Page 68 of Don't Call Me Daddy
“What’s in the box?”
Her smile falls as her brows pinch together. “Oh, that …” Her voice comes out almost weak, like I just struck a nerve, which only piques my curiosity. “That’s my sister’s ashes.” Her eyes drop as she seems to disappear for a moment, as if she’s lost in a memory. “I know it sounds weird and morbid or whatever, carrying it around with me … but … I don’t know … Fern asked me to spread her ashes somewhere beautiful. She said I’d know the spot when I found it, and I’ve been looking for the perfect place since I got here. I haven’t found it yet though.”
I cup my hand over her jaw, rubbing the pad of my thumb over her cheek. “Is that why you’re really here? Is that the reason you decided to stay?”
She looks up at me with those big, vibrant eyes, and there’s a darkness to them now that I haven’t seen before, a darkness I’m all too familiar with. She’s hurting.
The thought of Ivy suffering silently, wearing that contagious smile that lights up every room as her own armor, feels like a dagger in my heart.
“Yes, and no,” she admits. “She was so obsessed with ghost stories and cryptids, growing up. She used to tell me all these terrifying stories about the creatures that lived in these mountains before bed. I had nightmares for years because ofthose stupid stories, but I never told her because she loved them so damn much.
“I was just supposed to be passing through, biding my time and checking off as many things from her list as I could before I left. I planned to visit the Phantom apparition site, but I didn’t expect to be spending the rest of the summer fake-engaged to a billionaire in the cozy small town of Ashford Falls.” She pinches my side playfully, but her smile doesn’t quite meet her eyes.
“Then, I saw the sign for the waterfall, and I thought it could be a perfect place for her … but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’m not ready to say goodbye. Not just yet.”
A tear falls from the corner of her eye, and I wish I could soak up every ounce of pain she feels and take it on myself because the look of her face nearly kills me.
“Hey, it’s okay. There’s no rush for these things. You’ll do it when you feel ready. I can be there to help you if you want?”
“I just don’t know if I’ll ever feel ready. I’m scared to let her go … but I know it’s what she wanted.” Her voice cracks, and I pull her to my chest.
“You’re so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You’re a fighter, Ivy. Anyone can see it. You don’t have to do this alone, okay? I’m here for you.”
She wipes the tears from her eyes and pinches her nose before dunking her head under the water, and when she comes up, it’s like she’s flipped a switch, turning off her sadness.
“Okay, enough being sad. What do you say we start a little wager?”
Her sudden mood change doesn’t fool me for one second. There’s no way someone can simultaneously hold that much unprocessed grief and still be the ray of fucking sunshine she pretends to be.
I’m starting to see a pattern that Ivy doesn’t like to dwell in her sadness for longer than a couple of minutes, always flippingthe script to look on the bright side. She reminds me of my dad in that way, always focused on the positives and finding the silver lining to everything. In a lot of ways, it’s a good quality; it’s why my dad is the incredible leader he is, but there’s something to be said for digging into your pain and sitting in it too. Maybe I’m guilty of staying there too long, but I’m worried that if she keeps running from it, it’s going to catch up to her in a big way. I’m not exactly sure how to get her to realize that though.
Bringing my attention back to the present, I quirk a brow. “What did you have in mind?”
I might be the only one in the world who sees through this act, but maybe that’s the point of our paths crossing. Maybe she needs a cynic like me to call her out so she can process her grief and eventually move on from it.
She’s clearly not ready to take that step, so right now, I’ll have to give her the next best thing—a distraction.
“I was thinking we could race all the way to the falls. Winner gets to tell the loser what to do. No questions asked.” She tilts up her chin like she’s waiting.
No questions asked …
Immediately, my mind is flooded with a plethora ofideas, most of which I should feel downright ashamed of, but if it’s a distraction she seeks …thatmight be something I can give her.
I narrow my eyes. “You should know I’m a very fast swimmer. It wouldn’t be a fair competition.”
“I know what I bring to the table,Boss Daddy,” she tosses right back.
“Fine then.” I rub the scruff on my jaw. “I can’t wait to rub my victory in your pretty face.”
“Bring it on, old man.” She splashes a wave of water in my face and then plugs her nose before dipping under the water.
I swim after her all the way to the edge of the rocky cliff, feeling lighter than I have in years. I finally feel like there’s apurpose for my schoolboy crush, which more accurately borders on the line of obsession.
I brace myself on the rocky cliff as I listen to her directions.
“The rules are simple. Whoever reaches the other side of the falls first wins.”
“Seems easy enough. Are you sure about this? I don’t intend on going easy on you after I win. I don’t want to see you pouting about it either. It’s not too late to back out.”
