by Kathi Barton
I’m betting you will. What do you mean, someone burned down her home? She told him what she knew on that as well. So, this man was pissed and decided the best way to deal with it was to do something as stupid as burning down her home?
Get this—he even sent her a note signing his name to it. I don’t know the man, but it sounds like—to me, anyway—he’d have blamed anyone that he could in his grief.
Adam also understood grief. When his grandma had passed, it had been hard on all of them. All right. But I have no idea why you think that I can give you any help. And if she is my mate, meeting her under these circumstances isn’t going to be helpful to any of us. Dylan asked him why not. Because, if I throw her onto the table and take her then, Mom is going to be pissed off at me about it. And I don’t want that any more than I need a mate right now.
Her laughter made him smile. Leaning over the catalogs that had arrived for him, Adam did more thinking than he did studying what he wanted. If she was his mate, he couldn’t see how they could be more unsuited. A doctor and a farmer. Christ, he’d be the laughingstock of the entire town.
~*~
Meghan was fidgeting again. Ivy was sure she burned up more energy doing that than Ivy did running daily. When she cleared her throat again, Meghan just glared at her and Ivy smiled.
“You’d not think this was so funny if you were trying to figure out what to do with your life right now.” Ivy asked her sister what she meant. “I have no way of getting home, other than a flight. I don’t have a driver’s license, nor do I have anywhere near the money it would take to get me home in a cab. You are being asked to stay here, and I feel as if I’ve been tossed aside when this was all my idea.”
“You’re the one that decided for me to go to med school? Geesh, Meghan. If you have any more ideas like that, you might want to warn me. What if I had wanted to be a hobo or something? Riding the tracks and stealing from each little town I went through.” Meghan glared harder. “You know that glaring at me doesn’t work on me. I’m a doctor who gets those sorts of looks all the time. I do have some good news though. My new phone, with a different number, is to arrive today. It also has caller ID.”
“Yes. And in the meantime, I have to put up with your stupid phone going off every ten seconds.” Ivy asked her how that was possible she heard it with it being turned off. “Trust me when I tell you, I can feel it going off. How you can stand to have it off completely is beyond me. I would be lost without my phone.”
“If I hadn’t promised you and Evan that I’d have one, I’d not have bothered at all. But I am enjoying working with him. He’s the kind of country doctor that I started out wanting to be.” Ivy looked out the window of the little café that they were having lunch in. “I might just leave the other one in your room in a place where you’d never find it but would hear it all the time.”
“You would do something so mean, I know that.”
Ivy watched the group coming toward the café. She knew who some of them were—others she could only guess were Whitfields as well. Whatever they wanted, it couldn’t bode well for her or her sister. “I think we’re about to have visitors. And whatever they want, it seems to be a family thing too.”
Her sister pulled out her compact and looked in it to give the illusion that she wasn’t concerned about anything. Ivy had to laugh at her. She loved her sister to the moon and back, but she sure was strange about whatever protocol she lived by in her head.
The people entered the café. They made the room, which was quite large, feel as if it had shrunk. She’d met one of the women earlier—Evan’s wife, Dylan. A table was set up for them without them saying a word to anyone, and when they were seated, Dylan came to see them.
“We’d like to talk to you both.” Before Ivy could decline their invite and leave, Meghan nodded and stood up. “Are you coming, Ivy, or should we all just try and crowd in this booth with you?”
“I’d like to see you try that.” She stood up as well and was glad that she was taller than Dylan by a couple of inches. Not much, since the other woman seemed to exude confidence and readiness, but she’d take what she could. “I was just leaving.”
Her food, which she’d ordered when she sat down, was put on the table she and Meghan were sitting at. Dylan smiled, a knowing one, and Ivy thought that she’d gladly have a smackdown with this woman. But she had a feeling that she’d never get in a single punch—the woman was just that good.
Dylan picked up Ivy’s lunch—what she could, anyway—and made her way to the larger table. Meghan had a big shit eating grin on her face that had Ivy thinking that she had lost. Oh well, she’d come out on top if she had anything to do with it. But Ivy stopped moving when she saw someone she knew sitting with them.
Henry Cobb stood up when she was standing by the table. Ivy shook herself, thinking that this couldn’t be the president of the United States having lunch with them. But as soon as he smiled, Ivy knew that it had to be him.
“Hello Ivy, Meghan. I’m glad to hear that you’re going to be working with Evan. The man could use someone like you in his corner.” Ivy told him that she wasn’t working for anyone. “Oh really? Then why did I process your ability to practice here if that wasn’t the case? Please, have a seat, my dear. I’m sure that the family here has a great many questions for us both.”
Sitting down, she looked at the man at the end of the long table. He was staring at her like he recognized her. She didn’t think that was possible, as she thought that she would have remembered someone that looked as yummy as he did. When Dylan laughed, everyone turned their attention to her—except the man. He continued to stare when Dylan was introducing everyone to her and her sister.
“Well, I did warn you of this.” The man, his name was Adam, didn’t bother looking at anyone else but her when he told Dylan to shut up. “This is epic. Welcome to the family, Ivy. I’m sure that you’re going to make a wonderful addition to the rest of us.”
Ivy wasn’t sure what was going on, and frankly didn’t care at this point. She had already decided to move on. The beach seemed to call for her. And the fact that she was going to retire from working unless she wanted to work was making the decision all that much better.
“I’m to understand that you and your sister have gotten this far on your way to the beach, Ivy. Were you planning to live there?” Ivy tore her eyes from the man to look at Henry. “I should probably explain how it is I know you. Even digging as deeply as Dylan can, I’m sure that she didn’t find this. Go ahead, tell them how you know me.”
“I was working in ER during my residency when there was a call about a man in an accident.” She looked at Adam again. “Can you please stop staring at me like I hold all the secrets of your fucking life?”
“You’re her. You’re really her, aren’t you?” Ivy looked at Adam and asked him what he was talking about. “I never thought that you’d be my mate when Dylan teased me about it. and to be honest, I thought you could do much better than someone like me. I’m just a farmer.”
Henry laughed. “Yes, you’re just a farmer, like I’m just running this country. Ivy, this is Adam Whitfield. He is a farmer as well as a rancher. He’s very intelligent, strong minded, and he is a cat. A tiger—Bengal, as a matter of fact. And you, my dear, are his mate.”
Ivy stood up when Adam did. She wasn’t sure what to do, where to go. Glancing at her sister was no help—she was just staring at Adam like he was an all-day sucker and she was going to have at him. For some reason, that made her want to claw Meghan’s eyes out. But she sat back down and picked up her fork, looking at her meal as she spoke about anything but what had just been said about Adam.
“I was finishing up my residency when there was an accident on the highway. I was living in Boston then, going to Harvard University for my last two years.” Someone whistled, and she glanced at Evan as she continued. “I had won a full ride there, and was going to do the best I could be at being a doctor.”
“And the accident that she’s referri
ng to is mine. I had been helping someone out, and we were headed out of town when another car didn’t stop at a light and we were T-boned on the passenger side.” Ivy looked at her sister then, knowing that she’d had no idea either as Henry continued, his voice low. “The woman, sadly, didn’t make it—nor did the man who hit us. He was killed instantly. Jenny had internal bleeding that caused her to bleed out. I had several chest injuries, some of them severe, and my heart had been badly bruised in the process. Had it not been for the fast thinking of Doctor Walton here, I would have died as well. Or would have been on life support. Ivy saved my life.”
“We’d been told that he was a John Doe, the woman Jane. I wasn’t concerned as to who he was when they told me what had happened. I was more concerned that he was going to die. My professor asked me to operate on him, to help him live.” Ivy glanced at Henry as she finished up. “Henry had just been nominated to take over the position of one of the congressmen for the state. Had anyone heard about the accident they would have thought it was foul play, no matter how much it was the other man’s fault.”
“So, it was kept out of the news. Why?” Henry told Sunny when she asked. “Were you the father of her child? I mean, you wouldn’t be dating someone else’s wife, would you?”
“No. I wasn’t dating her. The newspapers were told that a man and his wife were killed, to keep them out of the loop about me taking Jenny to the airport to leave her husband.” This time Carter asked why him. “Her husband was abusing not just her, but also his power in the House of Representatives. I was helping her to escape him when he was the one that hit us. He too was killed. So, in order to keep a scandal out of the paper, the accident was made to look like he and his wife had been out on a date. There was never any mention of me being anywhere near the place. They were out, a man hit them, and all died at the scene. End of story. At least that’s what was reported to the news.”
“Henry kept up with me. Would send me cards on my birthday and at Christmas. And when I was in town, he and I would have a nice dinner at his home until he became president. Then, because we didn’t want the public to ask questions, we cut it off. All of it.” Ivy stood up and pushed her chair in as she backed from the table. She looked at Adam. “I’m aware of what a mate is. But at this point, I’m not sure how much I can devote to a relationship. I’ve just lost my home and everything that was in it. I came here under false pretenses to help out Meghan, and we ran into trouble with my car. If it’s all the same to you, I’m going to take the first flight out tomorrow morning to restart my life. I’ve devoted my entire life to becoming a good doctor. But now, I haven’t any idea why I bothered.”
Ivy left them there, even Adam, in favor of going on a run. Going to the bedroom she’d been using, Ivy put on her running shoes and her lightweight jacket and headed out of town, jogging and counting her footsteps so as not to think about anything else.
Chapter 3
Adam saw her before she saw him—or at least he had to think that was why she jogged on by him as he sat on the stoop of the B&B. Getting up and sitting on the rocker, so he could watch her the rest of the way into town, Adam wondered just how many miles a day she jogged. And why she did it.
Her form was beautiful. Ivy’s body was toned so well that he wanted to see if all her muscles were that taut. While her hair was messily pulled into a ponytail, Adam thought that it wasn’t because she was trying to be beautifully mussed, but that she simply didn’t care what she looked like to others. He thought that was what made her more beautiful.
Adam tried to think of all the things that he’d heard about her. She was a surgeon, the best in her field. Hospitals across the world would call her up if she was needed. Ivy even taught a class or two at her local college, but only when she could devote her time to it. She didn’t let anything interfere with her career.
Dylan had said that Ivy had money—enough for her to not work for the rest of her life and never stress about where her next meal was coming from. But Adam knew that she’d not do that—quit—until she had no choice. Her feelings of obligation would keep her employed until she couldn’t do it anymore. And even then, she’d be working at something. When she came up onto the porch where he was, she paused when she saw him there.
“I’m sorry about lunch.” She just nodded, not saying or even giving anything away about what she was thinking. He decided right then and there that he’d never bluff with her. Her face was as unreadable as anyone he’d ever encountered. “I thought that we could talk, I just want to talk to you.”
“For what reason? I’m well versed in what this means. I have plenty of friends that are shifters, and I know that this is a done deal for us. The only thing that I ask of you is that you don’t interfere or try and make me quit what I’m doing.” He didn’t get a chance to answer her when she continued. “Recently I thought about it. Going to an island, lying on the beach all day, soaking up the sun. But I’d never be happy with that decision. I know that now.”
“You do what you want. I’d never do that to you. I can understand having a passion about something.” She was still standing near the steps and Adam was afraid that she’d take off again, and this time she might not return. “Could you come and sit with me?”
“I need to cool down.” Adam sat, hoping that she’d give him at least a chance at this. “You should know that I’m not easy. I don’t mean with sex, but with anything. I like my life just the way it is. I come and go as I please, and I do what I want. Even if I wanted to spend all my money on something foolish, that’s my decision to make. I do not need a babysitter. I’ve been making choices for myself for a long time now.”
“I agree with you. You’ve done well for yourself. Made a name for yourself in a profession that you seem to love. And I like that you have a sister that you can depend on.” Ivy told him that Meghan depended on her too much, but she loved her. “But she does want the best for you, I can tell that. I love my family as well. They’re all I have, and I need them as much as I’m sure that you need Meghan.”
Ivy came to where he was seated. Instead of sitting on the swing where he wanted her to be, she sat down on the chair as far away from him as she could get and still be on the porch. The fine dewiness of her sweat made him want to lick every inch of her. She glared at him, and he had a feeling that she had guessed what he was thinking.
“Dylan, she has this thing about investigating people that have anything to do with what she considers her family. I know a great deal of facts about you, but nothing about your personality. You said that you wanted to do things that you loved. I’d have it no other way. I farm, ranch too, and at the end of the seasons, I find that I wish for it all to do over. But I do enjoy the downtime I have too.” She didn’t say anything, but that was fine with him. “I have money—a great deal of it, as a matter of fact. We’ll share that even if you decide to keep what you’ve earned for yourself.”
“And you expect me to believe that?” Adam nodded, and she laughed, a short harsh one that made him think that she didn’t believe him. “You’d just sign your possessions over to me without a question? As I said, I know shifters, and none of them willingly share with their other half. Many of the people that I worked with, they had hidden stashes all over the place. That isn’t what I want from anyone. There is no mine and whoever’s money or things. It’s all in one pot that we both manage and share.”
“I agree with you.” He could tell that she still didn’t believe him. “If you’d like, I can take you to the bank right now and have everything I own signed over to your name only.”
“No. I’m not saying that.” She looked away, and Adam could see the tears that filled her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m being terribly selfish. I don’t know what to do about this. I never thought to marry, have a mate, or even to have a friend with benefits. People are always out for more than they need. Meghan, to a point, is like that. But if I were to tell her no, and I do on a great many things, she’d not go behind my back to get it. Or try and convinc
e me to give in.”
“I’ll never pressure you into anything. But I would like to be able to give you my opinion on things.” She told him not to be an ass. Laughing, Adam felt better then. “I’m not. I promise you. And this is all new to me as well. I never thought...well, that’s not true. I did think about having someone to love and cherish, much like my parents do. But I also knew that I’d never have a mate that would understand me.”
“In what?” He told her, the best way that he could. “So, you think that a mate, in general, wouldn’t like you for the simple reason that you’re a man that enjoys menial labor. Having the earth give you as much as you put into it is the most noble job that I can think of. You give, I’m betting, as much as you get from it.”
“True. I do that. But also, I have never thought that what I do means as much to anyone else as it does to me. Having you as my mate, my other half—it never occurred to me that I’d meet someone like you, a person that shares, while not the same work as me, a job that you enjoy as much as I do mine.” Adam thought that he was not only understanding her but shared her heartbreak as well as a passion for what they did. “Ivy, I will tell you, on my mother’s heart, I will never ask you to do something that I’d not do myself.”
When she looked away and out to the street, he did as well. Watching the couple walking along with the small child between them while they argued made him feel sorry for their daughter. When they let her hand go to argue more, Adam watched the couple.
When Ivy stood up, Adam did as well. The tension in her body was almost palpable, like he could touch it. Leaping over the railing, Adam saw the car speeding toward the child as soon as Ivy ran into the street and grabbed the little girl.
It was over in seconds. The little girl was cradled in Ivy’s arms even as the car careened off the street and toward the couple on the sidewalk. Adam watched, in horrific detail, as the woman was hit by the runaway car and the man tossed over the top like a rag doll.
