Surviving Ivy Read online

  “I just will. Why do you want to rent the duplex?”

  Ivy thought about all the things she could say, but none of them sounded right. She cleared her throat. “Fate has decreed it is time for me to move and find my mate. I think Bryant Station is the place for me to start searching for him.” It wasn’t the complete truth, but it was pretty close.

  The silence seemed to stretch out forever, but it was only a few seconds. “Have you ever been to Bryant Station?”

  Ivy shook her head. She laughed when she realized what she was doing.

  “Are you laughing at me?” asked Forrest.

  “No. I’m laughing at myself. I wasn’t thinking and I answered your question by shaking my head. That’s why I was laughing.”

  Forrest chuckled. “You thought I could see gestures. So I take it, the answer is no.”

  “That would be correct,” said Ivy trying to mimic his voice.

  “All right. Next Saturday, be at Durant Customs. Ask for me, and I’ll show you the duplex. If you are interested in it, it is yours.”

  Ivy almost shouted. “That would be great! I will definitely be there. Is there a specific time you would like me to be at the Durant Customs?” She was almost afraid Forrest would change his mind and tell her he was just joking.

  “How about eleven? Would that be too early?”

  Ivy started to shake her head again, but stopped herself. “Eleven will be just fine. I will see you next Saturday.”

  “I will see you then,” said Forrest. Two seconds later the phone line went dead.

  Ivy pressed a button on the side of her cell phone, putting the phone into sleep mode. She opened her bag and dropped her phone into it. Nervous and excited at the same time, she realized she actually had a lot to do if she was going to move to Bryant Station. Saturday was only three days away. She looked at her notepad and started making a list of things she would need to do.

  In almost no time, she had a complete list of things she had to get done by Friday. She wanted to keep her Saturday as clear as possible, especially since she had to drive to Bryant Station.

  Ivy frowned.

  She had absolutely no clue as to where Bryant Station was located. She would have to pull up a map and figure out how long it would take her to drive the distance.

  Ivy folded the newspaper. She stuffed it into her bag along with the notepad and pen. She looked at her empty coffee cup. “Definitely need more caffeine.” She took the cup back to the front counter and ordered a vanilla latte with a double shot of expresso. Ivy hummed to herself as she waited for the barista to make her drink.

  She looked around the room. She was going to miss the place. She hoped Bryant Station had a coffee shop. “If they don’t, I could always open one myself.” She smiled at the thought of opening her own business. Once she was moved and settled into her new home, she would have to look into the possibility of opening her own business.

  Change was definitely a good thing.

  Now, she just had to find her mate and keep him alive.

  Chapter 2

  Ivy glanced in the rearview mirror. She breathed a sigh of relief. About fifteen minutes into her drive, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She was completely sure someone was following her though she didn’t see any suspicious looking cars. But now, the road behind her was completely clear of traffic. Even the on-coming traffic was sparse.

  She chewed on her bottom lip.

  Maybe she was just being a little paranoid.

  The hairs on the back of her neck weren’t standing up anymore, but an uneasy feeling stuck with her. Even though no one appeared to be following her she couldn’t shake the chill of being watched.

  Ivy shrugged her shoulders. If she was being watched, there wasn’t much she could do about it. So she turned her attention back to the highway stretching out in front of her. She had no clue why anyone would want to follow her. She decided to push aside the negative vibes and concentrate on getting to Bryant Station. Besides, there wasn’t anything she could do about someone following or watching her until they actually made their presence known.

  She turned on the radio and flipped through the stations until she came across one playing soft instrumental music. She took a deep breath and let it out as she let the soothing tones of the soft music wash over her.

  *****

  “Turn right in five hundred feet.” The mechanical female voice blared over the radio.

  Ivy shook her head. “Are you really sure I need to turn right? We aren’t even in Bryant Station yet.” She really didn’t expect the contraption to answer her.

  Turn right in five hundred feet. The navigation system completely ignored Ivy.

  “You had better not be wrong.” Ivy raised her eyebrows as a side road came into sight. It was paved, but there wasn’t anything special about it. The road was a typical farm-to-market road like hundreds of others scattered across Texas. “I don’t want to suddenly find myself the star victim in some blood and guts horror movie.” Visions of chainsaws, butcher knives, and machetes flickered through her mind. “I definitely watch too many horror movies. I need to just stick to the classic movies…vampires, werewolves, and mummies…oh my!”

  Ivy giggled.

  “You have arrived at your destination,” announced the mechanical female voice of the navigation system.

  “Impressive.” Ivy pulled into a rather large cement parking lot in front of a huge metal building with garage doors on one side and glass windows and a door on the other. The sign etched into the window and backed by a bright orange neon light proclaimed she was at Durant Customs.

  Ivy parked in front of the glass window, figuring that it was the office. She glanced at the time on the clock in her dashboard as she turned off her car. She was a good thirty minutes early for her appointment. “I hope Forrest doesn’t mind me being early.”

  She got out of the car and looked around. As big as the building was, it was nestled in a fairly dense grouping of trees. “Perfect place for a shifter to disappear into nature, or a really good place for something to hide and watch them.” She wondered what precautions the owners had put into place.

  Ivy rolled her eyes. “There I go assuming the owners are shifters just because they run a body shop. I sound like one of those snotty purists in the coven. Yet, this place looks so familiar.” She stared at the trees surrounding the shop. “I must have seen it in one of my dreams.” The sense of déjà vu was overwhelming.

  “I’ll figure it out, but right now I’ve got a meeting about a place to live.” She turned to the glass door. “I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain,” she told herself as she walked up the three steps. Ivy was almost to the door, when her foot caught the edge of the last step, causing her to pitch forward. She managed to grab the handrail and stop herself from making a big splat on the sidewalk.

  “Double fudge hockey sticks!”

  Ivy closed her eyes and counted to ten, giving herself a chance to gather her bearings. “That would have definitely left a huge mark if I had smacked my face on the concrete.” She stood up and straightened her clothes.

  Opening the door, she stepped into the front office and looked around. It was empty. At least no one saw me trip and almost face plant into the cement sidewalk. Definitely not the impression I want to make. Ivy walked over to the counter and looked over it. The desk area was littered with files and receipts that needed to be filed. “Hello, is anyone here?”

  A loud clang followed by several bangs came from the garage area, causing Ivy to jump and turn toward a large window. She walked over to it and looked into the huge area. Several vehicles were in various stages of restoration. A couple of the cars were obviously being stripped down to their frames for a complete restoration and possibly some type of customization as the name of the business implied.

  Ivy thought about the car restoration tv shows her grandmother like to watch, though she suspected her grandmother was watching the men rather than the work they were doing on th
e cars. Ivy, on the other hand, was glad she had paid attention to the work the men had done. She was far from being an expert, but at least she had some general knowledge of what was going on in the shop.

  “How can I help you?” asked a male voice.

  Ivy turned around. Her eyes landed on a really broad chest. She looked up…and up. “Wow! You’re really tall.” She blurted out before she could stop herself.

  The man chuckled. “And you’re short…”

  Ivy felt her cheeks warm. “I’m not short. I’m just vertically challenged!” She stared up at the man.

  “…and cute. I’m Forrest Durant.” He held out his hand. “You wouldn’t happen to be Ivy Braxton, would you?”

  “That would be me,” she said as she shook his hand. Staring into the man’s whiskey brown eyes, she got the uncanny feeling he was looking right into her soul. It didn’t bother her like it would most people, because when she looked into his whiskey brown eyes, she saw he was hiding several secrets of his own. “I’m here to see the duplex. Sorry about being so early. The drive was a lot easier than I had anticipated.”

  “Not a problem. It actually works out better for me, because I have to pick up some parts in about forty minutes.” He leaned against the counter, studying her. “So, what made you want to move to Bryant Station?”

  “The big questions first?” asked Ivy.

  Forrest Durant shrugged his shoulders. “They tend to tell me more about a person than small talk does.”

  “Something about this place called to me, and it was just too big to ignore. Your advertisement was what sealed the deal, so to speak.”

  “So Fate was calling you here?” asked Forrest

  “Something like that,” said Ivy. “Besides, it was time for me to make a change. You know…new scenery, new people.”

  Forrest raised an eyebrow. “It was time for a change? Honestly, you don’t look old enough to be on your own. What does your family say about you moving here?”

  “Just because I’m vertically challenged, why do people think I’m underage?” Ivy rolled her eyes. “I’m twenty-four. As for my parents, they could care less what happens to me. I’m not exactly part of their family. Around my second birthday, my grandmother took me from them and legally adopted me. She died not too long ago, so I decided it was time for a change.”

  “I’m sorry to hear about your grandmother.” His eyes softened. “It’s hard losing people you care about.”

  “I won’t lie; I really miss her. She wasn’t your typical grandmother. She was really fun to be around.” Ivy smiled as she remembered what her grandmother was like when she was growing up. “But now, it’s time for me to spread my wings, and I think moving to a new place would be a really good start for me.”

  “You look cute when you smile. Short and cute. It’s a lethal combination.” He winked at her.

  “You are so not funny.”

  “Nothing funny about it. You’re cute.”

  “And you are so not my type,” said Ivy.

  “Ouch! That really hurt.” Forrest grabbed his chest.

  “You’ll live through the disappointment.” Ivy smiled up at him. “And you will grow stronger because of it.”

  “You know that from experience, don’t you?”

  Ivy shrugged her shoulders. “Something like that.”

  “It was your parents, wasn’t it?” Forrest shook his head. “Parents are supposed to care for you, love you, and do anything to protect you.”

  Ivy snorted. “Someone forgot to tell my mother and father that. Actually, they care about my older brother, but there was no room for me. I was too different for them, and too much of a disappointment. Really, it’s no big deal. My grandmother was really cool. So, it worked out in the end. At least, until she died.” Ivy turned red when she realized she had said too much about herself.

  There was no way she was going to tell him that her grandmother collected her from the hospital, after her brother tried killing her. It wasn’t the first time, but it was the one time he was almost successful. Somethings were better left unsaid, especially when strangers were involved who wouldn’t understand because they weren’t witches.

  “I’m sorry about your grandmother. It’s tough when you lose the ones who care about you and who you love.”

  Ivy thought she heard a hint of sadness in his voice but it was gone as fast as it had appeared. He definitely had secrets that weighed heavily on his heart. “Thank you. I really miss her, but I know she would approve of this move. She was always telling me I needed to get out and find my destiny.” She blinked several times to hold back the tears threatening to make an appearance. “Here I am.”

  “So are you ready to go see the duplex?” asked Forrest.

  “I’m ready to go look at it, if you’re still willing to rent it to me.” Ivy almost bounced with excitement.

  “You’re definitely cute. Are you sure you wouldn’t take a chance and go out with me?” Forrest’s eyes sparkled.

  “You mean on a date…as in a date…date?” Ivy was stunned. She had a few select people she associated with who were human, but none of them were really friends, and definitely none of them or their friends had ever asked her out on a date. It was kind of pathetic, but most guys didn’t want to date the short, full figured female, even if she was cute. She had dated a couple of the witches in the coven, but they were not really interested in her. They were just interest in the fact that she was a Braxton, and the daughter of the coven’s leaders. The witches figured she could somehow elevate their status in the coven.

  “Yeah, on a date with me.” Forrest grinned at her.

  Ivy’s forehead wrinkled as she thought. “If I say no, will it prevent you from renting the apartment to me?”

  “My asking you out has nothing to do with renting the apartment.”

  Relief flooded Ivy. “I would rather go for coffee or something like that as friends, not on a date. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with you,” she quickly added “It’s just I don’t feel any kind of romantic connection.” Ivy felt her checks heat up. “I’m really making a mess of this, aren’t I?”

  “No, you’re not.” He held out his hand. “Friends, it is.”

  “Friends.” Ivy shook his hand. Earlier when she shook his hand, it had been warmer than most humans, but he had just come in from the garage area, so she didn’t think much about it. But his hands were still warmer than normal. As far as she knew, only shifters had body temperatures that ran hotter than humans.

  “I need to tell Ben that I’m taking you to look at the duplex so he can watch the front while I’m gone,” said Forrest.

  Ivy watched Forrest Durant walk through the glass door leading to the garage area. In a lot of ways, it felt like what a brother should be; she felt safe around him. She wondered if he would still tease her, if he knew she was a witch, even though she sucked at being a witch.

  A tall, lean but muscular man climbed out of the inside of a car at the far end of the garage and walked over to Forrest. Ivy couldn’t hear what they were saying, but highly doubted it would have mattered much. She took a couple of steps closer to the large glass window. The man had to be Ben. She rolled the name around in her mind as she stared.

  It was obvious from the shaggy layers it had been sometime since he had gotten his hair cut. He ran a hand through his dirty-blond hair and turned so she could get a good look at his face. Ivy whimpered. Her eyes widened. Her heart suddenly pounded against her ribcage.

  Ivy blinked and took a step back. Fudge sticks! Where are these feelings and desires coming from? She blinked again. “Oh my sweet goddess,” she whispered as she grabbed her chest. “It’s him!” She stared at Ben, at least she assumed it was Ben. Either way, he was the man from her dreams. She stared at her mate. What am I supposed to do now? No one ever said a thing about what you do when you find your mate. She snorted. Probably because no one expected you to find a mate and Grandma died before she could tell you anything.

  She t
ook a couple more steps back. She had to gain control of her body’s reaction before Forrest returned. She knew shifters had a very keen sense of smell.

  Please let this work. Please. Please let this work. She sent the plea to the goddess of witches. Ivy closed her eyes, took a deep breath and slowly let it out as she cleared her mind the way her grandmother had taught her. With her eyes still closed, she whispered a simple spell to mask her scent and prayed nothing would go wrong with the spell. She took another cleansing breath and opened her eyes.

  Ben and Forrest were still talking. She watched Ben gesture to the car he was working on. Without a glance in her direction, Ben turned and disappeared back inside the car. Though knowing it was crazy, Ivy was a little disappointed that Ben never made eye contact with her.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  Ivy jumped and grabbed her chest. “Don’t sneak up on me like that. You scared the daylights out of me.” She had completely forgotten about Forrest.

  “I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you, but then you were lost in thought. I hope they were some really happy thoughts…maybe even about me and you.” He winked at her.

  “Yeah, I think it was something about you showing me my new home.” She gave him a lopsided grin. Forrest was cute, but he did nothing for her; not like just the sight of Ben did. She bit her bottom lip. If just the sight of her mate sent her into a mushy pile of desire, what was actually talking to him face to face going to do to her?

  “As my lady commands.” He gallantly gestured toward the front door. “After you.”

  “Why thank you my bold knight.” Ivy shook her head and walked toward the door.

  “The duplex is partially furnished with basic stuff, so if you don’t have furniture, you’ll at least have a few things to get you started until you can buy what you need,” said Forrest as he held open the glass door for her.

  Ivy nodded, “That’s actually good because I didn’t bring any furniture with me, just clothes, books, and stuff like that.” She took a step and caught her foot on the edge of the welcome mat. She grabbed the hand rail to stop her fall, but only managed to turn herself from falling face first onto the cement. Her knees took the brunt of the fall. “Bloody hockey sticks!”