High Stakes Hideout

Chapter Three

Oliver stood at the window, hiding behind the curtain and watching the show play out before him. He couldn't blame Ivy for her reaction to seeing him. She hadn't seen or heard from him in the thirteen years that had passed since he had broken her heart. Not exactly a good memory to leave someone with. If only she knew the reason why he had felt forced to leave her, maybe then things could be different now. Oh, who was he kidding? If she knew the reason she would hate him more. He hated himself enough for both of them.

Oliver's stomach grumbled and he glanced at the clock. Lunch time. Figuring Jake would talk her into staying, he decided he should start something cooking. He would make enough for all three of them. If she chickened out, well, he would just have leftovers for the next couple of days.

Remembering Ivy going through a vegetarian phase right around the time they split, he settled on making a stir fry. He started rice in the cooker and went back to the window to check the progress. Ivy was gesturing animatedly, talking with her hands, and he smiled to himself. It was going to be a while longer for sure.

As he began frying up the beef for his and Jake's food, after making a pan of meatless veggies for Ivy, he heard the front door open. He inhaled sharply and felt hope poke at his heart. He quickly squashed it. She's here for protection, not you. He would do well to make that his mantra over the next couple of weeks. He sat the spatula down and rounded the corner out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"Hey, something smells good," Jake said as Oliver came into view. Oliver tried for a casual smile but felt it fall when he took in Ivy's guarded expression.

"I'm making stir fry, hope that's okay," he responded, directing the question to Jake but his eyes were on Ivy. Were they ever anywhere else when she was in the room?

"Oh, we don't want to impose. Jake was just making sure I got in okay and I can call for pizza delivery or something," Ivy said, twisting her hands nervously in front of her. She noticed Oliver noticing her nervousness and quickly crossed her arms over her chest, blushing.

"It's no trouble at all. I already made enough for all three of us. I made a separate batch for you just in case the vegetarianism had stuck," Oliver said sheepishly.

Ivy had gone through phases like nothing else when they were growing up. Just when he got used to her being obsessed over one thing, she changed and adopted another passion. He had hoped that would be the case with him when he broke things off with her. By the look on her face when she first saw him today, he'd have to guess that hadn't been the case. The thought sent another jab of hope at his heart.

"See Ivy, there's plenty. And he went to extra trouble to make something special for you," Jake said, narrowing his eyes at his sister. Oliver wondered how their conversation in the car had gone. With both of them having a stubborn streak it sure would have been interesting to be a fly on the window of that car.

"He just said it was no trouble at all. You'd know that Jake if you stopped to listen to what people want once in a while," Ivy retorted just as pointedly. Oliver began to feel that it was a little too hot in the living room all of a sudden. Surely it had nothing to do with the two hotheads occupying good breathing air there.

"He sure did little sis. It was very nice of him, wasn't it. How nice of him to figure we might be hungry and include us in his lunch plans. Just like how nice it was for him to let you bum a room here, under his protection, since you've found yourself in a spot of trouble. We wouldn't want Ollie here to think we don't appreciate his niceness, now do we?"

Oliver stifled a laugh, disguising it as a cough, at Jake's over abundance and exaggeration of the word nice. He glanced at Ivy to see how she would respond. Sometimes he felt like he needed popcorn and a recliner to sit back and watch the theatrics the two of them goaded each other into. Ivy smirked and walked over to Oliver. She placed a hand on his forearm and Oliver gulped.

"I'm so sorry, where are my manners? It is so nice of you to fix my brother and I lunch. It sure is a nice place you have here. And it's so super nice that you have agreed to let me stay here," Ivy said, smiling sweetly up at him.

What was she playing at? She leaned in to hug him and Oliver would have sworn the room around them had gone up in flames. He could smell the floral notes of the fragrance she wore, the same one she had worn in high school. Oliver shook his head and stiffly returned her hug.

"Um, yeah. I mean, no problem. Like I said, no trouble at all," he stammered. How did this woman still have the power to make him tongue tied after all these years?

Ivy pulled back from the hug and glared at him. "Almost as nice as he was when he tore my heart out and stomped on it the day after my daddy died. Isn't it?" Ivy said, and quickly strode away toward the kitchen. "You smell like a barn, by the way," she tossed over her shoulder before disappearing from sight.

Oliver sighed and looked at Jake, fighting against the sting in his eyes. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. He was about to voice his opinion as such but Jake stopped him.

"No offense, but you do kinda smell my friend," he said, making a show of plugging his nose and grimacing. Oliver choked out a laugh and shoved his friend's shoulder.

"Here, go stir the fry before it burns. I'm going to go shower. At least that's one offense I can easily remove for her," Oliver said, passing Jake the spatula and slapping him on the shoulder.

Jake gave him a mock salute with the spatula and headed to the kitchen. Oliver leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling and praying again for patience and strength. Ivy Kent was a force to be reckoned with.