” She furrowed her brow. “Now that I think about it, all three of you have a weird competition thing going. What’s up with that?”
Despite the nervous energy pooling in her stomach, Ivy mustered a weak chuckle. “Max and I have always competed. We can’t help it. That’s simply how we communicate.”
“It’s a little weird. Of course, I didn’t have brothers or sisters growing up, so I can’t be a hundred-percent sure on that. It seems weird to me, though.”
Since Amy was only getting to know the Morgan family, Ivy understood that. Because she was uncomfortable plumbing the depths of her family’s ridiculous interactions, she decided to change the subject.
“How is JJ?”
Amy smiled at mention of her son. The boy had been hidden when Amy was first introduced to the Morgans — mostly because his father was an abusive jerk who terrorized Amy for years and caused her to flee — but he was out in the open now and he’d already been adopted by the family. F
or better or worse, they were never going to let him go.
“He’s okay,” she replied, thoughtful. “He really likes Max. I mean ... a lot. I’m a little worried about them bonding so soon.”
“How come?” Ivy queried as she tried to picture herself in the dress. “I would think that’s exactly what you want. Max is a little immature, but he’ll be a fabulous father figure.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about.” Amy shifted from one foot to the other, mild distress etching across her pretty features. “The thing is ... Max has quite the reputation. I realized that when we first started dating, which is why I agreed to go out with him. I thought he would lose interest relatively quickly because that’s how he operates.”
Ivy couldn’t argue with that point. Max had made a name for himself as something of a womanizer — although not in a gross and creepy way — over the years. When he first announced he had a girlfriend and wanted to bring her on a camping trip with Jack and Ivy, they were dubious. Fairly quickly, however, they realized Max was serious about this one ... and his entire frame of mind had shifted relatively quickly.
“Listen, Max is ... Max,” Ivy started, unsure how she should proceed. “I’m not going to pretend his past didn’t happen. That wouldn’t be fair to anyone involved. The thing is, though, he’s changed. Aunt Felicity always said he would. She saw things in him that the rest of us kind of glossed over.
“Max has always been loyal — like, to a fault — and he would never purposely hurt someone,” she continued. “He spent years being the life of the party and having a good time. My aunt always said he would outgrow that one day and ... well ... he has. You’re the one who made him grow up.”
“Last night he taught JJ how to spurt chocolate milk out of his nose with a straw,” Amy said dryly.
Ivy pursed her lips. “Well, the maturity thing is a work in progress. He’s already grown in leaps and bounds, though. I don’t think you understand what an impact you’ve had on him.”
“No, that’s where you’re wrong. I understand because people keep mentioning it to me. You ... your parents ... your aunt ... Jack ... random people on the street. Then there’s that woman at the library who keeps giving me dirty looks. She brings it up every time I see her even though I don’t know her.”
Ivy’s expression darkened. “Maisie Washington. Don’t worry about her. She’s just jealous because she wanted to be the one to tame Max, but he’s allergic to herpes so he always shot her down.”
Amy choked on her laughter. “Tell me how you really feel.”
“That is how I really feel. I hate Maisie. She’s a pox on this town.”
“Wow. Remind me to never get on your bad side.”
“You won’t ... and Maisie earned her place on my list. She’s never been anything but hateful to me.”
“Then she deserves what she gets.” Amy turned her attention back to the dress. “I’m thinking of getting JJ some counseling. He’s still a little confused about everything that happened. I don’t think I did the best job explaining things to him when he was younger. He keeps asking about Jeff.”
“Jeff was his father, for better or worse,” Ivy said, opting for practicality. “JJ is still young. It might take him some time to understand what’s going on. I don’t necessarily think seeing a counselor is the worst idea, though.”
“Yeah.” Amy tapped her bottom lip with her finger. “Especially since I’m worried what might happen if Max changes his mind and decides he wants to go back to his old dating ways.”
Slowly, Ivy slid her blue eyes to Amy. “Is that what you’re worried about?”
“Yeah. I know what you’re going to say. You’re loyal to your brother and feel it will never happen. I can’t help but be worried, though.”
Ivy understood where the fear was coming from. If she were in Amy’s position, she would feel the same way. “Nothing I say is going to erase all the worry,” she supplied. “The thing is ... I’m going to do the same thing for you that Max did for me when Jack and I started dating.
“I was upset at the time because I thought Jack would never be happy in Shadow Lake. He came from the big city after undergoing a terrible ordeal. I thought, once he recovered mentally, he would take off because Shadow Lake wouldn’t be enough for him.
“Max is the one who sat me down to explain things,” she continued. “He said that it wasn’t about Shadow Lake being enough. It was about me being enough and Jack had already decided that I was more than enough. It took me a while to see it, but when I relaxed a bit, it was right there in front of me.
“It’s the same for you and Max. You’re more than enough for him. He wants you and that’s not going to change. No one blames you for being nervous given everything you’ve been through. It’s going to take some time to relax. Once you do, though, you’re going to realize that I’m right.”
Amy let loose a heavy sigh. “I hope so. I hate being afraid.”
“I promise things are going to be okay. Now ... come on.” Ivy looped her arm through Amy’s and tugged her toward the store. “Just because I hate those dresses, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to see here. I contacted the owner a few weeks ago with some dresses I wanted to see in person and she ordered some samples. They’re here.”
“Oh.” Amy brightened considerably. “What kind of dresses are they?”
“Simple.”
“I still can’t wait to see them.”
Even Ivy had to admit she was a little anxious to see them, too.
ZELDA MORRIS WAS IN HER sixties and had been a resident of Shadow Lake her entire life. Her dream when she was a small girl was to own a wedding shop and she’d made good on that goal when she was in her thirties. Now, thirty years later, she was still enjoying the fruits of her labor.
“I wondered if you were actually going to show up,” Zelda tsked as Ivy and Amy strolled through the front door. “I thought maybe you got cold feet. There’s a pool going around about that, by the way. Half the people in town think you’re going to back out and the other half think Jack is going to be the one to pull the plug. Just for the record, everyone who believes Jack is going to back out boasts a pair of ovaries.”
Ivy scowled. “No one is going to back out, Zelda. Why did you have to say that to me? Now I’m going to look at every face I see and wonder how they voted.”
“Or you could just ignore them, get married, and live happily ever after,” Zelda countered, shaking her head. She was a statuesque woman, tall and rangy, and she wore an extravagant evening gown that would’ve been more at home at a country club gala than a small-town boutique. “I told them they were all idiots and put money on you guys making it through your vows without a catastrophe. Don’t let me down because I’ve got my eye on an expensive new pair of shoes and the winnings will cover the cost.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. Seriously, what else could she do? “You said you had the samples I was interested in seeing, right? I want to try them on.”
“I have the samples.” Zelda bobbed her head and switched her gaze to Amy. “I’m trying to place you and coming up empty. Ivy doesn’t have the best manners so she probably doesn’t realize that she should introduce us.”
Ivy’s cheeks flooded with color. She hated being chastised over manners ... especially when the admonishment came from a woman who regularly crossed paths with her mother. “I’m sorry,” she offered sincerely. “I assumed you knew who she was because the entire town has been buzzing about her. This is Amy Johnson.”
“Ah.” Zelda’s eyes gleamed with interest as she bobbed her head. “I have heard your name. I should’ve realized you were the young woman at the center of the gossip.”
Amy swallowed hard. “I’m the center of gossip?”
“Well ... Max is the center of gossip and you’ve been dragged in because of your close association with him.”
“Oh.” Amy rubbed her hands together, nervous energy washing over her. “What are they saying?”
“It doesn’t matte
r,” Ivy interjected, her voice firm. The look she shot Zelda was full of warning. “This entire town is full of gossips who have nothing better to do than talk about others rather than living their own lives. It’s stupid.”
“It’s totally stupid,” Zelda agreed, grinning as she patted Amy’s arm. “Don’t worry about it, dear. Everybody is simply jealous. Max is considered quite the catch. Everybody wanted him.”
“See.” Ivy tilted her head toward Amy. “I told you my brother was a catch. There are just days you’re going to want to throw him back. Try to resist.”
Zelda chuckled. “Max is definitely a keeper. The boy has always been overloaded with charm, to the point where most people assumed that he somehow got a double dose ... and some of it should’ve gone to this one.” She inclined her head toward Ivy. “We thought there was a chance Ivy would be single for the rest of her life, but luckily Jack came along to save us all.”
“Can you just get my dresses?” Ivy complained.
“Yes, I’ll get your dresses.” Zelda poked her side. “You still haven’t developed a sense of humor. I was hoping Jack would be a good influence on you in that respect, too.”
“Maybe I just don’t find you funny. Have you ever considered that?”
“No. Everybody finds me funny.” Zelda offered Amy a friendly wink and then disappeared toward the back of the store. “I’ll be right back. I kept the dresses in the back because I didn’t want anyone to see them before you, Ivy.”
“Thank you.” Ivy’s expression remained dark as she watched the woman disappear. “Sometimes I really hate this town,” she lamented after a beat.
Amy snickered, genuinely amused. “I think you’re all talk ... and I think you talk bigger than you actually feel. You’re excited to try on dresses. You just don’t want anyone to realize that.”
Ivy heaved out a sigh. “If you tell anyone, I’ll wrestle you down and make you cry. You’ve been warned.”
Ivy Morgan Mystery Box Set 5 Page 39
