Page 49 of Hazel and Elijah Find Out: First They F*cked Around

I didn’t know how he could seem so calm, especially when I was stuck in the freeze mode of fight or flight.

She shook her head—and not a single hair moved. “Your father is a good man. You have always been a bad son.”

Again, only the slightest twitch of his fingers betrayed any agitation he might have felt.

My spine straightened, and my chin jutted out. “That’s not true. He’sgood.”

It wasn’t exactly an elegant speech, but the corner of Elijah’s mouth lifted.

“Andyou.” She focused her narrowed eyes at me, her mouth pinched in distaste. “Youtook advantage of him.”

“What?” I sputtered. I wasn’t used to doing anything that drew negative attention; in fact, most people didn’t even notice me. And just then, I wished I could fly back under the radar.

Go back to being unnoticed.

“You swept in andstolethe clinic from him.”

“Stole? Iboughtit.”

“He built that business—”

“No,” Elijah interrupted. “My grandpa built that business. And while my dad ran it okay—not great—he certainly didn’t build anything, he coasted. I’m guessing what you’re actually upset about is the upcoming auction.”

She scoffed. “I’ve heard about yourauction.”

“Good. Sterling has been working really hard getting the word out.”

“Our town used to be better than this. It’s shameful how quickly you’ve tainted us, but I would expect nothing less of someone likeyou.”

From the bar, Ben’s head jerked up at her raised voice, and he took unhurried strides in our direction.

Elijah sat up and crossed his arms on top of the table. “Every single one of the men involved volunteered their time to help someone in this community, while also raising money for the humane society. None of them asked you to be the morality police or fight on their behalf. But you’re still welcome to participate. Bring your money; I hear Brooks is auctioning off gardening.Scandalous.”

“Everything okay here?” Ben leaned a hip against our booth, taking in the scene.

Picking up his water cup, Elijah raised it to an inch from his mouth. “Yeah. Tara was just leaving.”

She clenched her jaw. “You are defacing your business by hosting thatauctionhere.”

Ben shrugged. “Well, if you feel that strongly about it, I guess we won’t see you on Taco Tuesdays anymore. Have a good night.”

“No, you won’t.” She glared at me.

“That’s too bad.” But the neutral expression on Ben’s face did not convey the same message as his words.

She opened her mouth again, but he cut her off, “It’s really best that you just leave.” Setting our receipt and Elijah’s credit card down, Ben blocked Mrs. Nelson from continuing to berate us. “Keep the table as long as you’d like, no rush.”

For a couple of moments, nothing happened. She didn’t leave, and he didn’t move from our table. I could feel all eyes fixed on us, pricking like needles on my skin. Then, finally, she huffed and turned away, ranting the whole way to the door—using language she would never say in church.

“You two okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Elijah answered, his voice steely.

I nodded, but my wide eyes must not have been convincing because Ben’s eyebrows drew down in concern.

Elijah leaned closer to me. “You want me to take you home?”

I nodded again, not sure I could trust my voice. My embarrassment was sharp, and my eyes stung with unshed tears—which was humiliating all on its own. He wrapped a protective arm around my waist, but I couldn’t help thinking that it’d be easier for me to hide if he wasn’t right next to me.

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