He shakes his head. “I’m fine. It’s… fine.”
“Greyson says you haven’t allowed yourself to heal from a great loss.”
“The greatest loss. And yeah, well …” His eyes take on a faraway look. “It doesn’t do much good to wallow, does it?” He lifts a rock from beside his knee and tosses it into the water.
“No, it doesn’t,” I agree.
“If I stop and let myself think about it, I don’t know what it’ll do to me. I just keep truckin’, Ty. That’s the only thing I know I can do. If I stop movin’ forward, I don’t know what’ll happen to my mind.”
I reach for his shoulder and squeeze briefly before I let go. I see the look in his eyes; he suddenly looks grief-stricken. The pain in his form hits me with a sensation in my chest like I’ve never felt. A strange sort of grief and loss. I wonder if Grey feels this from him and that’s how he knows to worry about Riley.
I’ve never shown affection to a man. This feels natural, rather than strange.
“I can’t even think about how she died, or I won’t swim back.” He wipes the expression away and rises. “I won’t touch water again.”
Obviously, he lost her in water.
He stares out at the creek for a minute and then his body shudders just briefly before he turns to me.
“Come to the party. Meet everyone. Let them all set eyes on you. Even if you two stay for an hour. It’ll be good for you both and it’ll be good for us. Really good for us.”
“Fine,” I say. “By the way, thank you. You and Lincoln for helping with Ivy the other day. I didn’t know if I should trust you, but I did know. It was… confusing.”
“You’re welcome. She’s yours and you’re ours, which means she is, too. We would, any of us, go to great lengths to keep your mate safe. Come Friday. See your house. Meet your pack.”
“Fine. And no promises from me but I’m keeping an open mind. And if you need---”
“All I need is your open mind. No rush. Don’t listen to Grey being a worrying old woman. I’m fine as long as you leave the door open for us to see if you feel like you belong.”
“I can do that.”
“Good. That’s more than we could’ve hoped for,” he says and slaps my back. “Now, that said? I got one thing left to say to you right now.”
“What?”
The expression on his face has me bracing. And then he smiles wide. “Eat my dust.”
He shifts while diving into the water and swims back the way we came.
***
I win the race and get home first, but win only by the skin of my nose.
We’re in the door and Ivy is averting her gaze with a hand over her eye.
Ah. She sees Riley naked.
I laugh. Bailey tosses a bundle of clothing in his direction.
“Tyson, you need pants,” Ivy says, still looking away.
Everyone looks at me with surprise. At my laughter maybe? I don’t know.
I erase the space between me and my woman, hauling her from the couch up into my arms. I kiss her and then speak against her lips.
“Not right now I don’t. It’s been a good visit Catrina, Bailey, and Riley. Thank you for the food, and for visiting with Ivy while I got a much-needed run. Thank you, my mother, for taking care of Ivy’s ankle.” I glance up and my eyes meet Catrina’s. Hers are filled with shock. “Truly, thank you for saving my Ivy.” My voice goes gruff and I look back to Ivy’s face as the emotion on my mother’s face physically hurts. I can’t let that penetrate any further or I’ll go into an angry haze and spin out of control. I don’t want that. It’s felt like a good day. “That said,” I continue, “Everyone, it’s time to go. Unless you want to watch me mount my mate.”
Nobody moves.
“You have to the count of five,” I add.
“Tyson!” Ivy gasps.
They laugh and gather things up. “Give us to ten, please. We brought a lot of gear,” Cat asks, her voice wobbly.
“Bye,” I say and take my woman toward the bedroom in my arms.
“Tyson Savage put me down!” she orders.
I laugh and kick the door shut behind me.
“Not a chance, Ivy Savage. Your ankle is good, we’re all fed, and plans have been made, I’m assuming, for that strawberry party?”
“Um, yeah…”
“Good,” I say. I hear the front door open. “Will there be strawberries? I like that fruit.”
“Probably,” Ivy says with a smile on her mouth and in her eyes.
I set her down on the bed and put my knee to the mattress as I hear the door shut and then the receding footsteps of all three of them.
33
Ivy
I’m on the couch, staring at my phone, and biting my lip.