Chapter Eighteen Ivy

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Ivy

I ' ve never had friends, not really—none that I could ever really trust anyway. When I was a teenager, I never had the time to do all the normal things girls my age were doing. I was working and studying to get a scholarship because I knew at a young age that was the only way I was getting a college education.

I imagine if I had, this is what it would have felt like. Gossip and girl-talk, a fire in the fireplace and Wade's rustic lamps the only lights in the room, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days mixed with delicious drinks, snacks and way too much info about each other's sex lives. Girls that come to cheer you up when they know you're down and out. Girls that have your back like a little squad. A little army of sunshine. That's what these three are and the way they've welcomed me into their circle, I'll be grateful for as long as I'm on this ranch.

"So, let's just call out the elephant in the room, Ivy. What is this little arrangement with you and Sarge?" Olivia asks.

I look at all three of them and feign total innocence, because I am innocent, aren't I?

"No arrangement, he's just being kind. I'm going back to my own cabin in a day or two," I reply, popping a chip into my mouth.

"The way Wade Ashby is looking at you these days is … different, not kind. Different than I've seen him look at a woman in a long time," Ginger chirps.

"I was starting to think he had given up on women," Olivia adds.

"He's my boss," I say, looking straight at CeCe. The last thing I want is her or anyone in this family thinking I have ulterior motives where Wade is concerned. Secretly, it really frustrates me that I'm having a hard time not thinking about him lately.

"I said that once," CeCe snorts, and the other girls start laughing. I should've known she wouldn't think badly of me either way.

"Boss or not, he looks at you like he's ready for a one-way ticket to Ivy-town." Ginger chuckles as she gets up to grab more sangria. "Refill?" she asks.

I nod and hand her my almost empty glass.

I don't know what to say here—too much info and it might get back to Wade, and I'd die of embarrassment. Too little and they'll know I'm full of shit. Having girlfriends is sort of a tricky thing.

"We, uh … get along pretty well. There are moments I think he's annoyed with me and then there are moments where we just feel in sync if that makes sense."

"It does," CeCe says. "You two will be working awfully close for the next while. And as my mama says, time has a way of working these things out." She winks, and I sigh, relieved she's so easygoing.

"Whether he's your boss or not, the fact remains, he is a single cowboy," Ginger chirps from the kitchen.

"Say it." Olivia looks at Ginger. "We all know you're going to."

I look at Ginger, confused as hell, as she hands me back my glass, full to the brim of Nash's delicious sangria with Ginger's Mama's twist.

"Now you've just ruined it," Ginger says.

"Fine, I'll say it. Save—" Olivia starts.

"No, no, it's my saying," Ginger interrupts, looking me in the eye. "Look, Ivy, Wade is hot stuff, always has been. I'm just saying, if the opportunity presents itself, save a horse. Scientifically, it will probably help you train better, because you'll be less stressed out and even more in sync. It's practically a no-brainer."

Olivia laughs as CeCe groans.

"God, this town is too small. I need to be related to less of the single men around here." She laughs, and I smile in spite of myself.

"Ooh, speaking of single men, let's prank-call Cole and tell him we did something illegal." Ginger giggles as she pulls her phone out of her purse. Because we've all had one too many this seems like an excellent idea to all of us.

We wait with bated breath as the phone rings and she holds it out on speaker so we can all hear. The sounds of Nash and Wade yelling at the football game in the background come through.

"You don't have a very reliable list if no one else would come get you, Vixen," is what Cole answers with, and I wonder if Ginger knows exactly how tightly she grips this man's balls with every word she speaks.

"You were the first I called, baby. I need a man of the law, we tipped Mr. Saulito's cow."

The three of us snicker as silently as possible. We are clearly excellent at this.

"Don't quit your day jobs to run out and become actresses," Cole says, totally monotone over the line.

"Really, come save us, baby, they're gonna haul us off to jail." Ginger sounds like an actress in a 1950s southern drama as she speaks.

"Four tipsy-ass women, that have a combined weight of four hundred and fifty pounds, one of whom has a twisted ankle, tipped a seventeen-hundred-pound cow?"

"We're stronger than you think, Cole," Ginger says, now hot and bothered that he doesn't believe her as the rest of us silently die laughing.

"I know you're fucking strong, woman. But I can hear your damn cronies laughing in the background. They aren't as inconspicuous as they think. I am a cop, remember? I spot bullshit pretty easily."

"Goddamn, you guys need to work on your incognito!" Ginger yells at us. "We'll do a better job next time of convincing you. Also, I definitely am gonna need that ride home, so come soon. Ta-ta, Law Daddy."

"Fuck, I'll be there at eleven," Cole says before hanging up as we cackle.

"Speaking of saving a horse, when are the two of you ever just going to do it already? It's obviously destiny," I blurt out.

All three of them turn to look at me.

Shit. Was I not supposed to say that?

CeCe scoffs, "As if, they're way too close for that." She looks at Ginger to confirm. It takes her a second, but she glances from CeCe to me.

"Definitely. I'm not saying I haven't thought about it, I'm only human, but if I let him into my Garden of Eden, things will never be the same. Besides, he's a complicated soul, and furthermore, I don't get down with fuckboys," Ginger says.

I smile at her, but I'm not sure I believe her.

"Ew …" CeCe swats her.

"What! He is, what do you think he does in Lexington?"

"I don't know, goes shopping? Takes in the nightlife?" CeCe asks, not even believing it herself.

Ginger snorts. "He goes shopping, alright. Pussy shopping, the kind where he doesn't ask to stay over after."

"There's my cue to exit the room." CeCe stands to head to the kitchen, and Ginger eyes me with a smirk.

I can tell as plain as day that there's not a chance she wouldn't welcome Cole into her self-proclaimed Garden of Eden if she had her opportunity.

But like I said, I've never had friends, so I just wink at her. Her secret is safe with me.