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He pinned those silver eyes on me. “Unlike your husband, I’m a man of many words. So you’d better watch your mouth around me because it takes a monster to know one. And if you keep coming at me, I’ll give you both barrels back and then some.” He leaned in closer and snapped his teeth, smiled darkly, then whispered, “Monster.”
My nostrils twitched and venom threatened to rise within me. I clucked my tongue and spun out of his space. Monster, indeed. Fucking fucker.
***
Over the next several days, not much happened. Morag and Harold dropped off food every now and again but largely left us to it. It might have had something to do with that first night of trying to be civilised across a table and Morag (not Harold, surprisingly) dramatically failing at civility, at least where Eric was concerned.
I could tell Eric was getting bored. First, he stocked up the wood shed with kindling. He polished all of our knives and some of his own. He cleaned the gutters, washed all the windows, cut the grass, dug the borders, cleaned the drains and scrubbed nearly every surface, floor, appliance and crevice in the house.
He would also go out running, of course. And use the baby as weight training all while Logan laughed his socks off. It was those times I caught myself accidentally smiling.
We didn’t talk except to say things like, “Pass the salt.” Or, “Does he need changing?” Sometimes, “Is it his bedtime?” Other times, it’d be me: “Caelan can’t even manage one thirty-second phone call?” Eric would inhale sharply when I tried briefly to probe on that. If people were out for Caelan, calling home was certainly out of the question.
Work had been gracious, even relieved, when I had called to say I was going to take that extended leave of absence, after all. I’d spoken over the phone through gritted teeth. Hadn’t said anything about when I’d be back—if I’d be back. Even I had to admit the likelihood of any return was low.
It was around a week since our arrival when I caught him scrubbing one of the pans from dinner. It was already mirror-shine worthy but he was still going at it with a scouring pad and I had to say, “Eric, what’s wrong?”
He looked at what he was doing, then at me, cursing under his breath. He rinsed off the pan, emptied the bowl, wiped around, dried his hands—then tried to barge past me upstairs.
I implemented one of my defensive moves and got my arms locked around his shoulders, his back against my body, held firmly in place. “Don’t walk away from me when I am talking to you.”
“I’m not going to hurt a woman, but don’t tempt me,” he groaned.
He smelt of the outdoors, from the trees to the streams to the grass, to the cold winds over the nearby hills. He was outdoors a lot but never far away.
He tried to get away but he wouldn’t have been able to without hurting me, snapping back at me or something, and he knew it.
“Tell me what’s wrong. Tell me what you know. Tell me everything,” I demanded.
“I’m not telling you anything because there’s nothing to tell. I’m just bored and angry. Most men are. It’s not a new thing, I promise.”
I squeezed my arms tighter and he nearly succumbed to elbowing me to get himself free. I kept him still, however.
“I can’t abide a man who doesn’t say what he really thinks.”
He laughed at that. “Says the woman who married Caelan.”
My arms loosened and he wrenched himself free, turning around to shake his head at me.
When he tried to grapple me, I kneed him in the stomach, gave him a throat jab, then grabbed his balls and shoved him up against the nearest wall.
“I never had to use physical violence…” He grunted and I hissed. “…muchphysical violence with Caelan.”
“I could kill you with one blow to the head, Flora. Have at me. I can take it if it makes you feel better.”
Always baiting me with that coldness.
I twisted his balls and his eyes watered.“Stop.”
I did as he said and stood back, ashamed of myself and annoyed at the situation. It wasn’t anything to do with him, not really. He was just our babysitter until Caelan got back.
With every day he was absent, it felt like he got further and further away.
Maybe that was what ate away at Eric, too.
His light eyes narrowed and he dipped his head, those bones of his seeming ever sharper. “You’ve proved you can take care of yourself, Flora. But some men aren’t just strong. They’re psychologically damaged and will do things to you I can’t even utter in the presence of a lady.”
I tipped my head back and huffed. “Lady? Ha.”
