30. Tripp
Chapter 30
Tripp
I hold onto Ivy like a tether, keeping me from disappearing into my self-doubt, anger, and fear. I had managed to come at just the right time. And despite the fact that I devised my plan with zero tact of a confident sheriff, I got the job done. Every second, all I could think about was that I failed her. I was bordering on unhinged. Chuck had Ivy, and nothing was going to be okay until she was back in my arms.
“Hey! Is everyone okay?” Millie approaches us while her fellow deputies put their team member in the back of their car.
“I’m good,” Ivy replies, giving me a pointed look as if to make sure I’m hearing her words. I need to hear it a handful more times, though.
I tuck her under my chin, encouraged by the way she settles in. We fit, as I always suspected we could. Over her head, I give Millie a nod. It’s enough, my old partner understands.
Millie reaches out and gives my shoulder a light punch. “Alright, good. And hey, probably won’t get recalled anymore after tonight. Because how the fuck do you catch a guy who seems like a model citizen and deputy. I mean he could be a prickly cuss at times, but still…”
I manage another nod. Her surprise makes sense. Everyone is going to be surprised. Once my anger settles, I know I’ll have to process the loss of a man I thought of as a mentor. Chuck had been the one that trained me when I first joined the team. He’d supported me when I nearly screwed up my first prison transfer, and a number of other new guy blunders I pulled. And he never had a negative word to say about it.
There weren’t many people I considered to be in my corner, and I seem to be losing them rapidly. Pops is now gone. Wes may never speak to me again. And now Chuck needs to be crossed off my list. But I have Ivy. And she’s worth a hundred Chucks and then some, I remind myself.
As if sensing my thoughts, Ivy shifts in my arms and gently kisses my jaw. “What was that you said about going home?”
“You’re leaving? I figured you’d want to be the one taking him in and officially locking him up,” Millie says, looking between us.
“I have a feeling there are plenty of people that would happily volunteer to do that,” I point out, taking Ivy’s face in my hands. “But I have plans with my girl.”
“I really don’t want to be the one to kill the mood here. But this was technically my case. So, I have to ask, did you get her statement?” Millie replies.
“I’ll do that later,” I say quickly. I need to get her out of here. I need to get myself out of here and allow the emotions to come.
“And what about your statement?” she asks more gently, her eyes catching the way my jaw jumps at her question.
“I figured out it was him, went looking for him, and found him at the bookstore. He had her against her will, so I didn’t wait, I entered the shop and apprehended him. Good?”
“For now,” Millie agrees with a soft smile. “Have a nice night, you two.”
“Thanks, Millie,” Ivy murmurs, curling tighter against me. I nod to my deputy as I lead us out.
There is a rhythmic patter of rain lulling Ivy to sleep, her head on my chest. She spent the past hour promising that she was fine, and based on the steady rise and fall of her breathing, I’m tempted to believe her.
“You know,” she murmurs. “When Wes came home talking about his latest adventure, I was sure he was living out his dreams and I wasn’t. I felt all the doubt rush back. But tonight, I could have lost everything.”
A suffocating feeling overcomes me. She could have lost everything, meaning her life. A world without Ivy is inconceivable. And she might be fine, but I am far from being over the events of tonight. I focus on the feeling of her body against mine. Her flowery scent. Her sweet, tired voice.
“Do you still feel like you ran from your dreams?” I ask carefully.
“I realized, what I’ve been doing all along was running towards them, instead,” she replies with certainty. “I love this town and my own little corner of it at the store. It’s mine, and I wouldn’t trade it. And I love my family, and my friends. And… I love you, Tripp. And I don’t care if it’s too fast to say it, because I have loved you for some time. You are my dream.”
“Your dream man ?” I murmur. I feel pretty lucky that I picked Practical Magic for the drive-in that night.
A melodic little laugh escapes her. “Yes. You, Tripp Forester, are my dream man.”
“Good,” I say, kissing her forehead. The heaviness of the day lifts a bit with her words. “Because I love you, Ivy. I love you more than anything, I always have.”
She reaches up, her hand finding my face in the moonlight passing through the blinds. Taking hold of me, she pulls me down to kiss her. I greedily oblige, taking my time to savor her. Because finally, we can slow down. We have all the time in the world.
Ivy
It happened slowly, from that first day. The first time he smiled at me, genuine and kind. The first time he noticed my absence and looked for me in a crowd. The first time he hung back to ask me about the book I was reading, or offered to pick all the olives off the pizza when he found out Wes ordered something I didn’t like. And then one day, it was simply a part of me.
And now, in the early morning light, I can fully bask in the fact that we are in love. Crossing into the kitchen, I pull Tripp’s flannel back up on my shoulder and wrap my arms around him from behind. I have a feeling that each day, I’ll only continue to fall deeper and deeper in love with him.
I press a kiss between his shoulder blades and murmur, “I just got off the phone with my mom, I couldn’t stop my parents from rushing over here. I’m sorry, they insisted.”
“I’m glad they’re coming, they should want to see that you’re okay,” he says, turning to face me and placing a fresh mug of coffee into my hands.
“No mention of Wes though,” I add, my shoulders slumping, and the flannel slipping off one side once again.
“He’ll come around. Maybe he hasn’t heard yet,” Tripp replies gently.
“They’ve probably heard up in Fenbury by now.”
“He’ll come around.” He guides me to the back patio, overlooking the sea. The fog is cleared, the sun working its way through the thick gray clouds. “Nothing’s ever as bad in the morning light,” he reminds me, his lips tickling my ear.
“Well sure, when I get to spend the morning like this.”
A satisfyingly deep chuckle rumbles in Tripp’s chest before fading into the ocean breeze. And then the only remaining sound is that of the waves crashing on the rocks, until a doorbell chime carries through the house and out the open patio doors to reach us.
I look down at the article of clothing I’m wearing and turn to a shirtless Tripp. “Clothes first?”
We rush back inside, and he throws a black hoodie on with his jeans while I pull on my leggings from yesterday and button up the flannel. Based on how long it takes us to get to the door, it’s clear that we weren’t decent, but my parents take it in stride as Tripp welcomes them in. Immediately, they pull me into a hug at the same time, and I end up smashed between Howard and Ruth like a small child.
“I’m okay,” I reassure them. “I’m okay.”
“That was the most terrifying call,” my mom weeps. “And Chuck? I don’t understand.”
“None of us do,” Tripp says quietly from the kitchen, getting out two more coffee mugs.
With a kiss to the top of my head, my mom releases me and drifts across the room to him. She holds him in a hug the same way she would me or Wes. “I’m so sorry, Tripp. I know how you trusted him.”
“We all did, it’s no wonder it took time for you to catch him. This wasn’t just some case of vandalism,” my father says, moving to shake his hand. “And I want to thank you. While it came as a bit of a shock to learn about the two of you, it can’t be denied that you’ve proven your devotion to my daughter. You’ve been there for her better than anyone.”
“She’ll always come first,” Tripp assures him, their hands clasped together.
I look over to my mom and ask, “Wes?”
“We haven’t spoken to him either. Not since we shared some news of our own with him.”
She pours coffee for herself and Dad, then the four of us move to the back patio and sit. Tripp reaches over and takes my hand in his, above the table this time. I smile up at him, my chest bursting with joy that we can be open about things now.
“News of your own?” he asks, looking between my parents.
“As you know, I’ve been hiding my health issues from him,” my father admits. “I didn’t want him to worry while he was away. But it’s just made things worse, keeping it a secret for this long.”
“I’m guessing it didn’t go well,” I say, taking a sip of coffee.
“I think he considered giving me a face to match Tripp’s,” my father chuckles.
“Dad!”
Tripp’s laugh booms over my shriek, and he lifts our linked hands to brush a kiss across my knuckles.
“I’m not ready to joke about that,” I mutter, a smile sneaking up my face, nonetheless. How could I not smile when his lips feel so delicate on my skin?
My parents stay a while longer, chatting like we haven’t spoken for years. And we don’t mention the missing member of the family again. They’re rising to leave when the doorbell sounds and we all exchange a look. My brother’s name dances in my mind as Tripp moves through the house. He would have to know this is where we all are, right?
But when he opens the door, it’s not my brother. It’s three fierce, loving women that come bounding through it. They surround me in a group hug, similar to the way my parents did, letting go only long enough for Mom and Dad to say goodbye.
“Are you okay?”
“What happened?”
“I can’t believe it!”
“Yeah, they’re saying it was Chuck!”
“You were just with us! When did he take you hostage?”
They fire off questions in rapid succession, stopping only when Tripp pulls me from their huddle. He takes my face in his hands and smiles down at me. “I’m going to leave you with your friends. I’ll be back shortly.”
“How shortly? Where are you going?”
“Just have to run a quick errand. You won’t even know I’m gone while you catch up.” Then with a kiss, he leaves us alone at his house like it’s the most natural thing in the world.