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“I love it.”
“I’ll have to remember to thank Jerry for that.”
I tilt my head to the side and scowl. “Why?”
“When my mom first introduced Jerry to me, he brought me a pack of cinnamon gum and it just kind of became our thing. After she left him, I would find packs of gum in the mailbox or on my windowsill and I knew he was always watching out for me.”
“That’s so sweet,” I whisper.
Nodding his head, he kisses my head and hands me a glass of wine as he pinches the shirt between his fingers. “When did you lift this off me?”
“The night of the party,” I say, my smile drooping as I think about that night. He nods, reaching forward and lacing his fingers through mine before bringing my hand to his lips.
“So, you want to tell me what happened today?”
I toy with the stem of the wine glass, fighting back tears as I take a deep breath. “My sister’s fiancé showed up at my job.”
“And?” he asks, his voice soft. It encourages me to keep talking.
“And he told me Ivy wanted me out of her life completely and I was no longer invited to their wedding.”
“Oh, baby,” he whispers, pulling me closer and I bury my head in his neck. “Did y’all have a big fight?”
I shake my head. “No. It doesn’t make any sense. Unless…”
“Unless what?” he asks when my voice trails off and I shake my head again, not sure that I’m ready to talk about this with him. Then again, this is what he does. If I can’t trust Chance with this, then who can I trust?
“I don’t like her fiancé. We had lunch together earlier this week and I noticed a bruise on her wrist. She said it was nothing but when we all had dinner on Tuesday, I saw another bruise. When they left, Aunt Dottie and I spied on them through the window…” My voice cracks and Chance tenses underneath me.
“What did you see, Carly?”
I draw in a ragged breath. “He slapped her right there in the middle of the street.”
“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, his voice full of pain and I know he means it. Chance deals with the horrors of these situations all day long so he knows what I’m going through. “Who’s her fiancé?”
“Julian Henshaw.”
He’s quiet for a moment. “The mayor’s kid?”
“Yep.”
“And your sister doesn’t want help?”
I shake my head, my heart aching again. “No. As far as Ivy is concerned, Julian hangs the moon but I’m so worried about her, Chance. Something about that guy… he’s scary.”
He takes my wine glass from my hand and grabs my hips, lifting me off him so he can turn me to face him. I straddle his legs and meet his eyes.
“I hate that I can’t fix this right now. Please know the second she says she wants help, the guys and I will be there for you.”
A weight I didn’t even realize was there lifts off me and a tear spills down my cheek. “Thank you, Chance. You have no idea how much that helps.”
At the very least, I have a plan. Now we just need Ivy to wake up and realize that she needs to get out.
