Reuniting with the Rancher (Silver Creek Ranch)

11. Quite the Team

11

QUITE THE TEAM

GREYSON

“Oh, my god you two are having sex.”

Their third session that week with the therapist did not go as well as previous sessions. In the time they’d learned the truth, or at least part of it, their three times a week therapy sessions centered on navigating their feelings and breaking the news to Ivy. It was good. Productive. He was hopeful about their future.

Then last night at the bar happened and now, this morning’s session was a fucking disaster with his mother.

Ivy was coming home early because of a measles outbreak at her school, which meant he had to fly his mother out this morning, have her sign Lily’s NDA and start the confrontation now. Ivy was set to arrive later that evening. The slow, intentional build up was now a massive diarrhea slide.

And his mother had somehow sniffed out the one thing they hadn’t disclosed to the therapist.

“Is this true, Grey? Lily?” Dr. Riley asked the two of them, his eyebrows raised.

“Not anymore,” Lily replied.

“Oh my god, no wonder he had to raise Ivy alone. She’s inconsistent!”

“Mom. Enough.” Grey glared at her. He loved his mother, but he was still processing what she did and what it meant for all of them. “Lily and I started a relationship shortly after she arrived at Crystal Fountain.”

“Doesn’t waste any time, does she?”

“You’ve got one more time to say something disrespectful about the mother of my child after what you put her through. This is about Ivy first, Lily and my relationship second, and finding a way forward for you, Ivy and I, Mom. But I swear on everything, you have got to stop this!”

“I’m sorry, a way forward?” Lily sputtered. “With what? An arrest? Medication? In person treatment? I don’t want this woman anywhere near Ivy for the rest of her childhood. If she decides as an adult to engage, I’ll have to respect her decision, but my child is not safe around her!”

“I raised your child while you were off gallivanting, gyrating, and being coked up as ‘LaLa Fair.’ Now that you’ve been humbled,” Mrs. Monroe glanced at Lily’s cane, “NOW you want to be a mother.”

“YOU TOLD ME MY CHILD WAS DEAD! You gave me ashes that I have worn for a decade! Buried my mother, my sister with because what? I wanted to have an at home birth? Grey fell in love with me? This is, clinically, nuts and I can’t do it,” she said, her voice growing hoarse. “YOU manipulated me into signing papers, relieving me of my rights, telling me they were discharge papers. YOU told me Greyson blamed me for our child dying and didn’t want to see me again. YOU continue to lie and manipulate to this day. I do not want you in Ivy’s life. This is a hard boundary. I want my rights back, shared custody, and I want to know who the hell is buried with my mother?!”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. It’s Greyson’s father Douglas. He’d be thrilled to be buried with a Black woman Greyson takes after him.”

Well, that took a hard left into what the fuck.

“Mrs. Monroe,” Dr. Riley interrupted, “if you have any hope of continuing a relationship with your son and maybe your granddaughter, there are some difficult things you must confront. Dr. Belmont wants answers to reasonable questions.”

“ Doctor Belmont was practically a teen, starting a family on childish whims like her sister. Ivy suffered for those decisions. She was a poor, sick little thing and Greyson he was beside himself. He had a bright future ahead of him and my little boy was now saddled with a sick baby and a fiancé who couldn’t properly care for her. Their breakup was bound to happen. I was being a good mom, saving my son the heartache and legal issues in the future. I always wanted a little girl, and I was happy to step in and help Greyson raise her. We are quite a team.”

His mother tucked her graying hair behind her ear, satisfied that she’d given a perfectly normal answer.

“Yep. That’ll do it,” Lily said, leaving without looking back.

LILY

She paced back and forth in the living room, her heart racing as she cracked her knuckles. The air was on full blast, but she was sweating like she was Grey’s daddy at Essence Fest.

She snorted. So inappropriate. She hadn’t removed her ring. It felt disrespectful to not do something positive with it.

“What if she hates me?” she blurted out, touching her hand to her hair. “I think I should have rewashed my hair. Day three wash and go can be tricky…”

Caleb sat on the couch playing a video game and paused it to raise an eyebrow. “You’ve only just met, and you’re already worrying about that?”

“What if she thinks I’m ugly? What if she changed her mind about wanting to see me?” Lily’s voice climbed an octave with each question. “What if she hates my music? I mean, she’s probably only heard the songs as LaLa Fair. What if she doesn’t even like Lily?”

Caleb chuckled, “That’s a lot of ‘what ifs’ for one minute. You sound like you’re about to crash out.”

“Is she going to call me ‘Mom’ or just ‘Lily’? What if she calls me ‘Lils’? I hate when people shorten my name! Should I pretend to like it?” Lily pressed a hand to her forehead, her mind spinning. “I mean, I’m wearing purple, her favorite color. What if she thinks I’m trying too hard? Who am I to have a kid? I barely remember when it’s time to eat!”

Caleb laughed, leaning back in his seat. “Tell me about it! But you have your alarms now. You’re good Auntie.”

Lily pulled out her phone, ready to set a dozen more alarms when Greyson stepped into the room, concern etched across his face. He approached her and gently took the phone from her hands. “Hey, let’s take a breath first, okay?”

“But what if?—”

“No ‘what ifs.’ Just focus on the moment. Ivy is excited to meet you, I promise,” Greyson reassured her, his voice calming and steady. No matter what their relationship was, she trusted him in that moment.

Caleb jumped up, pretending to act like a personal hype man. “You’ve got this, Auntie! Just remember, she’s just a kid! And if she hates you, I’ll just bribe her with video games and snacks.”

Lily couldn’t help but laugh, the tension easing a little. “You think that’ll work?”

Caleb grinned mischievously. “Absolutely! You’ll have a new best friend in no time.”

With a deep breath, Lily nodded. The door opened, and Ivy stepped inside, her dark eyes bright with curiosity and a brief hesitation. Lily’s breath hitched in her throat.

She was even more beautiful in person . And tall! Already past Lily’s shoulders. Her long braids were pulled back, and she wore a jumbo hoodie and leggings, making her look like any other preteen. However, she was not any other preteen. Ivy was her baby.

Ivy slipped off her shoes, looked at Greyson, who nodded encouragingly.

“Hi, Ivy,” Lily managed to say, her voice trembling with a mix of excitement and fear.

Ivy tilted her head, studying her mother with wide eyes, and then broke into a smile. “You’re wearing purple! That’s my favorite color!”

Lily’s heart soared at the recognition, and she found herself smiling back. “I wanted you to know I was thinking of you.”

Ivy’s grin widened, and in that moment, all of Lily’s worries melted away. “I like your hair too. It eats.” Ivy nodded approvingly.

Lily laughed. “Thank you. I like it better than the blonde.”

Ivy nodded. “This is more, you. The other look is like an avatar.”

Lily grinned even bigger. “Exactly. LaLa is my avatar!”

They all laughed for a moment and as it petered out, Lily grew nervous. She didn’t know what to do with her hands and she didn’t want to move too soon.

“Hey Ivy, I’m your cousin Caleb,” he said as he opened his arms for a hug and she immediately allowed him to fold her in. For the first time in her life, Lily was jealous of her nephew.

“I’m the reigning Tetris king and I can show you all the ways to beat Auntie Lily.”

Ivy laughed, her eyes settling back on her. “Could I maybe, hug you?”

“Oh God, yes please,” Lily said immediately, and was rewarded with the sweetest hug she’d ever experienced. They stood like that for long moments, Lily absorbing Ivy’s warmth, her presence, her very essence into her soul. Before she knew it, she’d soaked Ivy in her tears. “My sweet baby, I missed you for so long.”

Ivy squeezed her tighter. “I missed you too–Mom.”

Somewhere, beneath the ashes of the life torn from her, Lily felt something new bloom. And she would protect this new blossom with everything she had in her.

“ All the letters I never wrote,” Lily whispered as she took Ivy’s face in her hands, wiping the tears that streamed down her sweet girl’s face. “Tattooed in my heart for you. All the heartbeats I ever felt. Anchored me to you.”

“I’m anchored, safe somewhere with you,” Ivy whispered back. “Somewhere in my dreams, I’m anchored to you.”