Page 73 of Sawyer

“I love you so much,” she says, her voice stronger and more certain. “I never knew I could feel this much love. For anyone.”

And damn if my eyes don’t fill with tears, too.

I guess that’s what happens when all of your dreams start coming true.

***

After we turn off the lights and lock up the theater, Ivy texts her aunt and uncle that she’s going to stay at my place tonight. I guess they don’t object because she jumps into the passenger seat of the truck and smiles at me.

“We haven’t spent the night together since…”

“That summer,” I say, driving toward Dyea. “Best summer of my life.”

“Worst ending,” she adds.

I shrug. “I get it.”

“Do you?”

“Family can be tough. Your dad’s important to you. You were trying to please him.”

She crosses her legs, shifting away from me slightly.

“I’ve learned some things about my father that are…not good,” she says. “I told you about how he recently cut me off, right? That’s why I got the job at city hall.”

“Yep. You told me.”…and I fucking hate your dad for doing that to you.

“Well,” she continues, “when I broke up with Clark, he told me my father was going to be really pissed about our breakup. Not because he loved Clark or even because he loves me. No. He’d be pissed because some legislation my father wanted passed in Juneau was contingent on my marrying Clark. I didn’t know that. I didn’t know my father wasusingme for business purposes.”

Anger surges inside of me, but I don’t say anything.

I want her to get everything off her chest, and I know that sitting next to someone you trust in a dark car is one of the easiest ways to bare your soul. You don’t have to look the otherperson in the eye, but there’s still an intense intimacy to the setting, especially at night.

“Also,” she continues, “I found out on Thanksgiving night that my father was paying for my aunt’s treatment. He sent me a text on Thanksgiving saying we needed to talk, and at first I couldn’t figure out what was left to say…then I realized that he must have one last thing to hold over my head…one last card to play to try to get me back together with Clark. It was my aunt’s treatment. She still needed one more round of chemo, it costs sixteen thousand dollars and isn’t covered by insurance.”

“Jesus Christ,” I mutter, unable to keep the words from bursting out. “Do your aunt and uncle have that kind of money?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Listen,” I say, immediately switching to problem-solving mode. “I’m positive the Stewarts could come up with it. We can loan it—”

She puts her hand on my arm and turns to me, her eyes bright with tears.

“You would do that?”

“Ivy,” I say. “I would literally doanythingfor you…and anything for the people you love. Of course I’d help you find the money. Of course.”

She sobs, her fingers curling around my arm. She unbuckles her seatbelt, shifts into the middle seat, rebuckles the belt, and puts her head on my shoulder.

“I’m glad I already told you I love you,” she says. “If I told you for the first time now, you might think it had something to do with money.”

“No,” I say. “I think we know each other better than that.”

I wish I could hug her, but we still have five minutes of driving left, and I’m anxious to get her back to my place and hold her all night long.

I clear my throat. “Let me know exactly how much you need, and we’ll—”

“I took care of it,” she says.

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