Authors: Carter Ashby
“Good. Thank you, Ivy. Is he safe tonight? Down at the bunkhouse?”
“I fired the two who did it, but he’s sleeping upstairs in one of the guest rooms until he’s back on his feet.”
Cody’s gaze traveled past her towards the stairs. “Is he asleep?”
Ivy sighed. “I don’t know, Cody. I said goodnight to him a couple hours ago. He’s been hitting the pain pills pretty heavily.”
“Could I just, maybe, peek in? Check on him?”
“You don’t think that’s a little creepy? I mean, if the situation were reversed?”
He shrugged. “I guess. I just miss him.”
“I didn’t realize you had that much going on? I thought you were just hooking up.”
When he met her eyes, Ivy saw the same look that was in Jake’s eyes when he looked at her. The same emotion that was in her own heart. And she caved. “Fine.” She pushed the door wider. “Let me see if he’s awake, first.”
As it turned out, Jordan was awake after all. He’d slept a while and then awakened to take another pain pill. As it hadn’t kicked in just yet, he’d turned on the television to distract himself from the pain.
Cody waited as Ivy came back down the stairs.
“You can go up,” she said. “Second door to the left. He’s awake and willing to see you.”
Cody nodded and looked Ivy over one last time. She’d lost weight. She looked exhausted. He was sorry for his part in burdening her. It must be mentally exhausting to carry someone else’s secrets.
He went upstairs. Jordan’s door was cracked open, the blue light from the television flickering and casting shadows. Cody rapped gently with his knuckle before going in. Jordan lay still, staring at the television. It was hard to see the levels of bruising, but the swelling around his nose was obvious. “Hey,” Cody said, sitting hesitantly on the edge of the bed.
“What do you want?”
“I heard what happened and just had to see you. I’m so sorry.”
“You didn’t do it.”
Cody stared down at where his hand rested on the bed inches from Jordan’s. “When you care about someone, it feels like your fault if they get hurt. I don’t know what I could have done. Maybe been there to fight for you. I’m angry I can’t defend you. Avenge you.”
Jordan gingerly turned his head on the pillow, meeting Cody’s gaze. “You know, I can throw a punch. I didn’t just fall down and take it.”
Cody felt the beginnings of a smile working its way to the surface. “You don’t strike me as a fighter.”
“I’m not. But I’ve been in a few. I defended myself as long as I could. It was two-against-one, though. There’s only so much you can do.”
Cody nodded, returning his gaze to their hands. He reached up and enclosed Jordan’s with his own. Tension left his body when Jordan didn’t pull away. “You should have had someone by your side to make the numbers even.”
“We could maybe…be friends?”
Cody’s heart pounded and he wanted nothing more but to press it tightly against Jordan’s. “You’d be okay with that?” Cody asked.
“Of course. I’d love to be friends with you. But if you want some of this action,” he said, grabbing his crotch over his blankets, “you’ll have to take me on a real date.”
Cody laughed and leaned in to kiss Jordan on the cheek. “You’re so fucking cute.”
Jordan shifted to the side of the bed and patted the covers next to him. Cody lay down beside him, snaking his arm beneath Jordan’s neck, careful not to jostle him too much. Jordan rested his head in the crook of Cody’s shoulder, and they both fell asleep watching television.
Myra’s Blog
I try to keep my video blogs tongue-in-cheek and in keeping with a longstanding tradition of small town gossip, but today we have more serious matters to consider. For the official story, there’s a link below this video to the Fair Grove Times. If you haven’t heard the news, allow me to break it to you: Molly Allen was found dead in a creek bed not far from her house early this morning. According to her husband, Pastor Allen, she went missing two days ago. She’d told him she was going to visit friends, so he had no idea she was in danger.
Early reports say cause of death was strangulation.
I’m shocked. Simply shocked that something like this could happen in our little town. To throttle an upstanding young woman like Molly and leave her face-down in a creek…it’s too horrible to talk about. I hope you’ll all join me in praying for those closest to Molly, as well as for Molly’s soul.
Ivy had been a good patient and taken a day off, but she couldn’t bear the thought of sending her father out another day without a proper breakfast. She was up by five and in the kitchen before six, stirring together a vegetarian egg white omelet.
When Jared came in, dressed for work, he hovered at the edge of the kitchen. It was unlike him not to beeline for the coffee pot, so Ivy turned to face him.
“Um,” Jared said, clearing his throat. “It seems our friend Jordan had some company over last night?”
Ivy’s jaw dropped. She’d gone to bed before seeing Cody out. Surely he hadn’t spent the night. “Uh…um…yeah, a friend of his dropped by.” Perhaps Jared had only heard the voices, though that would have been unusual since he was such a hard sleeper.
“Honey, Cody Deathridge is upstairs in bed with him right this minute. The door was cracked open. He’s fully clothed and on top of the covers, but still, not exactly platonic behavior.”
“Dad, he’ll just die if he knows you found out. Please, please keep this a secret.”
Jared sank into a bar stool, stunned. “Jesus. Gideon’ll kill him. I have no doubts about that at all.”
“Which is why we have to keep this quiet.”
Jared frowned at her. “Of course I won’t tell anyone. I’d never out a man like that, especially not a son of Gideon’s. But I do intend to let Cody know that I know. I’m sure he could use another supporter.”
Ivy turned back to the stove and flipped the burner off. She slid the omelette onto a plate and handed it to Jared. Movement on the floor above them had them both looking up. “I’ll go get him,” Ivy said.
She made it to Jordan’s room in time to stop Cody from climbing out the window. He had the screen out and one foot on the roof when she walked in. “My dad knows,” she said without prelude. “He wants to talk to you.”
“Shit,” Cody said, going pale. He returned the screen to the window, gave Jordan an apologetic look, and followed Ivy back downstairs. She took some comfort in the fact that she wouldn’t be the one getting the fatherly lecture. Still, she was a little sick to her stomach on Cody’s behalf.
“Are you hungry?” she asked Cody as they entered the kitchen.
If looks could be sarcastic, his definitely was. Ivy shrugged, hopped up on the counter, and watched as Cody stood at the end of the bar.
“Have a seat, son,” Jared said.
“I’d just hop right back up, sir.”
Jared smiled and pushed his empty plate away. “I’m sorry it’s come about like this. I was walking past Jordan’s room and the door was cracked. I peeked in just to make sure he was okay.”
Cody nodded. “It was stupid of me. I haven’t been sleeping much lately. Soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.”
“You’re welcome to stay over any time. That goes for Jake as well,” Jared said, with a pointed look at Ivy.
Her eyes flew wide and she shook her head frantically, glancing back and forth between Jared and Cody. Jared frowned.
“Jake?” Cody asked, turning to frown at Ivy.
Ivy laughed artificially. “Right? Why would you say that, Dad? That’s so weird.”
Jared narrowed his eyes at her. He turned back to Cody. “When do you intend to come out to your family?”
Cody’s attention snapped away from Ivy. “Never. God, never. I can’t even…there’s just no way…”
“Son, you’re too old to be living under your father’s thumb.”
Cody laughed. “There’s such a thing as too old for that?”
“I see the way he treats you boys. Kept you home all your lives, homeschooling you so he could have your help on the ranch—”
“My dad believes in family, sir. Family’s the strongest bond you can have. Nothing wrong with that.”
Ivy watched in wonderment as Cody snapped to attention and practically recited the Gideon code.
“Nothing wrong with that,” Jared repeated. “But as a parent, you’ve got to understand that your children are individuals, that they might one day want to go their own way.”
“Ranching’s my life, sir. I’m happy to live and die on that land.”
More recitation. Programmed words. Programmed behavior. Jared and Ivy shared a knowing look. They both understood that whatever Cody’s beliefs about himself and his life, they weren’t going to get past the fortress that Gideon had built around his mind. Not today, anyway. Seeing Cody like that made Ivy profoundly grateful for her parents. Both her mother and father had always treated her with respect. Treated her as an individual with the right to become whoever she needed to become.
Jared turned back to Cody. “That’s good. That’s fine. You still ought to be able to be yourself, though. Hiding a thing like you’re hiding…that ain’t healthy.”
“I’m not gay. I just have a problem. I’m working on it, I swear, please don’t tell Gideon—”
“Cody, calm down. I’m not going to tell him. I just want you to know, if you need some support, I’ll be happy to help. If you decide to tell him yourself.”
Cody’s shoulders relaxed. “Thank you. That’s kind. But there’s no reason for me to ever tell him. I’ve got this under control.”
“It’s not a drug addiction, son. It’s who you are.”
“That’s not what the Bible says.”
Jared laughed in frustration. He shook his head and stood to shake Cody’s hand. “You’re right. That’s not what the Bible says. Just let me know if I can be of any help.”
“Thank you, sir.”
With that, Jared left out the back door to get to work.
“I’ll get out of your hair, Ivy,” Cody said. “I’m sorry for falling asleep like that.”
“It’s not a—”
Her phone dinged on the counter next to her. It was a text from Boone.
Go to Myra’s blog. Now.
Ivy frowned. It was unlike Boone to text her at all without it being about Molly, let alone give her a straight order like that. She picked up her phone and navigated to Myra’s blog.
“Ivy, what’s wrong?” Cody asked. His voice was distant as she listened to Myra’s voice. Somehow, Cody was at her side. He reached over and scrubbed the video backwards so he could watch.
After it was over, Ivy said, “This isn’t true, right? Myra’s a gossip. This is just gossip.”
Cody took the phone and clicked the link to the actual news story. He held the phone out so they could both read.
“My God,” Cody muttered.
Ivy gripped the countertop and poured all her focus into trying not to vomit. She sucked in a breath, and then the room wobbled. Cody wrapped his arms around her. She rested against his chest, laying her head on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry for your loss,” he said.
“She was murdered.”
“I’m so sorry.”
It had happened the night she’d been hit on the head. Oh, God, how close had she come to getting killed? It seemed selfish to be feeling both fear and relief when her friend was dead.
She pushed Cody away gently and dashed the tears from her eyes. “Um…you need to get home, right?”
Cody glanced at the time on her phone. “Shit,” he said, handing it back to her. It was nearly seven, well into the work day for the Deathridges. Ivy walked him out the door. Just before reaching the porch steps, he turned to hug her. “Thank you for everything. And again, I’m really sorry.”
Ivy might have answered him if she hadn’t found herself staring at Myra Tidwell’s iPhone, raised in full video-recording posture with Myra smiling wickedly behind it.
“I’ve gotta get a guard dog,” Ivy muttered.
Cody turned. “Jesus Christ, Myra, don’t you ever give it a rest?”
Myra clucked her tongue and put her phone away. “Such language, young man. Ivy, dear, I’ve been out gathering statements on the Molly Allen situation. I wanted to get one from you, but this is even better. It will give us all something distracting to cheer us up after this senseless tragedy.” She pulled a notepad and pen from her quilted handbag. “Now, where were you the night Molly was killed?”
“Myra, you’re not the police,” Cody said. “And nothing happened here between Ivy and me. If you insist on posting that damned video, would you at least include that statement?”
“Of course, dear. Ivy? Anything to say concerning your relationship with Cody?”
“There is no relationship,” Ivy replied numbly.
“Then what was he doing in your house, hugging you goodbye and whispering sweet nothings in your ear?”
“He wasn’t…” She trailed off when she realized that, for Cody, gossip about his sleeping with Ivy would go over way better than the truth. “Can you just not post it, please? It’s nobody’s business.”
Myra pressed her lips together and lifted her notepad once again. “What do you have to say about Molly’s death.”
“Nothing. I have nothing to say. I just got the news a couple of minutes ago and now you’re hounding me. Why can’t you leave me alone?”
“So touchy. That’s very unbecoming in a young lady, you know. Oh, well.” She tucked the paper and pen back in her bag and turned to walk to her little, orange bug. “You know how it is, Ivy. If you don’t give me something to talk about, I’ll simply make something up.” She winked, got in her car, and drove away.
She was going to post that video. Jake would see it. Just another nail in her coffin. “I hate my life.”
Cody was pacing, his hands in his hair. “So, worst case, people think you and me are together. That’ll get me in trouble with Gideon, but he’ll believe me when I tell him it’s all a lie. What about you? How will this hurt you?”
She looked up at him, suddenly thinking she might could use another day in bed. Jake thought she was the whore of all whores. Her only close girlfriend was dead. A murderer might know who she was. “I’ll be fine. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”