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They’d get there on their own and she supposed she owed her sister for the innocent push Ivy hadn’t known she’d been giving them.
When she heard the water running, she assumed Wesley was in the shower and got up. She had on a tank top and her underwear and that was good enough to start breakfast.
She never slept in much more and that was all she’d packed and put on after they’d fallen exhausted into bed last night.
The coffee was made and the eggs almost done when Wesley walked into the kitchen. “You didn’t need to get up,” he said.
“You’re going into work and I’ve got to get home to Ivy. I’m still going to spend the day with her. She’s probably sleeping though. She’s always been the one we’ve had to drag out of bed every morning.”
The toast popped and he moved over to get the four slices out. “I appreciate the breakfast and I’m thrilled you stayed the night. Now I can’t wait for you to be here again.”
“Not tonight,” she said. “My last night with Ivy.”
“How about tomorrow if you don’t mind going to work from here?”
She waited a second before she answered and then said, “I’d like that. I think one or two times a week works for us. Right?”
“Yes,” he said. “You’re busy and I’m busy. But I want this time for us.”
“Me too,” she said.
She finished with breakfast and while he was cleaning up, she went to take a shower. It was so nice and luxurious in the two-person shower she didn’t want to get out.
“I thought you might have drowned in there,” he said when she came out with her bag. Guess she was longer than she’d thought.
“Sorry. I didn’t want to get out. I’ve never been in a shower that big before or with so many heads.”
He laughed at her. “It is nice. You’re welcome to use it anytime you want. Or we can use it together.”
“Definitely that,” she said. “Give me a kiss and I’ll get out of your way.”
She left and drove home, getting in the door before eight. The last thing she expected was Ivy to be up... and cleaning.
“What are you doing?”
“I wanted to surprise you,” Ivy said.
“By dusting?”
She could smell the lemony cleaner and saw the rag in Ivy’s hand. She didn’t think her place was that dusty and was trying not to be insulted by it. Especially from the sister that cleaned the least.
“I wanted to help,” Ivy said.
She moved and took the rag out of Ivy’s hand and pulled her to the couch. “Sit. Talk to me. Something is going on with you and I need to know. I can’t let you leave tomorrow and be worried I didn’t try. I know you. You’re not acting like your normal self.”
Ivy started to cry and that told her, yes, something was wrong. “I don’t want to go back to Texas.”
“Okay...where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know. I mean when I came here I didn’t know. I just needed to get away. I love Grandpa and Grandma, but I feel like that safety net is never going to let me go. You and Dahlia are doing so well on your own, why can’t I?”
“Not everyone is ready at the same time, Ivy. It was best you went there and had a stable place to live.”
“I’ve been there seven years now. I can’t find a man. I can’t find a job I want and I’m not even on my own. I feel like if I got on my own more, maybe I’d get it together.”
Or crash and burn, but she wouldn’t say that. “You said you didn’t know where you wanted to go when you came here. As if now you know? Tell me everything. I want to help.”
Ivy squared her shoulders. “I want to stay here. You’ve got two bedrooms. I’ll split the rent with you. I’m not a slob anymore. I swear.”
