Chapter 6
ABIGAIL
Elias was so serious. Getting him to lighten up took a lot of work, but I was determined. Over the next hour, I would hammer him with a barrage of questions to get to the nut that sat in the middle of his rock-hard abs. After I was done with him, he”d be an open book, and then I could get him to do anything I wanted. It”s not that I”m evil, though I have an agenda. Not having much parental supervision growing up allowed me to learn life in a completely different way—from the streets.
Don”t underestimate the value of watching people in the wild. Parents who reprimanded their children in public to businessmen melting into little boys when they lost big deals. I saw it all. I took mental notes and used those lessons to establish patterns in people that any clinical psychologist would applaud. I didn”t need a lot of backstory to come to my conclusions. However, some information could swing my opinions dramatically. People are generally the same unless they”ve been traumatized or raised by wolves. We all, mostly, want the same things. Maslow had it right, except at the top of the triangle. Actualization is subjective and not an altogether solution to a finish line in my opinion. The one thing I was blessed with was the ability to read people despite my handicap. My teachers were always impressed at how quickly I could spin my approach to working with teammates after spending only a few minutes with them. It”s my sixth sense. After three high school psychology courses and years of YouTube education, I believed I had the equivalent of an undergraduate degree in psychology. Either way, Elias would crack open like a walnut at Christmas.
”So . . . tell me about where you grew up, Elias.” I looked at my chipped nail polish nonchalantly, promising myself I”d remove it the first chance I had.
He gave me a quick look, then focused on the road again. ”Me? Uh. You know, a usual background. Strict parents, church, football, rugby, homework. Usual.” His mouth twitched. Did he want to add something? Why was he so tongue-tied?
”Huh. Elias, my childhood didn”t include any of those things except homework. Yours sounds predictable.”
”Yeah, predictable and boring,” he mumbled annoyingly.
I meant to say it as a compliment. Nothing was predictable in my life. I wish it had been. Maybe I wouldn”t be such a spaz all the time.
”I didn”t mean that as a judgment. It”s reassuring to know what to expect and not be always on high alert. Tell me something else. Did you have a girlfriend in high school? A dog? A cat? Bunk beds?” I asked as sweetly as I could. I even twisted in my seat to show engagement. See that? Psychology.
”Aren”t you full of probing questions this afternoon? I didn”t realize emptying your bladder made you so talkative.” He smirked and then laughed full-out.
”Ha ha ha. You didn”t answer any of my questions. Do I have to repeat them, or are you smart enough to remember?” I snarked back.
”Yes. Dog. No bunk beds. I was an only child.” His brow knit slightly, admitting that to me.
”Me, too.” I shared.
”A girlfriend? A dog or an only child?” he asked.
How could eyebrows morphing from scrunched to raised be so sexy? His smile was full and beautiful and stretched to his eyes. Although I couldn”t see most of his mouth through his beard, I could see the fullness of his lips while he laughed. I liked that, too.
”I”m an only child. My mother died when I was four. Why didn”t your parents have more kids?” Shut up, Abigail. That’s rude. I blew through an explanation of my mother”s passing, not giving him an opportunity to comment on it I only knew two things about her passing: sudden and painful.
”My parents weren”t the most demonstrative couple. They didn”t share much with me on purpose. They would say, ”What happens in a marriage stays within the marriage.” I suppose they had their reasons, but I learned later on that my mother suffered through several miscarriages and gave up on trying again.” He rubbed under his eye as if he had an itch.
I looked like a fool. When would I learn not to speak every word in my nosey head?
”I”m sorry, Elias. I didn”t mean to pry. I”m sorry for their pain and loss. You deserved to have a sister or brother.” I fingered through the loose tendrils of hair that had fallen from my braid.
”It”s all right. I had friends and, like I said, a dog, so that was cool. How about you? Friends? Pet?”
I”m happy he changed the subject. In my earnest attempt to get to know him, I alienated him. Geez, I was a real ballbuster.
”I have an aunt who raised me. I wasn”t the easiest kid and made her life difficult at times. I stayed at my friend Seneca”s house in high school, mostly since my aunt worked the afternoon shift. It was a good arrangement and kept me from being a juvenile delinquent. Any pet I would have had would die a painful death since I wasn”t around to feed or love it. I was invisible.”
I muttered the last three words, feeling sorry for myself. I”d vacillated from ”poor me” to ”I”m free to do what I want my whole life.”
”Abigail. Listen. Neither one of us had a perfect childhood. Make no mistake about that. What I wouldn”t have given to do what I wanted, how and when I wanted.” He let out a chesty chuckle. ”My parents would have had an aneurysm if I chose to hang out with friends after school instead of being on a team or doing homework.” He shook his head slowly and rolled his eyes upward.
”Aren”t we a pair then? Two opposites of the spectrum, and yet we haven”t killed each other—yet.” I slapped my knee and laughed.
He looked at me funny, ”A pair? As in together? You and me? I”m just driving you somewhere, not hitching up with you.” He sniped at me.
My jaw dropped in shock. I didn”t suggest that at all. He was so literal I wanted to punch him in the arm. It”s good that I didn”t because I might have hurt my hand.
”Don”t be an ass!” I shouted, and he began to laugh.
”Are you mocking me?” I kept shouting and getting angrier by the second.
”Are you mocking me?” He shouted back, trying not to laugh again. Unsuccessfully, I might add.
Realization kicked in. I was the one being duped this time.
”Ha. Ha. Fine. You got me. Well done.” I smirked and turned forward in my seat. ”Nice to know you”re a quick learner. I”d hate to have to spell everything out for you.”
”You can spell anything you want for me.” His white teeth shone brightly.
”How about S-H-U-T U-P?” I crossed my arms and stared out the window, chewing my bottom lip. This guy was getting under my skin.
”Don”t be a spoil-sport. We”re almost to our destination, and you”re going to need my help to drag all your crap into your new mansion.” He reached over and gave me a light punch in my arm. If I weren”t being cheeky, I would have yelped in pain, but no, I wouldn”t give him that. No way. No how.
”About that, Elias. When we arrive, I have to go to the courthouse”s Office of Deeds. Then, I have to go to the realtor”s office for the keys. I want to buy you lunch for helping me out, and I will pay you back for the gas as soon as I get a job or inherit a bunch of money.” I smiled sweetly, framing the back of my fingers under my cheekbone.
That barrel-chested laugh roared once more, and I felt a connection to him I had never felt with anyone else in my life. How ironic it was that he came into my life when he did. Thanks, Mom.
ELIAS
Abigail was a contradiction. She”s smart and funny one minute and naive and severe the next. She vacillated like a pendulum on a grandfather clock. Keeping up with her was exhausting, but I”m loving the challenge. When she mentioned us being a pair, I had to keep from slamming on the brakes. Instead, my brain knocked against my skull at the idea that such a pairing would be outrageous. And tempting. And hot as fuck. For the past twenty-four hours, I”ve been chastising my libido for even thinking about her in any other way but as an acquaintance. Sometime today she mentioned being 24, and I was hugely relieved, I wasn’t having illicit thought about a minor. Shit! I was over a decade, and then some, older than her, and I felt like a pervert indulging in that kind of thought. It was her lips that distracted me the most. They were so expressive with that tiny Cupid’s bow in the middle of her upper lip. When she wasn”t speaking, her lips rested in a tiny o, and I wanted to put my finger over the top of it and imagine that mouth sucking on other things. I”m a sick asshole. She probably hasn”t even been with a man, especially not one of my size and girth. My frame wasn”t the only overdeveloped part of my physique. Doing car repair work did most of the heavy lifting that kept my body in shape, though bailing hay twice a week for a friend wasn”t child’s play. When I quit my engineering job, I also quit the gym. I felt claustrophobic, stuck behind four concrete walls and a bunch of prima donna assholes looking at themselves in the mirrors. Get over yourselves and get outside in the free fresh air.
”Elias, did you hear me?”
I shook my head clear. Had she been calling my name for long? ”Uh, no. What did you say?”
”Your navigation thing said to exit right in one mile.” She looked at me like I was, I don”t know, weird.
”Oh shit. Yeah.” I put on my blinker, looked in my side mirror, and swerved right in enough time to exit. ”Sorry,” I muttered. Geez, man, stop distracting yourself.
”Are you sure you”re okay? We still have to drive ten miles to claim my deed. Do you want me to take over?” She was talking fast and sounded concerned. Was I driving that badly?
I dragged my hand over my face and pulled myself together. ”Let”s stop for lunch, and then we can drive the rest of the way.”
”No.”
No?”Why not? I”m starving, and you said it yourself: I could use a break from driving.” I stared her down, attempting to intimidate her into giving in.
”Pull over, now.” She pointed to a gas station and unbuckled her seatbelt before I even pulled in. ”I”m not taking chances that the Office of Deeds closes early or the person who does whatever needs to be done drops dead. We are going to make the claim now, then we can eat. Got it!”
She actually shouted at me while unlocking the door and exiting the vehicle. Seconds later, she whipped open my door and continued her rampage, ”Get out! You”re taking a break.” She grabbed my hand off the wheel and tugged with all her might to get me to move, and, as much as I wanted to oblige her, I stayed seated.
”Why aren”t you moving?” she whined, bracing her foot on the running board and pulling harder. ”Why are you so big anyway? You”re like a freak of nature. A human tree or something.” Her continued attempts of moving me turned into anger and then to tears. Damn it.
I jumped out of the cab and sat down on the running board. ”Abigail. Why are you getting so upset? We have plenty of time to get to that office. Maybe we should call and ensure they will be open in an hour. How about that?” I know I sounded patronizing, or even parental, for that matter. She needed reassurance I couldn”t give her. I stood up, reached into the center console for her phone, and handed it to her. ”Here. Make the call. You”ll feel more in control, knowing for sure.”
She sniffed and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. ”I can”t screw this up, Elias. I just can”t. If I don”t do things immediately after I think about them, I forget to do them. It”s not intentional or self-sabotaging; it”s only that my brain doesn”t process things the same way others do.”
My instinct was to pull her into my arms and give her strength, except she needed to muster her strength to get through this on her own. If there is one thing I have learned about Miss Abigail Farnsworth-Burton, she”s a survivor and very clever. She survived daily on her own; she”d been doing that for years. What could I do that she wasn”t already doing for herself?
I tipped her chin up, letting myself get lost in her hazel-green eyes. ”You”ve got his, Abby. Believe in yourself.” Her expression morphed into shock.
”You”re right. I can do this. I have to do this myself.” She chanted each statement like a coach speaking to their team. ”Elias . . . thank you.”
I pulled my hand back, stuffed it into my pants, and watched her make the calls. She asked many questions while pacing back and forth next to my truck. Like the pervert I am, I watched her tight, pear-shaped ass swish by me over and over again. I wanted to squeeze both cheeks—hard. Her small breasts stretched her T-shirt, making the words, “Try Me,” more like an appetizer than a challenge. When she yanked the end of her braid, forcing it to unravel in wavy, dark brown tresses, I had to stand up to give my dick more room. Fuck, was she gorgeous. I waved at her, pointing to the building, letting her know I was stepping away. I waited to see her nod before I ran to the bathroom to relieve myself. This guy needed immediate relief, and getting the job done didn”t take much more than a few pulls. This trip better end soon or I”m unsure how safe this woman would be around me.
I returned to see Abby sitting on the running board, rebraiding her hair. So sad for me.
”So, how did it go? You were on the phone for a while.” I stood over her, waiting for her reply.
”Pretty good, I think. Susan Somebody is at lunch and won”t be back until one-thirty, so I guess we should eat now. They needed Mr. Brickner”s phone number to ask some outstanding questions, and, until he responds, we can”t finish the transaction. I called the realtor and asked that he meet us at the courthouse at three to drive us out to the house and show me around, but he said I had to go to his office. I hope I thought of everything.” I let her ruminate a few more minutes while I looked around for a place to eat.
”Sounds like you did all the right things.” I knew that she hadn”t, though. It wasn”t my place to get involved; I certainly wouldn”t make her feel bad. ”Get in the cab and we’ll start driving in the right direction. We”ll stop along the way to eat, okay?”
She expelled a long sigh, ”Fine.” Her shoulders sagged as she walked around the vehicle and hopped back into her seat. ”I guess I can wait two hours.”
”You”ll make it.” I attested, and drove down a picturesque, tree-covered road.
I didn”t know her past well enough to discern if she understood that claiming the property was the easy part. I”m confident she hadn”t thought about turning on the utilities, changing the locks, cleaning a furnace, and everything else a potentially dilapidated mansion might need. I couldn”t handle this for her. I had my own business with my own responsibilities. Abigail would get some fast lessons in home ownership whether she wanted to or not and the only thing I could do after I dropped her off was wish her luck.