Evercrossed

And sometimes things are contradictory. One day a smell, like a wood fire, gives me a good feeling; and the next day, that same smell makes me want to run.?

?When you went to the park, did you see a sign and follow it, or do you think you may have already known it was there??

He hesitated. You can trust me, Ivy wanted to say. Sometimes the hardest thing to do was wait until another person decided to trust you.

?I saw it on a map. I remember general things— such as motels having free maps in their lobbies. When I saw the size of the park on the map, I knew I could survive there and could hide if they came after me.? Ivy leaned forward. ?Who?s they??

?I don?t know.?

?But it?s more than one person??

?I don?t know!? His eyes became a stormy blue. ?How am I supposed to know??

Ivy bit her lip, realizing she had pressed too hard. His eyes, looking more gray than blue now, told her that he had withdrawn into his own thoughts and fears.

He ran his finger over the long cut under his jaw. Ivy felt afraid for him, but she knew that telling him that would make him even more skittish of her.

?Here?s what I can offer you,? she said. ?A razor and a shower.?

?I don?t need either,? Guy answered quickly.

?You?ll probably feel better. If you let me wash and dry your clothes, you?ll be good for a few more days.? He grimaced. ?Trying to make me respectable??

?Yeah, if that?s possible.? Guy raised an eyebrow and she laughed. ?You have a lot of research to do,? she said.

?You want people to feel comfortable talking to you.?

??You got a point,? he said, smiling. “I’ll be quick.? A few minutes later, in exchange for the clothes Guy had been wearing and the dirty clothes in his backpack, Ivy handed a washcloth and towel through the cottage?s bathroom door. She had considered raiding Will?s room for shaving supplies and deodorant, but something held her back, and she offered Guy her own instead.

?Oh, I?m going to smell good!? he remarked.

?The laundry room is in the inn, back by the kitchen/? she told him, then headed off with her bundle. While the washer was filling, Ivy searched Guy?s pockets to make sure they were empty. She found a sheet taken from her release papers, listing the inn?s address and her family?s contact information, folded into a tiny square. Ivy wrote her cell phone number on it, then refolded the paper and set it in a bowl on top of the dryer. The other pocket had money in it, which she dug out and placed in the same bowl. When a glint of gold caught her eye, she poured the money back in her hand. Her breath caught in her throat.

A shiny coin stamped with an angel lay in her palm, like a sign from heaven.

Eleven

PHILIP HAD REACHED OUT TO GUY AT THE HOSPITAL, IVY thought on her way back to the cottage, just as she had. Her instincts were right; both she and Philip were meant to find and help Guy. Ivy smiled to herself; maybe they were Guy?s ?angels.”

“I need some clothes,” Guy called to Ivy from the second floor of the cottage.

Ivy walked as far as the kitchen. ?They take longer to wash than you do,? she called from the base of the steps. ?That?s what the beach towel?s for. When you come down, help yourself to anything you want to eat.?

She returned to the living room to work on a large puzzle, one of the many Aunt Cindy kept for rainy days at the inn. After clearing the coffee table, she sat on the sofa and studied the box top, which showed a painting of an idyllic New England town and bridge. Sorting through the jigsaw box, she pulled out green pieces with straight edges.

Guy came in a few minutes later, munching an apple. His hair was still wet, darker than its usual streaky gold. Ivy?s beach towel hung on him like a low-waisted skirt, leaving little to the imagination about his upper body strength — or his injuries. It took all of her self?discipline not to stare at him.

?Where should I sit?? he asked.

?Wherever you want.? He glanced down at the puzzle box, then sat in an armchair that faced the coffee table, making an L with the sofa. Ivy, having extracted a small pile of green puzzle pieces, handed him the box, hoping the puzzle would take his mind off things. As Guy sorted through the contents, pulling out straight?edged pieces of blue sky, he started to hum off?key, which made Ivy smile.

?Are you laughing at me?? he asked. She met his bright eyes. ?I wouldn?t dare..

What is that song??

?You can?t tell?? He grinned at her. ?Neither can I.? She tried humming what she had just heard, adjusting the flat notes, then said suddenly, ??If I Loved You.?

Guy looked up at her, startled.

?If s the title,? she explained, and sang the first three lines for him. He laughed.

?Oh, yeah, now I recognize it.?

?It?s from—? Ivy?s hand went up to her mouth as she remembered.

?From what??

?Carousel? she answered softly. Last year, when attempting to communicate with her as an angel, Tristan had played on her piano the first few notes of a song from Carousel.

?Do you like musicals?? she asked Guy, pulling herself back to the present.

?I guess I do.?

They continued working on the puzzle. Ivy musing over the strange connection between events. ?Here?s one of yours,? Guy said, suddenly leaning close to her, placing the green piece he had found next to those she had gathered.

Ivy was caught off guard — she couldn?t explain it, the feeling that swept through her at that moment. She became acutely aware of Guy, felt his nearness like a kind of heat inside her. Astonished, she sat back quickly. She thought about getting up, putting distance between them. But confusion and pride kept her cemented in place. She touched her cheeks, afraid they had turned a warm pink.

?Got another.? He leaned across her. An overwhelming sense of him passed through her like a wave, making her light?headed. This was crazy! Ivy snapped together two pieces, then added a third.

?I think you forced that last one,? Guy observed.

She pulled off the wiggly piece. ?I know that!? Perhaps the crispness of her response made him raise his head to study her. His face was three inches from hers. She tried to pull her eyes away, but couldn?t. He lowered his eyes. She felt him staring at her mouth. If it were possible for a gaze to be a kiss?Hey, I?m back!? Ivy knocked over the box full of puzzle pieces. About one thousand four hundred little pieces scattered on the floor. ?Oh! Hey, Will,? she replied, scooping up pieces as he came through the screen door.

Guy leaned over to pick up the box that had fallen between him and Ivy. Will stopped in his tracks. Glancing down. Ivy realized what Will saw from his perspective: a bare back and broad, muscular shoulders. ?Who are you?? Will asked.

Guy straightened up, rose to his feet, then quickly hiked up his towel. Will continued to stare at him, his eyes noting the injuries. Guy gazed back.

?I said, who are you??

?Guy is the name I go by.?

?Guy has just gotten out of the hospital,? Ivy explained. ?He was on the same floor as me.?

?Was he?? Will replied tersely. To Guy he said, ?I assume you left the hospital wearing something other than Ivy?s towel.? Guy grinned. ?Yeah, I left wearing her shirt.? Will didn?t seem to find that amusing. ?It’s a long story,? Ivy said.

?I?ve got time.?

?Guy doesn?t have a place to live right now,? Ivy explained to Will. ?He?s been dealing with a lot. I told him he could take a shower here. His clothes are in the wash. It’s the least we could do for him.?

?Yeah, I can see he?s dealing with a lot/? Will remarked sarcastically, then set down his packages. Ivy felt bad, knowing he had dropped by the cottage first, excited about what he had bought at the art supply store and