“Men are such strange creatures.” Bridget bent forward to see Delaney. “Didn’t happen to bring any candy, did you?”

Delaney shook her head. “Not this time.”

“Worth a shot.” Bridget straightened.

Delaney lifted her chin toward the clearing. “Did someone come out here today and flatten this all down?”

“No,” Bridget answered. “But Nick Hardwin came out and did the chalk circle.”

Delaney looked around. “Where is Nick? I thought he’d be here.”

Sam finally joined them, standing a few steps away on Bridget’s side. “Hey, Ivy. Hi, Bridget.”

Bridget smiled. “Hi, Sam.”

Ivy introduced Delaney, then answered her question about Nick by pointing skyward. “He’s patrolling. Making sure Eric doesn’t have any backup we don’t know about or that Hank doesn’t get ambushed in some way.”

Delaney glanced up. “Cool. I’m always amazed that a creature made of stone even exists, but add to that his ability to fly and it’s just plain impressive.”

“Agreed.” And Ivy felt better knowing they had that much extra coverage in case something did happen. There was no way Eric would get away with Charlie. Didn’t mean she was looking forward to the challenge, though. She glanced at Bridget. “Have there been a lot of challenges out here?”

“No, this is the first one in years. But the pack members do use this area for sparring sometimes.”

Ivy found some peace in that. Hank had the home field advantage. That was something, right?

“Look,” Delaney whispered as she pointed toward the center of the clearing. “That’s Sebastian, my husband’s cranky older brother.”

He was a sternly handsome man. A real Mr. Darcy. “Why is he cranky?” Ivy asked.

“Wife troubles. Ex-wife. Or something like that. Long story.”

Ivy nodded. Exes never made things easy. “I get the picture.”

Sam snorted like he understood.

If Sebastian was in the arena, the start of the challenge couldn’t be far behind. Ivy knew Hank was on the north side of the field, which meant Eric was probably on the south. She found him at the edge of the tree line. “I’ll be right back.”

Before anyone could stop her, she took off toward Eric. He watched her coming, smiling like he’d known she couldn’t stay away. “Come to beg me to spare your husband? Just turn the kid over and I won’t lay a hand on him.”

“Not why I’m here. I’ve come to give you a chance to walk away from all this. I know about my father paying you. For everything. Just leave and you might be able to maintain some dignity.”

Eric’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t know anything.”

“My husband’s the sheriff. Digging into your financial records wasn’t hard. I know about the gambling too. Seriously, this is your last chance to leave and put all this behind you. For once in your life, do what’s best for Charlie.”

“Ivy?”

She turned around. Hank was standing behind her and the eyes of the crowd were on them.

Hank looked at Eric. “She’s right. This is your last chance to end this peacefully.”

“Scared?” Eric asked.

Hank’s jaw tensed.

Sebastian’s voice rang out over the clearing. “Tonight we are here to witness the challenge between Hank Merrow and Eric Prescott.”

“Too late now.” Hank looked at Ivy. “I’ll see you when it’s over.” He looked at Eric. “When we’re taking Charlie home.”

Ivy nodded and walked back toward her brother and her friends, giving Hank’s hand a little squeeze as she went past him.

Sebastian raised his hand to quiet the small crowd that had gathered at the edges of the arena. He waited until Ivy had rejoined her group before doing anything further.

Then Sebastian pointed his hand toward Hank and Eric and beckoned them into the circle. The men walked to the center of the space, stopping a few feet away from each other. Sebastian held his hand out toward Eric. “Eric Prescott, you enter the ring as challenger. State your challenge.”

Eric kept his eyes on Hank. “I challenge in the name of my son, Charlie Kincaid, and I challenge you, Hank Merrow, for his final custody. I’d also like to know where Charlie is. He’s supposed to be here.”

Hugh Ellingham stepped forward. “He’s here. He’s asleep in a car at the head of the trail in. I can vouch for that.”

Sebastian looked at Eric. “Do you accept the word of the adjudicator?”

Eric hesitated. “I don’t know.”

Ivy’s blood boiled. She jabbed a finger toward him, even though he was at least twenty feet away. “Don’t you dare drag Charlie into this any more than you already have. He doesn’t need to see this.”

“Ivy,” Sam hissed. “Don’t.”

Bridget put her hand on Ivy’s arm like she thought Ivy might take off again and attack Eric this time. Which certainly felt like a good idea.

Eric frowned. “Fine. I accept the word of the adjudicator.” Then he pointed at Ivy. “He’d better be there.”

She glared at him, but held her tongue. Sam was right. Making Eric angrier wasn’t going to help Hank.

Sebastian turned to Hank. “Hank Merrow, you enter the ring as the challenged. Do you wish to add to this dispute?”

Hank nodded and spoke, his voice steady and determined. “I want this to be about Charlie Merrow’s final custody as well, but also, when I win, I want Eric Prescott to disappear from Charlie’s life permanently.”