Page 10 of Breaking Him

“You know Kyle’s been flapping his gums around town?” Cassie said across from me at the kitchen table.

I hadn’t meant to be so obvious. I sipped my coffee to hide my reaction to her words and turned to her. “What’s that jackass been saying?”

“That Elijah attacked him, unprovoked.” Her eyebrow hiked up.

“That slimy little toad. Eli didn’t attack him, he sent him packing when Kyle wouldn’t take no for an answer. He was protecting me.” I snorted. “And Kyle nearly crapped his own pants. That’s what has him so pissed. The man looked ready to faint when he saw who’d shoved him in his car.”

Cassie made a hmmm sound. “I know your dad had a soft spot for the boy, but he’s gone now. You don’t need to keep him here anymore if he makes you uncomfortable. There’s plenty of people that could do his job.”

I stared at my friend, surprised by what she’d just said, unease unfurling inside me. “Why would Eli make me uncomfortable?” Okay, he had a time or two, but not in the way Cassie meant. He had me squirming and aching for him, but never scared, never that. “He’s a good man, Cass.”

She shook her head. “People in town say…”

“Since when do you pay attention to what the gossips say? If what they say he did is true, it happened when he was just a boy. He’s a grown man now. From then to now, he’s done nothing to deserve the hate and fear he gets from them. They have nothing better to do than make up stories, spouting their poison as fact. Those people know nothing about him, not really. Kyle is the one at fault here, and you know it. And to be honest, I don’t know what would’ve happened if Eli hadn’t stepped in.” I got to my feet and dumped the rest of my coffee in the sink. “Tell your gossips that.”

I turned to Cassie, and she blinked up at me from her seat at my table, then she stood and placed her own cup in the sink. “Well, then. I’m glad he was here to look out for you.” She rested her hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You have a soft heart, girl. Just like your dad, you give everyone the benefit of the doubt. But, honey, I want you to be careful now that you’re here on your own with him. Don’t let that handsome face blind you. Something isn’t right with that man…the way he doesn’t talk, it just isn’t…natural.”

“Now hang on…”

“His father was a cruel bastard, it’s true. No one was sad the day he was put in the ground, but that boy lived in that environment, and for all we know killed the man. Wyatt used to beat him, starve him…”

“What?” I stumbled back a step. Oh God. I thought I might actually throw up.

“When he was at school with my boys, the other kids were scared of him. He wouldn’t play with anyone, would sit so still and quiet, like a little statue, like no one would notice him if he didn’t move…”

“You knew this?” Elijah had moved on to middle school by the time I started elementary and had left high school before I began.

“A lot of folks knew.”

“And no one did anything to help him? You all knew his father was abusing him and everyone just sat back and did nothing?” Red rage exploded through me. “You should be ashamed of yourselves…”

“Abigail.”

Her voice was sharp, a tone she’d never used on me before, but I didn’t care. I was furious. “How dare all of you pass judgment on him when you all let a little boy fend for himself, when you left him living with a monster and did nothing to help him.” I was breathing heavily, on the verge of tears, and Cassie was looking at me like I’d lost my mind. She also had the decency to look guilty.

“I regret that I didn’t step in, but you have to understand, it isn’t done around here. We keep out of other folks’ business.”

I barked out a humorless laugh. Oh, I knew how it worked around here, the way the people in this town were. “That’s horseshit and you know it. This town has more than its fair share of gossips and busybodies. They live to stick their noses in other people’s business.”

Cassie’s expression went from guilt to hurt, but right then I couldn’t muster any sympathy for one of my father’s oldest friends, for my friend.

“I’m not telling you these things to upset you,” she said. “I’m telling you so you know what that boy lived through. He’s been…changed, because of it.” She put her hand on my arm. “How could he not be after that? You need to be careful around Elijah Hays.”

The bang of the front door closing cut off my answer before I’d opened my mouth. I raced to the window, cursing when I saw Eli striding away from the house toward the barn.

He’d heard what Cassie said.

He’d heard us talking about him.

Chapter Five

Cassie left, looking pale and kind of freaked out, stuttering her apology. I wasn’t interested in hearing it, and as soon as she was heading down the driveway, I rushed to the barn after Eli.

I shoved the door open and stepped inside. It was dimly lit, but I didn’t need to see him to know where he was. He was at that punching bag again, beating the ever-loving shit out of it, his grunts as his fists connected breaking the silence.

I walked toward him, not afraid, only concerned, wanting to make it right. To tell him I didn’t believe what Cassie said about his state of mind. He might be changed after what he’d been through, anyone would be, but I had nothing to fear, not from him. He’d never hurt me.

He knew I was there—Eli was always aware of his surroundings—but he didn’t stop this time, didn’t even look at me. His bulging biceps danced as he plowed his fists into the worn leather. I moved in close and reached out, touching his back. He jerked away from me like I’d struck him. “Eli, please stop.”