Page 76 of Don't Call Me Daddy
“You’re a big boy, Leo, and you have your phone. Stop trying to make unnecessary rules. It takes away from the fun,” Guy says, propping a hand on my shoulder for balance as he stretches his quads.
Clearly, we’re not playing the same game of Sardines because I have no intention of running or exerting myself. Hell, I’m happy to lose just so we can be done with all this juvenile bullshit.
“Everyone ready?” Luka asks as we approach the forest opening.
Guy bounces in place. “Let’s fucking go!”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I mumble under my breath.
“Three. Two. One. Go!” Luka yells.
He and Guy take off in opposite directions. Roman and I take a slower approach, nodding before we go our separate ways.
The eerie quiet of the night is interrupted only by the crunch of the forest floor under my boots. Nights like this remind me of why these woods are revered as Guy’s story plays in the back of my mind.
My heart picks up speed as I weave through the trees, shining my light in search of Ivy’s blonde hair. Panic knots in my throat as more time passes, and I have to talk myself down, remembering the breathing techniques my therapist taught me when I was a kid.
“Ivy!” I hiss in a whisper. “Ivy, where are you?”
I don’t know why I even bother. If I know anything about this woman, it’s that she’s as stubborn as they come. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past her to spend the night out here alone just to prove that she won the game.
The thought has my blood boiling. I’m a tight ball of nerves and only growing more irritated with every passing minute.
I make it all the way to the creek before doubling back to check the opposite end. I’m careful, stepping over decaying logsand maneuvering around thick ferns as I shine my light all around me.
“Ivy! Where the fuck are you?” I hiss again as my foot crunches through a rotting tree log. I shake my leg free as my frustration rises.
I’m thankful to be wearing pants and boots. Which reminds me that Ivy’s out here in a fucking spandex unitard and sneakers, probably covered in scratches and bug bites by now.
I clench my jaw. I fucking told her to dress appropriately, but of course she didn’t listen. Hell, she’s probably wrapped up in poison ivy, thinking she’s got the best hiding spot in the world—or worse, hiding near a den of some kind …
I can’t let myself go there. I’m being ridiculous, my imagination taking too many creative liberties. If I’m going to find her, I need to calm down and think. Where would she hide?
I hear my brothers in the distance, ruffling around and laughing, which can only mean they haven’t found her either.
Fuck, I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse.
“Goddamn it, Ivy!” I hiss again as my eye catches on a dense bush … too dense to be natural.
I shine my light and study it, and that’s when I see the broken branches jutting out at the top. Someone added some extra leaves to this bush.
I shield my light as I inch forward and pull the top branch out, revealing Ivy crouched next to a massive, hollowed-out sycamore tree.
“Caught you!”
“Shh!” She gestures for me to be quiet before grabbing the collar of my shirt and pulling me closer. “Get in before they see you!”
Relief floods me, and I push through the limbs, carefully placing the branch back where she had it before crouching down beside her.
Damn, this is a good hiding spot. If I didn’t know this forest so well, I don’t think I’d have ever found her, and I don’t know if that makes me more proud or pissed. I’m starting to realize the two usually go hand in hand when it comes to Ivy.
The moon shines bright, illuminating the sky through the pocket of trees surrounding us. Now that my eyes have adjusted, I barely need a flashlight at all.
She’s practically sitting in my lap, as we sit squeezed in the tight space inside the hollowed out opening of a sycamore tree, the citrus and vanilla scent of her shampoo doing more to calm my nerves than I care to admit. This fucking woman is so radiant and warm that she even smells like sunshine, and I’ve been living in the darkness for far too long.
She slides a hand over my thigh, massaging me in soothing strokes, and, fuck, it feels too good to stop her. It’s like she knows I need her touch, if only to calm my worried thoughts. She’s here, and most importantly, she’s safe.
I close my eyes, letting it sink in, and relief floods my chest in warm currents.
