Alison snorted. “You mean he didn’t think it was a good idea in case anyone stole it.”
Ivy balked. “Of course not.”
“Oh, don’t bother.” Betsy offered up a half-hearted wave. “I don’t blame you one little bit. This particular group is pretty good, but I was with two others before this and they both sucked. You wouldn’t have wanted to wear a diamond ring around those guys.”
“I ... .” Ivy rubbed the side of her forehead. She didn’t want to come across as entitled or superior.
“It’s fine,” Betsy reassured her. “How long have you been engaged?”
“Just a few months,” Ivy replied, her eyes drifting to Jason as he excused himself from the group of men and headed to the woods. “Where is he going?”
“What?” Betsy cocked an eyebrow and glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, the men have separate rules from the women. They’re allowed to wander into the woods if nature calls. We have to wait for designated breaks.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Alison countered. “We’re allowed to go into the woods to go if it’s an emergency. It’s just, we’re not animals, so we would rather hold it and suffer. Men don’t have those issues.”
“I see.” Ivy pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. It all felt like so much. “I guess it’s good to know, in case of an emergency, there are options. In fact ... .” She jerked up her eyes again when Jason hurried out of the woods.
“That was fast, even for him,” Betsy noted. “I’m betting he’s fast at everything, and that’s not a good thing, Angel.” She shot the teenager a pointed look.
Ivy couldn’t participate in the good-natured ribbing because her attention was firmly on Jason. He looked unnaturally pale and shaky, as if he was going to fall over at any moment.
“What’s wrong?” Greg asked, his interest on his own lunch. “Did you see Bigfoot or something?”
“Or something,” Jason replied, his eyes wide. “I ... there’s a body in there.”
Greg didn’t bother looking up. “Okay. Just ignore it.”
“There’s a body in there,” Jason repeated, this time with enough force that Greg looked up. “I’m being serious. There’s a dead person in there ... and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t natural causes or anything. You’re going to want to call someone.”
That was enough to get Greg’s full attention. “Show me.”
2
Two
Greg made the trip to the other side of the trees on his own. He was just as pale as Jason when he returned and Ivy knew without a shadow of a doubt that he’d found exactly what the younger man said he would. His hands shook as he pulled out his phone and started dialing.
From her spot on the log, Ivy wanted to offer to make the call herself. She knew better than drawing attention to herself, though, and instead remained quiet.
“Everybody needs to remain here,” Greg ordered when he disconnected. “The operator says two police officers are en route, but we shouldn’t traipse all over potential evidence, so we need to wait right here.”
That’s what everybody did.
Ivy wasn’t surprised when a cruiser pulled up about seven minutes later. She was even less surprised when she caught sight of Jack and his partner, Brian Nixon, climbing out of the vehicle. They were the only two detectives assigned to the Shadow Lake Police Department, so it made sense they would be called out to the scene.
The expression on Jack’s face when he saw Ivy would’ve been comical under different circumstances. He looked as if the last thing he wanted to do was start laughing, though. “Ivy?” He skirted around Brian and hurried to her side, carefully brushing her hair out of her face when he got to her. “Are you okay?”
The confusion rippling through the other trash collectors was palpable and it took everything Ivy had to hold it together, even though she wanted to nudge Jack’s hand away. Most days she was more than happy to have him fawning over her. Today was different, though.
“I’m fine.” She took a deliberate step away from him. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
Jack gave her a narrow-eyed look. “What’s going on?” He was instantly alert. “Are you okay? Did something happen? Did one of those people threaten you?”
“I think you left out something important about your fiancé,” Alison drawled, her eyes lit with interest as she looked Jack up and down. “Actually, you might’ve left out a few things ... like how stinking hot he is.”
Jack slid his eyes to the woman and shook his head. “I’m sorry but ... who are you?”
“Alison Bertrand.” She extended her hand. “Credit card fraud.”
Jack, always polite, took her hand and shook it. “I’m pleased to meet you.” He turned his attention back to Ivy. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Ivy opened her mouth to explain, but Alison was nowhere near done.
“I’m a Virgo, which means I’m organized and love vacuuming,” she offered. “I’m single, have no children, and would absolutely love to see you without a shirt on.”
Jack shot her a quelling look. “That’s lovely. I’m already spoken for, though.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t trade up.”
Ivy finally reacted by shooting Alison a “shh” look. “He’s not going to be in the mood to play games,” she warned. “This is a serious situation.”
“Completely serious,” Greg agreed, cutting through the crowd. His eyes glanced between faces, lingered on Ivy, and then ultimately landed on Jack. “I’m Greg Decker. I’m in charge of this group. I’m the one who made the call.”
“Hello.” Jack extended his hand. He was a large man, tall and rangy, and he towered a good six inches over Greg. “I’m Detective Harker. I’m sorry to be so ... scattered. It’s just, Ivy is my fiancée. I was understandably worried when I saw her.”
“Your fiancé is a cop?” Greg’s expression was hard to read as he looked Ivy up and down. “That wasn’t mentioned in your paperwork.”
Ivy’s confusion only grew. “Was it supposed to
