Surviving Ivy

by Rayne Rachels

  Ben kissed her forehead again. “And I’m glad she did.”

  The business telephone rang.

  Ivy sighed. “Looks like I need to get to work.”

  Ben reluctantly let her go. “And I’ve got a car to finish sanding. You’re not going to run away, are you?”

  Ivy shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe later, but only long enough to go get some lunch.” She winked at him.

  “Good. Because I would hate to have to chase you down.” Ben smiled. His bear would love to play chase with their mate. Reluctantly, he walked out of the office, while Ivy answered the telephone.

  *****

  Ivy spent the rest of the morning answering the telephone and sorting through the piles of papers on her desk. She started a list of office supplies and cleaning that were needed, as well as, drinks and snacks she thought should be on hand for the guys especially if they were working late, like Forrest told her they sometimes did if they were on a deadline with a project.

  Around lunchtime, her stomach started growling, letting her know it wanted food. She glanced around. Since she had started organizing the front, all the guy, including Forrest had disappeared. She debated whether or not to go into the garage area and ask about taking a lunch break when the door to the garage opened and Hank walked into the reception area.

  “Here’s the receipt for the parts. You were right about the delivery fees. Not only did he charge them, but they were three times the normal rate.” Hank handed her a yellow sheet of paper.

  “It was just a hunch. It’s not the first time I’ve dealt with people like that.” Ivy took the receipt from him and set it on top a stack of receipts that needed to be inputted into the computer.

  Hank put a brown paper bag on the counter. “I wasn’t sure if you were a salad kind of girl or a hamburger kind of girl.”

  “Sometimes I like salads, but if given the choice between a burger and a salad, the burger will win hands down. Now, if it has bacon, cheese, onions, and pickles on it, that’s even better.” With all the talk about food, Ivy couldn’t stop her stomach from growling.

  “Good, it’s a bacon cheeseburger loaded with everything and an order of onion rings on the side. If there’s no water in the break room, I have some by my workstation in the garage. You can come get you one, if you want.” Hank turned around and walked back toward the garage.

  “Thank you!” she called out to him. She was surprised he had bought her lunch.

  He grunted but didn’t say anything as he disappeared into the garage.

  Ivy picked up the brown paper bag and opened it. The unmistakable scent of onion rings and a bacon cheese burger hit her.

  Ben came in carrying a brown paper bag. two bottles of water, and two sodas. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted a soda or a water, so I brought both.” He set the drinks on her desk. “I would say let’s eat in the break room, but I have no idea when the last time it was cleaned.”

  “Trust me. It’s bad, really bad. I’ve got a list of cleaning supplies we’ll need just to clean the room. In fact, I’ve got about three different lists going right now.” Ivy smiled at Ben. All morning she kept glancing into the garage, hoping to catch of glimpse of him. “If you’ll give me a minute, I’ll move some of the stacks and we can eat right here.”

  “Anything I can do to help?” asked Ben.

  Ivy shook her head. “No, not really.” She carefully laid the stacks on top of each other, alternating the directions so she could easily separate them. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to buy my lunch, and especially not Hank. I got a really strong impression he didn’t like me.” Ivy pulled several sheets off the roll of paper towels she had been using to clean the desk.

  “Hank’s not a bad guy. He’s just different because of some of the things he has had to deal with from an early age.” Ben placed the drinks where Ivy could easily reach them. “Usually, one of us goes on a food run and picks up takeout from one of the restaurants in town. He bit into his burger, taking a good quarter of it in one bite.

  Ivy pulled out her burger and onion rings. She popped one of the onion rings into her mouth. “These are good,” she said as she grabbed another. “Could I have one of the waters?”

  Ben opened the bottle of water and handed it to Ivy. “If you like those, you’re going to love the burgers. These all came from The Blue Plate.” He picked up his burger and took a huge bite out of it.

  “I ate breakfast at the diner yesterday morning. I like the place.” She took a sip of the water. “I like to cook, maybe I could make lunch a couple of times a week.”

  “You can cook?” asked Ben.

  Ivy nodded. “My grandmother taught me. She was a fantastic cook.” Sadness swept over her as she thought about her grandmother. Since Ivy moved to Bryant Station, she occasionally felt her grandmother’s presence, but the ghost didn’t speak to her like it did after her grandmother’s death. She missed the conversations.

  “Are you okay?” Ben took her hand in his. Concern filled his voice and was etched across his face.

  Make our mate happy. Do not like seeing her sad, growled Ben’s bear.

  I don’t like seeing her sad either.

  Ivy nodded. “I was just thinking about my grandmother. She raised me, and she died a few weeks ago. “I still can’t believe she’s really gone.”

  Before Ben could say anything, the front door opened and a middle-aged couple walked in and looked around.

  Ivy wiped her mouth and stood up. “Can I help you?”

  “I want to speak to someone about restoring one of the cars I own,” said the man as he and his female companion walked toward her.

  Ben stood up. “You need to speak to Wes Durant,” he said, knowing Ivy probably didn’t know which brother needed to speak to potential clients. “I will go get him for you.”

  “Is he the person in charge?” asked the man. He looked out of place in the new pressed jeans and dress shirt.

  “He is. I’ll just be a minute.” Ben disappeared into the garage.

  “Would you care to have a seat while you wait?” Ivy gestured to several chairs arranged in a sitting area in front of the large windows.

  The man shook his head. “We’re good,” he said, answering for both himself and the female.

  An awkward silence fell over the room. Ivy thought about finishing her lunch, but she really didn’t want to eat in front of potential customers. It didn’t set a professional tone. We need a radio playing in the background, and I need to get the break room ready to use asap. A mini-fridge for bottled water and a coffee bar would be a good idea to have out front for the customers. She grabbed her notepad and pen and wrote down the ideas.

  The man she hadn’t been introduced to, walked into the lobby and held out his hand as he introduced himself to the couple as Wes Durant. After a few minutes of casual conversation, he led them to one of the offices.

  Ivy let out a sigh of relief. She quickly finished her lunch and tossed the trash into a large can just inside the breakroom. She thought about tossing Ben’s trash, but wasn’t sure if he was finished with his burger, even though there wasn’t much left.

  As if on cue, Ben walked in from the garage. “I’m sorry about cutting lunch short, but I have to get back to work on the car.”

  “I understand. Do you want me to throw this away?” Ivy gestured to the remains of his lunch.

  “If you don’t mind.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him.

  Ivy smiled. “I’ve got it. Get back to work before you get into trouble.”

  “But sometimes trouble can be fun.” He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Don’t work too hard,” he said after he broke the kiss. He winked at her.

  She rolled her eyes. “You are trouble.”

  “And I’m all yours.” He turned and disappeared back into the garage, leaving Ivy standing there staring after him.

  She touched her still tingling lips. You are most definitely trouble, but I think I’m going to really like it. She sighe
d. Ben had stolen her heart, and she wasn’t even sure when he did it.

  She turned her attention back to her desk, and for the rest of the afternoon, Ivy worked on clearing and cleaning it, filing the papers that needed to be filed, and sorting the rest of the papers into piles for Forrest to look at and decide what needs to be done with them. The whole time Ben filled her thoughts.

  Chapter 7

  “I’m sorry about leaving you out here alone today. We’ve got a couple of tight deadlines, so it’s all hands on deck to get them done, especially after Hank came back with the parts. Now, it’s going to be a rush to finish the job, but at least we will finally be able to finish it.” Forrest leaned against the corner of Ivy’s desk. “And I didn’t want Ben thinking I was trying to take you from him.

  Ivy blushed. “Nothing to be sorry about. You don’t have to babysit me. The stuff that goes on in the garage is what makes the money.” Ivy handed him several phone messages. “None of these are priorities, or I would have gone looking for you, but you will need to return the calls tomorrow. I put the ones that need to be taken care of first on top.”

  Forrest shuffled through the notes. “I’ll take care of these first thing in the morning.” He looked at the desk. “There was actually a desk under all the papers?”

  “Surprising, isn’t it?”

  Forrest frowned. “Where are all the papers?”

  “Sorted by month and in these files.” She picked up a stack of files and handed them to Forrest. “Once you’re done with them, and they’re coded to their specific projects, I can file them in the right place after I organize your filing system. I wasn’t trying to intrude or anything, but I took a peek at it when I went looking for folders.”

  “I have been kind of lax with the filing.”

  “Just kind of lax?” asked Ivy. “I really think that’s the understatement of the year.”

  “Ha. Ha. You are so not funny.” A smile spread across Forrest’s face.

  “Whatever! It shouldn’t take more than an afternoon to get everything reorganized. I don’t mind helping, but you will need to be there to do it that way you know the filing system.” Ivy picked up her notepad and handed to him.

  “What’s this?”

  “I made a list of supplies that are needed, especially out here. I also made a list of cleaning supplies. The bathrooms aren’t bad, but they have been neglected. As for the breakroom, I thought about taping it off with some yellow tape and declaring it a very dangerous biohazard zone. It probably wouldn’t hurt to bring in a hazmat crew to clean it.”

  “That bad?” Forrest shook his head. “Our focus has been on the garage.”

  “I’m not sure what kinds of bacteria are growing in there. Are you sure y’all weren’t conducting some sort of science experiments?” Ivy raised an eyebrow.

  Forrest shook his head. “No science experiments that I know of…just long days and neglect.”

  “You’ve been busy building the business.” Ivy shrugged her shoulders. “It happens, but with me here, I can get the little things on track. I also made a list of things that would make the place more inviting for customers. They’re just suggestions, but they are things that might help as the business grows and you have more people coming in and out.”

  “What suggestions?” growled Hank.

  Ivy looked up at the big man and raised her eyebrows. “You’re growling at me again.”

  “I always growl,” said Hank. “What changes are you trying to make?”

  “Not changes, just suggestions to make this place more inviting for your customers and a better work place for you.” She gestured at the notepad Forrest was holding.

  “First day here and already you think you run the place.” Hank snatched the notepad from his younger brother and looked at it.

  “Growl at everyone else, but don’t growl at me. I don’t like it, and I don’t deserve it.” Ivy figured she had to stand her ground with Hank. He seemed to have respected it earlier.

  Hank looked at her and raised his eyebrows. “And what are you going to do if I don’t stop growling at you.”

  “I’m going to roll up a newspaper and bop you on the nose with it. I don’t like being growled at, and I think you’re doing it because you want people to be scared of you. Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not scared of you.” Ivy stood up and put her hands on her hips.

  Hank stared down at her.

  She knew he was trying to intimidate her, but it wasn’t going to happen. Something told her he was a big softy, but something had happened to make him put up the growly exterior to keep people at arm’s length.

  “So you’re not afraid of me?” He raised an eyebrow.

  Ivy pretended to think about what he said. She looked at him and shrugged. “Nope. Definitely not afraid of you. Should I be?”

  “Most people are, especially females,” said Hank.

  “I’ve dealt with much scarier people in my lifetime.” A touch of sadness entered Ivy’s voice before she realized it. Fudge bananas! She quickly plastered a smile on her face. “But it’s neither here nor there.” She gestured at the notepad Hank was holding. “There’s a list of supplies that are needed, and a list of suggestions to make this area more inviting for potential customers.”

  Hank looked over her notes and then handed the notepad back to Forrest. “What do you think?”

  “They’re things we’ve neglected, especially the breakroom. Ivy called it a science experiment gone wrong. She’s right. It needs to be cleaned. It’s bad, but we let it get that way, but we put the garage first, and now we have to look at the overall environment.”

  Hank rubbed his hand over his goatee as he stared at Ivy. “Everything on the list is fine with me. Just make sure it’s okay with Wes.” He turned and walked back into the garage.

  “I think he likes you.” Forrest gave Ivy a lopsided grin.

  Ivy snorted. “I don’t think growling at me is liking me.”

  A serious look crossed Forrest’s face. “You’re the first person, outside of Wes and me who he as even come close to joking with. Don’t sell what you’ve done short. I think you’re good for this place. He glanced at the clock on the wall. “Why don’t you call it a day.”

  “What time do you want me here tomorrow?” Ivy really didn’t want to leave without seeing Ben.

  “How about eight in the morning?” asked Forrest.

  “That will be fine.” Ivy bit her bottom lip.

  “I’ll see you then. Have a good evening. And don’t worry about moving out of the apartment.” Forrest took the stuff she had given him and went to his office.

  “Okay.” Ivy shook her head as she turned her attention to the door to the garage. She really wanted to go in there and find Ben. Bad idea to bother him while he’s working. She sighed and picked up her bag. They really needed to talk, but work wasn’t the place to do it. Maybe they could talk over a homemade meal. She nodded to herself. Good idea. The way to a man’s heart is his stomach especially if the man’s a bear who loves food. I just wished I knew what his favorite is.”.

  She pulled her keys out a side pocket and walked out the building. When she got to the steps, she paused. Ivy took a deep breath and let it out. She decided to stay on the sidewalk. With a little luck and help from the goddess, she prayed she would make it to her car without tripping.

  She hated being such a klutz.

  After a bit of a slow start, Ivy made it to her car without falling down. “Thank you sweet goddess,” she whispered as she unlocked the driver’s side door. She got in the car and tossed her bag on the seat next to her. She put the key into the ignition and turned it.

  Nothing happened.

  Ivy frowned.

  She turned the key again, and again, nothing happened.

  “Double fudge hockey sticks!” Ivy grabbed her bag and got out of the car. She stomped back into the shop, not caring if she fell down or not.

  Ben and Wes both looked at her. “Is something wrong?” asked Ben.


  “My car won’t start. It doesn’t make any sense. It was running perfectly this morning, and now the engine won’t even turn on. I turned the key and nothing happened. It acts like it’s completely dead.” Ivy chewed on her bottom lip. “Can you help me?”

  Ben took her hand in his. “Let’s go see what’s wrong.”

  Ivy nodded and let him lead her back outside.

  When they got to her car, she handed Ben the keys. He got in and tried starting the engine. Nothing happened. He pulled the inside hood release.

  “What do you think is wrong?” asked Ivy when Ben got out of the car.

  “I’m not sure yet, but the ignition isn’t doing anything.” Ben went to the front of the car and lifted the hood. He let out a low growl.

  “What’s wrong?” Ivy rushed to his side.

  “Someone cut the cables that go to the battery.”

  “The cables going to the battery were cut? How is that even possible? The car has been sitting here in front of the business all day.”

  Ben leaned down and sniffed. “I’m not sure who did it or how they did it, but the cables were cut. They will have to be replaced.” He stood up

  “Can you do that?” asked Ivy. She bit her bottom lip. The distinct scent of black magic drifted up causing her to wrinkle her nose at the acidic odor.

  “Yes, but it will have to be tomorrow. I’ll have to go by the auto supply to get a set first thing in the morning when they open.” Ben closed the hood of the car.

  “There’s no way it can be fixed now?” Ivy didn’t like being without her car.

  “I know it’s just battery cables that need to be replaced, but I want to go through the car and make sure that whoever did this, didn’t do anything else to the car. Your safety is too important to me,” explained Ben as he leaned against the car.

  “It sucks fudge banana chips, but I understand. Will the car be okay here? Do you think anything else will happen to it while it sits here over night?”