Chapter Seven Wade

CHAPTER SEVEN

Wade

" S o, we'll leave on the 26th and be back on the 28th," I say as we eat. I've just filled the family in on what we have to do in Nashville and the yearlings we're looking at.

"I'm in to help Haden and the boys as much as possible. I've been thinking about taking a step back from the bar a little if you need more help," Nash says as he takes his seat next to CeCe at the table.

I nod. "Much appreciated."

"It's our slow time anyhow, we've got this." Mama smiles at me, her eyes doing their crinkly-in-the-corner thing. "Your dad would be very proud of you taking another shot at this. Lots of memories."

"It's always been a dream of mine too," Ivy pipes up. "I'll try not to let y'all down. I'll do my best as Sam's stand-in."

Ivy's sitting directly across from me and she looks effortlessly pretty, especially after a couple shots of bourbon. She's wearing another pair of Levi's and a long-sleeved hunter green sweater that hangs off her shoulders, which are fucking stunning by the way. Her dark hair is in thick cascades down her back and half held up by some sort of a clip contraption that looks like a butterfly.

She must be giving her hundreds of scrunchies the night off. Thin silver earrings that look like strands of tinsel almost reach her shoulders, and maybe it's the bourbon talking but for an insane second I imagine taking one into my mouth, along with her earlobe, and then sweeping my tongue down her silky, biteable neck.

Fuck. Not cool. Employee. She's your employee.

I shift in my seat, averting my eyes from Ivy, choosing instead to watch Harley in the corner gnawing on his bone. I like the other view a million times better but at least this one isn't semi-bricking me up under the table.

"I'm sure you'll do very well, darlin'. It took Wyatt three seasons and two horses before he placed," Mama tells her.

"He seems like he was a great man, I wish I could've met him," Ivy says as all of us nod.

"So do we." CeCe smiles, squeezing her arm beside her. "He would've liked you straight away."

"Everything I've heard about him, it seems he was a lot like my dad," Ivy states.

"Terrible at tile rummy?" Cole asks with a grin.

"Always the one to eat the last cookie and put the box back in the cupboard?" Mama pipes up.

"Terrible at catching fish?" Nash adds while the table chuckles.

The air is too heavy. I don't talk about my dad too much at once. It's still too fresh. We all get together as a family still, do all the same things, but it never feels quite right. One of our crew is just gone and we'll never get that back. Some moments, the weight of that is fucking crushing. I feel the sudden need to drink more, swiping the bourbon off the table and filling my glass.

"Your daddy pass on?" Papa Dean asks her.

She nods. "Yes, when I was fourteen. He had an unexpected heart attack. He was my very best friend." She grins as she says it, like a million memories fill her eyes.

"Well, we have that in common, my dad was mine too," CeCe tells her quietly. Nash squeezes CeCe's shoulder as she says it. I still can't believe how quickly he became the doting-husband type.

"What about your mama, is she still on the right side of the dirt?"

Mama drops her fork at Pop's words.

"Dad. That's not an acceptable way to ask that."

"It's fine." Ivy chuckles at my no-filter grandfather. "She's still on the right side of the dirt, sort of. She kind of became the child when my dad died, I became the parent. She drinks more than she should now, I help take care of her."

"That's not an easy task. Sorry to hear that. You have any siblings?" Cole asks as he takes a bite of his mashed potatoes.

"One younger sister, Cassie. She doesn't come around much, but our older neighbor, Mrs. Potter, she checks in on my mama for me every few days and makes sure she gets her groceries. She's always cared about her. I think she has a soft spot since she knows what it's like to lose a husband. She's a widow too." Ivy shrugs.

Something in her eyes makes me want to reach across the table and grab her hand. I find the will to stop myself.

"What was your dad's name?" I ask, without thinking or even understanding why. I never ask people personal questions.

"Bill … Billy," she says back to me softly, shrugging, her violet pools boring into mine.

"A toast." Pop holds his glass up, cutting the thick air around us. "I always say life is like toilet paper …"

"Jesus Christ," Cole snickers under his breath.

"You're either on a roll or you're taking shit from somebody. Better to be on a roll. To Ivy, for rising above the shit life has dealt her, to her lost dad Billy, and to Wy." He taps his glass on the table and we all follow, a smile playing on Ivy's lips.

"Well, that was maybe the most ridiculous and possibly the sweetest toast I've ever heard." Ivy giggles as she takes a drink.

"Shit, honey, you ain't heard nothing yet," Mama Jo says.

"You all owe me some money," Mabel says, pointing her fork at the swear boot.

"I think I like you all." Ivy giggles again.

"The feeling's mutual, dear," Mama says.

Pop stands with his empty plate in his hand. "Alright, who wants some pie? Wade, you want some of Ivy's pie?" he blurts.

I run a hand through my hair as most of my family snickers around the table.

This fucking family.

"All of you, get your heads out of the gutter. I just know he loves lemon," he adds, raising his hands in innocence.

Ivy locks eyes with me and chuckles openly at Pop. Goddammit, she's moved over to the dark side, and fuck, I hate that it looks good on her.

"She sure fits in with the fam." Cole nudges me with his elbow as we clean up. I look out to the dining room and see Ivy parked in front of the couch while Mabel goes to town on her hair. Her wide smile takes up her whole face while she chats with Mama and CeCe.

"Maybe she needs to come to some more dinners, poor girl doesn't seem to have a family," Nash adds. Of course he'd have a soft spot for that, since we became like his family when his parents died.

"This was supposed to be a business dinner, I gotta maintain a little professionalism," I grunt, and Nash smacks me with the dish towel he's holding.

"Loosen up. Fucking cranky old man," he whispers, looking into the next room to make sure Mabel doesn't hear him cuss.

I look back at him. "Just trying to keep some boundaries, which is a normal, healthy thing to do."

"You know what else is a normal and healthy thing to do?" Cole grins.

"Yeah I do, and trust me, I'm overdue, but I can't really meet anyone right now, seems I'll be doing all things training for the next few months."

As I watch Ivy, I realize I'm looking forward to more time with her than I should. I can't stop myself from wondering what happened with her family. Whatever it is, it hasn't made her unhappy. Ivy doesn't seem jaded like me; she seems kind, affectionate even, as she smiles up at Mabel. And she's so damn confident in herself, as much as I hate to admit it, it's sexy as hell.

She didn't even look away when she walked in on me in a towel. I take a swallow of bourbon as I think of what she could've seen walking right in like that. I often don't wear clothes around my own house; it was a total fluke I even had that towel on.

Maybe I should've left the room when I noticed her, instead of standing there half-naked, but I thought if I approached her, maybe she'd learn her lesson and leave in an uncomfortable huff, never to make that mistake again.

Instead, when she looked up at me, her eyes said I think maybe I'd like to wear your hat sir, thank you very much, and ever since I've been semi-hard thinking about the soft skin of her face under my fingers and her juicy fucking lips partly open, the perfect place for me to slide my—

"Earth to Sergeant," Cole says, calling me by my age-old nickname. "You're staring, bro."

"I am not," I say defensively.

Cole chuckles in response. Fucking bourbon.

"You should really come with me to Lexington, you need a night out," he says.

Lexington equals sex. Whenever Cole needs to get laid, he skips town for a night for one of his one-night stands—that way he doesn't risk messing with someone's sister or teacher from our lives. Small-town problems when you're a manwhore like Cole.

"Mabel is going to be with Ernie and Trudy on Saturday," he says, mentioning his ex-wife Gemma's parents. They are actually stable, kind people and they spend more time with Mabel than her own mother does. "If you need a night to get away, let loose, let me know. I always welcome a wingman." He grins as he says it.

"I'm not a fuckboy like you," I snark back.

"At least I'm not wound up like a goddamn jack-in-the-box waiting to pop. You need to get out of town for a night. Trust me, it will help with the way you're not staring," Cole retorts

Nash laughs quietly on his way by, sweeping the floor. "Ahh, don't be too hard on him. After all, he is going out of town. Nashville, right? Good thing you won't have any distractions there." He winks at me.

I glance at Ivy in the living room, hair now done up in several clips, joining Mama and CeCe playing Just Dance in her painted-on jeans. As she rolls her hips to the music and her hands raise up over her head, my mouth goes dry as a fucking bone. I let out a shaky breath before swallowing the last of my bourbon.

Nope, I definitely won't have any distractions with Ivy in Nashville in the adjoining hotel rooms I was able to find.

The only rooms in the entire fucking city.

No distractions there whatsoever.