Wicked Respite Page 12

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Ivy went back to staring at the people who had steadily appeared in the dream. “That’s everybody, right? Everybody was in groups except for Jeff.”

  Jack immediately started shaking his head. “He wasn’t supposed to be alone, though. He had friends coming. They were late. He couldn’t control that. The next day he came and got us to fish with him even though he didn’t know us. He also stayed at the campsite after we left. Everything on his parcel was still set up when we broke ours down.”

  Ivy hadn’t paid that close attention. It didn’t surprise her that Jack did. “You should still run a background check on him. You can’t rule him out simply because you liked him.”

  “I have no intention of ruling him out without just cause. He’s just not the one I’m leaning toward.”

  “Who are you leaning toward?”

  “I have no idea. Jeff is low on my list, though. A killer wouldn’t seek out friends to fish with. It honestly could be anyone. It’s not as if we saw everyone who was staying there. We only saw a handful of people.”

  “Darn us and our isolationist ways,” she teased.

  “Yeah.” He held out his hand to her. “I don’t know what else we can do here. I need to stew on this. What do you say we go up to our camp and do what we should’ve been able to do had your brother not insisted on joining us and have a little frolic under the stars?”

  Ivy was amused despite herself. “That wasn’t going to happen even if Max didn’t come. I wouldn’t have risked the people at the other campsite seeing us.”

  “In my head you would have. I’m sorry.”

  She snorted, delighted with his cheeky tone. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter for tonight’s purposes. No one can see us in the dream but us, so that’s all that matters.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking. I’ll race you to the top of the hill.”

  Competitive spirit flitted through Ivy’s eyes. “You’re on.”

  Twelve

  Jack was still struggling with the investigation when he left for work the next morning. Ivy apologized for not being more help, but he waved it off.

  “It’s not your job to figure this out. I just want you to be careful.”

  “I’m not blond.”

  “No, but you were at the campsite. Two blondes is interesting, but it could be a coincidence. Promise me you’ll be careful.”

  “I have no intention of finding trouble,” Ivy promised. That was true. She had other things on her mind today. “In fact, I’m going to be dealing with my brother this morning so you have nothing to worry about.”

  “You’re spending the day with Max?” That was news to Jack. “How come?”

  “Not the whole day. He hasn’t returned my calls about the barbecue, though, so I’m going out there to discuss things in person with him. If he doesn’t show up – with Amy in tow – my mother will melt down and keep at it until she gets her way. It’s best there’s a meeting today so this doesn’t drag out for too long.”

  “Good point.”

  Ivy took her time showering and cleaning up, but then she forced herself out the door even though she was reticent. The last thing she wanted to do was insert herself into Max’s love life. That wasn’t generally how she rolled. She didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, though, so she figured it was best to rip off the bandage and get to it. She didn’t want the specter hanging over her all afternoon so she wanted to take the brother by the horns, so to speak.

  Max was in his office, intent on what looked to be his books when she entered without knocking. The Morgan siblings were close – unhealthily so at times – and he didn’t look surprised when he glanced up and found her watching him with unreadable eyes.

  “Did you miss me already?”

  Ivy snorted before sliding into the chair across from his desk. Now that she was here, she felt out of place. “Every moment spent without you is a living hell.”

  “I know it. I’m glad you can admit it.” He went back to looking at his books but could feel her eyes on him. “Are you here for a specific reason, Ivy?” He braced himself for her to start yelling about him taking over her camping trip. He expected that explosion before they left the Upper Peninsula, but it didn’t happen because they had other things on their minds when they fled.

  “I am.” Ivy rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans. “So, here’s the thing … um … the thing is … there’s a thing.”

  Max slowly lifted his eyes and found his sister fidgeting, something she only did when she was feeling agitated. If she was here to yell, she would jump right into it and not feel guilty in the least. “Has something happened?” His mind immediately went to his parents. “Nothing is wrong with Mom and Dad, is it? I haven’t seen them since I’ve been back. I didn’t even call.”

  “Mom and Dad are fine.” Ivy internally cursed herself for making him worry. “That’s not what this is about. Okay, not entirely. Oh, geez. I’m making an idiot of myself.”

  “Just tell me why you’re here and we’ll go from there,” he prodded gently.

  That sounded like a good idea. “Okay, here’s the thing … Mom stopped by the nursery yesterday. She was full of questions about Amy. She kind of maneuvered me into setting up this barbecue deal tonight so she could meet her. You haven’t returned my calls yet, though, so if you and Amy aren’t coming Mom is going to totally melt down … and then punish me.”

  Max took a long beat to stare dumbly at his sister. “This is about the barbecue?” he queried finally.

  Ivy took umbrage with his tone. “You didn’t call me back. That’s only polite, for the record.”

  “Oh, geez.” He rubbed his forehead, frustrated. “I can’t believe that’s why you’re here.” He practically exploded. “I was legitimately worried you were going to tell me something terrible, like Aunt Felicity was sick or Dad had an affair or something. This is about the barbecue? I want to rub your face in the dirt for making me worry like that.”

  Ivy narrowed her eyes. “Hey, I don’t like this any more than you do. I didn’t want to be forced into this position. You know Mom has a way about her. She made me do this.”

  “Well, you can tell Mom that I’m not sure we’re up for a barbecue tonight,” Max gritted out. “I’ll let you know in a few hours, after I talk to Amy and okay it with her. She might not want to go.”

  Ivy read something in her brother’s demeanor that she hadn’t picked up on before. He was tense. Unnaturally so, in fact. He looked like a man on the verge of a breakdown. “What’s wrong? Did something happen with Amy?”

  “Why do you assume something happened with Amy?” Max recognized that his tone was aggressive, but it was too late to adjust it. “Maybe I’m just tired … or having a bad day … or annoyed that you interrupted me at my place of business to talk about something mundane. Did you ever consider that?”

  Ivy didn’t take the words to heart. “You’re upset. Why don’t you tell me about it?”

  Instead of blowing his stack, Max merely shook his head and then dropped it into his hands. “I don’t know what’s wrong. Heck, technically I don’t know that anything is wrong. I have this feeling, though. I don’t think things are going to work out how I thought they were.”

  Ivy was taken aback. “I don’t understand. I thought things were so good between you two at the campground. You seemed happy and in love.”

  “We’re not quite at the love stage yet, so don’t get ahead of me,” he chided. “As for being happy, I thought we were, too. Things seemed okay last night, although she was distracted. This morning, though, she barely wanted to talk to me. She seemed sad when she kissed me goodbye. I think she’s going to break up with me.”

  Ivy had never seen her brother this way before. He was gone over a woman and that wasn’t something that happened on a regular basis. He looked close to tears and it tugged on her heartstrings. “Maybe she was just tired.” She struggled to come up with an excuse that w
ould make her brother feel better. “Maybe she has PMS or something. I mean … I don’t think that should be used as an excuse and, in fact, I hate it when people ask if I have PMS whenever I’m in a bad mood. Forget I said that.”

  She took a moment to regroup. “Max, she might just be having a bad day,” she offered plaintively. “You can’t take everything to heart. If you do that, it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

  “I guess.” He rubbed his forehead. “I really like her.”

  “I know. I could tell the second you decided to take over our camping trip that you really liked her. It’s not like you to try so hard, though.”

  “Are you saying Jack didn’t have to try to get you?” Max was incredulous. “Come on. I saw that play out. He practically fell on his knees to make sure you two would end up together.”

  That wasn’t how Ivy remembered it. “We both gave of ourselves to help the other,” she corrected. “We didn’t change who we were to fit into some neat little box. We didn’t try to make ourselves small to appease the other.”

  “That’s not what I’m doing.”

  “It seems like that’s what you’re doing.” Ivy leaned forward and forced Max to catch her gaze. “Love is great. It’s the best thing ever. Forcing yourself to be a different man so she’ll love you is only going to come back to bite you, though. You can’t do that, Max.

  “You’re a great guy and if she doesn’t see that … well … it’s on her,” she continued. “I know you don’t want to hear that, but you can’t keep giving of yourself and getting nothing in return. That’s not how a relationship works.”

  “I know you’re right.” He looked miserable as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t get her out of my head, though. I just … there’s something about her. I don’t know how to explain it.”

  Ivy didn’t know how to explain it either, but she wasn’t a fan of what she was seeing. Max was losing himself, and that was the last thing she expected from the man who stood as her right hand for the bulk of his life.

  This couldn’t be allowed to continue.

  IVY WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE lake that Caroline Atwood lived on. She wasn’t as familiar with the houses that lined it. It took her three tries to find the correct driveway. She wasn’t certain on that one either, until she pulled close to the house and found Amy loading the hatchback of a nondescript Ford Focus. She looked to be in a hurry as she shoved things willy-nilly into the vehicle.

  “Max was right about you.” Ivy was furious as she slammed the door to her car and stomped in Amy’s direction. “He was right. You plan on leaving and not even telling him. I can’t believe you’re doing this.”

  Amy was obviously surprised to see Ivy because she kept looking up and down the driveway, as if to ask herself how she missed the woman’s approach. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

  “You told me where you were staying,” Ivy reminded her, openly glaring at the laundry basket full of items that Amy was trying to wedge into the back of the car. “How could you do this to my brother?”

  Amy made a protesting sound and abandoned the basket. “I’m not trying to hurt your brother. You have no idea about any of this. Mind your own business.”

  Ivy had no intention of doing that. If this woman was going to leave town and crush her brother’s spirits, she was going to do it with an earful of Ivy propelling her. “My brother is sitting in his office right now wondering what he did wrong to make you turn on him. He realizes that something is happening, by the way. He’s not an idiot.”

  “I … he … we … .” Amy worked her jaw but couldn’t seem to find the words she was looking for.

  “There’s no excuse you can utter that will make this better,” Ivy warned. “I knew there was something wrong with you from the start. I didn’t peg you as the sort of person who would use my brother for what he could give you and then take off this way, but I guess that’s on me. I made excuses for you because I thought you were shy. You’re evil, not shy.”

  Amy’s eyes were glassy as she absorbed the pointed words. “I’m sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. This isn’t what I wanted.”

  “Right.” Ivy’s fury wasn’t even remotely abated. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. I want you out of here. I’ll even help you pack so you can leave quicker. My brother deserves so much more than you.”

  She stormed to the back of the car and grabbed the laundry basket. “I’ll just help you out here. I … .” The second her fingers brushed against something soft in the basket – she wasn’t even sure what it was – her mind was overtaken with angry images. She had no control over the visions as they knocked her for a loop. All she could do was hold on and pray they would end sooner rather than later, because they were beyond ugly.

  The first image was of a young girl, Amy as a teenager. She met a boy and they smiled at each other. Little hearts were practically floating over their heads.

  The second was Amy getting ready for a dance, probably the prom. The boy met her outside, though, and greeted her with a punch in the stomach because he didn’t like her dress. He screamed that it was too revealing.

  Next was a vision of the boy promising that he would never hurt her again.

  Then Amy getting married … Amy on her honeymoon … Amy’s head being held under the bathtub water as the same boy, who was now a man, attempted to drown her. Amy giving birth to a baby. Amy throwing herself in front of what looked to be a toddler to protect him. Amy, her face bruised and red, packing up her child and running away in the middle of the night.

  The images assaulted Ivy from every direction and she could do nothing but sink to the ground. Otherwise her legs would’ve gone out from under her and she probably would’ve hit her head on the way down.

  “Oh, geez.” Amy knelt next to her, concern lining her face.

  “Do you need me to call an ambulance?” Amy didn’t look thrilled with the prospect, but she was determined to do the right thing.

  Slowly, deliberately, Ivy shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she rasped out, taking the tiny blonde by surprise.

  “Why are you sorry?” Amy’s cheeks flooded with color. “You’re not to blame for any of this.”

  “Maybe not, but I should’ve been nicer to you.” Ivy’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry about your husband … and what happened to you. That’s awful.”

  Amy reared back, stunned disbelief fueling her. “What are you talking about?”

  “The man. I saw what he did to you.” Ivy saw no reason to lie. She was careful when it came to hiding her abilities – being a witch wasn’t something she was ready to broadcast to the world – but she instinctively knew she could trust Amy. The woman had her own set of secrets she was desperate to hide, after all. “You ran in the middle of the night. You have a baby. Or, I guess had.” Ivy looked around, confused. “Where is your baby?”

  Amy plucked an item from Ivy’s hand. Ivy hadn’t even realized she was holding the small brown bear. It had a loose eye and a partially-torn ear. It looked well-loved … and out of place. “He’s not a baby any longer. He’s five. He’s with Caroline. Once I told her what happened, she agreed that I had to get him out of town. She took him and I’m supposed to catch up when I’m certain no one is following me.”

  Ivy’s throat was dry. “You ran from him in the middle of the night. You’d obviously been beaten up. How long did you put up with that?”

  “Far too long. I didn’t know what else to do, though. I didn’t want to move back in with my parents but that was the plan when I found out I was pregnant. Unfortunately, they died before that could come to fruition.”

  Ivy felt sick to her stomach. “Why didn’t you go to the police?”

  “Not everyone is as lucky as you. It’s not as easy to go to the police as you might think. I was afraid that no one would believe me. I was convinced I somehow did something to deserve it. He convinced me of that … right up until he started threatening my son. That’s when I finally came to my sen
ses because I knew there was no way a toddler deserved what was happening in that house.”

  “No, definitely not,” Ivy agreed. “Have you been on the run ever since?”

  “Yes. It wasn’t easy at first. I was on my own. We lived in some disgusting hotels. I managed to find a good job in Minnesota, though. That wasn’t a lie. I lived there for three years. We kept to ourselves. I got a job at a hotel. They allowed me to keep JJ with me during the day – that’s his name, by the way – and it was great … and then I saw him in the parking lot one day.

  “He tried to approach me, pleaded with me to give him another chance,” she continued. “He told me he was a changed man, had gone to therapy, and would never put his hands on me again. He was lying, though. I knew that.

  “I pretended that I would give it some thought and then I paid one of the kitchen staff members to distract him while JJ and I slipped out of the hotel,” she continued. “We ran again. This time to northern Minnesota. There’s where I got the job in the insurance office. It wasn’t great, but we were surviving. Then I lost my job.

  “I was about out of options when I remembered Caroline,” she said, swiping at the errant tears that streaked her cheeks. “I called her on a hope and a prayer, told her what was happening, and she welcomed us into her home with open arms. She never once blamed me even though I’ve brought danger to her doorstep.”

  “Why are you running now?” That was the part that confused Ivy. “What has you so spooked?”

  “Are you kidding? Between the girl at the campground and the one that was found here yesterday, can you really doubt what’s happening? I mean … Jeff was there. He’s coming for me. That’s why I got JJ out of town right away. I didn’t want to give Jeff a chance to find us.”

  Ivy’s heart performed a painful somersault. “Oh, geez. I didn’t even recognize him in your memory. He looked different … but he had the same eyes. I should’ve seen that.”

  “He’s gone through great pains to change his appearance, I’m sure.” Amy was bitter. Ivy couldn’t blame her. “I can’t stay here. I care about your brother a great deal. You have no idea. Jeff will kill him to get to me, though. He’ll kill everybody to get to me. I won’t risk the innocent. I can’t.”