Page 49 of Salvation (Rising From the Ashes #3)

Ivy

C ampbell falls asleep in my arms, and when I’m sure he’s finally resting, I slip off the bed and quietly walk to the living room. With my hands on my hips, I take the place in, studying Campbell’s home now that fear isn’t a noose around my neck, cutting off my oxygen.

Based on what I’ve seen so far, it’s smaller than the houses Campbell and I grew up in, but I love it nonetheless. The walls are painted in warm, inviting colors, and the furniture actually feels like it’s meant to be used. It is a home, not just a house.

With my curiosity sated, I chew on my lip as I come up with a plan for where to start. It’s not as bad as I initially thought. Things mostly just need to be picked up and put where they go.

With a plan in place, I get to work, grabbing all the clothes and putting them away in one of the guest rooms. Campbell can put them in his room later if he wants, but for now, I don’t want to wake him.

Even after he fell asleep, it was fitful for a while.

He tossed and turned like his soul couldn’t rest. When he wakes up, I’ll convince him to call his doctor again and ask about changing his medicine.

I’m almost done putting all the clothes away when my phone rings. Walking to the living room so I’m further away from Campbell’s room, I pull it from my pocket and sit down on the couch, not bothering to look at the name as I slide my thumb across the screen..

“Hello.”

“Ivy, dear. I’m so glad you answered.” Charles’s warm voice flows through the phone, and guilt eats at my insides.

He’s called several times since that day that Willow showed up at my doorstep, but I haven’t answered any of them.

I called him that day because I wanted a lawyer, but before he left, it felt more like I was getting family—and I’m terrified of family.

“Yeah,” I say, leaning forward and picking up the stuffed animal that’s lying on the coffee table. “I’m sorry I haven’t called you back. I’ve been working on this mural I was commissioned for, and uh—I’ve been getting to know my daughter.”

“Oh, Ivy. I’m so glad to hear that. So things worked out for you?”

My mind flicks to the confession I offered Campbell in his room and the way my relationship is slowly starting to grow with Willow. Despite what happened at the football game, we’ve been getting along well, working on the mural together.

“Yeah,” I say, absentmindedly stroking my thumb along the soft fur of the animal in my hands, wondering where Campbell would’ve gotten it from. “It is.”

“I’m happy for you, dear.” I can hear it in his voice that he means that. It’s not his way of controlling the narrative and protecting his reputation. He really does mean it.

“Thank you.”

“So, I was actually calling for a reason—and I hope you won’t think of me as too pushy—but I was wondering if I might be able to see you on Sunday.

I mentioned to you that I’m doing some estate work for a church there in Benton Falls, and I’m finally getting around to attending.

My whole family will be with me, and I would love it if you could meet them.

And it doesn’t have to be at church,” he says, quickly.

“It could be somewhere else. Lunch after. Coffee. Anything you feel comfortable with.” Charles’s voice is gentle and kind, a tone I never once heard coming from my grandfather, and it hits me that I’ve been punishing him—pushing him away because I am scared his kindness is a mask he hides behind like my grandfather used to be.

My grandfather never would have spent this much time pursuing a relationship with me.

“I would love to meet your family, Charles, but would it be okay if I get back to you about the location?”

“Sure, dear. That would be just fine. I’ll speak with you soon.”

He hangs up, and I stare at my phone, reflecting on all the ways my life has changed in such a short time.

“Ivy?” Campbell’s deep voice startles me, and I spin on the couch to look at him.

His shoulder is leaning against the wall at the end of the hall leading back to his bedroom, and he’s wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

He crosses his arms over his chest, causing the muscles in his forearms to bunch and drawing my attention.

I have to physically force myself to look away from them and up at his eyes.

When I finally do, I find him smirking at me and watching me with more life in his eyes than he had when I first got here.

“I’m glad you managed to find my eyes, sunshine. I was starting to worry you didn’t know where they were,” he says, a teasing lilt coloring his words.

I smirk, turning my back to him to sit back on the couch. “I knew where they were, Campbell. I just had better things to look at.”

Campbell lets out a surprised bark of laughter, and my skin pebbles with the sound.

I hear him move, but I stay where I am, facing forward with the stuffed animal still in my hand.

It doesn’t matter that I’m not looking at him; I can feel his presence like he’s part of me.

He stops behind the couch, wrapping my ponytail around his fist and gently tugging it until my chin is tilted to the ceiling and I’m looking up at him.

“Hmm, funny because your eyes are my favorite thing to look at.”

He leans down, pressing a kiss against my forehead, and heat blooms across my face. His lips linger, and by the time he pulls back, I’m smiling like an idiot—too happy with even the smallest bit of affection from this man.

Walking around the couch, he sits down beside me and pulls my legs into his lap. His head falls back on the cushion, and he rolls it toward me. “So,” he says, watching me, “I couldn’t help overhear you on the phone. How are things going with your uncle?”

I’d told Campbell everything about Charles the day he took me to see my painting under the willow tree, including how I was hesitant to have a relationship with him, and he hadn’t judged me for it.

If there is anyone who can understand my hesitation, it’s him.

After all, it was never just me who was hurt by my family. It was Campbell, too.

“He wants me to meet his family,” I say, chewing on my bottom lip.

“And how do you feel about that?” He asks, arching a brow.

I find his eyes, letting his gaze keep me steady.

“If he had asked me a couple of months ago, I would have said no. Actually, I did, but—” I stop, shaking my head.

“I think I want to now. I talked to your mom the other night. It made me realize that I’ve been keeping people at arm’s length, afraid of the ways they could hurt me, but that’s not how I want to live my life anymore.

Loving you and Willow is the best thing that has ever happened to me, but that’s only because I let you both in.

I think I might miss out on something good if I keep pushing him away. ”

I drop my gaze, picking a piece of fuzz off the stuffed animal in my hand, but a soft grip on my ankle causes me to look up.

“I’m proud of you, Ivy.” Campbell’s blue eyes sear into me, making me feel seen.

“Yeah,” I say, my lips tugging up into a soft smile. “I think I’m proud of me, too.”

Silence falls between us, but it isn’t uncomfortable. It’s the kind that falls between two people who are content to just be in each other’s presence. After a moment, though, my curiosity leads me to break it.

Holding up my hand, I ask, “Have you taken a liking to stuffed animals or something? Like, do you have a secret room full of them that I should know about?”

Campbell’s eyes fall to the soft fur of the animal and then back to me. “I bought it for Willow.”

“I mean, I’m not sure Willow seems like the kind of sixteen-year-old who’s into stuffed animals,” I say gently, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

He snorts and shakes his head. “Yeah, I don’t think she is. I didn’t mean I bought it now. I bought it sixteen years ago.”

“What?” I ask, standing up so quickly it makes me dizzy.

Campbell’s hand circles my wrist, pulling me back down to him, and when I’m sitting on the couch again, he leans in, touching his nose to mine.

“I bought it sixteen years ago,” he reiterates, his voice cracking. “Because I was always planning on being there, Ivy. I was always planning on loving you and our baby.”

I’ve spent years trying to convince myself that I hated Campbell, but I think the reason I was never able to is because a part of me always knew he would do the right thing—other people just got in the way of that.

An agonizing plea brightens his eyes, begging me to believe him, and I do. I always did.

Leaning forward, I press my nose against his and whisper. “I know, Campbell, and I was always planning on loving you, too.”

______________________

I’m standing outside of a church, staring at a set of wooden doors. My hands shake by my side, and my heart is beating so hard I’m afraid I might pass out. I spent days going back and forth about where I wanted to meet Charles and his family, and ultimately, that decision led me here.

A warm hand slides into mine, and I look over to find Campbell smiling down at me.

“I’ll be ready to go in a minute,” I say more confidently than I actually feel, but I should have known Campbell would know what I’m really thinking. He always knows.

With his free hand, he twists a curl around his finger and smiles. “I’m not rushing you, sunshine. We’ll go in when you’re ready, and if you decide today’s not the day you are ready, we’ll walk right back to my truck. I’ll open your door, and we’ll drive away. We’re on your time, okay?”

“Okay,” I agree. Campbell drops a quick kiss to my lips, and then I go back to staring at the door.

Another presence steps up beside me, and I turn my head to look at Willow, who has a disgusted look on her face. “You guys are sickeningly gross.”

Campbell cuts his hand across his throat and widens his eyes toward me, as if I can’t see him warning her that now is not the time for her jokes. Willow sighs and rolls her eyes.