Evans felt the vein in his temple throb. The conversation was going in circles. His jaw flexed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You're just like your mother," he muttered. "Throwing away your life and family for love!"
Ivy had inherited more than just her mother's beauty — the stubbornness, the fire, the recklessness. She stared straight at him. "Wouldn't you do the same thing for Irene?" she asked. "I saw the way you look at her."
For a moment, the mighty Evans Everest was silent. His lips parted, then pressed into a smirk, a reluctant glint of respect lighting his gaze. "Touché, my dear niece," he said with a quiet chuckle. "Touché. You win this round."
Trish, perched awkwardly at the foot of the bed, cleared her throat. "Um, can I come see her every day?"
Evans turned his head slowly toward her, and Trish immediately regretted opening her mouth. "No," he said simply.
"No as in… no, or no as in, let me bribe you?"
"No as in, I cannot risk Winn's tail on you finding Ivy."
