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I have the guy pinned against the side of her van before he even finishes his sentence. This guy may not be concerned about Eloise hurting him, but he should be when it comes me letting anyone talk badly about Brayden or Aspen.
“There are only a few things I care about in this world,” I say through gritted teeth. “And those kids are two of them. If I ever hear you talk about them again, let alone speak their names, you won’t find our next encounter a painless one. Do you understand me?”
The man’s eyes widen in fear, and he nods his head quickly. I don’t care if anyone is watching now. Fuck the town gossip rumor mill. This town is protective of the people living here, and if they heard him, they’d be turning away to allow me to handle this guy privately.
“I didn’t hear you say the words.”
He swallows hard, like the words taste bitter in his mouth. “I understand.”
“Now apologize to the lady,” I order him.
His eyes narrow with anger, and it’s just as I suspected. This jackass doesn’t respect women, and he’s never been held accountable for his actions toward them—but that stops today.
“I’m sorry,” he says, but it’s so low that it’s barely audible even to me.
I’m about ready to tell him to try that again, but Elle cuts in, “I don’t need his apology. The fact that I got to witness him nearly pee in his designer suit because he’s terrified of you is all I needed.”
I look back at the man and let him go. “Get the hell out of my town.”
CHAPTER5
Eloise
There are plenty of sexy things a man can do that drive a woman crazy—wearing no shirt and low-hanging sweatpants that show off that deep cut V at his hips, twisting his baseball cap around backward, and rolling up his sleeves to show off those yummy forearms to name a few—but what really gets a woman going is watching a man go all caveman protector, not just for her but for her kids.
Mr. Cartwright stands up and runs his hands down the front of his suit as if he wasn’t just about to get his ass kicked. He sniffs and looks around like he can somehow salvage the altercation so he doesn’t look like the loser here.
“You’ve made a huge mistake,” he says to me but flinches when Silas steps menacingly close to him. “We were just going to tear down that rundown inn anyway.”
It’s at this moment that I’m suddenly reminded that I’ve just severed my one lifeline if I can’t keep the inn afloat. My anger and pride may have just cost my kids any chance of a future.
The panic that hits me all at once is nearly crippling, but I refuse to show it in front of Cartwright. Without even saying a word, I can see that Silas knows what I’m thinking. He steps in front of me and tells Cartwright to go. My vision goes hazy as I try to take a deep breath, but the world around me disappears.
These attacks started shortly after my ex left. They’d hit, and there was nothing I could do to stop them. I try and hide them from the kids, but Brayden witnessed a particularly bad one after Gran passed, and that’s when he took the role of protector to me.
“Elle?” Silas’s voice penetrates my haze.
I do everything I can to focus on the sound. He helps me into the passenger seat of my minivan and closes me in. I run through the exercises my counselor gave me when this happens, and slowly my breathing steadies, and my vision clears.
“Oh my gosh,” I sigh, dropping my head into my hands.
“It’s okay.” Silas rubs his hand down my back.
“It’s not okay.” I cry. “I just ruined any chance of selling the inn now.”
“You really were going to sell?” Even in the state, I can hear the shock in his voice.
“I don’t know.” I shake my head. “But it was nice to have the safety net of an offer if I did.”
Silence settles around us in the van. The townspeople have returned to their lives of shopping and merriment, having completely forgotten they had just witnessed the crumbling of mine.
I lean my head back and sigh.
“I’m so sorry,” Silas says, sounding pained. “I wasn’t thinking, and I messed everything up for you.”
I turn my head to stare at him. “This wasn’t your fault.”
“If I hadn’t stepped in—”
