Page 75 of Recovering Ivy

“Zane’s ready,” I blurted.

“What?” Jasmin turned to me, her face had turned to stone.

“Um…”

“Zane wants kids?”

“Well, that’s what he said,” I rushed out. “But we haven’t talked about it again. Maybe he was caught up in the moment.”

“Z doesn’t get caught up in the moment.” Her eyes narrowed. “Do you want children?”

“I never thought I did until I met Zane. It’s not like I had the best role model and I was always too afraid to hope. So I pushed it out of my head and tried to convince myself I was alright with my decision. But, yes, I want to give Zane all the babies he wants.”

“Thank you.” Her mask slipped away, and she looked almost sad. “Thank you for bringing him back to us. I never thought I’d see him happy. Thank you for loving him.”

“He’s easy to love.” I looked away, not comfortable with the emotions I was sharing.

“As if.” Violet chuckled. “No part of Zane Lewis is easy. He’s prickly, grumpy, and downright irritable with everyone but you. No one knows the Zane you know, and that’s the way it should be. We all know deep down he is a good man, but he refuses to allow anyone to see the side he shows you. I’m not talking bad about him, I only want you to understand what you mean to him.”

I thought about what Violet said. Zane was prickly and bossy and he did hold himself back from everyone else, which was a travesty because the type of man Zane was should’ve been praised, not hidden away.

Over the last few months I’d learned so much about Zane, but what stood out the most was his generosity. He shouldered the burden so others around him wouldn’t have to. He gave his time to his men even if he pretended it was hardship. He gave advice, he listened, and he meddled when he knew one of them needed a push in the right direction. Above all that, his kindness extended tenfold to me. He was patient with me in a way no other person had ever been. When he sensed I was drawing into myself or something was too much, he brought me back around and pulled me from the darkness. He gave me an escape from the demons that had haunted me my entire life.

We’d shared eight Sunday morning breakfasts. Based on how we’d met and his aversion to the meal, it was eight more than I ever thought we’d have. During those mornings he told me stories about his childhood and all the shenanigans him and Linc got into. Even then, as a child, Zane had looked after his mom and brother. He’d learned responsibility early in life and along with that came loyalty, commitment, and honor. But you’d never hear him admit it. His ego was the size of Texas when it came to his abilities on the battlefield, yet he remained humble about his devotion and caring toward his family and team. Everyone knew him to be menacing and deadly. I knew him to be loving and gentle.

The next few hours were spent eating and gossiping. Communing with my new sisters felt good, a feeling I never wanted to go away. Something else Zane had given me was the courage to accept friendship. Sure, I still had my doubts, only now they were in a faraway place in the back of my mind and I knew when they tried to break free, I was strong enough not to believe the ugly lies my mother had taught me.

When it was time to say goodbye, I was anxious to get home to Zane. As much fun as I’d had with the girls, I missed being at home with him.

I got in his Rover and sent Zane a text I was on my way home. I was now driving his very expensive SUV while he drove his ’66 Chevy Nova if we were going somewhere separately, which was rare considering Sarah had up and vanished. I knew she’d slithered away back to Florida. My mother did what she had always done, popped up, spewed her vile poison, then when she thought she brought me low and had me hating myself, she walked away.

Story of my life.

Correction, story of my old life.

27

Zane

I read the text message for a second time, still amazed my heart rate ticked up when her name lit up my screen. The only two words of her text that mattered were, love and home.

“We done?” I asked the DA, who had combed over every detail of evidence we had no less than ten times.

I appreciated his thoroughness, but enough was enough. The man made my compulsion while planning an op look like amateur hour the way he’d meticulously sorted the reports in front of him. Forester was fucked. The toxicology report came back and a connection was made to the fentanyl used to cut his heroine and the drugs found in Joanna Long’s system at her time of death. He was being charged with murder along with a slew of other charges. Barbara was on the hook for her death, too. Her attorney had tried to cut a deal for a lesser charge if she turned on Forester. I was impressed when the DA turned her down. He was confident he didn’t need her testimony to put Forester away for life.

“Got someplace to be?” Linc chuckled.

“Yeah, bastard, home. Same place you should be. Ivy texted, the girls’ lunch is over,” I informed him.

“Never thought I’d see the day,” Jaxon added under his breath as he started to pack up.

I didn’t bother with a comeback. Over the last few months, the guys had continued to give me shit about Ivy. I’d heard it all and no longer gave them the satisfaction of a reply.

“Go ahead and go. I have some work to finish up. I’ll stay while Jones packs up,” Garrett said.

“Appreciate it.”

Not wanting to waste time, I didn’t do my normal rounds to make sure everything was running smoothly before I left. As a matter of fact, I’d spent less time at the office than I ever had. I now had something more important than work or trying to make a name for myself.