Page 42 of Yours To Hold
“I’ll keep Willow tonight.”
“She’s really scared of storms.”
Gramps chuckles. “I know she is. I’ve met my great-granddaughter before. I’ll keep her occupied.”
“I told her she could watch extra movies and sleep in her fort.”
“All things I have. I’ll set up the tent in the living room for her.”
I blow out an anxious breath. “Thanks, Gramps.”
“No thanks needed. It’s what family does.”
“Call me if you need anything.”
“I will.”
I hang up the phone. The knot in my chest doesn’t get any looser. Hardly anyone is on the road as I slow down in front of Ivy’s apartment complex outside of town. Her car isn’t in the parking lot.
Shit.
Where in the ever-loving fuck could she be?
The rain comes down harder as I circle the parking lot, checking one last time to see if she’s there.
No such luck. I can’t stay out in this weather. Maybe by the time I get home, I’ll have heard from her.
It feels like hours before I’m finally pulling into my neighborhood. The sky is so dark with clouds it’s black as lightning cracks across the sky.
I barely notice because I see the best sight I’ve seen all afternoon.
Ivy’s car in my driveway.
Pulling in beside her, I spot her on the porch. She’s soaking wet from the rain blowing straight across.
“Since when do you lock your door?” Ivy shouts over the rain.
“The wind blew it open earlier. I had to lock it.”
“Do you mind opening it?”
Water sluices down her face. “Shit, sorry.”
I push open the door, letting her go in before slamming it shut behind me. Thunder rattles the walls as lightning cracks across the sky.
“Is Willow okay?” It warms every ounce of me that her first thought is my daughter.
“She’s okay. She’s staying with Gramps tonight.”
“But her fort!”
“She’ll sleep in it tomorrow and be fine.”
“Why were you even out?” Ivy shrugs out of her rain coat. It’s sopping wet.
My words come out mumbled.
“What?” Ivy is breathless.
