Wicked Warning (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 5)

by Lily Harper Hart

  This time Ivy was the one to raise her hand, catching both Jack and Brian off guard.

  “Seriously?” Brian was incredulous. “Why would you punch your brother?”

  “Because she’s a menace,” Max hissed, jerking his arm away from Ivy. “I was trying to protect her and she did this.” He pointed toward his eye for emphasis. “I’m with those guys. Throw the book at her.”

  “Hey, I thought you were one of them and I was protecting myself,” Ivy argued. “I didn’t mean to punch you. It was instinct. You act as if I’ve never punched you before. Man up! You’ll be fine.”

  “Yeah, just think, the women will be all over you when they think you’re wounded and in need of care,” Brian said, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Maybe you’ll be able to convince someone to play naughty nurse with you.”

  Max brightened at the suggestion. “Well, that’s the best possibility I’ve heard all day.”

  “You guys can go,” Brian said, turning his attention back to the four men. “Don’t cause any trouble tonight, because if we have to come out here a second time we’ll definitely take you into custody.”

  “We were having a perfectly good evening until the evil temptress walked into our lair and infringed on our personal liberties,” Virgil argued. “Blame her.”

  “Oh, don’t worry,” Jack supplied. “I’m definitely going to blame her.”

  Ivy swallowed hard but her senses returned before Virgil had a chance to walk away. “Wait! He has my phone.” She pointed for emphasis.

  Brian wordlessly held out his hand and Virgil appeared reluctant to hand over the iPhone.

  “I want my photograph deleted from that thing,” Virgil said. “I don’t like having my picture taken.”

  “Why?” Brian asked, accepting the phone. “Do you think it steals your soul or something?”

  Virgil made a face. “No. I just like being pretty when my image is being captured for the enjoyment of the masses. I didn’t get a chance to shower today. I don’t look as pretty as I could.”

  Ivy snorted. “Don’t kid yourself,” she snapped. “I smelled you when you tried to wrestle the phone away. You haven’t showered in a week … at least.”

  “And you smelled pretty,” Virgil sneered. “I’ll be thinking about that all night tonight. How does that make you feel?”

  “Hey, that will be enough of that,” Jack warned, extending a finger. “Go back inside. We’ll deal with the … evil temptress.”

  “You do that,” Virgil said. “Delete those photos, too. She didn’t have permission to take them.”

  “Her phone is evidence, but once we’ve gotten everything sorted out I’ll get right on that,” Brian said dryly.

  The foursome remained quiet until the men disappeared inside. The moment that happened Jack lost the limited cool quotient he was clinging to. “What in the hell did you think you were doing?”

  Instead of apologizing – or even feeling guilty for her actions – Ivy strode forward and poked Jack in the middle of his chest. “Don’t yell at me!”

  Max slapped his hand to his forehead. “Great, Ivy. That’s the way to handle this situation. Dig your heels in. This should end well. Just know, if he dumps you, I’m not sitting by your bedside holding your hand while you cry. I won’t do it.”

  “He’s not going to break up with me,” Ivy shot back. “He’s going to yell … and pace … and make a lot of noise. He won’t break up with me, though.”

  Jack narrowed his eyes. “What makes you say that?”

  “Because you told me that you wouldn’t,” Ivy replied, not missing a beat. “You told me that you were happy with me and you even like it when we fight. You’re not going to let something like this – a very minor thing, mind you – derail our relationship. I have faith.”

  “See, I am happy you have faith because you’re right,” Jack said. “I’m not breaking up with you. I’m not happy with you and your actions right now, though. What were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking that Dan Dorsey played cards out here and maybe the person who framed him did the same,” Ivy explained, unruffled. “I wanted to see who the regulars were, and let me tell you something, they’re all jerks.”

  “What did you want the photos for?” Brian asked, genuinely curious.

  “I wanted something to show Jessica,” Ivy answered. “I thought she could rule these guys in or out pretty easily. She seems more open to helping. I know you said that a photo lineup isn’t admissible in court, but if I show her the photos then you guys are off the hook.”

  “That’s actually … a pretty good idea,” Brian said.

  “Don’t encourage her,” Jack muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “How did you even find out Dorsey played cards here? He didn’t tell us that. We tried to get him to discuss people who might want to frame him and he spouted some nonsense about God clearing it up when the end of the world came. We ordered another psych evaluation because no one is comfortable setting him loose amongst the general populace in case he tries to bite them or something.”

  “Douglas Dorsey came to see me today,” Ivy said. “His mother made him apologize. We talked for a little bit – he called me a ball-buster, by the way – and then he let slip about the card games.”

  “You are a ball-buster,” Jack muttered, shuffling from one foot to the other as he considered Ivy’s words. “What do you think about all of this?”

  “I think I’m a genius,” Ivy said.

  “I was talking to Max,” Jack shot back, shaking his head. “How did you let her talk you into this?”

  “She explained that you wouldn’t be happy with the excursion and there was no way I was going to let her go alone,” Max replied matter-of-factly. “She’s my sister. I know you’re in a relationship, but she’s still my sister and I’ve known her longer. She’s stubborn. She was going to head out here alone if I didn’t come with her. She needed a chaperone.

  “You should be thankful she thought ahead to ask me in the first place,” he continued. “If I hadn’t been here … well … let’s just say things would’ve been pretty bad.”

  “I handled myself just fine,” Ivy argued.

  “You kicked two of them and punched me,” Max argued. “I took on the other two and protected you. I’m a hero and should be treated as such.”

  “Fine,” Ivy muttered. “I’ll make you a blackberry pie tomorrow.”

  “And blueberry.” Max crossed his arms over his chest, practically daring Ivy to challenge him.

  “And blueberry,” Ivy conceded. “Will that make you happy?”

  “I’ll be happy once I go to a regular bar and all of the women fall over themselves to play nurse for me,” Max said. “Can I be done here?”

  Brian nodded. “Try not to throw your back out when you’re getting your sponge bath.”

  “No promises,” Max said, offering Ivy a small wink to let her know there were no hard feelings before moving in the direction of his truck. “Try to keep your temper in check, Jack. She is who she is and you like who she is.”

  “I never said I didn’t,” Jack said. “I would just like her better if she wouldn’t do dangerous stuff all of the time.”

  “Well, then she wouldn’t be her,” Max said. “I’ll be by for my pies tomorrow, Ivy. Make sure they’re good ones. I want the little cutout fruit shapes made out of dough and everything.”

  “Wait!” Ivy cast a desperate look toward Max as he shifted to face her. “I need a ride home. We came together.”

  “I think Jack is taking you home,” Max said, chuckling.

  “But … .”

  “Oh, no, honey,” Jack said, his voice taking on a falsetto tone. “Max is right. I am taking you home. We obviously need some quality time together to talk.”

  “You mean yell,” Ivy clarified, shaking her head. “I’m not in the mood to yell.”

  “That’s okay,” Jack said, holding out his arm to usher her toward the cruiser. “I can do enough of it for
both of us.”

  “Here,” Brian said, handing Ivy her phone. “I think the photos are a good idea. I’d start with Virgil. He obviously didn’t want his photograph shown to anyone, and I doubt very much it was because he didn’t feel pretty.”

  “Yeah, I’m going to see Jessica first thing in the morning,” Ivy said. “She’s helping at the nursery greenhouse for a little bit and then I plan on taking her back to the house so she can help with Max’s pies.”

  “That’s good,” Brian said. “Keep me updated if you find something.” He cast a glance over his shoulder and raised his hand to catch Max’s attention. “I’m coming with you.”

  Now Ivy felt really desperate. “What? You need to ride with Jack and me. I … you have to.”

  “I think you and Jack need quality time together, Ivy,” Brian said, his eyes twinkling. “I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

  “But he won’t yell as much if you’re there,” Ivy whined.

  “Well, you’re a big girl,” Brian countered. “You need to suck it up.” He patted Jack’s shoulder by way of saying goodbye. “Call me if you come up with anything after I’m gone.”

  “That’s on top of my list,” Jack said, licking his lips. “Ms. Morgan, if you’ll make your way to the cruiser, I would be happy to drive you home.”

  “This bites,” Ivy muttered, scuffing the toe of her shoe against the dirt parking lot. “I’m going to yell back. I hope you’re ready for it.”

  “Oh, I’m looking forward to it, honey,” Jack said, pressing his hand to the small of Ivy’s back. “I think it’s going to make both of us feel better when it’s all said and done.”

  “You’re a masochist.”

  “I can live with that.”

  “WHEW!” Ivy rolled to her side in her bed an hour and a half later and rested her head on Jack’s shoulder, struggling to catch her breath. “That was a fun fight.”

  Jack tugged Ivy’s comforter up to make sure they were both covered, his eyes drifting shut as his heart rate slowly returned to normal. “That was a pretty good fight,” he agreed. “The making up was even better.”

  “I was talking about the making up.”

  “I know,” Jack said, chuckling as he rested his hand on top of hers and clutched her fingers. “Did I yell too much?”

  “You didn’t really yell all that much,” Ivy said. “You were calm the entire drive. I didn’t particularly like the part where you said you were disappointed because I didn’t tell you my plan, but the rest wasn’t too bad.”

  “I am disappointed,” Jack said. “I thought we were a team.”

  “We are a team,” Ivy said. “I just … you’ve been so busy and I thought it would be an easy trip. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  “You didn’t hurt my feelings,” Jack clarified. “I’m actually glad you took Max. That was the smartest thing you did all night.”

  “I thought the photographs were smart.”

  “Those, too,” Jack said, pressing his lips to her forehead and shifting so they were both more comfortable. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you even consider asking me to go with you?”

  “I did.” Ivy’s answer took Jack by surprise. “I worried that would put you in a bad position for your job, though. I figured if I did it, if I was doing something illegal, it wouldn’t blow back on you. I wasn’t trying to be sneaky.”

  “Really?” Jack wasn’t convinced of her sincerity.

  “Okay, I wasn’t only trying to be sneaky,” Ivy said. “I don’t want you getting hurt because of me, though, Jack. I couldn’t take that.”

  “Well, I don’t want you getting hurt period,” Jack said. “You’re okay, though. You’ve got photographs to show Jessica tomorrow. We’re still at the beginning of what feels like a really long road.”

  Ivy wasn’t sure they were at the beginning of anything, but she didn’t voice her suspicion to Jack. To her it felt as if they were closing in on the end, although she couldn’t figure out why she felt that way.

  “Do you want to fight again or go to sleep?” Ivy asked, yawning as she stretched. “I’m not sure I have another fight in me.”

  “I want to sleep,” Jack murmured into her hair, tightening his arm around her. “If you’re still in the mood we’ll fight again in the morning.”

  “Sold.”

  Twenty-One

  “You don’t need to babysit me.”

  Jack dropped the bag of mulch he carried on the floor of the greenhouse the next morning and fixed Ivy with a disdainful look. “I am not babysitting. I’m helping.”

  “It feels like you’re babysitting.”

  “It feels like you’re giving me an ulcer,” Jack countered, wiping the sweat from his brow. “It’s going to be a hot one today. Are you sure you want to spend all day working in the greenhouse with Jessica? It’s going to be stifling in here.”

  “Max is bringing over two of those industrial fans from the lumberyard,” Ivy replied, reaching for a pair of gardening gloves. “I was serious about the babysitting, though. Jessica isn’t going to feel like opening up if you’re hovering.”

  “Listen, mouth, I’m not babysitting,” Jack said. “I’m here to watch you show her the photos and then I’m going to plan my day accordingly from there.”

  “Oh.” Ivy pressed her lips together, mildly chastised. Part of her believed his explanation. Part of her thought something more was at play. “Do you want to know what I think?”

  “Not even remotely.”

  Ivy ignored Jack’s words and plowed forward. “I think you just can’t bear to be away from me,” she said. “I think the mere idea of being out of my presence makes you want to cry.”

  Jack tried to keep his face stern, but failed miserably. “Is that so?”

  Ivy nodded. “After last night, I know it to be true. You can’t convince me otherwise.”

  “You know me so well,” Jack teased, dropping a kiss on her forehead before settling on the ground next to her. “That was a particularly nice dream last night. It was a surprise, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Ivy said, bobbing her head up and down. “It was an inspired choice. What made you think of it?”

  Jack stilled. “I thought you picked it,” he said. “I’ve never even thought about going on a cruise before. I thought that was something you wanted to try.”

  “I … huh.” Ivy screwed her face up into an expression that Jack found adorable. “That’s really weird. You know, when I was a kid I always wanted to go on a cruise ship. I thought it sounded like a fun adventure.”

  “It does sound like a fun adventure,” Jack said. “We’ll have to look into going on one down the line. We can do research and find a really good one.”

  Ivy was surprised. “Would you really want to do that?”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t know,” Ivy answered honestly. “You just don’t strike me as a cruise sort of guy.”

  “Well, anything that gets you in a bikini in public is my idea of fun,” Jack said. “We’ll definitely look into it. I think a cruise vacation is a spring or fall thing, though. Maybe we can swing it after Christmas. I don’t have a lot of time off this year because I started in the middle of the year.”

  “You want to make plans for after Christmas?” Ivy couldn’t stop herself from being amazed.

  “Don’t look so shocked,” Jack chided. “I know in the back of your head that you’re thinking about what that means and crap – that’s a chick move, by the way – but I have no problem making future plans with you.”

  “Even when I do stupid things like last night?”

  It was a test. Jack knew it. “No matter what,” he answered smoothly. “I’m resigned to the fact that we’re going to irritate one another on a daily basis. I’m looking forward to the fact that I expect that to go on for a long time.”

  Ivy’s heart warmed at the admission. She wasn’t used to emotional insecurity, but sometimes her feelings f
or Jack overwhelmed her and she couldn’t help but occasionally think that the rug was bound to be ripped out from beneath her feet if she got too comfortable. “I’m looking forward to that, too.”

  Her voice was barely a whisper and Jack caught her chin and pressed a soft kiss to her mouth to anchor the moment. He was ready. Those three little words were on the tip of his tongue. He opened his mouth to say them and … .

  “Are we interrupting something?” Brian cleared his throat for good measure as he poked his head through the greenhouse door.

  “Of course not,” Ivy said, pushing herself to her feet and dusting the seat of her ankle-length skirt off. “We were just talking.”

  “Yes, I’ve often found it easy to talk when you have your tongue jammed down someone else’s throat,” Brian said, shaking his head as he moved away from the door to give Jessica room to maneuver. While the girl trusted Brian and Jack, men still made her involuntarily nervous and Brian was going out of his way to make sure she didn’t feel uncomfortable as he played chauffeur this morning.

  “Hi, Jessica,” Ivy said, beaming. “Are you ready to get your hands dirty today?”

  Jessica glanced around the greenhouse, her face conflicted. “It’s hot in here and … I’m not sure I’ll be able to breathe without some fresh air.” She almost looked embarrassed to admit it.

  “My brother is on the way with industrial fans,” Ivy replied, unperturbed. “He should be here any minute. We can sit under the trees on the other side of the building. It will be cool there and no one will be able to see us. Plus, well, I have some photographs I want you to look at.”

  If Jessica was bothered by Ivy’s admission, she didn’t show it. “That sounds great.”

  “YOUR sister has been waiting for you.”

  Max jerked his head up, shifting his attention from the fans he carried to Jack’s lean figure resting against the wall of the cashier’s booth in front of Ivy’s nursery. “Hey, she’s lucky I brought these things out at all,” Max said, shifting one of the cumbersome fans in Jack’s direction. “After the crap she put me through last night, I deserve eight pies and she hasn’t given me one yet.”