Ivy’s eyes brightened. “So … you’re saying there’s something in that bag for me?”
Jack immediately started shaking his head. “Don’t even think about it.” He wagged a finger in her face. “I think we need to come to a meeting of the minds here.”
Ivy playfully squeezed Jack’s well-muscled rear end. “What did you have in mind?”
“Not that.” Jack’s eyes flashed hot as Ivy giggled. “How about, from now until Christmas, we both stay out of each other’s stuff?”
“That sounds very … un-stimulating.”
“You have an absolutely filthy mind and I love it.” Jack kissed the end of Ivy’s nose before sobering. “This is our first Christmas. I want it to be special.”
Ivy took pity on him. “I want it to be special, too. I won’t go through your stuff again.”
“I don’t care about it under normal circumstances,” Jack clarified. “You just … not until after Christmas.”
Ivy gave in, resigned. “Okay, but the day after Christmas I’m going through all of your stuff and I’m going to roll around on it naked.”
Jack released her with a chuckle. “Now that sounds like my kind of gift.”
JACK FOUND Brian sipping a mug of a coffee in their shared office when he hit the police department an hour later. He hadn’t been keen on leaving Ivy on her own for the bulk of the day after her big ordeal, but when he texted Max from the bathroom the outlandish Morgan sibling agreed to stop in and spend some time with his sister. That made Jack feel marginally better.
“How is Ivy?” Brian asked, flicking his eyes to Jack.
“She’s okay.” Jack was surprised to find he meant the words. “I kept expecting a meltdown of sorts, but it never came. She was tired and quiet last night, but she woke up ready and raring to go today.”
Brian cocked an eyebrow. “I’ve asked you repeatedly to keep your sex life with Ivy on the down low. I’ve known her since she was a small child.”
“Not that way,” Jack protested, scorching his partner with a harsh look. “She was in the mood for a fight this morning, although it only turned into a minor one. I’m thankful for that because I was a little worried about leaving her alone.”
Brian smirked. He was well aware of Jack and Ivy’s penchant for aggressive conversation. “What did you fight about?”
“She went through my stuff in my laptop bag and I panicked.”
Brian furrowed his brow. “We haven’t had anything other than boring jaywalking tickets in more than a week. What did you have in your laptop bag that was such a concern?”
“Oh, well … .” Jack scrunched up his face as he debated how to answer. Finally, he decided lying wasn’t an option. Besides, Brian might have some good construction ideas and they really were mired in quiet these days. “I’m going to propose to Ivy on Christmas Day.”
Brian’s eyebrows winged up his forehead. “Really? Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you have photographs of the rings in your files or something?”
Jack shook his head. “No. I want to upgrade her basement, though. She loves that house and I’m quite fond of it, too. It’s close to her work and she feels safe there. It’s important to her.”
“And?”
“And Max is helping me,” Jack replied. “He got some small portfolios from area workers and told me to go through them. I would like to have a basic plan in place to show Ivy when I propose. That house isn’t big enough as it is now. That basement has potential, but it’s dark and creepy.”
“And you want to upgrade it as part of her Christmas gift?” Brian couldn’t help but be impressed.
“Yes. I want to show her my plans the same day.”
“And that’s what was in the files, huh?” Brian’s lips curved. “Son, I think that’s a marvelous Christmas gift.”
Jack’s cheeks burned as he averted his gaze. “Yes, well, I accidentally snapped at her when I saw she was about to look and she accused me of having another girlfriend on the side.”
Brian’s laugh was so guttural it made Jack uncomfortable. “When would you have time for that?”
“That’s what I said,” Jack admitted. “She didn’t find it funny.”
“I can see that. How did you smooth things over?”
“I told her the truth, that we should stay out of each other’s stuff until after Christmas,” Jack replied. “She still thought it was funny, but she was instantly better.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad.”
“No,” Jack agreed. “I have to be more careful about keeping this a secret, though. Christmas is close. It won’t be long now.”
Brian liked messing with Jack but the fearful expression on his partner’s face was enough to give him pause. “Are you afraid?”
“You have no idea. My stomach is in knots.”
“If it’s any consolation, she’s going to say yes.”
Jack mostly believed that, but a small pocket of doubt had taken up residence in his heart and it often made him sick to his stomach. “I certainly hope so. I want to move forward and … I love her.”
Brian chuckled. “She loves you, too. There’s no reason to get worked up, drama queen. She’s going to say yes.”
Jack smiled despite himself. “She is, isn’t she?”
“I’VE DECIDED that men are complete and total morons.”
After completing her shower, Ivy changed into simple yoga pants and a T-shirt and returned to the kitchen, intent on working on a batch of clove-scented lotions for the bulk of the day. Instead she found her brother and a chocolate cake so she allowed herself to be distracted for the better part of the morning.
Max shoveled a huge forkful of cake into his mouth and arched an eyebrow as he watched Ivy fret from her chair. He waited until he swallowed to speak. “Present company excluded, right?”
Ivy was blasé. “Not so much.”
“Oh, you’re my least favorite sister in the world right now,” Max shot back. “I went out of my way to get you chocolate cake and this is the way I’m repaid?”
“The cake was a nice touch,” Ivy conceded, licking her thumb. “It’s just … Jack yelled at me this morning.”
Max widened his eyes. He was used to Jack and Ivy yelling at each other, but he couldn’t imagine any circumstances where Jack would yell at Ivy after she could’ve been killed the day before. “Why?”
“He caught me going through his stuff when he came out of the bathroom.”
Max was understandably confused. “Why were you going through his stuff?”
“I accidentally dropped files out of his laptop bag when I was moving it. I didn’t realize it was open.”
Understanding coursed through Max as he worked to hide his smile. He remembered where Jack stuffed the folders he delivered the previous evening. Jack overreacted and yelled because he was trying to keep his Christmas gift surprise under wraps. “I see. Well … what did he say?”
“He said that it was close to Christmas and he didn’t want me poking around,” Ivy replied. “I thought maybe my gift was in there but … now I’m starting to wonder if it’s something else.”
“Like what?”
Ivy shrugged. “I don’t know. Most men don’t keep Christmas gifts in file folders, though. I can’t think of one gift Dad ever gave Mom throughout the years that involved a file folder.”
Max wanted to laugh but recognized this was not the appropriate time. “Do you want to know what I think?”
“Not really.”
Max barreled forward all the same. “I think things are going so well between you and Jack that you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things are so good … and the love is so all-encompassing … that you think it can’t possibly last.”
Ivy opened her mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. Max honestly wasn’t that far off. He wasn’t completely right either, though. “Jack is hiding something from me.”
“It’s almost Christmas, Ivy,” Max prodded.
“Everyone is hiding something from one another right before Christmas. Heck, I’m hiding something from you.”
Ivy narrowed her eyes. “What did you get me?”
“A great big kick in the pants.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “Oh, yeah? I got you a wedgie for Christmas.”
Max snorted, amused. “I got you an atomic wedgie.”
“What did you get Mom?”
“Passes for that place in Florida that allows people to swim with dolphins.”
Ivy stilled. “Oh, that’s a great idea. I wish I would’ve thought of that.”
“Yes, but we’re brother and sister and only one of us got the brains in this particular operation,” Max teased. “That’s me. Sadly for you, I got the brains and the looks. You simply cannot compete.”
Ivy reached across the table and pinched the tender skin at Max’s wrist. “You’re a terrible brother.”
“Yes, but I’m going to be the favored child this Christmas. Ow!” Max jerked back his arm. “You’re a vicious thing when you’re out-gifted. You know that, right?”
Ivy ignored the dig. “So … you don’t think I have anything to worry about? You don’t think Jack is keeping something else from me, right?”
“No.” Max opted for honesty. “I guarantee, if Jack is keeping anything from you, it has everything to do with Christmas and nothing to do with anything else that you’ve concocted in that busy brain of yours. I mean … good grief. Jack is clearly devoted to you. Why would you think otherwise?”
Ivy shrugged, a momentary flash of helplessness washing over her. “Because I don’t think I could bear to lose him.”
Max’s expression softened. “You’re not going to lose him. Jack loves you.”
Ivy forced a smile for her brother’s benefit, hating the niggling worry barking at her from the corner of her brain. She wanted to believe Max more than anything, but she couldn’t cut off the warning whisper.
What if love isn’t enough?
Six
Jack and Brian made an afternoon of cleaning up old files, both looking forward to leaving early as long as a call didn’t come in. Brian filled the empty conversational space with stories about Shadow Lake’s Christmas pageant – which made Jack laugh because the stories involved Brian’s kids as well as Max and Ivy – and the partners slipped into an easy repertoire.
That all ended when Max walked into the department.
“Hey, Max.” Brian greeted the visitor with a wide smile. “Is it snowing out? I see you have a bit of a dusting in your hair.”
“It’s just a light snow,” Max replied, running his hand through his dark hair. “It’s not bad and the roads are fine.”
“That’s one of the things that’s so different about Shadow Lake,” Jack mused. “In Detroit, when you get light snow the city practically slows to a crawl because we don’t get enough of it for people to remember how to drive when it’s slippery out. Up here, people never forget.”
“What do you mean?” Brian asked, legitimately interested.
“Motorists panic down south,” Jack explained. “When snow hits – even if it’s unbelievably light and fluffy – people start driving ten miles an hour on the freeways and what used to be a thirty-minute commute turns into a two-hour extravaganza.”
“That sounds hellish,” Max said. “Why would anyone possibly want to live in the city?”
Jack shrugged, noncommittal. “You’re preaching to the reformed. I never want to return to the city for more than a visit if I can help it. I did have a nice time – for the most part – when I took Ivy to my old place a few months ago. That was mostly because she was excited about the restaurants I took her to, though. There aren’t a lot of vegetarian options in Shadow Lake. There’s only so much Italian I can pour into the girl … and then she smells like garlic for twenty-four hours. I guess it’s good that I love the smell of garlic.”
“I think you just love my sister,” Max pointed out.
Jack’s smile was easy. “That could be part of it, too. Speaking of your sister, how is she? Did you get to spend some time with her like you promised?”
“Oh, that’s why you haven’t been freaking out all day,” Brian intoned. “You got Ivy a babysitter. I wondered. I thought for sure you would be checking up on her every five minutes otherwise.”
“I didn’t get her a babysitter,” Jack clarified, wagging a warning finger. “Don’t ever say anything of the sort in front of Ivy. She won’t like it.”
“Yes, and we all walk around on eggshells worrying about what’s going to set off Ivy,” Max teased as he sat in the chair across from Jack’s desk. “I did visit her, though. I took a chocolate cake.”
Jack smiled. “Well, it sounds as if we’ll have something good for dessert.”
“We ate like a third of the cake ourselves,” Max warned. “There’s still some left for you, though.”
“I think my night is set.” Jack’s smile was smug. “I was thinking of picking up dinner and taking it back so Ivy doesn’t have to cook. Do you think that’s what she wants, or would she prefer cooking?”
Max held his hands palms up. “I don’t know. She likes cooking. It clears her head. When I left she was making clove-scented lotion, though, so the rest of her afternoon sounded booked. She would probably be fine with you picking up dinner.”
“Okay.” Jack studied Max for a long moment, his face conflicted. “What aren’t you saying?”
“What do you mean?” Brian asked, confused. “I’ve never known Max to have a thought he didn’t utter.”
“Ha, ha.” Max rolled his eyes. “Jack is very in tune with Ivy’s emotions. I guess that means he thinks he’s in tune with my emotions, too.”
“I can simply tell you have something on your mind,” Jack corrected. “What is it? Is something wrong with Ivy? She seemed okay when I left, but I’ve been waiting for her to freak out about what happened yesterday. Does she need me to go home?”
Max widened his eyes as words tumbled out of Jack’s mouth. “Oh, geez. She’s fine on that front. At least I think she is. She didn’t want to talk about it much but said she was trying not to dwell on it. I took that as a good sign.”
Jack relaxed, although only marginally. “Oh, that’s good. So … what’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong, per se, but Ivy is a little keyed up about what happened this morning,” Max replied. “She thinks you’re hiding something from her.”
“No, we talked about that.” Jack shifted on his chair, irritation bubbling up. “I didn’t mean to yell at her the way I did, but I apologized. Ivy said she was fine not snooping until after Christmas.”
Max snorted. “And you believed that?”
“I … .” Jack broke off, frustrated. “She seemed fine. Technically it was the truth.”
“I know.” Max held his hands up in a placating manner. “There’s no reason to shoot the messenger. I just thought you would want to know.”
“Know what? How can she possibly think I’m keeping things from her? We’ve been through so much crap that I have no secrets left to share. She even knows about my weird need to sit on the toilet when I shave in the morning instead of staring at myself in the mirror because I’m convinced that if I stare in the mirror I’ll nick myself.”
Max made an exaggerated face as he shook his head. “That was an overshare.”
“Which is exactly my point,” Jack said. “I don’t understand why she’s turning this into a thing. I’m trying to do right by her for Christmas, for crying out loud.”
“Calm down, drama llama,” Max teased, amusement lighting his eyes.
“I hate it when you call me that,” Jack grumbled.
Max ignored him. “I don’t think Ivy really thinks you’re keeping something from her. That’s simply easier for her to focus on than the man who died in her lap yesterday. She doesn’t want the trauma to ruin the holiday season so she’s fixating on something else. You freaking out about the files just happens to be the easiest thing to f
ocus on.”
“That honestly doesn’t make me feel better.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s going to be the death of me. You know that, right?”
Brian grinned. “What a way to go, though, huh?”
“There are definitely worse ways,” Jack said. “It’s just … that woman drives me crazy. If she ruins my surprise I’m going to be the one melting down.”
“Maybe that’s what she really wants,” Max suggested. “If you melt down, she won’t be the only one stirring up drama around the holidays. You know that saying about misery loving company? Maybe she’s simply attempting to drag you along for the ride.”
Jack hadn’t considered that possibility, but it made sense in a weird way. “Well, I’m going to nip that in the bud … and soon. I love the woman and her wild whims, but we are going to have a special Christmas this year. If I have to gag her to do it … well … so be it.”
Max met Brian’s gaze with a smile. “And a merry Christmas to us all, and to all a good night.”
Brian choked out a laugh. “Ah, I do love the drama with you guys even when I think I don’t. It keeps me young.”
Jack ignored the jocularity. “I’m definitely picking up dinner. We’re going to have a very long talk, whether she likes it or not.”
IVY’S KITCHEN smelled delightful as she sat at the end of the table and prepared to close dozens of lotion bottles. She printed her own labels – a design her father helped think up – and they touted Ivy’s Apothecary. Ivy found the name of the business somehow humorous given the fact that she’d been sharing dreams with Jack for months, had a conversation or two with a ghost before summer fled, and saw through the eyes of a killer only weeks before. She’d never identified as a “witch” – in fact arguing strenuously against the label while growing up in a town where people thought she was weird – but now she was running her own apothecary. The irony wasn’t lost on her.
Ivy was so lost in her task – she loved the scent of cloves, after all – she almost overlooked the knock on her front door. When it happened a second time, she flicked her eyes to the resting black cat on her couch and raised an eyebrow. “Do you think Uncle Max is back with more cake?”
Wicked Fun: An Ivy Morgan Mystery Books 7-9 Page 24
