Chapter 14

IVY

Ivy,

Sorry we haven't been able to connect lately.  I am at a café writing you this morning, while you are probably sleeping. I've been busy at the University of Paris, in classes and labs, discussing and researching market trends and their effect on the economy (yawn), and even though I have met many great people, nothing distracts me enough from how much I miss you.

I'm counting the days until I return to Montana to see your pretty face again. And even though Europe is unique, it's nothing compared to being with you. I hate that you're staying in that big ranch without me, working all summer at the resort.

Is there at least anything exciting going on? Anything you want to tell me? I'll try to FaceTime you this weekend, but the time difference is screwing everything up.

I love you, B.

My bedroom was suddenly suffocating me. The only thing I could fixate on was his innocent question: Anything you want to tell me? And the longer I stared at it, the guiltier I felt. I still hadn't told him about Rhys at the ranch. Mainly because Rhys hadn't given me the okay, but mostly because I was worried if I told Blaine about Rhys, Rhys would retaliate and tell Blaine about my unresolved debt. I hated being in this situation.

I took a deep breath before slamming my laptop shut. I decided I wouldn't respond to Blaine's email just yet. He was probably busy anyway. Besides, Missy was going to be here any minute, and I wasn't even close to ready. I wanted to have a good night at Grayson's party, but I knew come Monday when I saw Rhys I planned to give him an ultimatum. He needed to tell Blaine he was living at the ranch.  And if he didn't, I would have to tell him. I couldn't hide his presence from Blaine any longer. His secret was weighing on me. I had never kept a secret from Blaine before and I hated being in this position, especially after reading his email.

A knock on my door caused my head to turn. Eddie was leaning in my doorway, arms crossed in front of his chest. "When's Missy going to be here?"

I shrugged, "Pretty soon. She said around nine."

Eddie stood and watched me as I clipped on a chunky gold necklace to accent my teal dress.

"I can drive you guys to Grayson's party. I decided to come along too."

"I thought you were working at the store tonight ..." I drawled, waiting for his response.

"Nah, I thought I should come to Grayson's. You know, to catch up with everyone. I told Mom I wouldn't be working tonight." Eddie paused and shifted in the doorway. "What are you wearing?" His nose wrinkled, and he scratched the back of his head, giving me a head-to-toe body scan.

"It's called a dress."

"Put something else on. It's too tight." Eddie scolded.

"I think she looks fabulous," Missy's voice perked up from behind Eddie. She stood in the doorway wearing a jean skirt and open-toed sandals.

He turned around with a stupid grin. "Jesus Missy! Don't you knock on the door before you walk into someone's house?"

Missy chuckled. "Hell, I'm practically family around here. I don't need to knock."

"Apparently," he stepped back and let her in. "Don't get too comfortable. I'm ready to go."

Missy paused and glanced over at me with a sly smile. "Oh, Eddie, haven't you ever heard of the term fashionably late?"

Eddie rolled his eyes. "I'll be waiting in the truck."

I spun around, holding a curling iron in my hand. "I still have to curl my hair."

"I've got enough Garth Brooks tracks on my playlist to help pass the time," Eddie winked at Missy and then nodded toward my closet. "I meant what I said, Ivy. Put something else on."

Missy laughed. "Loosen up, Eddie. Your baby sister is hot stuff. Deal with it."

He scowled. "I'll be in my truck."

"I'll wait with you," Missy replied, following him down the hallway.

I didn't look back to see them descending the stairs. I curled my last strand of hair and took a deep breath as I stared at my reflection. I was all dolled up and put together on the outside, but it was a different story on the inside. I was nervous as all hell and a jittery mess. I dreaded heading back to the ranch Monday morning to confront Rhys, but I knew I needed to clear my conscience.

Grayson's parents' home backed onto Hannah Lake. Growing up, he always had the best parties and bonfires on the beach. When we pulled up, trucks were lined up on the grass, and the scent of beer and bonfire filled my nose. Eddie closed his door, walked around the front end of his truck and opened the passenger door for Missy.

"Thank you, Eddie," she smiled, stepping onto the dewy grass.

Eddie winked. "The pleasure is all mine."

I linked arms with Missy and followed Eddie onto the front porch. When we stepped inside, the lights were dim, and beer bottles littered the kitchen countertops. People were clustered all over the house. Eddie weaved us through a crowd, passing out hellos to every other person he saw. Music blasted from the stereo, and a bunch of girls I recognized from working at the resort were dancing in the living room.

"Eddie! You made it. Hey ladies," Charlie greeted us, holding a beer in either hand. He was wearing a tight black tee shirt and grey jeans. His dimples deepened when he smiled, and his brown eyes twinkled at the sight of us.

"Are one of those cold ones you're holding for me?" Eddie asked.

Charlie shook his head. "Nope. I'm double-fisting tonight. But if you open that cooler- "he nodded to a red cooler on the kitchen floor. "You're welcome to whatever beer you please."

Eddie pulled open the top of the cooler, grabbed three beers, and passed one to Missy and me. "Cheers"

"Where's Grayson?" Eddie asked.

"Down at the beach. He's got a crowd cheering him on to jump off the dock and into the lake, naked." Charlie replied.

Missy rolled her eyes. "How mature."

I watched Eddie sip his beer, studying Missy over the bottle's rim. When she glanced over at him, he blushed and looked away.

"I don't know about you, Ivy, but I'm ready to get away from these boys and do some dancing." Missy grabbed my hand. "Bye, boys," she shouted over her shoulder as she led me to the makeshift dance floor in the living room.

She gave me a spin under her arm and weaved us into the middle of the circle. Taking a sip of my beer, I tried not to think about Rhys. I wondered how he would react when I confronted him on Monday. Would he be ready to finally give-in and make his presence known? But would he promise to keep my secret in return? I could only hope. I kept my head down and held a smile on my face. It wasn't hard to do when Missy was spinning around and singing along to every song.

"Oh. My. God. Is that Rhys Wyatt?" A female voice gushed to my right.

I tilted my head just enough to see him walk out of a nearby hallway, smiling and Veronica behind him.

What. The. Hell?

When Veronica wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed at something he said, it felt like all the air was suctioned out of my lungs. I hated how gorgeous he looked and how Veronica touched him like that. My heart unwillingly hammered in my chest, seeing her fawn all over him.

"Ivy, come on. Dance with me. What are you – "Missy followed my gaze and frowned. "Are you pouting at Rhys with Veronica?"

"I'm not pouting at anything."

She put her hands on her hips. "What did you expect? He's Rhys Wyatt. Girls like Veronica throw themselves at him. And as Blaine Wyatt's girlfriend, you shouldn't care."

"I don't care," I say. "But he said he wanted to keep his return to Montana private. He made me promise. What on earth is he doing here?"

I swallowed hard and watched Rhys walk through the kitchen with Veronica on his arm. My heart hurt. But there was no reason it should. He wasn't mine. He was just my boyfriend, a beautiful and unattainable older brother. He leaned back against the countertop and crossed his arms over his chest. Veronica's elegantly manicured hand rested on his bicep. She smiled up at him as he stood there, not paying her an ounce of attention. We held eye contact from across the room. Her shoulders were relaxed, and her body leaned toward his. I frowned and quickly looked away from him.

"Let's head down to the bonfire." I tugged on Missy's arm.

She nodded and took another swig of her drink. I felt Rhys's eyes follow us until we made it safely outside. I would not remain inside to let unwelcome jealousy rule my emotions when it had no right to be there.

By the time we reached the beach, Grayson was dancing in nothing but his underwear around the fire pit while everyone else at the party cheered him on.

"Missy, baby." He growled and stumbled his way in our direction.

He wrapped his arm around her, and she shrugged him off. "You look ridiculous."

"You mean sexy," he laughed and puffed out his chest. "Did you see me jump into the lake?"

Missy shook her head. "Thankfully, no."

"You girls want to come and sit by the fire?" Eddie's voice came from my right. I turned to face him, pointing to three empty chairs beside him.

"Yes," Missy immediately responded, taking the chair beside Eddie. Grayson scowled and grabbed another beer from a nearby cooler. I followed behind Missy and sat down in one of the empty chairs.

"Want another drink?" Eddie asked.

Missy nodded, and he passed one to her, then glanced over at me. I shook my head. I wasn't sure alcohol was the answer to my problem right now. A scowl passed on Eddie's face at something approaching my backside.

"Rhys?"

"Eddie," Rhys replied.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Eddie's frown grew more profound, and Rhys's smirk grew wider. I did not want this to be how Eddie discovered Rhys had returned. "Last time we spoke, you told me you'd never return to Montana. I thought you said you were too good for this place."

"Plans change," Rhys quipped. He sat on the chair beside me and propped his feet on the cooler before him. "Nice night for a fire."

"You must've fucked up big time, huh?" Eddie asked. "Or should I say, who did you try to fuck over this time?"

Rhys's smirk disappeared. I could tell Eddie's words struck a cord. Suddenly, everything was tense, and I felt my stomach flop.

"Wow, Eddie. You think you'd let it go already," Rhys's face straightened, and he leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. "Everyone else has moved on." He snuck a glance at me.

I had no idea what happened between Rhys and Eddie, but I was pretty sure I didn't want to. The only thing I knew was they had grown apart their freshman year of college. I didn't realize things had ended poorly between them.

"Where have you been staying?" Eddie asked.

My stomach sank.

"The ranch," Rhys replied.

Eddie looked over at me with a disapproving frown. "Oh really?"

"Ivy's been a great roommate," Rhys smirked and scratched his jaw, studying me. I blushed furiously. Eddie looked pissed I had kept Rhys' presence a secret from him. "You've got nothing to worry about, Eddie," he assured him. Eddie had a scowl on his face that almost looked permanent now. "I ain't dwelling on the past..." he continued, "...and neither should you."

Eddie glared at him in heavy silence until Veronica appeared.

"There you are," her voice cut through their stare like nails on a chalkboard. "You took off on me, Rhys."

She slid onto his lap and flicked her hair over her shoulder.

"Enjoying your night, Ivy?" she forced a grin.

"Not anymore," I coldly replied.

Rhys's eyes dropped to my chest, then back to my lips. My chest ached. How he looked at me had my heart pounding like a hammer in my chest. Veronica leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Take me back to the ranch tonight?"

"We'll see," he replied.

"Anyone want to come down to the beach with me?" Missy stood up from her chair. I followed her gaze down the beach to Grayson, flirting with some girls. She grabbed her purse and glanced over at me. "Are you going to come, Ivy? I'll set off a few handheld fireworks on the dock."

"You've got what now?" Eddie gave her a goofy grin, and I was thankful Missy seemed to make him quickly forget about Rhys.

"Fireworks."

For as long as I could remember, whenever we were at a lake party, Missy would bring a few handheld fireworks. It was like a tradition. She loved setting them off over the lake and lighting the dark sky. She enjoyed the thrill and attention she got from it.

"I'll come with you," Eddie replied. "As long as I get to set one off, too."

"Alright. I'll give you a try." Missy winked at Eddie and then glanced back at me. "Did you want to come?"

I shook my head. "No thanks. I'll watch the show from here."

I watched them walk past the bonfire and down towards the dock until they disappeared in the darkness.

"Veronica, do me a favour. Go inside and get me another drink." Rhys said pushing her off from his lap.

She stood up and gave him what I guessed was her most rehearsed seductive smile. "Sure, what would you like?"

"Whiskey," he said, not even bothering to look up at her. He kept his eyes forward on the fire and rested his chin between his thumb and index finger.

She nodded and headed up towards the house to do his bidding. When she was out of sight, Rhys slowly turned his head toward me, smirking.

"You'd think I'd at least get a hello from you, especially after I brought you to one of my gigs in Polson."

I realized I was being completely unfair to him by letting my old, unwanted feelings for him tingle on the surface of my skin. I took a deep breath and levelled my gaze on him, "Oh. Hi, Rhys."

He laughed. "Are you mad at me or something?"

"No."

Rhys leaned in closer to me, "Yeah, you are. What did I do this time?"

I swallowed hard at the coarseness of his voice but straightened up and leaned further away. "I thought you didn't want anyone knowing you were back in Moose Creek?"

"I changed my mind."

When I gained my composure, I turned to face him. "Because of Veronica?"

He laughs. "No."

"I realize I don't have a say in your love life," I say, wanting to smack the smug grin from his face.  "But since I live in the ranch too, I'd appreciate it if I didn't wake up to Veronica's face in the kitchen."

"Are you jealous?" he smirked.

"Not a chance." I let out a short, nervous laugh. "You asked if I was mad. I'm not. As your roommate, I'm just telling you that I don't want to see Veronica's snarky face at the ranch when I'm there."

"Don't worry, I promise I won't bring her back to the ranch," he smirked again. I just glared at him to let him know I wasn't amused. "Is that what you want to hear?"

"I get it, okay? It's not your fault girls gravitate onto your lap," I casually said. "I'm just asking you to hook up with anyone else but Veronica."

"Anyone?" he smiled.

I paused and looked up at him, watching me like I was the most amusing person in the world. "Why don't you just snap your fingers for Lacey Hebert instead? She must still be kicking around Moose Creek. I remember Lacey had no problem shamelessly throwing herself on your lap everywhere you sat in high school, including one of Grayson's lake parties."

I didn't mean to sound sour or bring up the past, but I managed to do both of those things, and I immediately regretted it. Rhys laughed, and my stomach twisted. I didn't like making myself vulnerable when it came to him. It made me sound pathetic and like I still cared, which I did not.

"I remember that party," his husky voice responded, and our eyes locked. "But not because of Lacey Hebert. Because I remember you, sitting pretty across the bonfire pit, watching me."

Had he been watching me that night? The way his words lingered in the air and the predatory way he watched me sent a chill up my spine. He remembered me at Grayson's lake party? I was just a Junior then; I was hardly noticeable in comparison to Lacey Hebert and her shiny black hair and big, perky breasts. I didn't ever remember him glancing my way.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right. You were so wrapped up in Lacey, there was no way you remember me at that party." I replied, hoping I didn't sound as bothered as I felt.

He smirked and leaned forward, closing the space between us. He was so close I could feel the warmth from his breath on my lips. "Oh, I noticed," he whispered. "You looked beautiful with your hair pulled into a side braid. You wore a white sundress that tied up on your shoulders into tiny little bows. You sat there watching me while you sipped on a fruity drink."

My heart felt like it stopped. The hairs on my neck rose, and embarrassment flushed my cheeks.

In my silence, Rhys let out a sigh and scratched his chest. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"Did you mean it?" I asked. The air was getting intense. I needed to shut my mouth.

Rhys's frown was etched with regret. "What does it matter? That was then. You're with Blaine now."

My heart hurt. Rhys might be okay with saying things and forgetting about them, but I wasn't. If he even had the slightest feeling for me, I needed to know.

My body was trembling with anger. "It matters to me."

"Ivy – I shouldn't have said anything," he growled. "Even if I did mean it, what good would it do us now?"

He was right. It wouldn't do us any good. I needed closure from our past, and he was trying to give it to me. I needed to accept it.

"Whiskey neat, just how you like it," Veronica cooed and slid back onto Rhys's lap with a drink in her hand. She passed it to him, and he slammed it to the last drop.

"Thanks," he grumbled.

Explosions from the dock caused me to jump in my chair. The night sky lit up, and I could see Missy and Eddie at the edge of the dock setting off their handheld fireworks, laughing. Everyone at the party started to cheer and raised their glasses to the sparklers casting a luminous spell over the lake. I covered my ears as one after another boomed into the night sky.

"Come on, Rhys, let's go inside. Come dance with me." Veronica shouted over the noise.

I looked over at Rhys, and his sad eyes met mine. The longer he held my gaze, the more he looked like he was struggling with something internally. He slammed the rest of his beer and broke our stare. He stood up and tossed his beer can in the fire. He shifted on his feet and then glanced back at me again before Veronica weaved her fingers through his and led the way along the cobblestone pathway.

Watching them walk away, I knew I had no right to feel the corrosive burn of jealousy running through my veins. I was with Blaine.

Blaine was my boyfriend.

And Rhys was free to be with whomever he wanted, whenever he wanted, including Veronica.