Page 87 of Clint & Ivy

Ivy stepped back and startled me by letting out a wail as if in pain. I didn’t know what her reaction meant. She looked around and then at the dogs for help. They just barked at the wailing woman.

Finally, her gaze found mine, and something clicked in her gaze. Her wailing turned off as she grabbed my wrists.

“Why are you doing this?” Ivy demanded before grabbing her chest. “You think I’m defective.”

“What do you think is happening here?” I asked calmly as if a fox were freaking out on me.

Ivy went still and looked around. Her expression reminded me of when we met at the gas station. She was lost, and I gave her direction. This time, when she was lost, I just stood around like a dipshit.

Sweeping Ivy into my arms, I walked past the barking dogs and sat on a bench. She gripped my shirt, nearly shaking me as if wanting to knock some sense into me.

“I want you to stay with me,” I said while she stared wide-eyed. “You get that, right?”

“I want to stay, but you made it sound like I should go back.”

“No, that’s only what you heard. Ineverwant you to go back there. But I want you to know you have the power to go wherever you want.”

“It’s up to me?”

“Of course.”

“No, notof course. I’ve spent my life having no say.”

“You have a say now.”

“Well, I want to stay here with you.”

“Well, I wasn’t keeping you here as an act of charity. I want you to be with me.”

Ivy’s face raced through many emotions—irritation, relief, uncertainty, grief—before landing on lovestruck.

“I didn’t understand what was happening,” she admitted. “You can be difficult to read.”

“I forget I need to show you what’s hiding behind my mask. I’m spoiled from spending my life around people who know me. But you need to understand that if you wanted to go back to Reno, I wouldn’t give you up without a fight.”

Ivy stared at me with an unreadable expression. I knew this woman was mine, but I was still figuring her out.

“I’m sorry I screamed,” she said finally.

“If you hadn’t been genuinely upset, your screaming would have been the funniest shit I’ve seen in a long time.”

Ivy broke into a smile. “I don’t know why I did that.”

“The foxes do wilder shit than that. No one cares. You’re not rolling with people focused on appearances.”

“I want to keep rolling with you.”

Smiling, I kissed her throat and hid my face in her soft hair while my brain and heart got back on the same page.

Ivy stroked my head, breathing easier now. As excited as she’d been all day, I also sensed she was waiting for something bad to happen. She acted almost hyper, even when we watched TV together. All her pent-up energy exploded outward with her panicked screaming.

In my arms, Ivy felt relaxed. Yet, her kisses were overly affectionate as if she needed to prove she trusted me. I met her passion with my own. Even when Hanzee started barking again, thinking I was attacking his person, I shooed the dog away and stayed focused on Ivy.

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