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“Y’all good?” Jack asked. “Looked like some serious conversation.”
“I’m fine,” Luci said.
“Same,” I said, a second later.
Ivy smiled, glancing from Luci to me. “I guess I’m no good at reading body language then.” She took Jack’s hand. “We’re headed to bed. You two get some rest. Tomorrow’s sledding day.”
Her enthusiasm made me smile, despite my aching heart.
“And you two are partnered up on the same toboggan.” Ivy grinned, bouncing on her toes. “Too much fun.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, dying inside. Sitting behind Luci on a sled would be excruciating.
“I’m headed in too. Night.” Luci went back up the stairs, unlocked her door and disappeared behind it.
“You sure you’re all right?” Jack asked me, clapping my shoulder. “You two seemed like you were having a moment.”
“I made her mad,” I said. “I bought the gifts for her Giving Tree family.”
“You didn’t?” Ivy asked, sounding horrified.
“I did.”
“For a smart guy, that was a dumb move,” Ivy said.
“Yeah, my baby sister’s proud,” Jack said. “She hates thinking of herself as a charity case.”
“I think she’s struggling financially,” Ivy said quietly. “She has a ton of debt from medical school.”
“She won’t tell me the exact numbers,” Jack said. “I’ve asked her a half dozen times to let me help, but she refuses.”
“I just wanted to help her out,” I said. “A couple hundred bucks is nothing to me these days.”
“She and Madeleine are the same way,” Ivy said. “Won’t let a soul look after them, even when it comes from a place of love. But don’t worry, Grant, she won’t stay mad long. She likes you too much for that.”
“True. She always asks about you when I talk to her on the phone,” Jack said. “I sure appreciate you looking after her, even if she hates it. I worry about her.”
“She’s your sister,” I said lamely.
Ivy shuddered. “Y’all, I’m freezing. Let’s get inside where it’s warm.”
We said our goodnights and I hurried inside my own cabin, wishing I was entering the one next door instead.
6
LUCI
December 5
Sledding the Back Hill
Fresh snow · Flurries throughout the day
Supper: Chili · Cornbread · Peach and arugula salad
I slept horribly and spent the morning in my cabin reading to distract myself from thinking about Grant. This whole thing was starting to get really messy for me. I was mad at myself, letting the only vacation I’d had in my adult life be ruined over a boy. That was the type of thing other people did, not me. I was too smart for that. Too aware of how easily a bad man could land a person in a world of hurt.
He’s not a bad man, though, I told myself. That’s part of the problem. He’s a good one. Maybe the best one I’ve ever known, other than Jack.
