Page 87 of Moonlight & Matrimony
“No shit,” she scoffs, shaking her head.
“You knew?”
“Everybody knows except for you and Ivy, dumbass! Did you tell her?”
“I — not exactly,” I wince, recalling the details of every harsh word I threw at her, and the broken expression on her face as she ran from me. Paige pats me on the shoulder in a show of support.
“Fix it,” she says matter-of-factly.
“I’m not sure how,” I admit. Apologies and atonement have never been my strong suit. I didn’t exactly have a stellar example to go by growing up.
Paige rolls her eyes at me in a dramatic way that takes me back to our childhood. “Start by apologizing profusely,preferably on your knees, with books, and maybe a cat to take the edge off. Then tell her you love her and you want to be together for real. Tell her you’re a fucking idiot, and vow to make up for it for the rest of your life. But sitting here isn’t going to make things right.”
“Maybe you’re right. But what if she doesn’t want that?”
“First, she always wants books and cats,” she teases, a playful grin tugging at her lips, but her eyes hold something softer, more knowing. “But seriously, Luca, you won’t know until you talk to her. And for what it’s worth, I think she loves you, too.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Chapter 23
Ivy
? Hold Back The River - James Bay
“Thanks for dinner, Evie,” I say, following her out the front door into the night. The subtle glow of the porch light illuminates our path as she guides me towards my SUV.
“Anytime, my girl. We’ve been missing y'all,” she says, a sleepy Rylin clinging to her shoulder. “Tell Luca hello for us.” I nod, unable to respond.
I didn’t know how to explain what happened between me and my husband, so I kept it to myself, explaining away his absence with some contrived story about working overtime. I’m certain Evie and Russell saw right through my lies, and I was grateful for the reprieve when they didn’t call me on it. I couldn’t bring myself to pack a bag and leave for the night, and I don’t know where this leaves us. I just gathered up my daughter and drove myself here, to the safety of the ranch and the people who have been steadfast and supportive, regardless of my transgressions. I knew I could find solace here, if only for a little while.
“Whatever it is, sweet girl, this too shall pass. Love has a way of twisting us up into knots, but you’ll figure it out,” Evelyn says, in that knowing way that tugs at my heartstrings. I swallow thickly, holding back the tears that are threatening to overwhelm me. I can’t bring myself to consider her words, and she doesn’t wait for a response. “Drive safe,” she says, tapping the hood of my SUV before walking back up the porch steps with a wave.
I follow the familiar path away from the farmhouse, past the Whispering Oaks arch, before turning right onto the highway. This day has been emotionally exhausting, and I just want to get back home, though the thought of what awaits me there weighs heavily on my chest.
I replay his words in my head again.“I didn’t mean to fall for you.”I refuse to read too much into them, locking my heart away once again.
Headlights flash in my rearview as we head back towards town, a sleeping Rylin in the backseat, already snuggled up in her favorite pajamas. When the familiar red car pulls up beside me on the two-lane highway, I all but slam on the brakes, the menacing roar of his engine sending shivers coursing through my body. I quickly prompt my phone to call Luca, the weight of his confession all but forgotten as the sound of the phone ringing through the car fills the eerie silence.
“Hey, sweetheart. I —”
“Luca…” my voice is ragged, barely able to get out the words before Austin slams into the side of my SUV. Thankfully, it’s not enough to push us off the road.
“Ivy! What’s happening?”
“It’s Austin. We’re on our way home. I think he’s trying to run me off the road.”
“I’ve got your location. Hang up and call 911. I’m coming for you, Ivy.”
Hoping to put some distance between us, I press down on the accelerator. But it’s futile — he’s already closing in again. We’re approaching the overpass, Austin’s car still traveling down the wrong side of the highway, his menacing glare piercing me through the passenger window. I follow Luca’s instructions, listening to the phone click over to the 9-1-1 operator, but before I can speak, Austin’s car slams into me harder. The impact sends us skidding; the tires screeching against the pavement as I tug on the wheel, trying to steady us. Everything is spinning, the road blurring into a nightmare as we’re sent into a freefall over the side of the barricade. The car rolls — metal crunching, glass shattering, and my only thought is of Rylin. Please let her be okay. Darkness closes in, swallowing me whole, and with the last ounce of hope, I pray for my husband to find us.
When I eventually come to, the world is sideways, my head pounding, the air thick with the smell of gasoline and earth. Rylin’s cries cut through the haze, sharp and terrified, and I force myself to focus and push through the pain.
She’s still strapped in her car seat, covered in tiny cuts from the shattered glass, but alive. I reach for my phone with shaking hands, trying to call for help, but the screen flickers, cracked beyond repair. Panic surges through me. What little breath I have is caught in my throat, the taste of blood filling my mouth. That’s when I see it, Austin’s red car upside down in the creek just a few yards away.
My heart stops as I watch him stumble out through the cracked windshield, drenched in blood, his movements unsteady but fueled by something much more dangerous than pain. My eyes snag on his right hand, on the gun clutched in his blood-soaked fist. His expression is wild with fury as his gaze locks with mine. “Rylin, baby, we have to go,” I whisper, unbuckling her seatbelt and pulling her close. I scramble out of the SUV, clutching my daughter to my body, shielding her from anythingthat might harm her. I wade into the creek, the cold water a shock to my system. Every step feels like I’m walking through quicksand as Austin closes in, his breaths ragged as blood pours out of the open wound in his forehead. I don’t look back, pulling Rylin tighter as her breaths become shallow.
