“Oh, even I can’t be cruel when you’re this worked up,” Ivy lamented, pressing her head to the spot above his heart. “How does a couple’s pedicure sound? We can sit in those massaging chairs and have other people work on our feet.”
“Do they make those chairs to fit two people?”
“It’s a dream, Jack. We can make anything we want.”
“Then let’s do that,” Jack said. “Make sure you create a comfortable chair, though. I just want to hold you.”
“You are holding me.”
Jack slid his eyes shut and kissed her. “And I’m never going to let you go. I don’t know how this is all going to work out, but I’m absolutely certain of that.”
Seven
Jack woke to Ivy’s mouth on his and he returned the kiss with enthusiasm. He felt rejuvenated after their shared dream and a good night’s sleep, and he was thrilled that she seemed back to her usual self.
He tugged her small frame on top of his and stroked the back of her head, sighing as he tightened the covers around them and glanced out the window.
“It’s sunny today.”
“You should be a weather forecaster.”
“Thanks for that, mouth.” Jack trailed his fingers over Ivy’s back and made the usual groaning noises that accompanied him waking up. “How did you sleep?”
“Hard.”
“Me, too. I slept well, though. That pedicure thing was fun.”
Ivy snorted at the memory, amused. Jack hadn’t been keen on strangers touching his feet but eventually relaxed into the endeavor. He complained bitterly when it was time for them to leave and embrace regular sleep. “I had fun, too.”
Jack cupped the back of her head and tilted it so she had no place to look but his face. “Are we okay?”
Ivy nodded. “We’re fine. I think the better questions is: Are you okay?”
“I’m frustrated,” Jack admitted. “I thought I would do a better job at melding my old world – which basically consists of my mother and sister and nothing else – with my new world. I haven’t done a very good job of it.”
“You’re doing the best you can,” Ivy countered, tracing her finger over his strong jaw. “It’s going to take time. We’ll figure it out. If they continue to hate me we’ll just deal.”
“Honey, they don’t hate you.”
“Jack, let’s not kid ourselves,” Ivy countered. “Your mother can’t stand me and your sister wants to play games. I’m not an idiot. Please don’t treat me as if I am.”
Jack heaved out a sigh. “My sister enjoys playing two sides against the middle. That’s exactly what she’s doing. I’m the middle and she wants to see who will come out standing. I’m not worried about that because you’ll kick her butt.”
Ivy snorted. “Nice.”
“It’s the truth,” Jack said. “She’s always been this way. We’ve never been close. We’re not like you and Max.”
“That’s probably a good thing.”
“No, even though you get annoyed with Max on a regular basis, you love him more than just about anything … other than the cat and me, of course.” Jack’s eyes twinkled as he rubbed the back of Ivy’s neck. “He’s your best friend. You always confide in him and he wanted to punch me in the face yesterday morning because he’s so loyal to you. I can’t really blame him.”
“Max and I are close,” Ivy conceded. “I think you might be my best friend, though.”
Jack jutted out his lower lip as he considered the statement. “That’s weird. I think you might be my best friend, too.”
“Do you think that makes us codependent?”
“I’m beyond caring.” Jack pressed a lingering kiss to Ivy’s mouth. “What do you want to do for breakfast?”
“I thought I would just whip something up here. Then I have some errands to run. What are you going to do with your mother and sister?”
“I suppose ignoring them until they go away isn’t an option.”
“Nope.”
“I figured you would say that,” Jack muttered. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I guess I should drive out there to check on them. I have work to do and they’re going to have to understand that.”
“I guess we didn’t talk about what happened yesterday because we were distracted by other stuff. I heard through the grapevine that Ron McDonald died. Is that true?”
“Yeah. Did you know him?”
“As well as anyone else, I guess. I knew him to say hi when I saw him around town. I didn’t know him very well, though. I know his daughter Gilly. She was always nice. She was one of the few people who didn’t give me attitude in high school. I wouldn’t exactly say we were friends, but we were definitely friendly.”
“I’m still trying to keep up on all of the relationships,” Jack said. “I didn’t see Gilly. Brian interviewed her husband before he took off to tell her what happened. I guess a lot of people run around on that property and he didn’t want to risk someone accidentally blabbing.”
“That sounds reasonable.”
“I talked to the brother and the old-timer on the property, too. They said that Ron didn’t have any enemies and was a nice guy. Would you agree with that?”
“I’ve never known Ron to fight with anyone, so I definitely think that’s a fair assessment. By ‘old-timer,’ do you mean Lionel?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s been around forever and he seems like a stand-up guy, too.”
“He seemed fine during the interview,” Jack said. “Either way, someone shot Ron McDonald twice and left him for dead on his own property. We should get a preliminary report from the medical examiner’s office today and I guess we’ll go from there.”
“Well, if you need help, you know where to find me.”
Jack chuckled. “Do you think I need you to do my job?”
“Only if you want it done correctly.”
“Cute.” Jack nuzzled Ivy’s cheek as he tucked her tighter against his chest. “I don’t want to leave this bed. This right here – you and me like this – it’s my happy place.”
“Mine, too. I don’t think you have a lot of options, though. If you purposely ignore your mother, she’s not going to take it well.”
“I know. I want five more minutes of this, though.”
“Done.” Ivy rested her head on Jack’s chest and pressed her eyes shut as he caressed her back. She was close to drifting off again when he spoke.
“What are you doing today?”
“Oh, well, now that I’m bringing two extra guests to Thanksgiving dinner, my mother and Aunt Felicity are insisting I help with the meal preparations. Apparently we’ve both got our version of Hell hitting this week.”
“I’m sorry, honey. This is all my fault.”
“You need to stop apologizing,” Ivy chided. “You didn’t do this. It’s a hard situation, but we’ll deal with it. I can cook with my mother. I’ve survived the ordeal before. We really need to find a turkey, though. When my mother mentioned she was going to make tofu instead, your mother had a meltdown.”
Jack lifted an eyebrow, surprised. “I didn’t know our mothers met. Um, how did that go?”
“Do you want me to lie or tell the truth?”
“Lie.”
“It went great. They’re going to meet for lunch so they can braid each other’s hair.”
Jack snorted. “Okay, now tell me the truth.”
“It didn’t go well,” Ivy volunteered. “Your mother was insistent on cooking her own meal and I told her that was stupid and wasteful – which only made her hate me more – and then my mother and Aunt Felicity showed up. My mother was in her own little world, as usual, but Aunt Felicity read the situation correctly and tried to handle it to the best of her ability.
“Your sister got in a dig about you being embarrassed by me and that’s why you didn’t tell them you were dating me and my mother got angry and then there was some general bossiness,” she continued. “It went pretty much how you would expect it to go.”
“You know that’s not true, right?”
“That I’m bossy?”
“I’m fine with you being bossy,” Jack replied. “I like it … at least some of the time. It’s a lot of fun when we take turns being bossy. I was talking about the other part, though. I would never be embarrassed by you.”
“I … um … .”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Jack muttered, shifting lower on the bed so he could meet her gaze. “Honey, I’m proud every moment I get to spend with you. Don’t listen to my sister and mother. They’re bitter and trying to exert control. They feel helpless and they’re taking it out on you.”
“I’ve been trying to think about things – you know, put myself in their position – and I get it,” Ivy said. “They love you and don’t know me. We’ll figure out a way to make it work.”
“We’d better,” Jack said. “I’m not giving you up. It’s not going to happen and they’re going to have to live with the new reality if they want to be part of my life.”
Ivy didn’t like his dour tone, but she decided to let it go. “It will work out. Have faith.”
“I have faith in you,” Jack said, smacking a kiss against her lips. “Now give me some love because I think I’m going to need it to make it through the day.”
Ivy’s smile was genuine and heartfelt. “Finally something I want to do.”
“YOU SEEM tense.”
Felicity followed Ivy up the long parking lot that led to the McDonald farm, her eyes keen as she studied her niece. Ivy had good color to her cheeks and appeared much happier than the day before, but Felicity could read the anxiety rolling off her niece’s shoulders as they marched toward the main house.
“I’m not tense,” Ivy countered. “I’m just … focused. We need a turkey for Jack’s family and we’re not really big turkey buyers. Jack mentioned they have fresh turkeys here. I like buying local. You know that.”
“Uh-huh.” Felicity wasn’t convinced. “I could’ve bought the turkey. I’m the one who will be cooking it.”
“That’s because you’re the only one who has ever roasted one,” Ivy pointed out. “I’ve never even tried turkey. Mom never cooked one. Thank you for doing this, by the way. The idea of trying to stuff tofu down Margaret’s throat is enough to give me nightmares.”
Felicity snorted, amused. “I’m fine cooking a turkey. Your brother will be massively excited because he used to have to sneak over to his friends’ houses to get turkey when he was a teenager. This will be a magical day for him.”
“I never thought about that,” Ivy admitted, catching the eye of a worker and smiling. “We’re here for a turkey.”
The worker nodded and gestured toward the barn. “Back that way. Darren is there. He can help you.”
“Thank you.” Ivy and Felicity lapsed into comfortable silence as they trudged in the direction the worker indicated. “I never thought about Max being deprived in the food department. He does get the short end of the stick sometimes.”
“Well, now that we have Jack and Max eating meat, we’ll be more cognizant of it,” Felicity said, patting Ivy’s arm. “And if Margaret and Denise are going to be around more often … .”
“Yeah, let’s hope that doesn’t happen,” Ivy muttered, shaking her head. “That’s the last thing I want.”
Felicity pursed her lips as she regarded her niece. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Ivy replied. “They’re here. They hate me. We have to deal with them.”
“That’s hardly what I meant,” Felicity said dryly. “Your mother was very upset when Margaret told her that Jack never mentioned he was dating you. She took it as an insult.”
“Jack told his mother we were dating. She just pretends he didn’t.”
“And why do you think that is?”
“Honestly? I think it’s because she wants to believe he’s moving back to the city,” Ivy answered. “If he’s dating someone up here that makes it less likely he will move south again. She’s trying to force the outcome she wants.”
“That sounds very pragmatic,” Felicity said, tugging on her coat to make it lay flat over her ample bosom. “Do you really feel that way?”
“I feel that Jack is being tortured right now and that’s the last thing I want,” Ivy replied, opting for honesty. “He says he’s never been happier than he is now and I believe him. I only got to see him with his mother for a few minutes, but he was incredibly uncomfortable and searching for a way to reach her. She doesn’t appear to listen to him.”
“And not in the fun way your mother ignores you and Max, right?” Felicity prodded, her eyes twinkling.
“Exactly,” Ivy confirmed. “Jack is doing his best. I’m not going to put added pressure on him. He doesn’t deserve it.”
“What do you deserve?”
“I don’t know what I deserve. I do know that I want Jack. I … love him.”
Felicity chuckled at Ivy’s discomfort. “Of course you love him. He’s your destiny. You two are crazy about each other and it’s adorable.”
Ivy pursed her lips. “What if his mother forces him to choose, though?”
“Then he’ll choose you.”
“I don’t want him to have to choose. That’s going to make him bitter no matter how he fights against it.”
“I understand that,” Felicity said. “You can’t fight Jack’s battles for him, though. He needs to find even footing and the strength to call his mother on her behavior. This won’t be settled until he finds his courage.”
“Jack is the bravest man I know.”
“So he should find his courage relatively quickly,” Felicity said, smiling. “It will all work out, Ivy. Have a little faith. I don’t doubt for a second that you and Jack will spend your lives together. There’s no reason to fret.”
“I’m not fretting.” Ivy crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve always hated that word, by the way.”
Felicity giggled. “You’ll live. Now, let’s find the refrigerated section so we can pick out a turkey.”
“That sounds good to me.” Ivy rounded the corner of the barn and pulled up short when she caught sight of Darren McKinnon and Lionel French. They stood toe-to-toe, their eyes trained on each other and their hands clenched at their sides, almost as if they were about to come to blows. They obviously didn’t notice the two women hovering near the side of the barn.
“I’m not messing around, Lionel,” Darren snapped. “We need to streamline this process if we expect to make a profit.”
“What do you think I’m doing?” Lionel asked dryly. “Do you think I’m just sitting around twiddling my thumbs? I’m doing the work. You’re the one who took the entire morning off to do … whatever it is you were doing.”
“You mean comforting my wife after the death of her father?”
“Oh, don’t do that,” Lionel said, rolling his eyes. “We’re both in this together. If we expect it to work, we’ve both got to put the time in. Stop being an idiot and focus on the big picture. We’re running out of time and you can’t coddle Gilly now that this has happened. This changes things … a lot.”
Feeling uncomfortable, Ivy cleared her throat to draw Darren and Lionel’s attention in her direction. She forced a tight-lipped smile as she stared at them, not missing how Darren noticeably flushed upon seeing her. He recovered quickly, though, and flashed a bright smile as he stepped toward them.
“Can I help you, ladies?”
“I hope so,” Ivy said. For some reason she felt nervous after overhearing their conversation. They didn’t say anything damning, but they clearly weren’t happy they’d been overheard. “We need a turkey. I heard you have fresh turkeys.”
“We do,” Darren said, smiling. “Take your pick.”
Ivy was confused as she glanced around. “Where?”
Darren pointed toward the field to her right. “There.”
Ivy focused on the field, Felicity moving up beside her and making a sma
ll clucking sound, and her heart dropped when she realized what she was looking at. “Those turkeys are alive.”
“That’s the way it works,” Darren supplied. “You pick the turkey you want, we butcher and clean it, and then you take it home. It doesn’t get any fresher than that.”
Ivy was horrified. “I pick out a live bird and you kill it?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that has to be against the law,” Felicity intoned, shaking her head. “That’s simply barbaric.”
“This is a turkey farm,” Darren said. “Did you think we had a refrigerated section out here or something?”
It made her feel like an idiot, but that’s exactly what Ivy thought. “I think we can make do with a frozen turkey, right?”
Felicity immediately nodded. “Absolutely.”
“I’m … um … sorry for the misunderstanding,” Ivy said, taking a step away from the field with the gobbling turkeys and shaking her head. “I think we’re going to choose from the selection at the store, though. They don’t make noises … or have heads and walk around.”
“Your loss,” Lionel said, clearly enjoying himself as he chuckled. “There’s nothing better than a farm fresh turkey.”
“I think I’ll have to take your word for it.”
Eight
“This is it?” Margaret glanced around the small police department, disbelief flitting across her pinched face. “This is the entire department?”
“It’s a small town.” Ava Moffett, the department secretary, kept a smile in place even as she bristled. “We don’t need a bigger department. That would be a waste of money and real estate. I think it’s quaint.”
Margaret couldn’t stop her head from bouncing around. “It’s so tiny, though. You could fit this entire building in one wing of Jack’s old station. I’m not sure ‘quaint’ is the word I would use.”
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you about that,” Ava sniffed. “Jack seems happy here so I guess you’ll have to take that up with him.”
“Don’t worry. She will.” Denise offered Ava a huge smile. She sensed the woman would be up on all of the gossip and she had no intention of letting her leave without feeling her out regarding Jack and his new girlfriend. “Have you lived in Shadow Lake your entire life?”
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