IVY
A fter I bawled like a baby in front of everyone, I tried to make a better impression. Shay and Bebe entertained me with stories of their many cooking mishaps. Clint eventually tugged me away from the women and down a hallway where he showed me childhood pictures on the wall.
“You and Elle were so adorable,” I cooed, running my fingers over the photos.
“Ford used to have dark hair. Shay was blonde. You should assume I’ll have a headful of gray hair once I hit middle age.”
“That sounds sexy,” I said and smiled up at him. “Unfortunately, I don’t resemble my mom, so I can’t warn you about what I might look like when I’m older.”
Clint offered me a soft yet fleeting kiss before smiling. “I look forward to spending the next thirty years together and finding out.”
I gripped his shirt as his arms wrapped around me. The future felt too far away. I just wanted to focus on getting through the rest of today.
Two hours later, pulled pork and all the fixings were delivered for dinner. We sat outside at a long table with me between Clint and Elle. Eating quietly, I studied each person, making mental notes about their habits.
Sabrina liked to yell things out and was often egged on by Pax.
Elle frequently hugged Sutter against her, claiming she needed his big brain energy.
Vanessa was often very tired and might have a Vitamin D deficiency.
A stealthy troublemaker, Rowdy would casually say something to upset one person and send them after someone else. Then, he leaned back and enjoyed the show.
Lula looked to be in a constant state of readiness against the craziness from her siblings. Her daughter, Dillon, was a pretty brunette who rolled her big brown eyes so much that I worried for her health.
The foster kids—short blond Elijah and thin brunette Jenan—didn’t talk to each other or anyone besides Bebe. They stared in horror at Pax whenever he spoke to them. Rather than act offended, he chuckled at their reactions.
Moe and Xandy asked me questions throughout dinner. Each time I answered, my voice got quieter until I was mumbling by the end.
“I think her battery needs recharging,” Ford told Clint while gesturing at me.
Clint wrapped his arm around my shoulders, instantly filling me with a warm, safe feeling. He kissed the side of my head and whispered, “I’m going to tell them to buzz off.”
“No,” I whispered back.
“I plan to bring you to the Sorority House soon. The foxes can interrogate you there. Tonight is about learning names and faces, okay?”
I smiled at him, understanding why other people followed him. Clint’s voice was deep, smooth, and certain. The world often seemed chaotic. I didn’t know how people kept up with all the noise and expectations. However, once Clint gave me a goal to focus on, I felt okay again.
“Stop being so friendly,” he told Moe and Xandy.
Moe’s face fell into a pout as she mumbled, “I’m always friendly.”
“I’m fine not being friendly,” Xandy said in her raspy voice. “Especially since I got up so early today.”
I glanced at Sabrina to see if she would react to Clint’s comment. She was too busy flicking ice cubes at Elle.
“You’re only making my Kegel exercises more powerful,” Elle said and bit into a piece of asparagus.
“Why are you so horny?”
“I’m eating,” Sutter grumbled and looked to Ford. “Make them stop.”
“Boy, you know your mom has no mute button,” Ford said and then frowned at Pax farther down the table. “Pax, control your children. They’re distracting my grandson from conjuring up cures to terrible diseases.”
“My granddaughter is smart, too,” Pax spat back at Ford. “Dillon, say something brainy.”
“Snakes are solely carnivores. They only eat other animals and never plants.”
“Ha!” Pax yelled and pointed at Ford. “She’s got knowledge.”
Ford turned to Sutter. “Say something impressive.”
“More stars exist in the universe than grains of sand on Earth,” Sutter replied.
Dillon narrowed her eyes and stated, “Fleas can jump one hundred and thirty times their height.”
“Humans are ninety-nine-point-nine percent genetically identical.”
“That seems wrong,” Sabrina said and frowned at Elle. “Your son is wrong.”
“Don’t make me google,” Elle warned. “If I pull out my phone and you’re wrong, I’ll be forced to jump across this table and make you smell my pits.”
“That wouldn’t be such a terrifying threat if you wore deodorant.”
“I’m lifting the instrument of your doom,” Elle announced and very dramatically picked up her cell from the table. “I’m unlocking the screen.”
Sabrina rolled her eyes and turned toward Ford. “How dare you?”
“How dare I what?”
“How dare you have a son who told my girlfriends what to do?”
“Well, how dare you have a father who made me wash his dirty drawers thirty years ago?”
“No one made you do a damn thing,” Pax muttered. “You did it because you have a natural ‘Holly Homemaker’ vibe.”
“Stop yelling at my daddy!” Elle cried while googling Sutter’s information. “Ha! My boy was correct! Here come my pits!”
Clint stopped eating his pork and potatoes long enough to explain, “I was telling them to zip it as their club president rather than as their friend.”
Sabrina froze in place. A spoonful of potatoes was poised to fly across the table at Elle. She flashed her dark eyes at Clint before shoving the food into her mouth.
“Well, then, that’s fine,” Sabrina said and shrugged. “Carry on.”
“I’m still making you smell my pits,” Elle insisted.
“After dessert,” Shay said. “Also, maybe we should pretend to be more normal while Ivy is getting to know us. Like, we could ease her into the family’s crazy ways.”
“We didn’t ease these two into it,” Pax said and gestured at Elijah and Jenan. “Right, kids?”
The preteens lowered their gazes and refused to be drawn into the conversation. I also remained quiet through dinner and dessert. When I offered to help with the dishes, Ford claimed they didn’t own a stepstool.
“Rather than dishes,” Lula suggested, suddenly standing behind me, “why not help me put together the court order?”
Clint explained how he wanted to retrieve my belongings from the Reno house. He made the situation sound so normal. I would list out everything in my room. An Arkansas judge would approve the order. A team of people would go to the mansion to pack up my belongings.
“What if this helps my uncle find me?” I asked Lula as the past started dragging me downward.
“For your address, we’ll use a Little Rock safehouse,” she said, seeming so much more intimidating now than when we were eating. “If your uncle tries to come for you, we’ll be alerted. Meanwhile, he won’t have any clue about your real location. Don’t worry. We’ve done something similar for abused women on the run.”
I agreed to Lula’s instructions and tried to create an extensive list. The process should have been easy, but thinking of my old room left me tired and depressed.
Later, as Clint and I prepared to leave for the evening, Shay cornered me. Her soft smile instantly made me tear up. I wanted to stay here with her, but I was also exhausted after a long day.
“Did Clint tell you that he rides around a lot during the day? Part of his job is to be seen in town. He checks on businesses and his people. That’s important for his club.”
“I know he goes out a lot.”
Shay glanced at Clint before smiling at me. “I think you should hang out here for a while tomorrow while Clint rides around. We can talk more, and you can show me those recipes you know. I’d like to burn new things.”
Smiling at her teasing, I still wasn’t sure if I should agree. What did Clint want? I feared saying the wrong thing.
Shay’s hug soothed my worries. I rested my head against her and recentered myself for the hundredth time today.
“It’ll get easier,” she promised. “One day, you’ll be the wise old lady soothing her boy’s soulmate.”
Smiling at Shay, I relaxed over how tomorrow was already partly planned.