TAINTED

Chapter 6

IVY

When I rolled out of bed the following day, the house was eerily silent. Still in my pajamas, I crept across the floor, passing by Rhys's bedroom door across the hall. I had no idea if he was in there, but I decided I was better off not knowing. If he was always going to be a room away, lying half-naked in his bed, I wasn't sure if I would survive the summer. Last night proved Rhys was still just as drool-worthy as I remembered. It wasn't fair someone could even be that good-looking.

I pressed my toes onto the smooth, cold tiles leading into the kitchen. The two empty whiskey glasses from last night were still on the countertop. In the early morning sun, a bright red lipstick smear sparkled on the rim of one of the tumblers. I cursed Rhys under my breath and wanted to scream. Is that what he liked? Girls who drank straight whiskey and wore cheap lipstick? Of course, he did; those were the only girls he gave the time of day when we were in high school.

My first shift started in under two hours, and I still needed to eat and shower. I pulled open the cupboard, hoping to find something I could quickly digest to stop the rumbling in my stomach. I didn't want to walk to the employee bunkhouse and eat in the dining hall. The food was worse than cafeteria food in college. Mr. Wyatt didn't seem to find it necessary to feed his employees well for a top-line resort.

I poured myself a bowl of cereal, grabbed a glass of orange juice and let myself out the patio doors and onto the deck to eat breakfast. When I finished, I tidied up, showered, and put on my uniform and some makeup. I was so excited to start making money and be reunited with all my old friends who came to work at the resort for the summer.

Once I was ready, I moved quickly down the hallway. My body jerked to a stop when I passed by the side door leading to the garage. I slowly took a step backward and wrapped my fingers around the doorknob. The hinges squeaked, and the sound echoed down the hallway. I needed to know once and for all if Rhys was still here.

Relief washed over me when his black Range Rover was gone.

By the time I reached the resort, the sun was exceptionally bright. I was less than two steps away from entering the air-conditioned lobby when a familiar voice perked up behind me, "Well, well, well, if it isn't the cutest little dame in all of Montana."

I spun around and ran towards the voice that always made me smile. "Missy!"

She looked cute, with her long brown hair pulled into a side braid. Her blue eyes twinkled in the sunlight, and her infectious smile beamed in my direction.

I wrapped my arms around her neck, and we swayed in a tight hug for a long while. I missed her so much. She was like a sister I never had. Not to mention the one and only girl who brought grit and entertainment to this town.

The day we graduated high school, Missy told me she was headed off to bigger and better things than country markets and rusty old pick-up trucks. She was accepted to NYU's theatre program. She's always dreamed of being on stage.

According to our long FaceTime sessions, she loved every minute of living in New York. She asked me to visit her on more than one occasion. I wanted to go so badly, but I didn't have the money and was scared of flying. I'd never been out of state or on a plane. I wished I could see Times Square and all the Broadway shows that Missy told me about. I promised her I would make it there someday.

"Where the hell were you last night? I'm stuck bunking with Harriet, and she snores." Missy groaned.

"I'm staying at the Wyatt ranch."

I could tell she already knew by the tiny smirk that curled at the edges of her lips.

"I figured as much. You two must be getting pretty serious for Mr. Wyatt to allow something like that." Missy narrowed her eyes at me, and I shook my head.

"We're not that serious." I watched Missy's perfectly plucked eyebrows inch a bit higher. "You know how Blaine is. I told him I wanted to stay in the employee bunkhouse with everyone else, but he had other plans."

She waved her hand in the air as we entered the reception area. "Well, whatever. I think it's sweet. He loves you so much, " she said.

Arlene, the front desk manager, greeted us on the other side of the doorway. Her radiant grin lit up the lodge when she saw both our faces. Her brown curls, streaked with silver, bounced over in our direction. "I missed you, little devils. It's good to have you back."

"Thanks, Arlene." Missy tossed her purse over the front desk. "We missed you too, you know."

"I highly doubt either of you thought much of me or this place while you were at college. Especially you, Missy, living in the Big Apple," she teased and turned to hug me.

Missy laughed. "That may be true, Arlene, but as they say, you can take the girl out of the country but can't take the country out of the girl."

Arlene turned and asked me, "What about you, Ivy? Are you happy to be home this summer without Blaine? Mr. Wyatt told me he is on some big research project and living in Paris all summer."

"Yeah, he's pretty lucky," I shrugged. "But I'll be more than fine without him."

A low whistle behind us made me jerk around. Two fly-fishing tour guides, Grayson and Charlie, were leaning against the doorway like they were planning to stay awhile.

"Welcome back, lovely ladies," Grayson said with a hankering smile. His eyes travelled from my feet up to my chest. He held his gaze at my cleavage for a few moments before he finally looked into my eyes, "Holy Ivy, when did you get curves? Damn girl, you look good."

"Thanks, Grayson," I mumbled, walking behind the front desk to hide my assets from his hungry eyes.

"What about me?" Missy demanded.

Last summer, Missy and Grayson had an on-again, off-again romance. When they were on again, they were intense and constantly got caught making out all over Whitefish Resort. When they were off again, Missy would purposely flirt with random fishermen to get under Grayson's skin. Grayson would desperately try to seduce other female staff members to make Missy jealous, although he never had much luck.

Grayson grinned wickedly. "Meh, you look the same. Maybe tomorrow, put on a little bit more blush. It would do you some good."

Missy whipped a pencil at him.

"Okay, that's enough. Don't you two have a crew to lead?" Arlene asked.

"Don't worry, Arlene. We'll be out of your hair in a minute." Charlie smiled. "We stopped by to invite you, ladies, to the staff bonfire we're having tonight behind the bunkhouse. Now that Ivy doesn't have Blaine chasing her tail all summer, maybe she can come out and have some real fun."

Charlie's inviting grin burned in my direction, but his words were infuriating. I hated how everyone thought I was Blaine's property. Sweat moistened my forehead from the overwhelming feeling of always being defined as one thing in life – Blaine's girl. I was so much more than that, and I was definitely not as innocent as everyone thought - including Blaine.

"We'll see," Missy rapped her fingers on the countertop. "Ivy and I might be too busy tonight."

Grayson let out a low chuckle. "Oh yeah? Doing what?"

"Not you," Missy said.

"Okay, boys, get out of here. You extended the invitation, now get lost. We have a resort to run." Arlene shooed them away with the back of her hand.

When they were gone, I turned to Missy, completely confused. "So, we're not going?"

"Oh, we're going," Missy chuckled. "I'll be wearing my tightest dress and sexiest cowboy boots. I'll make that damn Grayson beg for me tonight if it's the last thing I do."