Page 74 of Wasted On You

“He’s usually up by now.”

“Right. Um, he’s still asleep.”

The kid didn’t reply and made no effort to hide the sly smile on his face.

With cheeks as bright as the red scarf around her neck, Ivy shrugged into her winter coat. She gave a wave and slipped outside. Thankfully, there’d been no snowfall overnight, so her truck didn’t need to be cleaned off. She let the engine warm up for a minute or so, then backed out and headed for the main road.

She was in a hurry. There were things to do. People to see. An engagement to officially break. Ivy grinned wickedly and turned onto Townline Road. Her mother was going to be pissed, and it shouldn’t give her joy, yet it did.

She chuckled. A lot of it.

There were streaks of yellow on the horizon, dancing above the Rockies, and in the distance, she spied the odd twinkling star. She hummed a tune, her mood light, and by the time she turned onto Dry Creek Road, she was full-on singing one of Cal’s songs, voice high and tinny because, vocally, she sucked. Did she care? Hell no. She turned up the volume and was in the middle of the chorus, singing about swimming holes and daisy dukes, when the words died because she slammed on the brakes so hard she nearly slid into the ditch.

What the hell?

There was a very large, black SUV in her spot. With a frown, she parked beside Kip’s rental and cut the engine, eyes on the house. A soft glow fell from the big window, but with the curtains closed, she couldn’t see inside. The slick vehicle didn’t belong to Cal or Benton or anyone she knew, and she dug through her purse, looking for her cell phone. She’d tossed it inside the previous day on her wild dash to get all the sex and hadn’t so much as taken a peek.

When she did, she wished she hadn’t.

Her stomach turned over. There were several missed calls from Kip. Two from her mother and a couple calls from Millie Sue. She checked her messages. There were some from Kip and even more from her mother. Diedre’s started with the word URGENT. Ivy clicked on the first message.

Don’t be mad.

She immediately closed the chat and clicked on Kip’s profile.

They’re here. They showed up early with your mother. I don’t know how you want to play this. I didn’t have a chance to head them off. FML.

He’d sent the text at nine o’clock the night before. Then, another thirty minutes later.

My parents are staying with your mom. She insisted. Duke and Gramps are here. I haven’t said anything yet. They’re all wondering where you are. I told them you were out with friends.

Panic set in, and she seriously considered driving away. She could go to Millie Sue’s or back to Mike Paul’s or maybe fly to Canada. She could be in Toronto by early afternoon, grab a hotel room, and hide until the Laffertys left Big Bend. Maybe they’d take her mother with them. Maybe they’d keep her.

Iwish.

Just then, the front door opened, and Kip appeared, a pained expression on his face. He was dressed casually in steel grey track pants and a white T-shirt. His hair was rumpled as if he’d just rolled out of bed. He gave a small wave, and reluctantly, she slid from the truck and then walked up the driveway to the porch.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was low.

“Are they awake?” she whispered, trying to see around him.

“Duke and Keely are having coffee. Apparently, the mattress in your room isn’t up to their standards. Gramps is still asleep. I put him in the guest room.”

“Where’d you sleep?”

“On the sofa.” He sighed. “Collins is on her way.”

“I thought you were going to call them yesterday.”

“I tried, but they were in the air, and I couldn’t get a hold of anyone.”

Shit. She bit her lip nervously. This hadn’t been on her bingo card when she’d opened her eyes this morning. “I still don’t understand why they came early.”

“Your mother has been in contact with my family.”

“Of course she has.” Angry, Ivy rolled her eyes and gripped her purse so tight her knuckles ached.

“She thought it would be fun to surprise us and have them come early and spend Saturday night together. There was the chocolate thing in town.”