It Took a Rumor (19 page)

“What? Who authorized that?” Gideon shouted.

Ivy stood, her efforts to remain calm and polite vanishing quickly. “I did, damn you! That’s what the vet said needed done, so we did it.”

“You got any idea what that’s gonna cost me, young lady?”

“Could save you a hell of a lot of money of money in dead cattle, old man.”

“All you did was add to the vet bill. You and your father better get your checkbook out.”

“Fuck you, Gideon! If those cattle have been poisoned—”

“If! If they’ve been poisoned. You could be giving medicine to perfectly healthy animals.”

“Oh, did you want me to have the vet run blood tests on each one? How the fuck much do you think that would have cost?”

“You impertinent little bitch!”

“Stop it,” Jake said, calmly standing at Ivy’s side, his hand on her back. It was remarkable what the small gesture did to soothe her nerves. “She did the right thing. It’s what I would have done. Thank you, Ivy.”

She smiled up at him. Gideon who? There was nothing in that moment but her man gazing fondly down at her.
 

“Whole thing wouldn’t have happened if you’d done your job right,” Gideon said.

Ivy’s anger rushed back at her as she turned on the bitter old man. She opened her mouth to shout at him in spite of Jake’s hand on her shoulder, but the doctor chose that moment to stroll in. He approached the family, business-like, staring down at a clipboard. “No change in his condition so far,” he said. “Which isn’t good or bad. But we got the blood tests back. Found large amounts of a chemical that comes from a toxic plant called hemlock…it’s what killed Socrates. I’ve never had a patient present with a diagnosis like this. Do you all have any idea how he managed to come into contact with it.”

Everyone was silent, until Jake said, “It was me. I cleared it out, bagged it up. He volunteered to take it to the dump. It was in bags.”

“There might have been residue on the outside of the bags,” the doctor said. “Perhaps when he picked them up, it entered through his skin. Or maybe he inhaled some.”

“Did you tell him to wear gloves and a mask?” Gideon asked.

Jake’s face paled. “No. I didn’t think…I just assumed he would…”

“Oh, you just assumed? You know good and well Dallas has the IQ of a goddamn rock. You couldn’t be troubled to look after him? You shouldn’t have given him that job in the first place, let alone without giving him instructions. You might have just killed your brother, Jake.”

Jake fell to his chair, burying his face in his hands. Ivy couldn’t decide which instincts to heed. Part of her wanted to punch Gideon in the face. Another part wanted to fall to her knees and comfort her man. The turmoil was confusing, but Boone solved it for her by taking her elbow and walking her out of the hospital. They stopped by her truck. He looked older than she’d ever seen him as he ran his hand over his bloodshot eyes. “This is fucked up,” he said.
 

Ivy had no idea what to say.
 

“I think this is my fault,” Boone said.

Her mouth dropped open. “How do you figure?”

“I’ve been getting threatening texts. I don’t know who they’re from. Whoever it is keeps saying they know I…I killed Molly.”

“You killed Molly?” Ivy shouted.

Boone clapped a hand over her mouth. “No! Are you crazy? I didn’t kill Molly. I can’t even bring myself to castrate the bull calves for Christ’s sake. But this person keeps saying they know I did. They know about the affair.”

“What do they want from you?”

“That’s just the thing. Nothing. No demands. I asked what the person wanted and all I got in response was, ‘Your suffering on this earth.’ Which is just a weird thing to say to someone.”

Ivy shook her head in awe. It was just too much, all of it. “So, your theory is that they did this to you to cause your suffering?”

“What else could it be? I mean, the old man is always going to blame Jake for everything, that’s just how he operates. But you and I know this ain’t Jake’s fault.”

Ivy wanted to offer Boone some comfort, but how to do that without revealing Dallas’s secrets? “Just, keep a cool head,” she ended up saying. “I really don’t think this has anything to do with the texts. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Yeah, but, I mean, what if Dallas is only the first? What if this person goes after Jake and Cody? I mean, they’re all a bunch of assholes, but I do love them. If someone wanted to create suffering for me, that would be the way to do it. Oh, God…what if they go after Mom?”

“You need to go to the police with this, Boone.”

“And say what? The minute I confess to having an affair with Molly, I become their number one suspect in this murder investigation.”

“You didn’t do it, did you?”

“I can’t believe you’d even ask me that.”

“Okay, so if you’re innocent, they’ll find you innocent and move on to another suspect.”

Boone laughed and paced away while he shoved his hand in his hair. “God, are you naive. Don’t you watch TV? Innocent people get proven guilty all the time.”

 
“Maybe this mysterious texter is the killer, did you think of that? Maybe you’re preventing his capture by hiding the affair?”

Boone shook his head. “Listen, if I confess, I’ll be lucky to get put in prison for the rest of my life. What scares the shit out of me is Gideon finding out. He’ll kill me, Ivy. I’m not even exaggerating.”

Ivy dropped her head back, closed her eyes, and prayed for inner peace. “You are all so afraid of your father. Have you ever thought about standing up to him? Together?”

“No. Fucking. Way. Then it would just be a quadruple homicide. Besides, Jake would never stand against Gideon.”

“He did last night, didn’t he?”

“That was for his horse. He’d die for his horse.”

“I promise you and your brothers mean more to him than a horse.”

Boone arched a skeptical brow. It was useless anyway, and none of her business. If those boys didn’t want to grow up and stand up for themselves, no amount of preaching from her was going to convince them. “Fine. Do what you want. But Boone, you need to go to the cops with those texts. You could be withholding evidence. You could be putting other lives in danger. There’s a right and a wrong, here, and the right thing to do is go to the police.”

She drove away while he stood there, pensive and sad.

Myra’s Blog

It’s been quite the week, here in Fair Grove. Not only have we lost poor Molly Allen, rest her soul (and by the way, there are no further developments on that story; if you have any information, contact the number below this video), but tragedy has struck the Deathridge farm like a biblical plague. Poor Gideon can’t seem to keep his sons out of Ivy Turner’s bed…the one exception being Dallas who is still in intensive care, no change on that front either. They’ve also got a dead cattle count of eight, so far, and many others sick. I’m sure the family would appreciate our thoughts and prayers.

On a lighter note, I have recently been given insight into the Turner-Deathridge feud. I did a little digging and found out that back in their senior year of high school, Penny Turner née Leist spent a few weeks dating Gideon Deathridge. But apparently she had eyes for Jared Turner and the break-up was not amicable. As it turns out, Mr. Deathridge has harbored quite the grudge over that matter.
 

Poor Clara. To find out your husband has spent the last forty years feuding with a man over another woman…what a blow to the ego. My thoughts are with you, Clara.
 

Jake spent the rest of his week alternating visiting Dallas at the hospital, Eloise in the stables, and the foal on the Turner property. That latter chore was his favorite since it put him directly into close proximity to Ivy. Nothing had happened beyond some prolonged eye contact and a brief brush of fingertips…there were usually other ranch hands around, after all. But he enjoyed working with her on training the mare to nurse the foal. By the end of the week, it was as though the two were mother and child by nature. Even better, Jake found out what it was like to partner with Ivy. Turned out they worked well together.

On Friday, Eloise got up.
 

Jake nearly wept as he hugged her neck. He called the vet, first. Ivy second. Both joined him within the hour, the vet checking Eloise’s vitals and walking her around to see if she had any nerve damage from the poison. While he was doing that, Jake stood next to Ivy and held her hand.

“It’s nice to see something positive,” Jake said.

“Dallas will be next. He’ll be on his feet before you know it.”

Jake put his arm around her shoulders and smiled when she hugged his waist. “You’re the best girl I know, Ivy.”

She giggled—a rare sound from her. “I like you, too.”

He turned, pushing her away just enough to face her. “After we get Eloise settled in, do you wanna go for a walk down by the creek?”

She smiled. “You’re really making it hard for me to stick to my principles.”

“I’m not talking about sex or anything. I just wanna be alone with you.”

She snorted, and justifiably. He could claim all he wanted that he wasn’t talking about sex, but there was no denying the hope.
 

Well, Ivy may have principles, but Jake couldn’t afford them. Not when so much was at stake. So he took her hands, lowered his eyes, and said, “It’s just been such a hard week, you know? I guess I’m feeling, I don’t know, vulnerable.”

“Stop it,” she said with a laugh.

He sighed heavily, stepping a little closer to her. “Lonely, too, you know? Real lonely. No one to talk to. Share all my emotions with.”

“Shut. Up. You are such a manipulative bastard!”

He grinned at her, then, and she grinned back.
 

“Okay,” she said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. “You win. I can’t resist any longer. But I still want what I want, Jake. I still need what I need.”

“I know what you want and need, and I’m gonna give it to you, I swear. I just need a little time.”

Her smile faded as she nodded.
 

Eloise tired quickly and the vet led her back inside to rest. Jake took Ivy by the hand, and they walked through the field to a little trail that led into the woods and down by the creek. They followed the creek to the fence that separated his property from hers. For the most part, they were silent. They climbed the fence and sat on the big, flat rock, facing each other.
 

They kissed tentatively at first. Soft swoops and awkward misses until they fell into sync, landing perfectly against each other, and stuck. Jake threaded both hands in her hair, held her gently but firmly, and sank into the kiss. Just lips for the longest time, opening gradually more and more. Then tongues and penetration and nothing but a hot, wet world of sensation.
 

It was heaven.

Jake breathed her in. Held her. It was worship. Not like the routine, ritualistic worship of Sunday service. No, this was different. He’d finally found something worthy of his awe and wonder. This was true worship, offering his body to this woman who lifted him out of himself, stripped away his illusions and made him see the world in a different light. She flooded his world, washing away the things that didn’t matter and illuminating that which he’d never seen before. He saw things in his imagination…wanted things he’d never wanted before.
 

Her. Forever.
 

They stayed on that pleasant plateau, just kissing and loving, for God only knew how long. But then something shifted. As Jake indulged more and longer, he found himself changing from wonder-struck worshiper, to need-fueled possessor. His hands fisted in her hair. Hers fisted in his shirt. He pressed harder against her, crushing her lips with his own, not able to get enough. An itch he couldn’t scratch.

She pulled back, gasped in a breath, and groaned when he pulled her back in. His hands were on her back, now, squeezing and rubbing. He felt the line of her bra and longed to unclasp it. Found the curve of her waist and squeezed.
 

She pulled back again, panting. “Oh, God,” she squeaked.
 

He kissed her open mouth, then moved to her jaw. She tilted her head and he dragged his tongue behind her ear and down her neck, frantically kissing and sucking. It wasn’t enough. There was no such thing as enough.
 

Her hands were all over him and he ached to touch her breasts and slide his fingers into her jeans. “More,” he groaned against her. “Please.”

She let out a little laugh and more panting. He pulled back and met her eyes. They were both shaking. Both breathing hard. Both gazing at each other like they were seeing God for the first time.
 

He waited, hoping for some sign from her. Some invitation. But though she gazed at him, there was still a hesitation. A wall. Of course he hadn’t earned her trust. He hadn’t given her what she wanted.

So he kissed her some more. He pushed towards her and she let him lay her down on the ground and position himself over her. She let him push her shirt up and pull her bra down and take her nipples, one at a time, between his teeth.

Her breathing was shallow and fast. Her hands fisted in his hair, and he felt like a champion, like a victor, like a god among gods. He reached for the button of her jeans, but then she grabbed his hand. “What are you doing?” she whispered, lifting her head enough to look at him.

His answer was a grin as he continued unfastening her jeans. He sat up, pulled off her boots, then pulled off her jeans and panties. “Look at you,” he murmured, as he raked his hands up and down her hips and thighs.

“I’m weak. And pathetic.”

“You’re strong. And not afraid to take what you deserve.” He kissed her breasts again, and then trailed his lips down her abdomen, past her belly button.

She grabbed his hair and forced his head up.
 

“Don’t,” she said.

He grinned in answer.

“Jake, if you go down on me, I’ll fall in love. I’ll fall in love right here and now.”