It was time to start living again, and she made sure there was no trace of them for Royce to find. As long as they lived the way they had been, they would be safe.Ivywas ready to settle down, and Olivia was, too. It wasn’t fair to keepIvyon the run, denying her the most basic things a child needed. She needed stability, and it was time to start living again.
Ivy pulled away and dug back into her pie, as if they hadn’t just had a big talk. “Can I come with you to Kathy’s tomorrow? The school’s right down the road, and I’d like to see Susan during lunch. Please, Mom.” Ivy clasped her hands to her chest and gave her the biggest grin that her face could muster with her cheeks packed full of pie. She reminded Olivia of a chipmunk.
Olivia took a moment to take a bite of her pie, as if she were pondering, when she had already made up her mind. “You can come with me to Kathy’s tomorrow, but not after that.” Olivia watched her daughter’s face fall. “Because you’ll be in school with Susan, after I register you tomorrow.”
Ivy’s face lit up, like a beacon. “Do you mean it? We’re staying for good?”
“Of course, I mean it. I wouldn’t lie.” She owed it to Ivy to give her a normal life.
“Oh, my God, Mom. You’re the best.” Ivy started squealing, not noticing the few people looking at them, before hugging her.
Olivia hugged her daughter tight, not in excitement, like her daughter, but to savor this moment and hoping she wasn’t making a mistake in letting Ivy go back to school.
“Can I go tell Susan?”
“Sure, but finish your pie first.” Ivy gobbled it up in two bites, before dashing out of the back door.
“Do you want anything else?” The waitress, Anna, asked taking the plates away.
“No, thank you.”
Alone, Olivia rested her elbows on the counter, nibbling her thumb nail, a bad habit she’d had since childhood. She only did it, when she was nervous. She feared she was making the wrong decision letting Ivy go back to school. Registration would put them on paper, giving Royce a chance to track them down.
Ivy had Chad’s last name. Royce didn’t know much about Chad other than his first name, and he’d died in a car wreck. He shouldn’t know to look under Chad’s name. At, least she hoped not.
“Is this seat taken?” A deep voice asked next to her.
Olivia jumped about a foot having been startled. She turned to the person who addressed her and felt the color drain from her face.
Chapter 10
After a quick pit stop at Mike’s, Heath drove to Kathy’s diner. It was the only place he knew to try and find Olivia. Kathy owned a small house behind it for her and her daughter, and Kathy could always be found at one of the two places. Heath glanced through the front window, seeing it pretty empty. It wasn’t surprising, since the carnival was going on. The whole town went to it, while it lasted for four days. With the diner being quiet, Kathy was most likely home.
Heath was about to walk past the diner, when something through the window caught his eye. There was a lone person, sitting on the stool in front of the counter, and he would recognize that figure anywhere. What were the odds of finding Olivia so easily?
Heath changed directions, glad he didn’t have to go through Kathy to find Olivia and walked into the diner. No one looked up at his entry, except for the waitress, handing out a plate of food.
“Sit anywhere you like, hon.”
She didn’t look familiar to Heath, but then again, he was usually here in the morning. Not at night. Heath didn’t pay her much attention. His focus was still on the blonde sitting at the counter, who hadn’t noticed him coming in. Heath walked straight up to her. “Is this seat taken?”
Olivia jumped about a foot. How deep was she in thought that she hadn’t heard him coming? She turned up at him, as her face paled. Was she ill or had he scared her that much? “Heath, oh my God. You scared the crap out of me.” She placed a hand on her chest.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine. What are you doing here?” Her gaze darted to the kitchen area, before settling back on his.
“Are you banning me from the diner now?”
“No,” Olivia chuckled. “I just assumed after this afternoon…” She let her words trail off.
“That I wouldn’t want to see you?”
Olivia nodded.
“If you haven’t noticed, I’m not that easily frightened off.” He joked, reminding her she had been trying to push him away for the past month.
“No, you’re not.” She gave him a half smile.
