Leon knocked on the door, and Ivy cleared her throat before asking him to come in.
He had his hat in his hands, and a somber expression on his face. He had only opened the door, but hadn’t stepped in. It seemed like he was also avoiding her eyes.
“I spoke to your daddy and he said that he won’t be able to pick you up till day after morning, he can’t leave the business open.”
When Ivy heard the words, she tried to suppress a smile. She didn’t want to give away how delighted she was to hear him say that.
“So, I’ll drive you up there today.” He added and Ivy’s face dropped immediately.
“You don’t have to do that.” She was quick to assert, getting off the bed.
“Well, there is no other way. You can’t walk back, it’s twenty miles away.” He said, finally meeting her eyes. The sparkle in his brown eyes had returned for some reason.
“I don’t want to walk back, that isn’t what I meant.” Ivy said, feeling her cheeks beginning to flush again.
“Well, you can’t stay here.” He said gruffly and shrugged his shoulders.
Ivy stepped towards him and Leon stepped hurriedly back, like he was trying to defend himself against an attack.
“Why don’t I stay here till my daddy is ready to come and pick me up?” She asked him.
Leon looked at her silently, his face grim again. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her any more, she could see him studying her figure, her face, the curves of her breasts. He was trying to decide if he would be able to keep his hands off her or not.
“You need somebody for the house any way.” She said, with a tear in her voice.
“I can do it myself. I’m better off alone.” He growled, snapping off suddenly from his fantasies of her.
Ivy shook the curls off her face and took a few more steps towards him. Leon was following her with his eyes.
“You can’t. And I know you like my cooking.” She said with a smile on her face, and she placed a hand on his chest.
Leon’s gaze fell to it immediately, and in one swift motion he shook her hand off of him. This was not the same kind, concerned man who had saved her from that anxious horse. He was back to being the same brooding Leon who she was first introduced to.
“Don’t assume you know me, and keep your hands off me, woman.” He barked at her, and was quick to move away.
Ivy was suddenly more embarrassed than she had ever been before. This was an outright affront. He had directly communicated to her now that he didn’t want anything to do with her, that the previous night’s sex had been a mistake.
Ivy could feel hot tears pricking the back of her eyelids, as she tried to stop herself from bursting out in tears.
“You can stay here till your daddy picks you up, but only because I have too much work to do to go around giving people lifts. Just stay out of my way.” He said and turned away from her.
Ivy remained where she was, till she heard the sound of the slamming front door.
Then she started crying. Hot fat tears were rolling down her cheeks, as she remained standing with her hands clasped together.
She felt like she had made a fool of herself. She had thrown herself at a man who only treated her with anger and contempt. She wanted to get away. She would go away.
Ivy slammed the bedroom door shut and sprung herself on the bed, reaching for her cellphone which was on the bedside table now. Her father had sent her a few text messages, which she ignored. She was only interested in the internet now, and accessing the emails that had been sent to her in the last few days.
She re-read the email that had been lying there in her inbox, unanswered for several days.
“Dear Ms. Ivy Hart,
Thank you for applying for the position of Secretary to Mr. George Hernandez. We are pleased with your CV and would like to offer you the position.
How soon will you be able to relocate to Miles City?
Kind Regards,
Debbie Howard
Recruitment Associate, Hernandez & Co.”
She had managed to keep the email a secret for several days, from her father and even from herself. She was ignoring it, and hoping that something better would come along, in her own town instead, which would mean that she wouldn’t have to move to Miles City. But she felt now, like Leon was forcing her to go away. She felt like she had no place here in this town any more. That it was destiny pushing her in the direction of this new job, on the other side of the State. Far away from this no-good small town and from a man who she should have stayed away from to begin with.
“Where is my dinner?” Leon’s voice was thundering outside Ivy’s bedroom door.
She had lain in bed all day, and now she looked up from her phone screen and rolled her eyes.