Page 83 of Tempest

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Monday

The sharp sound of a bullet shattering glass broke the morning silence. Ryan instantly awoke as he recognized a sound that he’d lived with for over ten years. His brain couldn’t make sense of it here in their bedroom. Another crack and he shot out of bed and pulled his jeans on in one motion. Ivy started to stir. “Don’t move and don’t come out until you hear my voice.” Grabbing his gun from the drawer, he opened the door and walked quickly along the wall.

As he moved into the living room, he heard a bullet whiz past him and lodge itself into the wall. Spinning around, he ran down the hall and entered the kitchen from the other side. Who the fuck is shooting up the living room? Firing into someone’s house was as personal as it got and it told him that whoever was doing it meant business.

Running through the kitchen, he opened the back door and moved along the side of the house. His movements were shrouded due to the limited morning light, as he moved quietly along the grass. The front yard was covered in leaves, and if someone was close, then he would hear the crunch as they moved. Sliding along the wall, he made it to the front and quartered the area. At the far end of the front yard, he spotted a small figure with red hair. “Sherry Lane,” he muttered to himself. The sky began to lighten, and he caught sight of a silver flash. She was getting ready to shoot again. Lifting his gun…he waited. Bill’s crazy ex was going to have to move around the tree if she wanted a clear shot into the house. Inhaling deeply, he released the breath and pointed his gun. Poised. Ready. Waiting. One second passed and then another, and the sound of crunching leaves alerted him to the shooter’s movement. A flash of red and Sherry lifted her gun and prepared to shoot. One breath in and on the exhale, he pulled the trigger. A loud scream filled the morning as he watched the woman crumple to the ground. He’d hit her in the arm, putting her out of commission.

The front door flew open, and Ivy stood there with a gun in one hand and her phone in the other. All she was wearing was his T-shirt and her slippers. “Did you call 911?” he called out.

“Yes.” She ran toward him and he caught her in his arms. “Are you okay?”

“Of course, honey. Go back in and put some clothes on. The local police don’t need to see your very fine, naked ass.”

“Oh, hush up. We have to go see who was shooting at us.”

“It was Ms. Sherry Lane.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head. “Go in and get dressed.” The sound of sirens coming down the street made him push her in the direction of the house. “Hurry.”

Turning toward the house, she ran toward the door. “Don’t let anything else happen without me.”

***

Ryan stood with Tommy Harlan, the local sheriff, and watched the paramedics work on Sherry. The bullet he shot into her arm went through, and she was in a lot of pain. It was exactly the shot he meant to take. It would hurt like hell and cause no long-term damage. It seemed like she deserved it after she shot up their living room. He had plans to start the day buried inside Ivy, not standing out on the front lawn being questioned by Sheriff Harlan. The leaves crunching made him turn around, and he saw Ivy approach. She’d gotten dressed and thrown her hair up in a ponytail. When she stepped up next to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled under his arm. “Sherry came by and thought she’d shoot up the house,” he said without humor. “I figure she’s the one who shot at you in Austin. When the ballistics come back, I’ll bet we can match them to the one found in the koi pont at your daddy’s house in Austin.

“Why would she shoot me on the day of Daddy’s funeral? At that point, she didn’t know how much Daddy had left her.”

“I guess we’ll find out once she’s questioned. Maybe she thought if she scared you then you would give her what she wanted.”

“Dumb and crazy…the perfection combination for Daddy.”

Tommy stared at Ivy and Ryan noticed hunger in his eyes. Tightening his grip, Ryan glared at the man. Was it not obvious they were together? What kind of chance did he think he had? “Anything else you need from us, Sheriff?” He bit out the words with as much patience as he could.

“We’ll need to go through the events again and then have Ivy make her statement. The CSI team is coming over from Austin, so they may not make it for a couple of hours. You all need to stay out of the living room until they collect the evidence.”

“Let’s go through the back and I’ll make some coffee,” Ivy said.

As Ivy turned, Ryan watched Tommy’s eyes slide to her ass. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to punch the man in the face. Flexing his hands, he took a breath in and grabbed Ivy’s hand as they walked back to the house. This morning had gone to shit, and the sheriff’s obvious lack of manners was the cherry on top of his crap sundae.

“Maybe this is the end of it,” Ivy said, as they walked toward the house. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could be a normal couple?”

When he heard the word couple come out of her mouth, a wave of relief washed over him. It was stupid, but it made him happy. Sure, they’d been calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend, but the way she said it made him think that she believed in their future. It might have been an insignificant statement to her, but it was just what he needed. “I look forward to that, honey.”

“Don’t let Tommy get under your nerves. He’s looked at me that way since high school. If you want to smooch me real big in the kitchen, then I won’t object. I’ve told him a hundred times that nothing romantic is ever going to happen between us, but he never gets the message. Maybe seeing us together will do the trick.”

“I’ll be smooching you for sure. With or without old Tommy looking on.” He tightened his hold on her hand and decided that the morning wasn’t as bad as he’d thought five minutes ago. Ivy had a way of helping him see the bright spots. If Sherry was the shooter at the Austin house, then he was going to breathe a lot easier.

***

Ryan checked his watch. It was close to three. The CSI team had just left, and the hardware store was due to deliver the wood for the front window. The new one wasn’t going to be ready until tomorrow afternoon, so Bea had insisted they spend the night with her. What Ivy had said earlier about being a normal couple played on a loop in his head. They’d never made it through a regular date together. The closest they’d gotten was Trevor and Katie’s wedding a couple of weeks ago. The first thing he wanted to do when they got back to Florida was take her out to dinner and maybe a movie.

Wait…what if she wasn’t planning on staying in Florida? Why would she? It wasn’t as though she had a home there, and it wasn’t the home office for the company. What in the hell had he been thinking? Shit. He needed a plan, one that made sure that he and Ivy ended up in the same town and in the same house. It didn’t much matter where he lived. Closer to the West Coast would be preferable, because that way he could see his family more often. If Ivy wanted to live in San Diego, that was fine with him. Hell, he loved it down there. The years he’d spent on Team One were happy ones. His gut settled as he formulated a plan. All he had to do was talk Ivy into moving in together. And then, after she got used to that, he’d ask her to marry him. Easy.

Except they were talking about Ivy, and nothing about her was easy. She was a damn storm most of the time. Who knew what she’d say to his suggestion?

“Ryan, come in and pack your bag so we can go over to Mama’s. She’s going to have dinner ready at six, and I need to get some work done today.”

“Coming, honey.”

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