Chapter 12
When Griz came downstairs, he heard Elowen laughing at something Nichole said.
Everyone seemed relaxed, like they were all getting along.
He didn’t need to worry about Elowen. She was strong enough to stand up for herself.
She looked up and her gaze met his. Heat washed over him and her lips tipped up even more.
“Hey there,” Elowen said.
He moved to stand next to her, wishing they were alone so he could pull her into his arms. “Hello.”
“Aren’t you two cute,” Nichole said.
Elowen chuckled. “When we were kids, I used to grab handfuls of snow and shove them down his shirt.”
Her words made him laugh out loud. He’d forgotten about her shoving snow down his shirt. “Those were good times.”
“Did he ever do that to you?” Danika asked.
She shook her head. “No. He knew I didn’t like to be cold. He said he didn’t mind.”
He shrugged. “It was cold, but whatever. There were only a few times it didn’t feel good. We had fun together.”
“What other antics did you two get into?”
Griz shrugged. “Not much.”
Elowen‘s lips curved into a sad smile. “We both learned at an early age not to upset the parents. They got mean if we did stuff that pissed them off.”
Griz nodded. “We kind of kept to ourselves.”
“We did. But I spent a lot of time enjoying our time together.”
“So you didn’t keep up with each other after graduation?” Rowan asked.
Griz shook his head. Elowen met his gaze, both of them sobered. After a moment Elowen spoke. “You haven’t told any of them?”
He shrugged. “Not much reason to. It’s just a sad story that has no bearing on me today.”
Rowan looked between them then her eyes narrowed. “Abuse at home, right?”
Griz hated talking about his past. He didn’t think sharing that part of his past was important. The guys knew what kind of man he was and trusted him. Telling them his father had beaten the shit out of him wouldn’t improve things.
Elowen cleared her throat. “When he took off, there was blood in the barn. Everyone knew we hung out in the barn and being tall and bigger than most girls, the cops decided I’d killed him.
His dad knew he’d beat the shit out of Justin, well Griz, and didn’t step in.
I was held in juvie for a week until they realized I didn’t have anything to do with it. ”
“Holy shit,” Nichole said.
Danika shook her head then moved to Elowen, pulling her into a hug. “That’s awful.”
“I didn’t know about the cop stuff and juvie until yesterday,” Griz said.
Amelia wiped her eyes. “Damn, I would be so pissed.”
“I was. But I wasn’t pissed at Griz. For a while there, I thought he was dead. They never found a body and my parents showed proof I was at home. Still, people in our hometown were convinced I had killed him.”
Griz pulled her close and kissed the side of her head. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
“It wasn’t your fault. You were just trying to survive.”
Sharp shook his head. “That really sucks. But you seem to have done very well.”
Elowen nodded. “I pushed myself to become something. Growing up on a farm meant I was around tools. I knew how to use them, and I jumped on it, becoming a construction worker.”
“This place is perfect,” Nichole said.
They all gushed about how perfect the cabin was.
Elowen was proud of everything she’d accomplished.
She’d taken a terrible situation and made it great.
The people on review sites said kind things about her cabin, but these people telling her they loved her cabin made her feel amazing.
Their praise meant so much more to her. Maybe it was because she knew they were friends of Griz, and she really respected him.
“Thank you. It means a lot coming from you all.”
Danika clasped her hands in front of her. “How about some food?”
“Good, I’m so hungry,” Sharp said.
They grilled the fish and finished making all the sides.
The bread in the oven smelled especially good.
When they sat down to eat, Elowen looked around and was proud of what she’d created here.
The table had come from a tree a neighbor had to take down.
She’d rescued the wood and created this long table that sat this group comfortably with the leafs extended.
Griz’s friends seemed nice. They talked amongst themselves easily, not asking her too many questions so she didn’t feel like they were grilling her, but they included her in the conversation.
At the end of the meal she insisted that she should help them clean up.
The guys shook their head and told all the women to head outside and sit in the shade with a beverage.
She was a little surprised, but glad they’d taken over the cleanup and she was outside getting to know the other women. “So how did you all meet your men?” Elowen asked.
Amelia laughed. “I was hooking up with Apple when we were younger. I got pregnant. He didn’t know. Our daughter was four when I was kidnapped and Apple found out through a mutual friend, no, not friend, acquaintance about Lainey. He rescued me and now we live with him.”
“Whoa, you were kidnapped?”
“Yes. Everything is fine now. The guy who orchestrated it is gone. He came after me, but he didn’t survive.”
“Oh, that’s good you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Yeah. This group of guys is great. They take care of their own.”
“I was a reporter doing in depth reporting on hospitals near the front lines of military unrest,” Nichole said.
“The SEAL team rescued me. I’d hooked up with Jay on a vacation before. It was nice that he was the man who came in to rescue me.”
“Wow.” Elowen couldn’t believe they’d both had terrible things happen to them.
“I grew up with Sharp. I ran into him when my ex was trying to kill me,” Danika said. “He wanted me dead. Sharp kept me safe.”
“Is the ex out of the picture?”
“Oh yeah, he’s no longer a threat,” Danika said.
Rowan leaned forward. “We were teenagers and on a plane that went down. I became a psychologist and Shine came to see me.”
“So no danger?”
Danika burst out laughing. “She went through hell. One of her patients decided to kidnap her. She’s lucky she was found.”
Rowan nodded. “Very lucky. If I hadn’t reunited with Shine, I don’t think I would have ever been found.”
“Wow.” Elowen turned to Asher, the last one to tell her story.
“I was trafficked. I ended up in a terrible place. I was only rescued because Squat didn’t give up.”
“Damn. You’ve all been through so much.”
Danika took a sip of her beer then lowered the bottle.
“It made us who we are today. We still have some issues. There are certain men I’ll never allow into my house.
I make sure Sharp or one of my friends is around if we have repair people coming into our house.
I hate that I have to do that, but it’s just one of those fear things. ”
Elowen nodded. “Some of the guys I used to work with were ridiculous. It’s why I saved up my money and bought this place. I had to act tough all the time, and I still do when I have contractors come over to help with something, but it sucks that you can’t just trust people to be decent.”
Amelia’s lips twisted to the side. “I haven’t had any repair people come to our house. I hadn’t even thought of having someone with me.”
“Do you think you need someone?” Rowan asked.
Amelia shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“The number of people who would be willing to lose their job and hurt you is low, but it’s not zero.
Logically, which I know emotions and fear from past abuses aren’t logical, so don’t mistaken what I’m saying.
But logically, you don’t need anyone to be with you because most workers aren’t willing to risk their job, but if you’ve had stuff happen like what happens to so many women, you can’t trust. And I know I’m doing my therapists thing, but it’s more about what you’ve been through in your life than what another person will do in your presence. ”
Danika nodded. “I‘ve never had any problems, but I don’t know if it’s because I’m not alone, or if it’s because the person is decent.”
Elowen raised her eyebrows. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
The men stepped outside and began tossing a ball around.
She continued chatting with the women, glad she’d decided to come instead of canceling.
Griz’s friends really were good people. They weren’t hung up on themselves, which was refreshing.
Before, when she’d been working construction, the guy’s wives were always snippy toward her, saying things that made her never want to spend time with them.
She needed to get back home and do some cleaning. Her days weren’t full of cleaning and working now that the cabin was finished, but she still liked to maintain a schedule. Having Griz here meant her time in the evening would be taken up. She hoped he would come by at night.
When she stood, Griz jogged over. “Hey,” he said, his smile wide as he moved closer to brush a kiss over her cheek.
“I should head home. I need to take care of a few things.”
“Sure. I’ll walk you.”
“You don’t—” she started but didn’t finish because of the look on his face. He was going to walk her back no matter what.
The women stood and gave her hugs before she took off. Griz’s friends told her they were glad she’d come to lunch. She was happy to have met these people. If they asked her to join them again, she would.
Griz held her hand as they made their way back to her cabin.
She glanced over as the sun shined on his face.
He really was a good-looking man. He was tall, muscular, and he had a dark beard, dark eyes, and shaggy hair, but there was a kindness in his eyes.
When he smiled, it’s like the sun was shining on her.
“You’re so beautiful.”
His words caused laughter to bubble up. “You don’t have to say that.”
He stopped walking and pulled her to a stop. “You are absolutely beautiful. It’s not because we were friends as kids. Just looking at you makes me want you.”