“Maybe not, but I’ve been living a long time on a one-way street. Relationships don’t thrive in that environment.”
At that, Gil went from concerned to frustrated, and she braced for his response.
He pointed to himself, then to Emily. “You have a couple of relationships right here that have been lying dormant for way too long. We’re going to have to talk about that.”
“I know.” She both dreaded and longed for it.
“But we don’t have time this morning.”
“I know.” She wasn’t sorry to have more time with him, even though she knew when it was all out in the open, they would say goodbye and go their separate ways. It would crush her. But she was prepared to pay the price.
Gil and Emily shared another long look. When Emily spoke, her voice was gentle but firm. “Your one-way street is about to get crowded, and you’re going to have to deal. I’ve been ticked off at you for fifteen years. Partly because of what you did to me. Mostly because of what you did to Gil.”
“Em.” There was an unmistakable warning in the way Gil grumbled Emily’s name, but Ivy couldn’t look at either of them at this point, so she stared at the counter.
Emily must have decided to ignore Gil because she kept going. “But none of it was because of what your mother did. None of it. So let’s just clear a tiny piece of the air. I know this isn’t the time or place. And I don’t know how this will be resolved, but it will be resolved. We aren’t going anywhere until it is. You can’t run away this time, Ivy. So don’t bother trying.”
“I won’t.” Ivy looked up and was surprised by what she saw.
Gil glared at Emily. Emily glared right back. Great. Now she had them fighting with each other. Wouldn’t that just be the cherry on top of the sundae of destruction that her mom whipped up fifteen years ago. Ivy had been back in their lives for less than twenty-four hours and had already driven a wedge between them.
“Good. We’re all on the same page. We deal with Ivy’s drama. Then we deal with our drama. In between the two, we get to know each other as adults. We remember that we used to be the best friends in the world and maybe we remember how to do that again. Deal?”
Ivy heard every word Emily said, but her gaze was fixed on Gil. Emily offered hope, but what was Gil prepared to offer?
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and he nodded. “Deal.”
Well, then. “Deal.”
9
GIL CLEANED THE KITCHEN while Ivy got ready for the day. She’d declined Emily’s assistance, and Emily wandered to his back porch, phone in hand. As much as he loved his sister, he was thankful for a few moments of quiet.
Ivy was not what he’d expected. She was brilliant. She was gorgeous. But she was driven to succeed in an unhealthy way. He recognized it. He’d done it himself. He’d planned to be the best pitcher in major league history. And in the process, he’d been so focused on baseball that there might as well not have been anything else in the world. Well, except for Ivy.
But when baseball was gone? And Ivy was gone? He had nothing to hold on to. He’d come close to ending it all. In a bizarre twist, at least it seemed bizarre to Gil, losing baseball hadn’t been the end of the world. It had opened the door to a world of possibilities. What would it take for Ivy to see the possibilities of a life that didn’t revolve around work?
“I’m ready.” Ivy appeared at the end of the counter and pulled him from his thoughts.
Emily joined them, tucking her phone in her back pocket. “How long do you think you’ll be?”
“No idea. Hopefully not too long.”
“Call me when you’re done.” Emily squeezed Ivy’s left hand. “We’ll grab lunch.”
“Sounds great,” Ivy said. She might have even meant it.
Gil didn’t comment. Emily was up to something. He didn’t know what it was, but she was scheming—that he knew for sure. He also knew there was nothing he could do but wait to see how it played out.
Despite the weight of all that still had to be said, conversation flowed as he drove them to the police department. They talked about college and Emily, and they avoided anything related to her family or the events of that summer. She was still easy to talk to, soft-spoken, and well-mannered. A Southern lady. Something she’d learned, far better than Emily had, from his mom.
“Can I ask you a question?” Ivy studied him with open curiosity.
“Of course.”
“I know the Secret Service does more than protect the president. But can you explain to me what you do? It’s not like the president spends a lot of time in Raleigh.”
Thank goodness this was a question he could answer without any drama. “We’re almost to the station, so I’ll have to give you the bare-bones version for now.”
