Page 32 of Compelling Urges

“I can’t wait,” laughed Cooper as he gave Bodhi’s ass a friendly swat and went to get rid of the condom.

Chapter 25

Early the next morning, they loaded up the car with drinks and snacks and programmed Cooper’s GPS for the town of Chuckwalla. It would take them about three hours to drive from Del Mar to Yuma, and then Chuckwalla was several miles northeast in the middle of the desert. The plan was to stay in Yuma for the night before heading back.

“I’ll take the back seat so you two can have plenty of legroom in front,” Ivy told them. She’d packed her Kindle and her laptop, not knowing how bored she’d be during the long car ride. But as she situated herself in the back seat, hooked up her seatbelt, and stowed her stuff, she looked around the interior of the car. Suddenly she went cold, and it had nothing to do with the car’s air-conditioning.

Bodhi turned around to ask Ivy something and saw a tear streaking down her face. His smile disappeared as he demanded, “Ivy? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t back the car out yet, Cooper,” she demanded with a sniff—ignoring Bodhi’s question. “I’ve just decided to stay home after all.” She grabbed her stuff, climbed out, slammed the door, and stomped away.

Cooper looked at Bodhi with a stunned look on his face and asked, “What’s up with her all of a sudden?”

“No clue. Just a few minutes ago she was asking me if I liked to play silly long-car-ride games. We better go find out, though. I sure as hell don’t want to leave her here while she’s upset about something.”

When the two men got back into the house, they found Ivy in the kitchen. She’d grabbed a bottle of water and was heading outside with it. Her eyes were red, and she was wiping her cheek with the back of her hand.

“Ivy, honey, what’s going on?” Cooper asked.

Without looking at him, she snapped, “You guys just go and have your fun. I need some time alone to think.”

“Think about what?” they asked simultaneously.

Ivy swirled around and glared at Cooper. “About why you have some woman’s stuff in the back of your car!”

“Stuff?” he asked incredulously. “What are you talking about?” Cooper looked truly baffled at her remark, and Bodhi’s jaw dropped.

“There’s a purse and a scarf and maybe some other crap under the seat of your car. I can just imagine howthatgot there! You probably stashed it…”

“Why would I stash some stupid shit in my car?” Cooper demanded. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

Bodhi got a funny look on his face and disappeared into the garage. Within seconds he was back with the objects Ivy had seen. “I think this must be Blair’s stuff,” he explained. “She must have hidden it there before she drove to Coronado.”

“Why?” asked Ivy.

“Who knows? She had so many loose screws, it’s impossible to guess what might have made her do any of the things she did. But I’m going to look through this junk before we leave. Maybe we can find her mother more easily this way… if it is Blair’s stuff.” He glanced over at Cooper.

“Of course it’s Blair’s,” fumed Cooper. “I don’t have random women leaving their things in my car, and frankly, Ivy, I’m pretty disappointed in your lack of trust in me.”

Ivy hung her head in embarrassment as Bodhi opened the purse. It was immediately obvious by the smell that the bag belonged to Blair.

“I’m sorry, Cooper. I reacted too quickly and without thinking,” she said softly. “I know I can trust you.” She looked up. “It was a knee-jerk reaction to a surprise, that’s all. Please don’t be mad at me. I feel like an idiot, but you have to admit, it looked pretty weird.”

“Just have some faith, would you?” he implored. “We’ve talked about trust over and over, and yet you jumped to a pretty reckless conclusion at the first hint of trouble. Are you sure you’re as committed to me as you say?”

Ivy’s eyes looked so sad when she answered, “I promise I trust you. I’m so sorry.”

Cooper looked uncertain. And peeved. Ivy went to him and snuggled into his chest as she murmured her hopeful assurances to him.

In the meantime, Bodhi removed the contents of Blair’s purse and laid them out on the kitchen table. There was a phone that had run out of juice, a makeup bag—the source of the perfume smell—a hairbrush, and a wallet. The wallet produced three dollars, a few coins, the card for the insurance Bodhi had paid for, and an expired Arizona driver’s license that identified her as Blair Henry. The address on the license was 635 Saguaro Road, Chuckwalla, Arizona. In the outside zippered pocket of the purse, he found her US passport. That document identified her as Blair Hendrix, with a London address.

Rooting into the inside pocket of the purse, Bodhi whispered, “Well, look at this!” as he pulled out a diamond ring, a heavy gold bracelet, and a matching gold chain with a beautiful pendant attached to it. The pendant was in the shape of a fanciful bird and bore several precious stones set in an intricate design. It was certainly nothing he’d ever seen Blair wear and, as beautiful as it was, it seemed too old-fashioned for her taste. He couldn’t help wonder if she’d stolen it from someone. I wouldn’t put it past her, he thought.

Bodhi grabbed his laptop and typed the London address into a Google search. The answer was immediate: No such address was found. “I wonder if the passport is even authentic,” he wondered out loud. “That woman was a real piece of work.” He did the same thing with the Chuckwalla address and came up with a house on a country road in the middle of the desert. There was very little around it that made up a town.

He looked at Ivy and Cooper, who were now ignoring him and were locked in a passionate embrace. Apparently, their anger and distrust had blown over as quickly as it flared up. He knew they were both forgiving people—otherwise he’d never have been accepted into their good graces after what he’d done. The sight relaxed him… and made him horny.

“Okay, you guys. Either we’re all going back to bed or to Arizona. Can you kiss and make up later?” He scooped up Blair’s junk and crammed it all back into her stinky purse. He had something, at least, that he could give to her mom now.

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