Turning to face her, Corbin dropped his hand. “Lead the way.”
“We’re going just inside,” Ivey explained to Justin. “You’ll be all right for a few minutes?”
In a mumble, he protested, “I’m not a baby.”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t even consider allowing a baby to take Daisy.”
Good answer, Corbin thought, impressed with how quickly Ivey had replied.
Nose wrinkling, Justin looked up to ask, “Is her name really Daisy?”
His disgust made Corbin grin. “You don’t like it?”
Flashing a guilty look at Ivey, he said, “Not really.”
“What would you name her?” Ivey asked.
“Something cool.” His mouth twisted to the side while he considered options. “If she was a guy dog, I’d name her Freddy, like Freddy Krueger.”
Corbin stalled.
Ivey, bless her, merely laughed as she walked back toward Justin. “You know that movie?”
“I’ve seen every horror movie there is.”
“You have, huh?” Sitting down on the grass with him, she asked, “Alien?”
“All the Alien movies. I liked Alien vs. Predator best, though.”
“Oh, that’s my fave as well. I love that they combined two awesome franchises.”
More engaged than Corbin had ever seen him, Justin sat up a little straighter. “Since she’s a girl, I couldn’t name her Freddy, but I could have named her Ripley.”
“Ripley is amazing, right?” Now Ivey wrinkled her nose. “I wish they hadn’t killed her off. I was really bummed about that.”
“Yeah, me, too. They could bring her back though...or is she too old now?”
“Sigourney Weaver? Pfft. She could still pull it off.”
Corbin felt like an outsider. He didn’t mind, since Justin was so engaged. But seriously, Ivey liked horror movies? He was more an action flick–type guy. He knew Justin was into them, it was one of the things his mother had explained right off.
Stick him in front of the TV with a horror channel and he won’t bother you.
So far, Corbin and Justin had kept busy with other activities. Never, ever, would he let Justin think he was a bother.
His brother, Lang, got into the whole horror genre, but for some reason, it surprised him that Ivey did, too.
Justin screwed up his face in deep thought. “There aren’t as many girls in horror.”
“What about Alice from Resident Evil?”
Justin shook his head. “I know a girl named Alice and she’s not nice.”
“Hmm. I can see how that wouldn’t work then.”
He considered things. “Hey, I know! What about Laurie Strode from Halloween?”
Ivey’s chin tucked in. “You’ve seen the Halloween movies?”
“’Course. And all the Friday the 13th movies. Jason X was the best cuz it was funny, too.”
“Oh, um...” She cast a helpless look at Corbin. “You approved that?”
Now that he’d been included, Corbin stepped closer. “I knew he was a fan, yeah.” He ruffled Justin’s hair. “Your Uncle Lang will be thrilled.”
“He likes scary movies?”
“The scarier, the better.”
“Me, too!” Leaning closer to Ivey, Justin confided, “The Texas Chainsaw movies creeped me out. They were kind of gross.”
Her brows went even higher. “Yes, they were.”
“But I liked Army of Darkness. Ash is awesome.”
In a deepened voice, Ivey said, “This is my boomstick!”
“Ha!” Laughing, Justin rocked the little dog. Her tail waved and she settled against him. Mimicking Ivey’s tone, Justin said, “Come get some.”
“Good one!” Ivey grinned.
On the outside again, Corbin smiled at their antics, but didn’t understand any of it.
“Tell you what.” Ivey reached a hand up to Corbin, and he obligingly helped her stand. Dusting off her backside, she said to Justin, “You can rename Daisy anything you want. She’ll be your dog, and she’s smart enough to adapt.”
He put his cheek to the dog’s head. “You don’t think she’ll mind?” The dog licked his face.
Wearing a soft expression, Ivey shook her head. “I think she’ll love that you love her, period. Now, I do need to have that talk with your dad, so sit tight and we’ll be right back.”
Grabbing his hand again, Ivey towed him into the clinic, closed the door and collapsed back against the wall with dramatic effect. “He’s seen all the Friday the 13th and Halloween movies!”
Corbin discovered that he liked her theatrics, too. She nearly wailed those movies in accusation, but why? With a shrug, he said, “Sounds like he’s seen every horror movie there is.” So that she wouldn’t blame him for that, he added, “I wouldn’t have thought explicit horror was okay for a kid his age, but apparently his mom disagreed.” Overall, he assumed Darcie had done everything she could to keep Justin out of her way. Corbin knew he would be very, very different.
Ivey leveled a frown at him. “My guess is his mother didn’t care.”
“Yeah, unfortunately that seems true.” The muscles in his neck tightened. “From what I saw, Darcie had an issue with drugs. She seemed high when I got him from her, and she made it clear she resented him.”
Ivey touched her mouth. “In front of him?”
“Yes, and that kills me. I should have been there all along, but I didn’t even know about him.”
“How exactly did that happen?”
“I dated Darcie a few times when I was seventeen, nothing even close to serious, then suddenly she moved away. I barely noticed. At seventeen, I was busy setting up college, helping my mom around the house, gaining my independence and all that.” The excuses didn’t sit well now, especially when he thought of Justin as a baby. “Out of the blue, Darcie contacted my mother and said it was critical that she get hold of me. Mom was traveling, but arrangements were made, we met at a park...and she had Justin with her.”
“That must have been a shock.”
“Not at first. I just assumed she was married and had a family. But right there in front of him, she said I was his dad and it was time for me to step up.” His muscles coiled, his stomach cramping. “God, that poor kid just stood there, stiff-necked and fighting tears.” He turned away again, knowing he’d see that awful scene, that he’d feel Justin’s pain for the rest of his life.