Without A Trace

Ten.

Back at the house everything went on without a hitch. The boys were in the back doing their usual business with the bets on the races and the girls and I took Pippin on a walk through the garden and let her pick some flowers for a boquet.

Back inside Michael knocks on the door of Tommys office. Tommy looks up at him taking his glasses off, "What is it Michael," He asks with a sigh.

Michael enters the room and closes the door behind him before sitting in one of the chairs, "The girls want to go on a holiday tomorrow after the meeting for a few days," he says lightning a cigarette.

"A fuckin holiday? For what? We have too much shit to do around here to go on a bloody holiday," He says taking a drink from his glass.

"They're insisting Thomas. Polly will be here to hold down the fort along with Aurthur and John," he says looking at his brother.

"Thats a fuckin relief," Tommy says rolling his eyes. "We're not going. Cora should fucking know we don't do holidays. Never have. You and Lewis fuckin go but I'm not," he says scribbling on some paper.

"You want to fix what happened the other night then you should think about going Thomas. You're wife has one foot out the bloody door and you wont even go on a holiday with her to fix your guy's shit?" He says staring ice into Tommy. "See thats the difference between me, Lewis and you. We would do fuckin anything for our wives, you however get bothered by the smallest fuckin inconvenience to you," Michael says getting up shaking his head.

Tommy gets up and slams him against the door getting in Michaels face, "Dont you fuckin tell me what I would and wouldn't do for my fuckin wife."

"Actions speak louder than words mate, you fuckin tell her you aren't going," Michael says shoving Tommy off of him before walking out slamming the door behind him.

Thomas lights a cigarette and takes a puff blowing out the smoke before turning back around to look at the door, "Fuck him," Tommy says sitting back down pinching the bridge of his nose.

Ivy notices in the kitchen Michael coming in her direction. She leans against the counter with her drink in her hand, "Did you speak with him?" She asks.

"As much as I could. Hes a fuckin prick Ivy," Michael says glancing in the corner noticing me walk into the room.

"Who?" I ask confused.

"Thomas. He didn't take the holiday news very well," Ivy says putting a cigarette in her mouth, "Well you know what we always say Cora."

I smile grabbing a drink before walking towards the hallway with Ivy.

"And what is that?" Michael asks incredibly confused.

Ivy stops and turns to look at her husband, "Never send a man to do a womans job," she says before walking down the hallway with me.

Ivy opens Thomas's door and I walk in reaching over his desk and hanging up the phone. He looks up at me angrily but Ivy cocks her gun and presses it to his temple.

"Thomas Shelby, you're going on a fuckin holiday," I say stacking his papers and throwing them in the rack behind his desk. "Whether you fuckin like it or not you're fuckin going. Theres no option, either you go willingly or we put you to sleep and kidnap you to go. If you think we're fuckin scared of you we're not. Your big boss shit doesnt work on me."

He looks up at Ivy and then back in my direction, "Is that an order?" He says staring his ice blue eyes into mine.

"Yes. It is a fuckin order. By order of the Peaky Blinders Thomas Shelby," I say before throwing the rack at him and walking out of the office with Ivy.

We walk out and shove past Michael, "Well that was bloody quick," he says looking at Ivy.

"I didn't stutter what I said earlier now did I?" She says before walking back outside to Pippin.

The sun was surprisingly out that afternoon and it was nice and warm outside. Pip was playing in the grass soaking up the rays with her beautiful tan skin. Ivy went and laid in the grass with her daughter, followed by Michael. Anna and I couldn't help but smile at this rare moment Michael got to be a family man and take a minute to spend with his wife and daughter. Theres no words to describe how much Pippin enjoyed every second of it.

"I cant wait for that to be you and Lewis," I smile looking at Anna. Anna laughs before taking a seat on the chair on the patio, "Yeah that'll be the day. Lewis has to be home more in order for that to happen. He doesn't let me come up to the races to spend time with him or even work with him. He says its 'too unsafe' for me to be there."

I furrow my brows looking at her, "He knows you are Anna Shelby right? Like, hes fully aware of that? You're just as cold cut as Thomas, if not a little more," I say raising my eyebrows before taking a sip from my drink.

Our attention gets turned to Pippin who is crying from a cut on her hand from the boquet of roses she picked earlier. Michael wraps her hand in a handkerchief and picks her up and rests her head in the crook of his neck swaying softly, gently stroking her hair and talking softly to his daughter.

Anna and I look at Ivy in utter shock as she makes her way over to us. She smiles widly and her eyes are so lit up, almost twinkling. She sits down and points over to him, "Thats the Michael I fell in love with."

Anna leans back shaking her head softly, "Well tie me up and call me a sow. Thats the first time I've ever seen that man be so gentle in my whole fuckin life."