"You can't take your car," her dad said. "I don't want them to be able to identify it at some other time."
So his dad was going along with it?
"You set up a meeting time that will allow Marcus and Kendra to go to the ice cream parlor early, in a different vehicle. None of your friends will go. We'll schedule it for tomorrow, well after your girlfriends have gone home after the party. We don't want Younger and Billy to know your real birth date."
"But what if they go to the house where they'd kept the girls hostage?" Ivy asked.
"That's what I'm hoping for. That they will drop by there and get captured, and you won't be involved in any of this except to testify against them in court when it comes to a trial," their dad said.
"Oh, okay," Ivy said.
"Grayson will be in the car with you. I'll come in Grayson's car and exit it when you leave 'your' car to walk into the mall. I'll be your shadow. Grayson can join us when he feels it's safe, but I don't want them grabbing you in the parking lot and spoiling the whole plan. I wouldn't be surprised if both came, but only Billy approached. His stepdad would be waiting nearby. So if Grayson or I make a move to grab Billy, his stepdad would take off," Marcus said.
"We'll work with local law enforcement to make sure they have some undercover officers there also," Grayson said.
"We might not get any action then," Kendra said to Marcus.
“We can talk about it more tomorrow. Join your friends and enjoy your birthday party,” Dad said.
“We’re off to my house,” Grayson said. “I hope your birthday party was as special as it should be, Ivy.”
“It was. Thanks for everything.” Ivy touched her earrings. “I love my earrings, Kendra. Thanks. And my skates, Grayson. My watercolor paints are great. Can’t wait to start using them, Marcus. And of course the car, Dad. It’s beautiful.” Then she gave them all warm hugs and headed out of the den to rejoin her friends.
Her girlfriends all cheered her return to their ongoing party.
“We’ll discuss this more tomorrow,” their dad said, and he and Marcus left the den.
Then Grayson and Kendra returned to his place.
“I can’t wait until we can swim as bears,” she said.
“Yeah, me too. I’m just glad I can still run as a bear.” He parked in the garage and closed the garage door. They went inside. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Whatcha got?”
“How about a frozen strawberry daiquiri?”
“Oh, that sounds delicious. Nutritious too.”
He chuckled. “You get all the fruit you need in one sitting.” He made the daiquiri with frozen strawberries, a splash of lime, simple syrup, and rum. “Would you like to have some tacos or grilled scallops with that?”
“Hmm, either sounds good. What would you like?”
“Scallops, if you would like. And garlic, olive oil, and spices over vermicelli noodles?”
“Yeah, that would be great. I haven’t had scallops in years. What can I do to help?”
“It only takes about ten minutes for the noodles and six minutes for the scallops, so we’ll start the noodles first. The vermicelli comes in a box, so easy to make.”
“I love these.” Kendra quickly took over, and he smiled. She brought the water to a boil, added the olive oil, and once it was boiling, he poured in the noodles. She added the seasonings and began stirring them.
After a few minutes, he pulled out the scallops and a frying pan, then seared both sides in olive oil.
“Wow, this is a delightful dinner after a fun-filled birthday party. I sure enjoyed skating with you,” Kendra said.
“Yeah, I was so worried that I would trip you up while we were skating together.”
“Ha! I was worried about the same thing.”
