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“But if it makes you feel any better,” my mom said, “Stella called us personally to apologize.”
“Really?” I asked, a small flicker of hope building in my heart.
My mom nodded. “She said she had no idea they were going to stage that drama. She genuinely thought they cared about her cause. She’s very upset with the production team. And she asked how you’re feeling.”
I smiled. “That’s so nice of her. I feel a lot better than yesterday. If I take it easy today, I’ll be back in action tomorrow.”
My parents exchanged a worried glance, and Scott whirled around. “What do you mean ‘back in action’?” He even used the air-quotes.
I widened my eyes, glancing at each one of them as they stared at me. I laughed nervously. “You know, back to my usual routine.”
All three of them spoke over each other at once. “Absolutely not!” from my mom mixed with, “Are you crazy?” from my dad, and the cherry on top was, “Over my dead body!” from Scott.
“Um, okay everyone. Let’s chill out a little bit.” I sat down in an empty chair at the kitchen table. Scott set my coffee down in front of me, and I took a sip of the heavenly perfection. I loved that he knew exactly how I liked it.
Uh, did not mean that in a dirty way. Especially since he was giving me the opposite of bedroom eyes right now.
Scott waited a minute for me to enjoy my coffee and wake up a little more. “Ivy, what has your schedule been like lately?”
I shrugged. “Nothing too crazy. Dance studio work, working for the catering business. That’s all.”
“And helping with Katy. And working on all the costumes,” my mom added.
“And not just for your teams. For Blake’s, too,” Scott said pointedly.
“I’m fine,” I insisted. “I can do it. I just need to plan out my meals better.”
Scott looked at my mom helplessly. She stepped over to me and knelt down. “Why are you doing this?”
I met my mom’s eyes and held her gaze. “I want to help you and dad. You’ve given me everything. And you had it all taken away from you.” I swallowed, looking back at the table. “I just wanted to do what I could to reduce the stress and pain you were feeling.”
She tilted her head to the side and smoothed my hair. “You are one of the four best daughters to ever exist. But you are not responsible for us. We can take care of things.” She took in a deep breath. “We are so grateful for your help. And the fact that you moved in here at all. But if you live here, you can’t keep running yourself ragged.”
My dad wheeled over to me and squeezed my arm. “We need you healthy, kiddo. That’s more important than helping with groceries or bills.”
“But what are you going to do for money?” I asked, tears shining in my eyes. “This isn’t fair. You shouldn’t have to suffer.”
My parents glanced at Scott, who cleared his throat. “I may be able to help there.”
“No way,” I interjected. “I told you I don’t want to take more of your money.”
He shook his head. “When will you learn that peoplewantto help? That there is joy in giving? I want to give. I want to help. You need to let people in.”
I rested my head in my hands. “This is too much.”
He sighed. “Well, even if you won’t take money from me, I have other ways to help.”
That got my attention. “How?”
He looked over at my parents, who nodded. “Your parents explained some things about the insurance settlement to me. I’m not one hundred percent clear on the details, but something seems off. I’m going to call Bethany Stone and get her involved in their case. She’s a big lawyer in the area, and she works with our firm frequently. I think she’ll be able to figure this all out.”
Was I okay with that? It seemed like it wasn’t putting anyone out. I nodded slowly, grasping that this was a way to get my parents the help they needed without accepting a handout from anyone. “That sounds good.”
“Good,” Scott agreed. “But you need to pull back from your other jobs, too.”
I rubbed my face in exasperation. “I don’t know how.”
“That’s easy,” my dad chimed in. “You can quit.”
