Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Cassie
Eli made sure I was invited to the trailer and not left outside with the crowd that gathered. It was like the prodigal son returned. There were people who looked happy to see him, and some not so much.
Particularly the woman, Teresa. She’s been glaring daggers at me since she joined the group and folded her arms, pushing out her hip. No need to guess why. Who can blame her? Eli is an amazing person who any woman would be glad to have, and sad to lose.
So why do I keep pushing him away?
The trailer is not what I expected when we walk to the seating area. They travel the country in these things, it’s their home. It’s comfortable and has everything a small apartment might have.
Liz and Victor are the only ones in here with us. I’m glad Teresa was shut out. Eli is tall, with long legs so he ushers me into the seating area before him, so he can stretch out his legs.
“Time’s been kind to you,” Liz says, eyeballing him. “Though you always were a heartbreaker.”
The side-eye I give him doesn’t go unnoticed.
“This is Cassie,” he skips over the compliment. He’s never liked it when people talk about his looks.
“And who is Cassie to you?” Liz asks, she’s not looking at me.
I’m not sure what to say, or even whether to speak.
“Rode in with her at his back,” Victor grunts out. “That says something, doesn’t it?”
Eli moves his thigh, so it presses to mine, his meaning clear. Don’t dispute their assumption even if it is instinct to deny it.
The comment shows Victor was aware of our arrival before we even got off his bike.
“Left Teresa high and dry,” Liz says with an edge to her voice.
“It was time, Liz and it’s been sixteen years.” Eli doesn’t defend himself in any meaningful way.
“Well,” she sniffs. “She went and married the first asshole who came along, got herself a couple of kids. Told her not to, but when did she ever listen to me.”
“What can we do for you Elias?” Victor asks, clearly sick of hearing about his niece’s life choices. “This isn’t a social call.”
He leans forward, putting both elbows on the table and clasping his hands. “I need your help.”
“We might not be inclined to give it.”
I’m getting pissed off with their attitude, but he warned me they wouldn’t be trusting.
“Do you still have contact with Curtis?”
Liz sucks in a small breath and turns to me. Her expression is stony.
“Elias Adelman. You know better than to bring that up with a stranger here.”
“She’s not a stranger,” he replies, his voice even, trying to keep everyone calm.
“She is to us, and to what you’re asking me about.”
The atmosphere has changed. It’s clear to me they aren’t going to talk with me here and Eli may have fucked up any chance of getting information because of that.
“I’ll leave,” I say.
Eli doesn’t argue so I get to my feet. He does too and I frown.
“Gonna see her to Hopper then I’ll come back,” he sets his steely gaze on Liz. “This is important, you know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t.”
She doesn’t say anything, her glare rivaling that of her daughter. Eli puts his hand on my back again, something I’m getting too used to. We step outside and he guides me away from the trailer.
“I fucked that up,” I say.
“It was my fault.”
“I shouldn’t have come. If they won’t talk now-”
“They’ll talk, I won’t give them the option not to.”
Unsure what he means by that I let it go. He walks me to a small food hut with chairs and tables out front. A woman with green hair, wearing jean shorts, a checked shirt and apron comes over.
“Wondered if you’d come see me,” she grins, then reaches up to hug Eli.
Do all the women here love him? Dumb question. There is something about the way this one is looking at him that makes my body relax. He’s smiling at her like he would a sister. She turns her attention to me.
“Honey, you have walked into the lion’s den coming here with this guy.”
A half smile tilts my lips, I like her. Eli knew where to take me.
She offers me coffee and a bagel and shoos him away.
Not before he checks I’m okay and warns me to stick with Hopper.
We need the information these people have and if this is the way to do it, I’m not going to act like I can’t handle it.
Eli makes sure once more I’m okay then he does something weird. He leans down and kisses my cheek. I’m too stunned to react, but he whispers into my ear.
“Stay here, if anyone tries anything, Hopper will handle it.”
To anyone watching it looks like he’s nuzzling into me. My head bob is imperceptive. He pulls back and looks into my eyes. It’s only us in that moment and my stomach flutters like butterflies are trying to break out and I’m not sure whether to slap him away or draw him in.
My lips part, an unbidden reaction to his nearness. If I thought I could keep fooling myself that this man doesn’t drive me wild, I’m a fucking idiot.
Eli makes the most of it and dips his head, cupping my bottom lip between his. The flutter turns into full-blown lust and I’m tempted to grab him and make this kiss something more but he steps back and gives Hopper a look, then walks away.
“You need a chair? Or a wet wipe?”
A laugh bursts out of me. She’s straight to the point that’s for sure.
“Jesus, I need a fan, that was combustible. Then again, Elias always was the kind to fluster women. Not that he tried,” she walks back to the counter and goes behind it, indicating for me to take one of the stools.
“That boy only had to walk by and women swooned. Even women old enough to be his mother. And let me tell you, there are still people here who wouldn’t mind getting up close and personal. ”
The butterflies turn green and violent. Hopper laughs.
“Don’t worry, I saw how he looked at you. He ain’t got eyes for anyone else.”
Hopper gets me a coffee in a to go mug and pours herself one, then leans over the counter to study me.
“He did good. I’m glad. He was always better than most people here.
From the moment he showed up a scrawny seventeen-year-old it was obvious he came from something different to most people who join us. ”
Okay. This could be an unexpected opportunity.
I don’t let on I have no idea about Eli’s past. I guessed he’d been here a lot longer than that.
He showed up when he was seventeen? Where was he before that?
The night we talked he hinted at there being something dark in his past, tragic even but he never elaborated.
It would raise red flags if I asked Hopper what she knew.
Bringing me here, Eli must have known things would come out about his past that he hasn’t told me.
Did he run away from a family? He mentioned kids coming to join the carnival and realizing it was too hard.
Now that I think about it, his voice changed when he said that.
They go back to their rich parents. That’s what he said.
By the time he comes back, I’ve had two coffees and Hopper has fended off at least three men, one of who was a stunt biker. He’s good looking and cocky as hell but he’s just a kid.
She’s also kept an eye on the woman circling the hut, occasionally casting a dark look in different directions now and then. Of all the women giving Eli attention, she’s the biggest threat, if I had one.
“Hey,” he puts a hand on my back, and I turn on the stool, tilting my head to look at him. He’s standing so close I can’t see anything around or behind him. He checks me over, like something might have happened while he was gone.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
He nods. His whole body is tense, but he doesn’t say anything more.
“Thanks Hopper.”
“No problem. Don’t you be a stranger.”
She smiles sadly like she knows it’s a pointless platitude. They travel around the country so much it would be hard for him to keep up with them. We’re lucky they were close by when we needed them. There are no more hugs, and he doesn’t pay attention to anyone as we leave the fairground.
Instinctively I know not to ask any more questions and keep walking alongside him. He’s slowed his pace, so he doesn’t leave me behind, which only makes me think how much of a gentleman he is, even in something so simple.
At his bike, he takes a moment to look it over. Does he think someone has messed with it? I glance back at the carnival but there are too many trucks and rides in the way to see back to where the workers live.
“Had a little run in with someone,” he explains, taking our helmets from the saddle bag.
“You think they’d deliberately sabotage your bike?”
“He’s not happy that his wife is paying me attention.”
Oh, okay. Her husband. Jesus. “Is it safe?”
“Don’t see anything, come on. We can stop off somewhere and talk.”
I don’t ask any questions and climb on behind him. He turns the bike and heads back to the highway and I grip his waist tighter. On the way here, I was terrified and wondering what the hell women who ride on the back of a bike are so excited about. The longer we rode, the more I enjoyed it.
Together with the closeness it created between us.
I sure as shit wasn’t taking any chances and hung on tight, just like he told me too, not caring if he read anything into it.
Now though, the warmth of his body pressing against my front, the strong hard lines of his thighs where mine wrap around them, all serve to bring back memories.
They’re invaded by other thoughts, of what an amazing man he is. Mysterious too, now that I know he didn’t grow up around these people. He had a life before them too.
I’m not sure how far we’ve gone when he does eventually pull over.
There are no buildings around and he takes a dirt path further into the trees and navigates us to what looks like a rest stop for hikers.
It’s empty but there is a trash can and a single old and weathered bench so it doesn’t encourage loitering.
There are leaves all over the ground, no one appears to have been here for a while.