Ivy resisted until she couldn’t fight it anymore. Now she broke down and admitted her weakness. She acted like her fears were soul destroying. Heath wanted to laugh and tell her how foolish she was acting. But he’d already seen how she acted when he discounted her beliefs tonight. He knew the problem resulted from her exhaustion from the highly emotional day they had. He needed her to relax. That was half the fun behind why he’d taken her to bed. She needed an outlet to blow off some steam so they could have a sane conversation. He’d not expected it to be so difficult to get her alone. Heath was the first to say he didn’t resent his son. Now he understood why. Someone once told him his sex-life would take a hit after kids. To think he’d planted the idea of having more of them tonight in Ivy’s mind. Hell, he might have done more than that tonight. Heath knew it was a dick move. He desperately wanted to have his dream life back. The reality of having a family with Ivy was to
“I should go before Geoff gets antsy. We won’t discuss anything without you.” Heath said. Now they heard the television and the video game console power up. “I may need to limit on his use of that. It may become a problem.” Ivy frowned at Heath’s words. She was unsure what he meant, then her mind connected the dots. He spoke about the gaming system. It wasn’t something she expected Heath to focus on. Not this quickly into parenting. “You can do that?” She’d not explored the parental controls yet because other means of control were working. Ivy didn’t expect him to be aware of these things. “There are parental controls, Ivy. We’ll talk about it later if you like. Are you familiar with how they work?” She wasn’t sure if he joked or believed she was stupid. This wasn’t how she expected to wake up this morning. “It wasn’t a priority for me. If I didn’t want him playing with it, I’d take the power cables or the controllers.” Ivy groaned so
“Hey Geoff. Did you remember we’re going to the zoo today? We need to eat breakfast and get ready.” Heath found Geoff playing video games and drew his attention with a reminder of their zoo visit. “The look mom gave you means we aren’t going.” Geoff looked upset and gravely watched the screen. His eyes never left the television, nor did he greet Heath. “What look?” Heath wanted to curse himself for having created a miniature, self-aware duplicate of himself. How did his parents manage him? He remembered, they didn’t. His mother passed him off to a nanny. So, she could go to her social teas and charity work. “Mom’s look meant you did something wrong. Now, you’re in trouble.” Geoff said. Heath laughed ruefully at that. He wouldn’t argue that. Ivy didn’t make anything easy. “What trouble?” Now Heath was concerned. Ivy wasn’t the violent type. He didn’t think she’d changed that much. “An unhappy mom. When she’s like t
Ivy walked from the bedroom to the kitchen. She wore her blonde hair in a high ponytail, a soft pink fuzzy sweater with dark grey jeans. Heath thought she looked dressed for class, not the zoo. Seeing her like this brought back some sweet memories. “Good morning, everyone. Waffles? I didn’t realize we still had some.” “I found them in the freezer. It was easy to pop them into the toaster.” Heath said. He silently questioned his actions. Was something wrong? Ivy shrugged. “Well, they aren’t old. I made them last weekend. It feels longer. They’re better than store-bought waffles and they freeze well enough. Geoff eats so many, I make large batches, then freeze them. That way I’m not making them daily.” Ivy looked to Geoff for confirmation. “Are they okay?” Heath handed her, her coffee. “Great as always.” Geoff busied himself smearing more jam over his second helping. “I didn’t see any syrup. Before I could ask, he took jam from the frid
“Dad? Are you ready to help me get ready?” Geoff poked his head into the bathroom while Heath prepared to shave. “I just need to shave, and I’ll be with you. Come in.” His dad said. He smiled at him before he rubbed an electric razor over his face. “Dad, you do that every day.” Geoff asked. Geoff’s look of wonder and horror amused his father. His mom didn’t do that. Was it a guy thing? Geoff didn’t know about it. “Yes, and when you’re older, you will, too. It’s part of being a man.” His dad found his question entertaining and patted his head. “Do I have to?” Geoff was uncertain about the daily commitment. It gave the impression of being both painful and time-consuming. Like making his bed or tiding up his room. “If you don’t then you’ll grow a moustache and beard. You’ll need to wash them and keep them trimmed neatly.” His eyes widened at his dad’s explanation. Geoff never considered growing facial hair. He didn’t know anyo
Kathy couldn’t believe her luck. She’d been scrambling for a way to fix things or recover from her latest complication in her life. Two of her larger orders fell through, and she wouldn’t be able to make her rent for the next month. Kathy would have to give her two-month notice in and find another place to live. Something she wasn’t looking forward to. There wasn’t any way she could ask for more money for Geoff’s care. She couldn’t use Ivy’s guest room, either. The apartment was too small for everyone and her business setup. They went downstairs and piled into a large car with a driver. Kathy thought it was an Uber, but she soon realized there was another car following them. When she looked at Ivy for answers, Ivy didn’t need Kathy to say a word before she explained. “It’s a security service. Bodyguards are in the car ahead and behind. A few will follow us the entire day and mind the cars. It’s all part of the reason Heath didn’t want me taking public transit
Ivy turned as she left the vehicle to reach for her bag. Heath climbed from the car with the bag in his hands. Their heads almost collided with each other. “I need to…” Her words stopped when their heads narrowly missed each other. “It’s okay. I’ve got the bag. What have you got in this? Fort Knox and the kitchen sink?” Heath said as he pulled the heavy bag out of the vehicle.“I am prepared for whatever comes my way. We’d have short outings because of sunburns, rashes, or blisters.” Ivy glared at him and took the bag from Heath. That bag was her sanity in a sea of uncertainty. He didn’t understand yet. But he would soon enough. Ivy knew outings like this were tactical nightmares that were paved with random disasters. Any potential accident or incident could ruin the day, ending the day. “That thing needs wheels. It’ll ruin your back. Let me carry it. It’s too heavy for you to carry without aggravating your leg.” Heath looked concerned as his eyes w
Ivy didn’t see Parker anywhere. She’d forgotten Heath’s comment about Parker’s different appearance. Wasn’t he working here to organize their entrance and schedule today’s events? What family gathering scheduled events? Kathy wasn’t helpful either. She’d never seen Parker. However, Jones had gone ahead. Ivy would have walked past Parker otherwise. Gone was the professional Parker. Standing there talking to Jones was Parker. With midnight blue hair, hand-painted leather black moto-jacket, and motorcycle boots. He looked like a punk with a chain attaching his wallet to his belt. “Wait, his hair. When did he get an earring?” Heath set Geoff down laughing at Ivy’s confusion, and Kathy’s curiosity in the slim man before them.“I don’t force him to dress professionally at work. He gets a laugh out of how his appearance changes other people’s opinions of his competence. He insists on wearing a wig at work and removes his jewellery w