“Her parents said she was dating someone, but they didn’t know who,” Jack noted. “They said she was keeping it to herself for the time being. Nobody else we’ve talked to seems to have any information on this guy. I don’t suppose you know who he is, do you?”
“Um ... I’m not sure.” Amy’s brow furrowed. “I did see her with a guy a few times. He was younger, in his twenties. I don’t have a last name, but I’m pretty sure his first name was Jason.”
Ivy’s stomach twisted as she leaned forward. “Are you sure?”
Amy nodded, confused. “Why? Is that important?”
“Um ... maybe.” Slowly, Ivy slid her gaze to Jack. “There’s something else that happened at work. You’re probably not going to like it, but I think you have to know.”
“Oh, well, I love it when a conversation starts like that,” Jack growled. “Lay it on me.”
Even though she was uncomfortable, that’s exactly what Ivy did. Jack was positively apoplectic when she was done.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
Refusing to get dragged into an unnecessary argument, Ivy remained calm. “I’m telling you now. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
Jack rubbed his chin. That was a very good question.
8
Eight
Dinner was an uncomfortable affair, and Ivy only ate half her food. Jack noticed — and since she was the sort of woman who ate everything on her plate on a normal day, it concerned him — but didn’t comment. He made a point to have the leftovers boxed up, though, and also ordered an entire pie to take with them when they left.
“I know you’re angry,” Ivy started when they were alone in his truck. “If you want to yell, go ahead.”
He was quiet as he stared out the windshield. They were still in the parking lot, her family in front of them as they stood between vehicles and hugged goodbye. For a moment, his heart ached because Ivy wasn’t with them.
Then he came crashing back to reality.
“I’m not angry,” he said after a beat. “I’m ... hurt.”
That wasn’t the response she was expecting. “Hurt? Why?”
“Why do you think?” His gaze was measured as it landed on her. “Why didn’t you tell me what happened today? Is it because you were trying to protect me? If so, that’s not what I want.”
Ivy hesitated and then held out her hands. Honestly, she wasn’t sure how to answer. “This situation is difficult for both of us,” she explained, choosing her words carefully. “I feel as if I’m walking on eggshells.”
“Because you’re afraid of me?”
The horror in his eyes was almost too much for her to bear. “No.” Instinctively, she reached over and gripped his hand. “I’m afraid for you. This entire thing has been too much for you.”
“I’m going to be your husband. You’re supposed to lean on me.”
“I do lean on you, Jack. It’s because you’re going to be my husband that I’ve been so afraid, though.” She licked her lips and gazed out the window, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips as she watched Max swoop in and scoop JJ from the ground, swinging him around like an airplane. “You want to be able to fix everything. You have that in common with my father and brother. You see me as a delicate female and think you should be able to fix my life. That’s not possible this time.”
Jack immediately started shaking his head. “I don’t want to fix things.” Even as he said the words, he knew they weren’t true. “Overly much,” he corrected, pursing his lips. “Fine.” He threw his hands in the air, defeated. “I want your life to be perfect. Sue me.”
“Which is exactly why you bought three bouquets of flowers, one cake, one pie, and a huge bag of cookies to try to make me feel better,” Ivy noted. “You’re desperate to be everything to me. What you don’t realize is that you already are, and I’m just as afraid for you as you are for me.”
Confused, Jack knit his eyebrows together. “I don’t understand.”
“You want to protect me from something that you can’t protect me from.” She used her most reasonable tone. “You want to figure out a way to get me not just removed from the crew out by the lumberyard, but cut loose from community service all together. Don’t bother denying it.”
Jack swallowed hard. “I don’t want you to suffer. Sue me.”
She smiled. “I don’t want you to suffer either. That’s why I didn’t mention how rude Jason was this afternoon. The thing is, I already thought something was up with him. While we were waiting for you to show up, he mentioned Sasha’s name ... and yet I’m fairly certain it was never said in front of him. I know darned well I didn’t mention it.”
Jack rubbed his forehead, his mind clearly busy. “Are you saying you think he’s the guilty party?”
“I’m saying that he knew Sasha’s name and he found her body. Maybe he found it because he knew she was there. It could’ve been an accident or something. I mean ... that highway isn’t very well lit and he has a very long record of motor vehicle violations.”
“How do you know that?”
“Betsy told me. They’re all up in each other’s business. I think that advice you got about keeping your transgressions to yourself is one of those things that one person projected as fact and it kind of snowballed or something because nobody seems to have a problem admitting what they’ve done.”
“And Jason is there because of tickets?” To Jack, that sounded unlikely. “Most motor
