Chapter 5

Five

B ack in her temporary apartment and her temporary bed, Ivy stuffed the pillow over her face and let out a scream at her very not-so-temporary lust-induced need to orgasm. Right now.

She tugged at her pants and slipped a hand inside. She imagined the pressure against her clit was Damon's as she swirled the pad of her finger over the pulsing bud.

She gasped, arched into her own touch. Rubbing faster she screamed when her climax barreled through her. She knew it would be fast but the hot, raw release that tore through her left her muscles weak.

She sat up and tossed the pillow aside.

"It was a mistake coming here."

Every nerve ending in her body still tingled, wanting more. Wanting him.

"Damon." She rolled the name around and savored the way it played off her tongue. The man was dangerously addictive and not because he could whip up a batch of mean pumpkin chocolate pie-gasms or work the coffee machine like the god of caffeine.

And the combination of his kiss and what he did with his hips made her desperate to find out what he would do when there were no clothes holding him back.

She rubbed her hands over her face and groaned. She had two words for what he was—possessive and claiming. No. Three, she corrected. He was passionate too. Not only about his bar and bakery but about his family. She caressed the pads of her fingers over her lips. The burn he incited on impact.

She shuddered from her head down to her red berry painted toes. Is that what her sister meant by burning desires when her husbands kissed her?

Ivy rolled back on the bed and pressed her legs together, desperate. Pulse after pulse of pent-up aching need throbbed through her clit. She'd never experienced something so consuming, so fast to burn like she did with Damon. The one, lonely orgasm she'd self-induced wouldn't hold her off long.

She needed a cold shower. Pronto.

She bounced from the messy bed and crossed the small apartment to collect her suitcases where she'd left them the night before by the couch. Dawn worked its magic beyond the large windows and peeked around the fringes of the heavy red curtains that matched the comforter on the bed.

Ivy pulled them open to reveal a wintry wonderland of pure white.

She took a moment to appreciate the view before making her way through the apartment to flick on several lamps to chase away a few of the shadows that remained.

White carpet covered every inch of flooring with a matching couch kissing the back wall. Other than that, the place was pretty bare save the coffeemaker and a round table for two nestled close to the front window. The open combined space wasn't much, but she had to hand it to Damon given it was his place, he knew how to pull together colors that made the space feel cozy. For a second she considered what his place looked like. Was it matching to hers or all decked out in manly things like a big recliner and flat-screen TV?

She dashed that thought away. Probably not. She didn't see him as a stay at home kind of guy when there was so much to do and see in such a wonderful place. She almost felt bad for saying she didn't believe in magic last night.

Back in the bedroom, Ivy tossed the suitcase on the dresser under the front window overlooking Main Street and paused when a flash of white caught her eye.

Damon stood in the middle of the vacant street with an elbow propped up on the roof of a heavy-duty truck talking with the white-haired man from yesterday. Reaper, she recalled.

She pulled the heavy curtain to the side a fraction and peered out from the corner. "What are you up to, slick?" On tiptoes she pried closer, using the back of the curtain to wipe away some of the condensation.

A couple of minutes later Damon rounded the truck and she watched the red of his button-down flannel slide out of sight as he entered the passenger side.

But not before he flicked a look her direction. "Oh, shoot." With the curtain pulled back she couldn't readily dodge behind anything, so she did the only thing she could.

She raised a hand and pressed her lips against her fingers and blew a kiss his direction.

She earned the flash of his sexy half-grin and then he was gone. "Be still my freaking heart." She fanned her face. "That man will haunt you forever and a day, girl." Ivy pulled back from the window and let the curtain fall back in place as she flicked through the few things she'd packed.

Meticulous organization ruled her like an unwanted bad habit that leaked over from her schooling. Everything she did fed into her massive need to have things lined up. Until now, she mused. About the only thing that she could organize was her suitcase.

In order of use, she pulled out a pair of long johns, underwear, two shirts and a pair of jeans that she could tuck into her snow boots. More layers. She needed more layers to protect her against the lust bombarding her body like daggers, if she was going to spend the next several hours working with him .

An hour later she walked into the open floor of the Savage Fire still flushed. Her shower proved no help in squelching her libido, and she couldn't even work the edge off herself. Every time she tried to touch herself, the only thing she did was rekindle the fire but no bursts of lights and cosmos erupted for her.

She crossed the hardwood floor and weaved through several tables still waiting for the staff to prepare for the afternoon crowd yet to arrive. Soft light bathed the entryway as the morning light spilled past the tables but failed to chase away all the shadows. For the darker areas, beautiful stained-glass chandeliers hung from long golden chains and gave the place a warm, inviting feel. Like a home away from home.

Over the back of the bar above the long mirror and shelves of various colored liquor bottles hung a large square, hand-carved clock. Two large bears on all fours adorned the top corners and little bear paws placed at the tips of the minute and second hands ticked by, signaling the early hour. If she hurried, she could still help Damon get things in order for the afternoon and have time to step in for Zahara's husbands, who couldn't make it to the monthly checkup at the doctors. With any luck she would use the time to say her piece and have that done and over with and shuttled off to Fairbank with time to spare.

In contrast to the guilt that weighed heavy in her chest, soft light came through the front window with the first rays of sunlight for the day. Zahara would say it's one of the most magical moments in Alaska. But she craved to see and experience an Alaskan midnight sun.

Endless light, endless time. An illusion, but still it would be as though time could be recuperated. Or at least that was how the author put it in the guidebook.

Maybe next summer, if her sister still wanted anything to do with her after their conversation, she could plan another trip.

Ivy set to work putting out all the fixings for coffee. Filled the water tanks for the massive contraptions Damon had set up on the back of the bar and let her mind wander over nothing in particular as she placed clean mugs on one side of the bar and shots on the other for the people who like to chisel off the cold edge with something a little stronger.

Limes were cut and she had a fresh bucket of ice for the icebox already poured when heavy footsteps drew her eyes up.

A broad smile and a sexy grin greeted her.

"Hey, handsome. You're not here for a rematch, are you? Damon and I beat you fair and square!"

Ethan's broad smile worked wonders to boost her mood. She was quickly learning that the second oldest sibling couldn't keep a sulky face if he tried. "Nah. Next year."

Doubtful, but she kept that to herself. Setting aside the freshly laundered rags, Ivy clutched the side of the bar and leaned over for the small peck on the cheek in greeting. "Zahara said something about a climb up the back passages today. I thought you would be out with Drake, Holden, and Riley."

"They didn't need all of us so I volunteered to stay back and check some smaller unknown passages closer to home. Some of the local teenagers like to get rowdy back there, so better safe than sorry. Besides all five of us up there," he made a drastic circle with his hand toward the peaks visible through the front window, "on those trails? No, that would be a recipe for disaster. One dog dare or another and we'd be spending Christmas in the hospital."

She arched a brow when she came up with nothing to say to that. Men.

"Besides, mountain man or not, it's nasty out there. The cold doesn't really affect us as much as outsiders but damn, I hate getting wet."

She could attest to that. Damon walked around like he was part snowman.

At his chin nod toward the front of the bar, Ivy looked out the window and saw that the slivers of sunlight that had once been there now dimmed as fresh snow and a strong wind kicked up flurries to swirl in the air.

She shivered down to her little Southern boots. Perfect weather for long and slow kisses and warm fireplaces. Whispery thoughts of what it would be like enjoying a cold wintry afternoon like today with Damon marched across her thoughts and brought a warm fuzzy feeling to the pit of her stomach.

As Ethan scraped a stool out from under the bar and made himself comfortable, she swiped a couple of mugs from the sidebar. "So a nice day off. Sounds like a perfect excuse for some hot cocoa and pie."

Rich and savory tendrils of chocolate-infused steam wafted up as she poured them each a mug from the brew she's put one five minutes ago. "I switched up the recipe a little from what Damon had written on the paper beside the machine. Hope he doesn't mind." She propped a hip against the counter and eyed Ethan over the rim of her cup with a smile of anticipation. "Whatcha think?"

His eyes rolled back after one long sip. "Mmm." He took several more, the next one bigger than the last. "Damn, woman! Where did you get this recipe? It's like Mrs. Marty's double-dipped chocolate fudge brownies only in liquid form. Every man's wet dream in a cup. You didn't melt down her recipe, did you? Because wow, you could open a hot cocoa shop and have everyone in the state flipping for your brew." He rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner and the way he licked his lips made her heart swell with pride at making someone happy.

Ethan slapped a hand over his heart. "I love you." He sat his cup down heavier than needed and motioned for a refill. "If I wasn't married already to Remy, I would scoop you up and never let you leave my home."

Her mouth twitched into a grin. "Mr. Romeo, how ye melt me with thy words!" she teased, fluttering her lashes dramatically. "I get the same reaction from every patient I deliver pain meds to, by the way. So the competition would be stiff."

"Sugar, pain meds. One in the same in my book!"

"What does Remy say about your sweet tooth?"

Ethan grinned wickedly and wiggled his brow and she nearly choked on her own sip of warm chocolate milk from the innuendo.

"You're bad. Please tell me the rest of the Savage men have a bit more of a filter."

"Nope. We're all rugged badasses that don't know any better than a mountain goat about how to behave in public."

"Badasses! Ha."

Ivy jumped at the loud bark of laughter. "You still shiver when your mama calls you by your full name, boy." A door to the side of the bar swung open and the Savage senior graced the doorway with a smirk hinged high and a beefy hand closing the door behind him. "You boys give your mama wicked heartburn five times a week."

"Now that is the truth. Never piss off Mama Bear."

She believed the older Savage.

Ivy kept quiet, sipping her warm milk around a big smile.

Damon's father placed his warm hand on her shoulder and it encompassed the entire width of her smaller frame with a soft chuckle that lit the soft amber of his eyes. "Sorry, girlie." He winked.

Dressed in black jeans and a blue and black flannel shirt, she got the fast impression the Savage men shared more than a facial expression. Their fashion choices were right up there with Paul Bunyan. The only thing they were missing were the suspenders and wasn't that a shame. Well and the blue bull, but who knew what was hiding in these mountains really. But the suspenders, she took a second and imagined what the accessory would look like on Damon.

"Didn't mean to startle you." An easy grin played on his lips and she didn't miss the mischievous spark in his eyes either.

She waved him off. "No worries. I didn't realize you were in the back."

"Mrs. Savage likes to kick me out every once in a while, so I come here and help out with the books from time to time."

Ethan laughed. "You got into her pecan pies again, didn't you, Pop?"

"Well, damn, boy, she didn't say they were for dinner." The Savage elder gave her a couple more pats on the back before greeting his son with a hug and then joined them at the bar.

"Speaking of siblings," Ethan broke in. "You see Damon anywhere today?"

"This morning with a teenage boy in the back alley and then again about an hour ago. He got into the truck with the white-haired man from last night."

Both of their brows pinched in confusion.

Okaaaay. "He's this tall." She reached above her head about a foot and a half. "White hair and whiter eyes. He has an oddly cold yet easy smile and spoke slow and with intent."

"Reaper." Again they reacted in unison.

"What the hell is he doing with him?" Ethan asked his dad.

She looked between them both. "I take it that's not a common occurrence?"

"About as common as spotting Santa's eight tiny reindeer." Ethan quipped, turning on his stool. "Then again, Reaper did say things were changing. That he and his family would be shedding their reclusive ways and rejoining society more."

Her brows pinched in question.

Ethan filled her in on a little town history. "They are a family not known for their community or people skills. Reaper's old man has gotten his sons into a lot of trouble. Reaper, on the other hand, is about the only one of them that turned out half good. He's the sheriff a town over and tries to keep his brothers in line. Not easy when the corrupt father instigates trouble. So far they've put Drake and his now wife in danger and shot me and wanted to do some nasty things to my Remy when we took a trip to our property outside of town."

She nodded. "Zahara told me. He poisoned the surrounding water."

The Savage elder nodded. "That's right."

"What was Damon doing in the back alley this morning? Does that have anything to do with Reaper?" Fighting in the back alley for fun kind of looked weird from one point of view, but when she considered it she wasn't in Houston or some normal small town. This was Alaska and her sister warned they did things differently here.

Ethan reached over the bar and snagged the coffee and poured his old man a cup before helping himself to a fresh cup. "I was up in the backlands this morning after the guys took off for the ridges and avalanche country."

"Yeah? It's been quiet lately with how Reaper has fixed their family shit." The Elder dipped his head her way. "Pardon, Ivy. Excuse my language."

She waved him off. "I'm glad it all worked out."

"I found today kind of piqued my interest. Damon would find it interesting too."

"Find what interesting?" Damon strode through the front door with a soft ring of a bell the only sound.

Seconds before the door swung open Ivy's face heated and her eyes lifted to the front door. As if on cue the wooden door with an oval-shaped stain glass depiction of a bear –the man loved his colored glass—swung open to reveal red plaid clinging to miles of muscles, low-slung jeans, and snow-crusted boots.

Golden eyes pinned her against the bar immediately. Fingers of anticipation stroked along her core, and she lit up like a Christmas tree the second she sensed the mere presence of the man in the same room as her. The man made her weak in the knees.

Every. Damn. Time.

Watching from across the bar top, she flicked her tongue out to wet her dry lips. The Elder turned his direction and filled Damon in, all of them unaware of the war bombing her insides. "Ethan is telling us what he found in the backlands."

"What?"

"I found Reaper's brothers snooping around on our property. When I confronted them they said they wanted to see if we were around. Said they had some visitors the night before and thought it might be us. Woke to find footprints outside their cabin and that led down to ours. When I told them it wasn't us they asked about those traffickers you took down a few years back. Asked if they might expect some trouble coming back to haunt you." Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out a bullet. "And they found this on their front porch railing."

He handed over a bullet with three slashes down the side.

"Fuck," Damon swore loudly, taking the bullet that looked longer than her ring finger. "I knew that shit was going to come back sooner or later."

"Drug traffickers? How far away are the backlands? We're safe here right?"

Damon quickly took her hand. "You're safe here. I give you my word on that."

She believed him from the intense way he held her gaze and hand. Like he wanted her to believe every syllable.

Instinct told her to pull back and retract her hand, but she had no desire to listen to the small voice of reason. It hadn't gotten her anywhere lately, to be honest with herself. She stayed close, looking up into his eyes. "What are they after?"

"A little revenge when they think no one is around. During the winter some folks head south to warmer weather."

"How do you even know that this is them whoever them is?"

"Russkaya Mafiya." Damon passed the bullet to her. "Those three lines stand for each of the heads of families within the organization."

"And this was their calling card?"

"Bingo." Damon nodded turning to the men. "I think we need to keep our ears to the ground. Keep the family close.

Ivy's hair stood up on the back of her neck at Ethan's question. "Is this something we need to worry about? Zahara is due in just a few weeks and what about all the residents here?"

Ethan snorted. "Worry about a gang of gun-toting psychos? I'd say yes."

"There's nothing to worry about," the Savage elder offered.

Damon studied her face and let out a heavy sigh. he skimmed the back of his knuckles down her cheek. "I can tell what you're thinking, Ivy. We don't condone wild west antics. Everything is done by the book. Once we are done here, I'll call local authority and my old boss. Give him both a heads up on the return of a bitter old enemy."

Ethan shifted positions as the front bell hanging over the door tinkled and a mass of Savages flooded into the bar. It seemed Saturdays were family reunion days.

"Ivy!" Zahara, flanked on either side by her new family, shot an arm up and greeted her with a wide smile. "You remember Remy from last night?"

Grateful for the bar dividing her from the outpouring of all the hugs going around, Ivy locked away the conversation with everything else she still needed to digest and busied herself with flipping over several cups. With them lined up on the edge of the bar, she made quick work with serving up her special dose of chocolate.

Flurries of snow chased everyone inside, and a gust of heavy wind to tangle with the strands of hair escaping her less than artfully styled side braid she couldn't quite manage to wrangle into place this morning.

"Oh my God!" Remy and Zahara peeled off two layers of coats each and scooted around the men to join her at the end of the bar.

"I knew you were cool the second I saw you with your sister and Damon yesterday. Sorry, I couldn't peel away and give you a proper welcome."

Ivy smiled when Remy tapped her black-framed glasses that looked identical to her own. "Love the look!"

"Yeah, I don't get around much without them or my contacts, but in this cold, contacts feel like sheets of ice on the eyeballs."

"Ouch! Tell me about it. I'm just glad to know we share similar tastes."

Zahara leaned over the bar with a raised brow, signaling she had something juicy to share as everyone else chatted and ribbed each other. "From the news traveling the grapevine, we share more than just blood. I hear you share the same taste in men. Savage men to be exact."

Remy gave an audible gasp. "Do tell!"

Ivy's mouth fell open. What the heck did the grapevine know that she didn't? And she mentally tried to recall who could have seen them in the bakery this morning.

"Mave!"

That little weasel.

"Called me the second he left you two leaned over the cupcakes and Christmas cookies."

"Sounds like you two had a different kind of treat in mind."

Ivy groaned and the flush up the back of her neck seeped into her cheeks with a fury. "Is it time for the doctors yet? Please say yes!"

Zahara's eyes glittered with amusement and a little bit of I-told-you-so just like any big sister. "So now we know what Damon likes for breakfast. Just like his brother, might I add. "

When she got her hands on Mave for ratting her out, that boy would see stars and four knuckles coming right at him. "I have no idea what you mean."

"Hmm-hmm, when a man offers you a place to stay..." Remy gave her a sidelong look. "But when he offers you breakfast, now that's another thing entirely."

Ivy blushed from head to toe. And fumbled with the pages of her guidebook, running her hand over the soft edges and then back again. "He was just being nice, guys," Ivy countered and left it at that.

Lucky for her they dropped the subject too because just then the talk died down on the other side of the bar.

"By the way, Zahara didn't say how long you were staying. Any luck we'll have your company through New Year's?" Ethan asked, walking over.

"Nope. Sadly she's on her way back tomorrow isn't it?" Her sister cut in before she could offer and answer. "Our Ivy here has to run back to her school books and patients. Only a few more months and we'll have a full-fledged doctor on our hands."

Ivy nibbled at her lower lip, mulling over her predicament. Pride beamed from Zahara the size of Texas, and the lump of coal in Ivy's gut grew three sizes until her nerves jittered like live wires in her limbs.

Should she tell her now? That would be unfair. In front of everyone she'd probably be embarrassed and after all her sister had done for her? No, she deserved a better explanation than a sudden oh, by the way, I'm dropping out of school off the shoulder kind of explanation. Ivy swallowed and worked the lie choking her out. "She's right. I'm actually leaving the day after tomorrow."

She mentally counted the hours left to drop the bomb and hightail it out of Dodge.

She dared a look in Damon's direction and the scow pulling his brows together made her swallow. Hard.

Remy's brow furrowed with disbelief. "But you just got here." A full-on pout with the lower lip rounded out the sad panda effect. "I thought we could do cool sister-in-law stuff and check out neat nursery things for Zahara while you're here."

Family stuff, in other words.

Her nose scrunched up. Ugh.

Ivy didn't do family. Just the thought gave her the hives. Family reunions, family talks and she sure didn't do girl's day out. She liked girl's night out, though. But here in Savage Ridge that wasn't about to happen when the only bar was Damon's. What you did on girl's night out stayed that way. In a town this size if she even glanced at Damon sideways with as much lust as she had in her veins for that man, the gossip mills would be running full force with the news she'd already slept with him. That would get back to her sister and she didn't want to hurt any relationships she'd worked hard to form. Zahara liked it here, so Ivy needed to make sure she behaved as a good little sister. As much as she hated to admit it, maybe having this morning's make-out session interrupted was a good thing.

Not that she did one-night stands, except no one knew that about her. Especially Damon after what happened that morning.

Her eyes slid closed on a groan. Every time the man came near her she turned into a salivating teenager. He probably looked at her and saw the easiest piece of meat in the upper forty-eight. In her defense who could resist his sex appeal when it rolled off him thicker than cupcake icing and richer than any aphrodisiac, she'd ever tasted?

Which brought her back to why she'd come here in the first place. To tell the truth. One thing she shared with her sister was the truth. Always. Solid resolve took root. She'd tell her today while they were at the doctor. Ever since the lies their parents told them left them homeless and in an orphanage from the ages of ten and twelve, they had vowed to always tell the truth and she owed her sister that much, and more, honestly.

"You ready to go, sis?"

Zahara walked up behind Remy. "Yup."

Although a secret part of her wished the whole big happy family thing could be hers with someone someday, Ivy didn't like to live outside of reality. The chances of that striking her and her sister were close to zilch.

"Lemme grab my coat real quick and we'll be on our way."

Five minutes later they untangled from the gaggle of hugs and goodbyes long enough to squeeze out the door into the bitter cold.

Seated in the Doctor's room Zahara tugged on her stretchy pants that encompassed her overly round belly and shimmied into her top as they both waited for the doctor to come in with the results of the ultrasound.

Now that the moment arrived to spill the beans, Ivy didn't quite know where to start. Dive in? Work up to it? Band-Aid effect tended to hurt while...

"What is taking them so long?" Zahara cut into her thoughts as she worried her lower lip.

As the younger sister, she recognized that worried look and knew her sibling well enough to know her inner mother bear was coming out in spades. At six months along in her pregnancy, Ivy had enough hands-on experience to also have a solid idea of what the doctor was about to tell her sister.

This ought to be interesting. She wished it were her mates here instead of her, though.

As soon as they had arrived the employee ushered her and Zahara into the office and had Zahara on the table for her ultrasound, leaving Ivy scrambling for a second alone with her.

"The doctor will be with you ladies is just a few minutes."

The nurse slipped out the side door. Perfect.

"Stop working yourself into a frenzy. Everything is fine. Come sit down and we'll call your husbands in just a few minutes. It won't take much longer." Small as the gesture was, Ivy cradled her sister's hand in hers like she used to do for her when she got in trouble with the dean at the orphanage for playing in the nurse's sickbay ‘helping' the other kids or when she skinned a knee.

Fear gripped her heart for a split second as she prepared to let the truth slip. Nothing made her sick to the stomach more than letting her sister down, but at the same time relief flooded through her body. Zahara needed a distraction and she had one so she pulled her card.

"Zahara, I dropped out of med school."

Silence thickened as her sister sat opposite her. "I knew there was something. I just had to give you time to work it through. You were always like that, you know. In the orphanage then later on when we were able to escape that dreadful place."

Her heart didn't know what to do. Burst with love for the only family she had or fall to the floor from shock. "You mean you're not mad?"

Slowly she shook her head and wore a warm smile on her lips. "How could I be? I found my happiness. How could I begrudge you as you search for yours? You've worked so hard though. Graduated high school early. Got into med school way ahead of your time. You've been at this for so long. Are you sure you just don't need a break?" Zahara reached out and tugged a lock of her hair gently like she used to do when she tried to cheer her up as kids. "You're my kid sis. All I want is for you to be happy."

Then why did she feel like she still had a ball of lead in her stomach?

"Thanks." She smiled but she didn't feel the happiness that should go with it.

"But I do have to ask. Why the sudden change of heart after so long? You're so close. Why give up now?" Zahara took her hands in hers, and she opened her mouth to answer but the words wouldn't come out.

"It's okay. When you're ready. All that I care about is your happiness. That means more to me than any amount of money and any degree. I'm glad you're the strong and decisive one. I've always envied you that ability, ya know. It takes me ages to make a decision and then I spend days worrying once I have. Not you, though."

"Me strong? Decisive? HA! You sure you have the right sister?" She puffed her cheeks out and let out a laugh. "I thought I knew what I wanted and here I am at twenty-five without a clue."

"Maybe a Christmas wish is in order?"

"Oh my God, we haven't done that in, what? Forever? I think I was ten the last time."

Their childhood game on the holidays came back and brought with it bittersweet memories. Her sister had invented the little rhyme when she wouldn't stop crying over a broken doll one year. She'd told her to make a Christmas wish on the next star she saw in the winter sky and that her wish would come true. Sure enough that Christmas a new doll was under the little tree they had in their home the year before everything changed.

Maybe. Just maybe.

"Zahara. Good to see you."

With a heavy sigh of frustration, Ivy eyed the doctor as he sauntered through the same door the nurse left minutes before. They both turned to the door as the middle-aged doctor walked back in with her sister's files and printouts of her ultrasound.

"Depending on how you look at it, I have some very good news to share."

Ivy crossed her legs and let her frustration out by swinging her leg. "Out with it, Doc. Can't you tell she's on pins and needles."

"Yes! The suspense is killing me." Zahara sat up and reached across the desk to take the ultrasound pictures the doctor handed her.

"As you can see, Ms. Kennedy, you're going to have twins."

Zahara rounded in her chair and the wide-eyed stare she had was beyond anything she'd ever seen on her sister. Joy, nervousness, and more joy poured out of her like a fountain with no shut-off valve. Her sister reached out and squeed , something else she'd never seen from her sister. Alaska really did change her.

Zahara looked back at the images and stroked the tiny bubbles that were her little babies. "I'm so happy for you," she offered, squeezing her hand between both of hers. And she was happy. Happy to know that when she left here Zahara would have a wonderful big family like she'd always dreamed of.

"It's actually very common in the Savage family. I don't know why I'm shocked. So are triplets according to Mrs. Savage." Her sister went pale at the mention of three babies and the doctor smiled.

"Rest assured, Zahara, there are only two little tikes waiting to be spring babies. In your earlier visits we talked about a home birth. Do you still want to go that route?"

"Yes. Does having twins change that? Should I reconsider?"

"You'll be fine. Besides, the clinic is only across the street from you and you are in perfect health."

That's one thing Ivy noticed right off about Savage Ridge. Everything was close by if not right next door. Probably so they didn't freeze to death trying to get somewhere!

"I'll see you next month for your next checkup. In the meantime, stay away from icy sidewalks and tell your husbands congratulations for me."

"Will do! Thank you so much, Doctor." Zahara pushed up and Ivy grabbed the door for them.

"Come on, let's get outta here and get you back to your men so you can share the good news."

"Yes. That sounds perfect."

"I'll drop you off and meet back up with you late this evening. How does that sound? Dinner at my place, well Damon's. I can cook or we can find a private booth and catch up?"

"That sounds perfect."

A tiny speck of jealousy wanted to take root, but Ivy refused to let the ugly green ball of gloom stick around. Something spectacular was happening for her sister and she needed to be there for her. It had been only them for so long and now her sister had so many other people.

Fact: She'd never felt more alone than she did now.