Page 4 of The Awakening
“Like I said, I was sheltered,” I snapped. My short reply was unwise, considering he had the ability to kick me out into the cold winter’s night. But he was making fun of me. I hated it when people assumed I was a dumb mountain girl who needed a man to survive. I sat up and stared straight into his eyes. “Just so you know, I had plans to go to veterinary school. I had scholarships in place, but I couldn’t get the rest of the money together. My father was against it, and he refused to let me work to save up to go. While I may be inexperienced, I’m not dumb, Mr. Morton.”
“Forgive me, Elyse, I never meant to imply that you were.” His words sounded sincere and remained soft, even as my tongue became sharp.
Pushing my plate away, I rested my elbows on the table and immediately removed them. That was one thing that would immediately get Ray’s dander up.
“I guess what I meant to say was there must be more to it than that. More than a man wanting to have sex with you to make you run.” Gavin leaned back in his chair, his attention fixed to me like he was waiting for an answer.
“He’s… controlling.” I touched my wrist as I remembered how Ray had grabbed me when I told him about the baby. How he’d accused me of trying to ruin his reputation in the community because people would do the math and realize we’d conceived out of wedlock. How he made it seem like it had all been my idea—how he’d tried to gaslight me into believing it had been—and how he’d even gone as far as calling me a little slut and atemptress. I closed my eyes and shook my head. It was too much to say out loud.
“You don’t have to continue Ellie. I think I understand.” Gavin leaned forward and put his hand over mine. The warmth of his palm radiated through me.
I hadn’t been touched like that before. Ray was always gruff. I didn’t think he’d ever loved me. He only wanted the status that came along with marrying into my family. And here was a man who had known me for less than an hour and had already treated me with more kindness than I’d ever experienced. It was almost disorienting. Like it was too good to be true. But I hoped I could take him at his word. That he wouldn’t expect more of me than I could give.
“But I have to ask. Should I be concerned about repercussions?”
I shook my head. “I can’t imagine why. My family is disgraced, and Ray will surely have a new, unsuspecting fiancée in the next few weeks. Given the history of the community, there will be plenty of women looking to lick his wounds after my disappearance. He will be deemed the innocent party, and I’ll be accused of leading him astray.” I hoped, by leaving, Ray was getting exactly what he wanted. The reality of what we had done would disappear right along with me.
“Well, that’s more than a little messed up.” He stood from his chair and cleared the table.
We cleaned up after the meal in silence. It was strange. Not the silence, but having the help of a man. He even washed the dishes while I dried and put them away. I’d never witnessed anything like it before. The kitchen wasn’t a man’s place in the community I grew up in.
“Ellie, how long have you been gone from home?” Gavin asked when the last dish was put away.
“Three days. I was staying in the motel by the highway, but it was too risky. Someone would eventually spot me. Besides, I was running out of money.” Leaning against the counter, I waited for his response. He didn’t say anymore, only nodded.
It was late, and all I wanted to do was go to bed. “Can you show me to my room?” I asked. The cabin wasn’t big, and I was sure the spare bedroom wouldn’t be much bigger than a closet, but I didn’t care. All I needed was a place to rest my head.
“Come on.” He motioned for me to follow him. The hall was more of an alcove with a door on either side. “You can in sleep here,” he said, pushing the one on the left open. I surveyed the room. His clothes were hanging in the open closet, his jeans from earlier discarded in the laundry basket at the foot of the bed. There was a wristwatch on the bedside table. All his things were in the room.
He’d led me to his room.
“Where will you sleep?”
He tipped his head, his brows furrowed as his lips twisted into a smirk. Brushing past me he flopped down on the mattress and patted it before folding his hands behind his head.
“Tell me, Ellie”—I’d left that nickname behind in my childhood but something about the way it rolled off his tongue made my heart hammer in my chest—“Do you prefer to be the little spoon or the big spoon?” He waggled his eyebrows.
I burst out laughing. It felt good to laugh. “Gavin, you’re funny. As if I would spend the night in the same bed as a man I just met.”
“I ain’t joking, princess. The couch isn’t fit to sleep on, and I won’t sleep on the floor.”
He was right. The couch was more of a loveseat. It wasn’t long enough for even me to stretch out on. And I couldn’t push a man out of his only bed. “You don’t keep a cot around? I would be more than happy to sleep on that.”
Gavin shook his head.
“I can sleep on the floor,” I said.
“Look, it’s winter. The cabin is only heated by the wood stove, and the floor gets cold in the night. I promise this is only an offer for sleep.”
I looked into his eyes. They were soft and held concern, filling me with an odd sense of peace. That wasn’t something I had felt for the last few days. Closing my eyes, I sighed and nodded.
He sat up on his elbows and smiled. “No counterargument? Excellent, it’s settled then. You’re the big spoon. I’ll keep my hands to myself. You have my word.”
He rolled to the other side of the bed and turned his back to me, leaving me plenty of room to climb in next to him. I hesitated for a moment before crossing the room and pulling a blanket off the foot of the bed. I bunched it up to form a makeshift wall between us and climbed in.
He looked over his shoulder at me and winked. “Just try not to take advantage of me in the middle of the night, will you?”
Our laughter filled the tiny room for a moment, but then silence descended as we settled in. The room was still and quiet enough for me to hear his breathing deepen as he fell fast asleep. I pulled some of the blanket from the barrier over my body, and closed my eyes, and even though I had no right to feel the way I did, for the first time in ages, I felt safe.
