True Belonging 2 by Ella Cooper
Chapter Four
Eliza
Kate came back to talk to me again after Flint’s truck had disappeared down the dirt road. She stood over me, her shadow glancing onto the wood I was working with. I frowned and turned around to look up at her.
“Didn’t you already bother me enough?” I asked, putting the hammer down and getting up from the stool. “What could you possibly want now?”
“I thought I’d give you another chance to be honest with me,” Kate replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Somehow, it felt more like blackmail than anything else. “We wouldn’t want people sniffing around unnecessarily, don’t you agree?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, already planning an escape strategy in my head if she tried to physically drag me off. “I work for Flint, and that’s all that’s going on.”
For a moment, I found myself wishing that he was there to send her off with a gruff one-liner. At the same time, I didn’t want to become dependent on him to do anything for me. I’d have to deal with Kate myself.
Kate sighed dramatically. “If that’s the way you want to play this game, then fine. But let me tell you, I’m not fooled by your cutesy little demeanor. I’ll find out what’s really going on here.”
“Can you leave me alone already?” I answered in frustrated exasperation. “I don’t have time for weird little chats.”
“Fine,” Kate said, shaking her head before she started walking away. “I hope you realize that this isn’t over.”
The stress of the whole situation ate at me. I had no idea what she knew or who else she’d spoken to, or even what she’d told other people.
Even so, I had work to do, and I wasn’t going to let some vindictive woman ruin my day. A few times, I’d injured my hands with scratches and bruises. Still, it was satisfying to watch my progress unfold in front of my eyes.
As the afternoon wore on, Flint didn’t come back. I wondered what it was that was keeping him so busy, but it wasn’t my place to pry. Besides, I realized that I didn’t have his number and couldn’t find out anyway.
Instead, I kept going until almost four, when I decided that I was too hungry to even pull one more plank loose. At the same time, I was fairly grumpy, not only because of Kate, but also because Flint had left me to work alone for hours.
I headed back up to the house, where I disinfected the scratches on my hands and undid the bandage that covered the wound from the broken glass. After I’d cleaned and redressed it, I heard someone at the door.
“You’ve been gone a while,” I called down the hallway, turning to watch Flint walk into the kitchen. “I got about half of what we planned done.”
He seemed to have a storm hanging over his head, a mood as dark as mine was becoming.
“Had a meeting with my lawyer,” he answered as he turned the kettle on. “Thanks for the barn.”
His bluntness told me that he wasn’t really in the mood for a chat. I decided to respect that and walked past him to go take a bath upstairs.
“What are you not telling me?” Flint’s question made me pause and turn in the door. “I can see in your eyes that something happened. What is it?”
“Nothing,” I insisted, even as Kate’s face flickered in my mind. “I mean, I’m a bit annoyed that you took so long, but that’s all. It’s not a big deal.”
“You’re lying.” Flint leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. Even though he seemed angry and frustrated, the muscles that lined his limbs caught my attention. I remembered what it felt like to have them wrapped around me, that kiss that had tasted like the heart of the earth itself.
I shook my head, mostly trying to rid it of those thoughts. “No, that’s it. I don’t know what happened with your meeting today, but don’t project it onto me.”
The kettle made the strange whistling sound that it sometimes did behind Flint, filling the silence only slightly. Flint released his arms to pinch the bridge of his nose, as if he was trying to regain some of his patience.
“So you’re really not going to talk to me about it, huh?” he said when he looked at me again, his eyes almost burning into mine. “Just going to pretend that it’s nothing every time? Did my family do something to you? Did they tell you something?”
“About what?” This time, I was genuinely bewildered. “Listen, I don’t even know what happened with you today. Doesn’t that seem a bit like the pot calling the kettle black? Why don’t you want to talk about your situation?”
Something seemed to change in his face that stung at me. There was suspicion lining his features, and his jaw became clenched.
“I’ve been wondering,” he said slowly, as if he was measuring his words carefully. “My family are the kind of people who would do anything to get what they want. You showed up here magically one day, just around the same time as I moved in. You don’t want to talk to me about anything. Did they pay you to spy on me or something?”
I had to raise my eyebrows at that. From my perspective, it seemed completely ridiculous, especially since I didn’t know what had happened at that meeting.
“That’s stupid,” I said angrily, punctuating my words with a shaking head. “This isn’t a movie, and you’re not the main character. I have no reason to be in cahoots with your family. They hate me, and I’m not exactly a fan of theirs, either.”
“I’ll admit, it does sound completely insane,” Flint sighed, adding a bit of reasonableness back into his tone. “But you’re not being honest with me, and I want to know why. If it’s not because you’re working for my family, then why is it? What is it that you’re hiding?”
The quiet air became denser, and I felt a knot forming in my stomach. My fight or flight instincts were kicking in, and my legs wanted me to run. However, I stood my ground.
At the same time, I desperately wanted to tell Flint everything. He’d been kinder to me than I could ever have dreamed anyone would be. He’d let me live in his house and gave me a job when he knew nothing about me. On top of all of that, his eyes compelled honesty and drew me in like gravity.
But I didn’t want him to be involved in this, and I didn’t know if he would tell my family where I was if I was truly honest with him. This made me more defensive than I would normally be.
“How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want to talk about it?” I almost yelled, curling my hands into fists and my expression into a scowl. “Stop pushing me!”
Flint seemed surprised for a second, but his frustration got the better of him. “You don’t trust me at all, do you?”
His sentence was almost whispered in a snake-like hiss, an accusation rather than a question. I was taken aback at how hurt he seemed.
“You can’t expect me to,” I pointed out, the volume of my voice only slightly lower than before. “I barely know you!”
Flint’s jaw clenched tightly, and his face contorted into something resembling utter fury. It seemed, however, that he was doing this to hide how much I’d just hurt him with what I was saying. Simultaneously, I hadn’t been lying. There was no way that I could trust him after only knowing him for a few days. Why couldn’t he understand that?
My frustration was driving me to serious anger now, too. “You expect me to spill my whole story without telling me anything in return. You accuse me of being a spy for your family. You’ve barely known me for a few days. Now you want to ask if I trust you? Do you even hear what you sound like? You’re an idiot!”
As I said it, I immediately knew that I was going to regret my words. I wanted to backtrack and apologize, but the storm in my soul was stubborn and wouldn’t allow me to do so. For several seconds, Flint and I stood staring at each other furiously.
I wanted to run into his arms and say that I was sorry, that I hoped he forgave me, because I would extend the courtesy to him, too. I wanted him to come to me, to wrap himself around me, to kiss me and tell me that it was all forgotten.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t what happened.
“I can’t be around you right now,” Flint said in a crushing tone and stormed out of the back door, marching himself down to the stables where the horses were kept. I wanted to run after him, but my legs felt like lead, and I remained standing where I was.
I felt like a moron shouting at him like that. The only thing I could think to do was to go upstairs and take that bath that I had been planning on. It was a good way to clear my head and besides, I didn’t want to stay in the kitchen.
Upstairs, I gathered fresh clothes as I wondered where Flint had gone. Through the window, I’d spotted him mounting a horse and riding off into the distance, but he’d disappeared over the horizon. The afternoon was slowly climbing toward early evening. He was probably going to come back before it got dark. At least, that’s what I hoped for.
While I ran the bath, I thought about my next move. It felt like now was a good point in time to try and leave again. Flint was furious enough at me for it to be a decent enough excuse. Maybe he would even be happy if I was gone now that I’d proven I was willing to hurt him to keep my secrets.
I sighed before I undressed and slipped into the warm water. It was refreshing to feel it wash over my tired muscles, even if it burned the scratches on my hands. I closed my eyes, warning myself not to fall asleep in the tub.
The argument replayed itself in my head, and I had to open them again. I still thought that I’d made valid points, but I felt guilty for it anyway. I probably hadn’t needed to shout at him like that.
At least it was going to be easier to leave now. I could shut down my feelings and convince him that it was better that way in one move.
I lay in the water for nearly an hour before I got out again, worried that Flint was still gone. My stomach grumbled at me, but I didn’t know if I could eat when I was this concerned. He hadn’t driven off in the truck, but how far could he have gone on a horse?
After I got dressed, I went downstairs for a mug of coffee and toast. That would at least keep me busy for half an hour.
While I was making it, I heard the front door open. I hadn’t seen the horse return, but I might have missed it.
“Eliza?” Flint’s voice called out from the hallway. He sounded uncertain, as if he thought that I might have run off again. “Are you still here?”
I sighed, relieved that he was back before nightfall and that nothing bad had happened to him. The anger I’d felt earlier had almost completely dissipated, and now I just wanted to see him. I gritted my teeth, fully expecting him to still be angry at me.
“Kitchen,” I called back. Nervously, I sat down at the table and listened to his feet approaching in the hallway. In my head, I was formulating what I’d say when I told him that it was time for me to go.
“I’m sorry,” Flint said as soon as he walked in the door before he took a seat across from me. “Today has been a bit of a frustrating one. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
I was immediately taken aback, uncertain of what I could even say at that point. I didn’t think that he was going to come back so calm, never mind that he was actually going to apologize to me. Bewildered, I stared at him, completely at a loss for words.
“I get that you’re wary of me, and everyone else,” Flint continued, tapping on the table with his fingers. “It makes sense, and really, I shouldn’t be making it worse. I really want to prove that you can trust me instead.”
Looking down at my own hands, I thought about what he was saying. I did want to trust him, but my walls were up. I wanted to keep everything to myself and solve my problems on my own. It was just as much to protect him as it was to protect me.
“You don’t have to do that,” I whispered now. “I’m sorry, too, I shouldn’t have called you an idiot. You’re not.”
When I glanced up, I saw a small smile tug at the corner of Flint’s mouth. In this light, his features seemed powerful, but his eyes were soft. I wished that I could slide around to his side of the table and lean my head on his shoulder.
“Ah, I can be one sometimes,” he said, reaching a hand across the table toward me. I hesitated for a moment, but then did the same. He tangled his fingers with mine, his rough palm comforting even against my wound. “Are you going to give me a chance to do this, anyway? I’d really appreciate it.”
Any thoughts that I’d had about leaving were quickly disappearing into the warmth of his touch. Despite fighting so hard against falling for him, I couldn’t help myself.
“Okay,” I said, trying to be nonchalant. Unfortunately, I failed at that, blushing deeply and looking away from Flint. “But only this one chance, all right?”
“I only need the one,” he answered as he let go of my hand and got up from the table. “I’m going to need a bit of time, though. Could you make dinner tonight while I make my plans?”
I wondered what plans he could possibly be talking about. He’d only said that he wanted to get me to trust him, not that it involved any specific events. Still, I was curious to see what he would come up with.
“Sure,” I replied, thinking of the ingredients that were available to me. Most likely, I was going to end up making some kind of stew. I had never been the world’s best cook.
“Thanks.” Flint walked out the back door again, only briefly glancing over his shoulder. “You might want to start soon. It’s going to be an early morning tomorrow.”
“Ugh,” I groaned, remembering just how early he’d come to get me today. I waited for a few more minutes before I got up to cook dinner.
Flint returned more than an hour later, covered in a sheen of sweat and dirt. It made me even more curious about what it was that he was planning. I’d almost finished the stew when I watched him trundle into the kitchen, wiping at his forehead. Even like this, with his rough exterior and the clear remnants of hard work, I found him so attractive that I wanted to leap at him and kiss him until I was breathless.
“Whatever that is, it smells great,” Flint said as he came to stand beside me. It seemed almost automatic when he leaned forward to kiss me on my forehead.
As soon as it happened, both of us froze. My heart fluttered at the sensation, and in my surprise, I’d stopped stirring the pot in the middle of a rotation.
“Sorry,” Flint said as he stepped back, although it seemed hesitant, as if he was waiting to see my reaction rather than truly apologizing. I felt my cheeks heat up in a crimson blush and turned toward him.
“I think I liked it, actually,” I answered, unable to look him in the eye. “I mean, you can definitely do it again.”
Flint smiled at that, running a hand through his hair. “Oh, good, it wasn’t exactly on purpose, but I’m glad. Anyway, I’m starving.”
He plopped himself down at the table in the center of the room, and I raised an eyebrow.
“Excuse me,” I said, waggling the spoon at him that I’d been using to stir. “You really think I’m going to let you eat with me looking like that? Gross!”
“Are you serious?” he laughed, but I didn’t change my expression. “Okay, fine, I’ll get myself cleaned up.”
He got up from the table lazily and left the kitchen. The sensation of that forehead kiss still haunted me, and I smiled stupidly at myself while I finished up the stew. When I’d dished up and placed both plates on the table, Flint appeared in the door, clean and fresh in new clothes.
“Is this better?” he asked, twirling around to show off the jeans and shirt that he was now wearing. The faint outline of his muscles that I could see through the clothes made me shiver in appreciation.
“Perfect,” I answered as I walked toward him and touched up his hair. “You look like a whole new man.”
“Good, that’s what I was aiming for,” Flint chuckled as he sat down. “Can I eat now?”
“Mm, sure,” I said, sitting down across from him. “I hope you like it.”
He stared at me, his eyes swallowing me whole. “I’m sure I will.”