Finding Love in Ivy Falls

Chapter Twenty-Eight

MANNY

One Of Their Own

When Torran blew through the door, her temper was already a three-alarm blaze.

‘You knew that Mrs Vanderpool offered Billy a place to live, helped him get a job with Silvio, and you didn’t say a damn word?’

Two of our flooring crew, who were working in the family room to the right of the main entry, flicked their gazes in our direction. I cinched my work belt and walked to the stairs. The shell of the wood frame stared back at me. I’d rather have spent the next five hours yanking out remainder nails than have to answer her.

‘I already told you I didn’t know. Tess came over after I brought Lou home from school, and she told me then.’

My phone kept buzzing in my pocket. I glanced at the screen. Damn social media alerts again. I muted the notifications and shoved the menacing device into my back pocket.

‘Why was Tess there last night anyway?’ She propped her hands onto her hips. Tapped her boot in irritation. ‘She was supposed to be having dinner with my dad and the girls.’

I willed myself not to act guilty. Look like I had anything to hide. ‘When I got to the P&P last night, I heard a steady drip of water and found a leak in the ceiling.’

I left out the part about me stupidly scaling the roof. If I thought I’d gotten an earful from Ferris, Torran would be ten times worse.

‘Wait,’ she squeaked. ‘A leak? How bad was it? Did it do any damage? Tessa didn’t say a word about it to me.’

I gave her a weighted stare.

‘Okay, fine. I was a little teed off when I was at the store, but still…’

‘It’s fine, Tor,’ I said, cutting her off. ‘Ferris and some of his crew already fixed the problem earlier today.’ The tension eased in her jaw. ‘Last night I tried to save as much stock as possible, but I knew I had to tell Tess. I called her, and we worked on cleaning up the store.’

I grabbed a hammer from my belt and started to pull nails from the bottom step.

‘So you two were rushing around grabbing books and you heard Billy’s crash?’

‘Something like that,’ I mumbled.

My shoulder edged back as I yanked one of the first nails from the bottom step. Torran darted forward, gripped the collar of my white T-shirt and tugged it back.

‘Manny!’ she gasped. ‘Is that a hickey on your neck?’

I slapped a hand over the spot Tess seemed to love last night.

‘No.’ I definitely sounded guilty. ‘It’s just a bruise. Caught my neck on an open cabinet.’

‘Liar! Did my sister give that to you?’

She laughed and did a little dance, which earned us another stare from the flooring crew. I grabbed a strap on her paint-splattered overalls and dragged her into the living room.

‘It happened. Finally!’ She did another odd dance that was a weird combination of the Macarena and the Electric Slide. ‘That little stinker Tess didn’t say a word to me.’

‘Why would she? This has nothing to do with you.’

She sobered at the serious tone in my voice. ‘Fine, I’ll mind my own business, but I’m not going to pretend that this doesn’t make me all kinds of happy. That you two being together means Billy has less of a reason to hang around.’

‘I wouldn’t count on that.’

She went deadly still. ‘What do you mean?’

‘He knows he’s got Tess in a pinch because of the girls. I think he’s going to milk that fact for everything it’s worth.’

‘Did you say that to her?’

‘I told her I was worried he might hurt her, but that’s all. It’s not my decision to make.’ I gave her a pointed look. ‘It’s not yours or your dad’s either.’

‘Yeah, she made that very clear at the P&P. But I don’t know if I can stand by and watch this freight train of a nightmare wreck her life again.’

‘How did Tess react when Beck came back to town? Did she warn you off? Or did she support you? Tell you to help him save his childhood home?’

‘God, I hate it when you make so much sense. Or worse, use an instance from my own life to prove me wrong.’

‘She gave you advice, but she didn’t meddle. You owe her the same.’

‘Doesn’t mean I have to like it. Or that I won’t be watching every move that bastard makes.’

‘You and everyone else in town. I think Billy is going to remember very quickly how people circle the wagons in Ivy Falls once one of their own gets hurt.’

The words made my heart clench. We’d only lived in Ivy Falls a year when we lost Gina. Word spread quietly through town. One by one, casseroles started appearing on my doorstep. Words of sympathy written on pretty cards left inside my mailbox. Kind and soft smiles landed on me at Minnie’s Market every time I went to buy milk or bread. It was a little overwhelming at first until I realized it meant that the people of Ivy Falls considered us family.

‘What about the crash? Do you buy his story?’ she asked.

‘No, but he passed a sobriety test, and we did find him holding Baby.’

‘Mrs Vanderpool, what the hell was she thinking?’ she muttered until my phone vibrated again.

I tore it from my pocket and read the text from Susan saying she’d taken Lou back to my house. After reminding her that screens were off-limits, I put the phone away.

‘How’s Lou doing?’ Torran said, catching Susan’s name on the screen.

‘She got suspended for a day. I grounded her for a while, but at least she’s talking to me.’

‘And…’ She waited. Drummed her fingers against her hip bones. Whenever the subject was Lou, Torran had a seriously invested interest in the little girl she adored so much.

I explained what Brittany had told Lou. How Lou, in turn, fought back.

A glint of pride tinged Torran’s face.

‘Physical contact is not okay, Tor. She has to learn that people are going to be mean, and she has to ignore it.’

‘It’ll all blow over,’ Torran said.

‘Will it? If we sign another contract, won’t things get worse?’

Torran pursed her lips. ‘What are you saying, Manny?’

‘The constant streams of comments on social media. Lauren’s insistence that the network wants more of what little time I actually have.’ I pulled my hat off and scrubbed at my hair. ‘I’m not sure that continuing with the show is a good thing for me.’

‘No… I can’t do it without you,’ she insisted. ‘Look what happened the first time we tried to do a show. I totally ruined things. You need to be around to be the sound, rational voice. To keep me from knocking into another ladder and getting a head full of green paint.’ Her voice came out in jagged spurts, and I had to grab her arms, force her to take deep breaths.

‘All the attention. It’s too much. There’s only been one season, and you and Beck are already putting a fence up around your damn house. Women ogle me on the street. Say inappropriate things in front of my young daughter. When I showed Tess all the posts online, she found a picture of Lou the night of the fall festival that some stranger shared. It scared the hell out of me, Tor. None of this is good for Lou. You know it.’

She took a thick gulp. ‘What if we kept you off camera as much as possible next season? Drew a line in the sand over the social media issue. Would you still stay on?’

‘It’s going to take some thought and time. Lou has to always be my first priority. She means more to me than anything else in this world.’

‘Lou means the world to me too.’ Her voice went soft. ‘I’ll do whatever I can to protect her, and you , even if it means stopping the show forever.’

‘No,’ I bit out. ‘You can’t do that. Ivy Falls has too many houses that need saving. And we need to keep interest up in tourism.’ I patted her shoulder. Gave a weak smile. ‘You are the show, Tor. It can move on with you alone.’

A roaring storm of worry built behind her eyes.

‘We’ve always been a team, Manny. If that can’t continue, then we both walk away.’

I wasn’t going to argue with her now. It was too hard to reach her when she was this worked up, but the truth was she’d come into her own on camera. She radiated pride as she spoke about her vision for a house. How the subtle choices we’d made, like using green lumber, installing energy-efficient appliances and windows, incorporating low-flow plumbing fixtures, would keep the property thriving for another century.

She wouldn’t admit it, but she knew if her star was going to keep rising, she had to continue on with the show, even if it meant doing it without me.