Page 38 of Clint & Ivy
Clint appeared from the hallway and studied me. I could instantly tell he was checking if Elle and Sabrina had turned me against him. When I smiled relieved to see him, he mimicked my grin with his own.
Whatever his parents told him hadn’t changed anything. He still considered me his soulmate, and my new life remained on track.
CLINT
Ford and Shay smiledcasually as Ivy disappeared downstairs with Elle, Sabrina, and Moe. As soon as she was out of earshot, they moved toward me like a single entity and patted my shoulders.
“Still certain about this girl or are you ready to run?” Ford asked while Shay nodded sympathetically. “There’s no harm in sending a smoke signal for help.”
Smiling at them, I replied, “Ivy’s my Shay. I’m keeping her. She wants to stay with me. It’s all good, but thanks for the concern.”
Once my parents stopped smiling and started whispering about the next stage of their plan, Lula stepped forward to say, “We ran a background check. Just a preliminary glance at Ivy’s history.”
“What did you learn?” I asked. “Did you find out if Dwight Humphreys is alive?”
“They found his body this morning. He shot himself in his car,” Lula said, and my parents stopped whispering long enough to look sad.
Pax rolled his eyes at his brother’s compassion. “You don’t feel shit.”
“This one made me soft,” Ford said, resting the blame on my mom who smiled at her power.
While Ford and Pax eyeballed each other, Lula continued explaining what she had learned from her sources.
“Ivy doesn’t have a driver’s license, just a state ID. No criminal record. Her family’s home is big and located in an expensive area. However, based on the internet pictures, the house doesn’t look well-kept. I’ve got people digging up more info, especially about the living uncle.”
“How easily could we send someone to get Ivy’s things?”
“I thought you were hiding her from the uncle.”
“The loan shark was the real threat. Her living uncle sounds like a coward.”
“What does she need from her house?”
“Whatever is in her room. Family heirlooms, that sort of thing.”
Lula’s face flipped from pleasant to hawk with its prey within reach. Narrowing her gaze, she said, “I can go to court to get a legal order to remove her belongings. We should do everything nice and legal to prevent her surviving uncle from attempting anything sketchy.”
