Page 52 of The Spice Is Nice

They hung up. For a moment, we squeezed each other’s hands, our foreheads touching. The entire weight of the last few hours settled on our shoulders.

“Pack a bag.” I kissed her head, eager to get her out of here and to the safety of the ranch where I knew I could protect her best.

With the patrolcars escorting us, we collected Sage and reached the ranch with no trouble. The officers remained vigilant at the entrance to the ranch throughout the night.

Ivy and Sage reunited with Daisy once Knox brought her to the barn. While Ivy finally started telling them everything, I checked on Silver, stroking his neck, as much for soothing him as for me.

This entire situation was fucked, with Ivy’s ex going off, stirring up all kinds of trouble. As much as I wanted in on the hunt for him, Ivy needed me, and that protective side of me had to be here to watch over her myself.

As Ivy retold the events, Daisy held her hands with the particular grip of a scared woman who was furious about everything Ivy had gone through. Sage sat pale and quiet through it. Knox and I gave them privacy to talk and checked the perimeter of the barn. Ash rolled up on the ATV.

“I sent Jake and Anson down to Bozeman to pick up Poppy,” he reported. “The Settlers’ Cabin is ready. I had already stocked it with supplies, preparing it for hunting season, so you’ll have plenty of firewood for a few days and food, too. Knox, do you recall where it is? East end of the ranch, deep in the pines?”

“Yes, sir.” How quickly we all were to revert to our military training, responses like this coming automatically.

“I have two men posted in front and two behind,” Ash finished.

“We’ll be there, too.” I checked the back of the ATV, where he had gestured. Rifles and ammunition were there. We’d use them if needed, but hopefullywe wouldn’t.

We reentered the barn and stood about ten feet from where Ivy had finished telling her sisters everything. Knox stood, jaw set, watching Daisy with the expression of a man who had been worried out of his mind and was doing a terrible job trying not to show it.

Daisy suddenly broke away from her sisters. She walked straight to him and put her arms around his neck, resting her head on his chest.

He didn’t move, shocked at first. Then his arms came up, and he held on tight, jaw unclenched, his expression more unguarded than he usually let anyone see.

Nobody said a word about it. Just let them have this moment. They said nothing, only embraced for a minute, and then Daisy returned to her sisters.

All together, we moved deeper into the ranch to the isolated cabin that very few people knew about. It was still in good condition and could use some updating, which was the plan but lower on the list of projects and build-outs for the ranch. It would work for now to house the sisters. Easier for us to monitor them all in one location.

The cabin was olderthan most of the buildings on the property. The logs were already lit in the fireplace when we arrived, smelling of wood smoke and pine sap. It was quiet out here, with nature’s sounds all around us. Sort of eerie, giving the sense that we were a long way fromanything or anyone that could reach us. I couldn’t see Seth finding his way here at all.

The sisters inspected the one-level place. Knox positioned himself with a rifle on a chair near the front door, with a view out the front window. No one asked him to keep guard; he just did it. Ash walked the perimeter one more time before heading back to the main barn.

Daisy and Sage huddled together on the couch in front of the fireplace. Ivy and I ended up in the small bedroom. There, she collapsed on the edge of the bed, hands on knees, and stared at the floor. I sat beside her. Outside, we could hear one of the men making his rounds—his boots scuffing along on pine needles, voice checking in on a radio.

“I can’t believe this is all happening. All because I just had to leave town with Seth years ago. Now we’re all paying the price.” She beat herself up.

“Hey, this isn’t on you. You were young and grieving, and he took advantage of you. That’s on him. You had no idea at the time what he was capable of.”

She shifted toward me and laced her fingers with mine. “Thank you for being here, and for coming to the shop today. Seth scared me, but nothing like the fear that I might have pushed you away for good.”

“Never. I’m still here.”

“You came to Montana to pass through temporarily. That was your whole plan. Bet you never imagined getting drawn into my mess.”

“No. Everything with you has been beyond my imagination.” I stroked her hair back from her face. “It might be messy, but somewhere between that first kiss andthe fake dating and you driving me completely out of my mind—I stopped just passing through Montana.”

“Meaning…?”

I brushed my lips along hers. “Meaning I’m falling for you, Ivy. In case you needed me to say it out loud.”

She let out a sharp breath. “I’ve been falling, too. But I feared I didn’t deserve you. I worried that if I opened my heart, you’d leave me for Holly Creek. My heart would break, and I’d land somewhere that would really hurt.”

“No more fears. You deserve good things. If you’re going to land somewhere, then make it here, with me. We’ll go to Holly Creek for a visit, then come right back here and stay.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“I’d do that for us. Because I found home in you.” I gathered her in my arms and lay with her back on the bed. We kissed and held each other until exhaustion crept up on me.