Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Ivy

M y surroundings were pitch black as I blinked my gritty eyes open. My mouth was dry and my brain was foggy as I tried to clear the lingering effects of alcohol and sleep away so I could remember where the hell I was. It came back to me as my eyes adjusted to the darkness well enough to take in my unfamiliar surroundings.

It all came back to me in a rush, crashing into me like a garbage truck filled to the brim in the middle of the hottest day of the year. I realized the heavy weight banded around my ribs was an arm, and I suddenly recalled who that arm belonged to.

After our drunken hookup in the barn, we'd come back to Connor's room at the lodge for two more rounds before I finally passed out from sex and inebriation.

I clenched my thighs at the memory of how thoroughly he'd fucked me, feeling a sharp twinge in my core from the workout it had gotten.

I wish I could claim I was too drunk to know what the hell I'd been doing, but that wouldn't have been true. I had been drunk enough that all my inhibitions were lowered so I was able to say screw it and not give a damn about the consequences. And as the night wore on and he forced one orgasm after another from my body, the more sound my mind became. However, by then I felt so damn good I'd decided to just roll with it.

A soft snore came from behind me, the feel of Connor's breath gently brushing against the bare skin of my shoulder bringing me back to the present. We were currently tangled up in his sheets, his massive body the big spoon to my little one. He had me secured to him with that arm and was holding firmly onto my left breast in his sleep.

I tilted my head on the fluffy pillow to get a look at the alarm clock on the bedside table, the glowing white numbers showing it was a quarter after three in the morning. The sun was far from rising. I could have easily put my head back down and gone back to sleep, but there was no way that was happening. I'd had my fun, and now it was time for me to get the hell out. There was no way in hell I was giving Connor Bennett the chance to sneak out on me in the middle of the night again .

This time, I was going to be the one to walk out on him.

Holding my breath, I slowly and carefully lifted his arm high enough so I could slide out from under it and off the bed. Once I managed to slither myself onto the floor, I popped my head up over the mattress and looked to make sure he was still asleep. When he still hadn't moved five seconds later I let out a relieved gust of air and pushed to standing, slowly creeping around on my tiptoes as I searched the dark room for my discarded clothing.

I remembered Connor shredding my panties earlier, then picking them up off the dirty barn floor and stuffing them in his pocket on the way out. I hadn't been wearing a bra, so all I needed to find was my dress and heels. The good thing about our little X-rated exercise session was that I was now sober enough to drive myself home and wouldn't have to call on an Uber during my walk of shame. Ride shares here in Hope Valley weren't the same as in a big city. It was more likely than not the car would be driven by someone you knew.

I could imagine how humiliating it would be to get picked up from what was essentially a booty call by my sophomore Lit teacher who was driving to save cash for a beach vacation. Or the sweet receptionist at the local clinic who was helping put her grandkid through college. I was grateful as hell to dodge that particular bullet.

I used the sliver of moonlight coming through the partially opened curtain to untangle my dress and slide it back on. It was probably wrinkled to hell from lying on the floor of Connor's room the past several hours, but all I could do was hope there wasn't anyone lingering in the great room as I snuck out. Hooking the straps of my shoes over my fingers, I reached the door just as Connor shifted in the bed. I stopped in place, my hand on the door handle, my lips curled between my teeth as I stared over the shadowed mass in the bed, praying he didn't wake up.

He stirred for a few more seconds. I thought I was busted when the arm that had been wrapped around me stretched out like he was feeling for me in his sleep, but instead of waking up, he rolled over onto his back and threw that same arm over his eyes. The sheet was pooled at his waist, leaving his defined chest and carved marble abs on full display.

I licked my lips unwittingly as I took a few more moments to appreciate the man's gorgeous body, then I got my shit together and got the hell out of there.

The great room was blessedly quiet as I crept down the stairs to the first floor. The reception desk was shut down and the restaurant and bar were dark and empty. I booked it out to the staff parking lot where I'd parked earlier and moved as quickly to my car as I could, given I was running barefoot on gravel. I practically dove into the driver's seat and threw the car into reverse, finally letting out a sigh of relief when I left the lodge in my rearview mirror.

From the curious looks I kept getting from everyone who walked into Muffin Top, the most popular coffee and pastry shop in town, I knew I probably looked ridiculous, sitting inside with oversized sunglasses perched on my nose, but the dark lenses were the only thing keeping my head from splitting open.

After I returned home from the lodge, I'd crawled my exhausted ass back into bed and slept for several more hours. I probably could have slept longer, but shortly after eight, a certain angry bull rider showed up on my front porch, beating on my front door and blowing up my cellphone at the same time. Was it cowardly to lock myself in my bathroom and hide until he finally gave up and went away? Maybe. Okay, yes. I was a chickenshit. I kept telling myself that fair was fair. He'd dipped out on me, and I simply returned the favor. I didn't owe him any kind of explanation.

Shortly after he left, Lennix had called asking if I wanted to meet her for coffee. I wanted to say no and spend the whole day in bed binging true crime documentaries. My hangover was beating at my skull almost as hard as Connor had been beating at my front door, but I knew the odds of him showing back up at some point were high, and it would be easier to avoid the man if I wasn't here. It was only a matter of time before he took off again or got sick of me. I just needed to wait him out, and what better way to do that than with caffeine.

"You look like flattened roadkill," Lennix pointed out lovingly from across the table we'd managed to snag near one of the large windows. Like the Evergreen Diner, Muffin Top was a Hope Valley institution, and it was usually hopping, no matter what time of day it was.

I gave her a flat look behind my sunglasses as I took a much-needed hit from my coffee cup. "Thanks," I deadpanned, holding up my middle finger for her to see.

She let out a tinkling giggle as she pulled off a piece of her chocolate croissant and popped it into her mouth.

"It's just a hangover. I've had more than my fair share in my life. A little more coffee and a bit of grease and I'll be good as new."

"Hmm." She gave me a look that had my hackles rising as she slowly chewed her croissant.

"What?" I began to fidget in my seat as she watched me keenly. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, no reason," she said nonchalantly. "I just figured you'd be in a better mood today. You know, since a certain sexy bull rider practically railed you into the barn wall last night."

I choked on the bite of my strawberry cheese Danish I'd just taken and proceeded to hack up a lung.

"Jeez, Ivy." Lennix sputtered out a laugh as she rounded the table, coming over to my side to pound on my back until the food dislodged and I was finally able to pull in a breath. "I just wanted to give you a hard time. Not kill you."

My sunglasses had fallen off at some point while I was choking, and with my eyes uncovered, I shot my friend a bewildered look. "How did—I wasn't—That's not—" I had to stop and suck back another gulp of coffee to soothe my suddenly dry throat. I worked to center myself as Lennix returned to her seat, counting to ten in my head as I inhaled a calming breath before pushing it back out.

"How did you know?" I finally managed to get out, my cheeks so hot I knew they had to be glowing an unnatural shade of red.

"I saw him follow you to the barn," she replied with a casual shrug. I waited a few minutes, but when neither of you came out, I went to check on you. You know, to either make sure you hadn't killed him or to help you dispose of the body. I didn't even make it inside before I... heard ."

I slapped my hands over my face with a pained groan as she waggled her eyebrows at me. "Oh God."

Lennix reached across the table and pulled my hands away. "Hey, knock that off. You didn't do anything wrong. From the sounds of it, you were both doing something very right."

"For the love of God," I grumbled, collapsing back in my chair and folding my arms over my chest. "Did you see?—?"

Lennix's entire face scrunched up like she'd just sucked on a rotten lemon. "Ew, no! I heard you two going at it and hightailed it out of there." She faked a shiver of repulsion. "Please. I love you, babe, but I do not want to see that." She munched on her croissant before speaking around the flaky pastry. "So does this mean the two of you kissed and made up?"

I let out an indelicate snort. "Not a chance in hell." I reached up to massage my aching temples. "It was just a stupid, drunken hookup."

As if to contradict my point, my cellphone started to buzz from my back pocket, and when I pulled it out, Connor's name was flashing across the screen. It was the fifth call I had ignored so far this morning. I quickly mashed the button on the side to send it to voicemail and dropped the phone onto the table in frustration.

Lennix looked from me to the phone and back again, her brows lifting high on her forehead inquisitively. "That him?"

"Yeah," I said on a sigh, popping another bite of Danish into my mouth. "Guess he wasn't thrilled to wake up this morning and discover I'd taken a page out of his book."

Lennix let out a bubble of surprised laughter. "You mean you bailed on him in the middle of the night?"

I nodded. "Yep. Took off while he was still sound asleep."

"Hell yes, Ivy!" she declared, reaching across the table for a high five. "Way to give that bastard a taste of his own medicine. But I'm curious."

"About?"

"Well... how was it?" She leaned in, lowering her voice so only I could hear as she asked, "Is hate sex really as good as people claim it is?"

"God, it really is," I lamented pathetically, scrubbing my hands over my face. "I really wish I could say it sucked, but it was even better than the first time."

Just then, my phone started to vibrate again. I flipped it over so the screen was face down, but I wasn't fast enough.

"Clearly." Lennix let out a knowing chuckle. "Has he been blowing up your phone all morning?"

"Yep," I answered, popping the P obnoxiously as I finished off my coffee. "But he'll lose interest soon enough. The guy has the attention span of a fruit fly when it comes to women."

She arched a skeptical brow. "You sure about that?"

Of course I was sure. It was how the man operated. "I'm sure. And besides, it's not like he's sticking around. He'll be back traveling the circuit any day now. As soon as those buckle bunnies are in front of him again, I'll be a distant memory."

I might have sounded unaffected by it, but the words left a curdled taste on my tongue and a pinched feeling in my stomach.

I was about to suggest a change of subject when the door to the coffee shop swung open, setting off the bell above it. My attention turned to the woman who'd walked in, my eyes going wide with shock.

I could have sworn the entire shop went quiet as people turned to stare.

"Holy shit," Lennix breathed out on a whisper, having turned to scope out the newcomer at the same time I did.

"Is that?—?"

"Blythe Fanning," she answered before I finished my question.

My surprise instantly gave way to sadness as I noticed the two little kids trailing into Muffin Top right behind her and the toddler she had propped on her hip. I'd grown up with Blythe. She was several years older, but on top of this being a small town, our parents were close friends, so we knew each other well enough. She'd left for college when she was eighteen, and instead of coming back when she graduated, she married the guy she'd been dating since her freshman year and ended up moving to where he was from.

I knew her mom, Nona, and stepfather, Trick, had missed her tremendously, but as long as she was happy, they were happy.

"Sunny said she'd spoken to her recently, but didn't mention anything about her moving back," Lennix said quietly. When I looked back to her I noticed she was wearing the same expression of sadness I was.

"Makes sense. With three kids?" I gave my head a shake of disbelief. I couldn't possibly imagine how hard things had been for her lately. "I'm sure she needs help."

"God, it's just so sad," Lennix said, putting to words exactly what I was feeling. "My heart's broken for her."

Instead of being rowdy or noisy, the kids were quiet, their heads down and shoulders scrunched up to their ears. Grief was pouring off the little family in waves.

Just then, Blythe turned from where she'd been placing an order at the counter and caught sight of us, offering a smile that barely shifted her lips. There was no missing the dark rings beneath her eyes or the pallor of her skin. Her hair was flat and dull. She looked exhausted and weary and heartbroken.

With her children still I tow, she started toward our table. "Hey, guys," she offered congenially enough once she reached us.

"Hey, sweetie." I quickly stood, wrapping her in an embrace, noticing her bones stood out more prominently than they should have. She returned the hug with a pat to the back and I stepped away so Lennix could do the same.

"It's so good to see you," she offered the woman who looked like the shine had been snuffed right out of her.

"It really is. We didn't know you were back."

She cleared her throat and ran a hand over her hair, the gesture almost nervous, like she was realizing for the first time that she wasn't at her best. "Uh, yeah. It was kind of unexpected."

I smiled, hoping it would put her at ease. "Of course. Anyway, it's great to have you here. I'm sure your mom is happy." Every word out of my mouth felt pathetic and trite, but I didn't know what I could possibly say to make the situation any better. What did you say to a woman whose husband died unexpectedly, leaving her and their three little ones with a gaping hole in their lives? I couldn't imagine the pain she must have been feeling. It was written over every single inch of her.

"She is. Thanks."

The barista behind the counter called her name, breaking the awkward tension that was surrounding us. "Well, that's me. I should probably get going," she said as the little girl on her hip began to fuss. "It's nap time anyway. But it was good to see you guys."

"You too," Lennix returned.

"And if you need anything, we're just a phone call away, all right? Anything you need. Just name it."

She sniffled, her smile wobbly but more genuine that time around. That was something, at least. "Thanks. I really appreciate that."

She and her kids left a few moments later, and as soon as the door closed behind them, a low din started up throughout the coffee shop. People began to whisper and speculate about the recent widow and her poor kids.

It was bad enough having to suffer through the loss she'd experienced, but I couldn't imagine coming back to the town where I'd grown up to have everyone gossip about me behind my back.

I made a silent vow right then that I was going to do better than the other busybodies in town. I was going to try and be the kind of friend Blythe needed.