17. Chapter 17
Chapter seventeen
Ivy
Why is my face wet? I blink open my eyes, my head snapping up when I see the plain taupe wall and not an actual bedroom. Drool is on the corner of my mouth, along with the insurance policy I finally found at exactly four eighteen this morning. I couldn’t sleep. Not with everything on my mind. Not with my visit to the hospital last night. Dad was heavily medicated so he couldn’t form a coherent sentence let alone hash out my disappearing act. So much was weighing on me. My father’s health. My destroyed memories, and the man that was not even twenty feet across the hallway from me after magically developing a bedside manor. So, I got up, threw on whatever clothes I could find in my suitcase first and went back to digging through files. I finally found the golden ticket that was thankfully current and more than enough to rehabilitate this place. At least I hoped. I haven’t exactly gotten to sort through the financials, but the close to one point two million that was securely stated on those documents would make a dent. That would be the next step after I talk with Cooper and Ryder.
Letting out a long breath, I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and push to my feet. I could use a shower and some toothpaste at the moment. A flash from the catastrophe yesterday morning makes me wince and I shift my eyes to Maddox’s office. Empty. My nerves ease slightly as I snatch up my phone and the documents before heading back to his cabin. My phone reads nine o'clock, along with a missed call from Dakota and a text from Merit.
Merit: Checking on you friend. Call me when you can.
My thumb moves to the call icon, and I bring it up to my ear as I enter the cabin, heading directly to the laundry room to grab a towel.
“Hey. How is everything?” Her soft voice flows into my ear.
“Fine,” I lie, opening the dryer to find it empty.
Part of me is embarrassed. He folded the towels that fast? Like seeing me naked was traumatizing enough to fold laundry at midnight.
“Don’t lie, Ivy,” Merit scolds.
Maybe I am bad at it?
My boss wasn’t like any other. She was my friend first, my boss second.
“It's a mess,” I admit.
I make my way back to the guest room. I refuse to call it mine and grab a change of clothes.
“Take all the time you need.”
Merit was the most empathic person I’d ever met. She reminded me of Laiken in that way. She had been my first real friend in Georgia, and even though I haven’t ever told her about my family issues, she knew about Maddox. One night with a few too many wine spritzers and a bad date that I refused to kiss, I spilled my guts. It was the first time I’d talked about my feelings for him out in the open. I hadn’t even told Dakota. I felt like she’d be keeping secrets from Laiken, and I know firsthand how that felt. I didn’t want to put her in that place.
“It may be a week or two. I can do all of my work from my laptop, so no worries there.”
“I’m not worried about work.” I can hear the jingle of the shop door opening in the background. “I’m just worried about you. Have you seen him?”
I blow out a breath. “Yeah. I’ve seen him.”
Before I can elaborate, I hear the jingle again. “Sorry, Ivy. Alanzo just walked in. I’ll call you later to check in.”
She hangs up quickly before I can respond, and that uneasy feeling strikes in my gut. It always did when Alanzo came into the shop. He’s Merit’s boyfriend, and even though he’s never done anything wrong, he always gave me a bad vibe. But who was I to give dating advice? I had only been on a total of three dates in the last three years. One which ended with me attempting to have sex in the back seat of a Dodge Durango. When I panicked halfway to second base, I was dropped off at my apartment and I never heard from him again. Which was fine. It wasn’t like I was in love with Josh . He was everything Maddox wasn’t, and it was the only reason I swiped right. Then I ended up spending my evening crying in the shower over the fact that I almost gave a part of myself, the small part that in my heart only belonged to one man, to a complete stranger.
Putting aside my thoughts, I escape to the bathroom and start the shower. When I glance out the window, my eyes catch on a familiar figure. The one walking toward the barn with a stride I could pick out of any crowd. It took almost all of my strength, but I tore my eyes away. Even now, it still hurt to look at him. And I’d love to know when that feeling will finally go away.