Page 54 of Pigeon

“Thanks, Pips.”

“You’re welcome, Pigeon.”

Over an hour passes before Ivy comes downstairs, walks to my chair, and sits down on my lap. Pulling her close, I pretend to still be watching the game. Ivy settles against me and watches the TV. When the game ends, we head upstairs to her room. Walking inside, I glance around to make sure there are no more ugly-ass clowns waiting for me, ignore Ivy’s muffled giggle, and strip down.

Leaving her shirt and panties on, Ivy slides in bed from the other side but pushes in close to me. Wrapping an arm around her, I stroke her arm with my fingertips. Lying in the complete darkness, I wait to hear something that I’m positive I don’t want to hear. A long time passes before Ivy speaks in a barely audible voice.

“I avoid baths because I’m not comfortable with Ted and Todd in the house and me sitting in a tub. I shower long before either are awake because they stay up late drinking. If you weren’t here, I’d be wearing a lot more clothing right now, too. Since you are here, I knew I could spend time in the tub, shave, condition my hair, and basically pamper myself because you’d keep me safe if they showed up.”

“Has either touched you inappropriately?”

“Todd hasn’t, but I still don’t trust him,” Ivy whispers.

Thinking about her answer, I realize that what she didn’t say is where the damage lies. Gritting my teeth against the stream of obscenities I want to shout, I hesitate before speaking.

“Here’s our rules, Ivy. I’ll keep you safe, however you need it, and you learn to live your life free. Bath, shower, or swimming naked in the pond, your choice. Need someone’s ass kicked? I’m your guy. Need a place to bury a body? Again, I’m that guy for you. All you need to understand is that I’m not going anywhere in this world without you next to me.”

“Will you still feel that way when I tell you I have developed very strong feelings about you?” Ivy asks in the darkness.

“Fuck, Ivy, knowing that, I might not even let you out of my sight now,” I respond a second before rolling on top of her warm, pliant body.

“Can we put the rest of this conversation on hold for now? I need you in me,” Ivy asks.

I don’t answer her question, but I honor her request. Several times over.

Ivy spends some time showing us guys which fields we’ll be cutting in today, and it’s then that I realize how massive this ranch is. Four large tractors, going most of the day, and there will still be hay standing. Cash grins when I mention this, and I’m still surprised at how much he’s taking to working on a ranch.

“Looks like Axel’s going to be running the gym alone for a while yet,” he mutters before swinging into the cab of the tractor. When he drives off, Petey walks to his tractor and does the same. Pooh flips the rest of us off, starts his tractor, and leaves in the direction of his fields.

“Work their asses off, Ivy. Anything heavy, assign one of them to it. I don’t know about Toes, but Horse has ridden before so put his ass on a horse if needed. Don’t hesitate to video anything that would be amusing for the rest of us, though. Both guys have a tendency to entertain us whether they mean to or not,” I say before giving her a quick kiss and climbing into my tractor. Before shutting the door, I look at Horse. “We haven’t seen Ted since yesterday morning, but he might pop up again. Keep Ivy close if he does.” Horse nods, and I fire up the tractor.

It's been many years since I have done this type of work on a daily basis. This tractor, though, is nothing like the small, older ones my dad owned. This thing is a work of art, and I find myself excited to be here doing something as simple as cutting hay. I flip on the radio, find a station I like, and find the corner to the first field of hay I’m cutting today. Temperature-controlled cab, plugins for my phone and other electronics, satellite radio, cup holders, and an extremely comfortable seat. This is the right way to ranch.

Not long after I get started, my phone rings. It’s Rex, and my stomach tightens.

“Yeah?”

“We can’t find Chubs any fucking where,” he barks.

“His bike?” I ask.

“Still where it was yesterday when I checked the tracker. Called Gunner and Axel. They sent Freddy and Vex with the wrecker to pick it up and to see what they can find there. Waiting to hear back from them. James and Livi are sniffing around at work to see if they can find out if the Feds were involved. The worst part’s that Lucy is flying in today. Gunner’s going to pick her up at the airport and see if she knows anything. Fuck, this is a mess,” Rex states in a frustrated voice.

Without seeing his face, I know he’s showing the signs of exhaustion. Rex can be like a dog with a bone when he’s working on something, and Chubs missing is a huge something. Rex won’t stop, eat, or sleep until he has answers. Gunner has had to order him to step away from his computer and go to bed before, and I see that happening again if we don’t find Chubs soon.

“His phone?”

“It’s off, broken, or at the bottom of a fucking well is my guess. Goes straight to voicemail. GPS on it puts it with the bike,” Rex answers.

“What do you need me to do? Several of the guys…”

“Nothing yet. I’ll keep you all updated. Can you let the guys at the ranch know what’s up for me?” he asks.

“Yeah. Let me know if you need us to head back to town.”

“Will do.”

I let the others know what’s up, and we all agree to continue working the fields until we hear something definitive.

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