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“I used to have nightmares.” My hand dropped away as Mark eased forward from the stoplight. “Every time I closed my eyes, there was my mother dead on our couch.” He cleared his throat. “You want to know what I did to make them go away?”
“Let me guess. You saw a doctor?” I tried to curb my annoyance that he’d seen me at such a weak moment.
“Nope, I faced it.” He looked at me in the mirror. “I know you’re dealing with something. That’s obvious. We’ve all seen Frank talking to you privately. But I also know it’s none of my business.”
“It’s not like I’m trying to hide from it,” I muttered. “It’s just taking a long time for something to happen—at least for my part in it to happen.” That was partly true.
“Oh, it’s court related.” He scrunched his face and nodded as he hit the nail on the head. “Savi’s been there.”
“So I’ve heard.” I hated that I sounded rude, but I was not happy on this topic. Always having to be cryptic, the secret was growing old. I was trained to get people to open up and talk about their problems, and here I was having to dance around my own issues. I hated that I had to suppress it all. I felt like a hypocrite. It was totally unfair.
“Did Savi tell you what I did to help her get through that pissed off feeling you have right now?”
“No.” I sighed heavily and caught his grin in the mirror.
Mark chuckled but held up a hand to end the conversation as he pulled into a parking space near the bus stop. We both could see Olivia happily chatting with her friends and their parents as they gathered in the parking lot. She was leaving for Girl Scout camp. I hopped out of the truck when I spotted the Logans as they watched from the edge of the group. I was glad they’d called us so we could catch Olivia before she left. We’d been on our way to run some errands when we got the call that they were here.
“Uncle Mark?” Olivia threw herself at him. “I thought I missed you.”
“Me?” He beamed down at her. “Let my Livi leave without a hug? Please, child.” She hugged him again then reached over and hugged me, too.
“Have a wonderful trip, sweetie.” I’d barely planted a kiss on the top of her head before she raced off at the sight of another of her friends.
“Are we sure about this?” Savannah threw an uneasy look at Cole.
“You think I’d let her go if I wasn’t?” He nodded to a woman, and when she bent over to grab a bag, I saw she was carrying her sidearm. “I hired two undercovers.” He grinned.
“And Liv has no clue, right?” Savi eyed her husband. “Because we agreed she was going to have a normal run-of-the-mill kid trip.”
“Ten bucks,” Mark leaned in close to whisper, “Liv’s already spotted them and knows their history.”
“You think?” I eyed him then held out my hand to take the bet.
“Liv,” he called, and she bounced over with her friend trailing behind, “you feelin’ good about this trip?”
“Yes. Oh, Dad, thanks so much for letting me go.” She beamed at her parents and wrapped Cole in a hug.
She trotted over, and I could tell she caught Mark’s mischievous expression. She looked carefully at him then at me.
“Well, all set? Everything good with the trip?” Mark asked. She playfully rolled her eyes.
“Poor Ivy.” She glared at him. “How much did he bet you?”
“Ten.” I smirked. Lord, she was good. “Have you spotted them?”
“No, but I know they’re here. Dad would never let me go anywhere without someone. I don’t care.” She shrugged. “I’m just excited to be going with all my friends!”
“And that’s all you should be thinking about,” I added.
“I gotta share something with you, Ivy.” She looked very serious. “Anytime my uncle bets you on something, never take it.”
“Hey,” Mark playfully pushed her arm, “you can’t tell her that. That’s my thing.”
“I thought eating was your thing.” She giggled and turned to her friend. “Ivy, this is Milly and her dad, Callen.” A tall man stepped forward and rested his hands on his daughter’s shoulders.
“Dad, this is who I was telling you about.” Milly grinned up at him. Callen was quite handsome, strong arms and jawbone, pleasant smile, green eyes, almost red hair.
“Ah, yes, the famous, Dr. Ivy Knight.” He smiled at me. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
