Page 4 of Sweetheart and the Grouch
“And where’s your place?” I ask, watching the giant man walk ahead of us and place our luggage on the porch.
He turns and takes his time responding, looking between Elena and me like he’s not sure he wants to give us that information. It gives me the chance to look at him—like,reallylook at him. The moment he stepped out of his car and hauled me up to my feet, I was aware of his larger-than-normal size and stature. In his flannel shirt, he looks like a lumberjack who could fell a tree with a karate chop. I’m not sure if he’s naturally this big, or if he works out to get this buff, but he’s got muscles upon muscles upon muscles. If it wasn’t for the fact he has two very kind, green eyes poking out from underneath that too-long dark hair of his, I’d find him incredibly intimidating. But like Elena pointed out earlier, he seems like he wants to help us, so I view him more with curiosity now than trepidation. What makes a man like him choose to live in an isolated place like this?
“My place is about the same distance that way,” he says finally, pointing to the left of the cabin. “I’ll leave you my number in case you need something before Dylan and Millie get back from their trip.”
“Thanks,” I say, finding that the center of my chest is hurting slightly when I look at him. I’m not really sure what it means since I’ve never experienced it before, but it’s a good hurt. It’s not at all like that awkward sickness you get when butterflies bat around inside your stomach. No. This is more of a pleasant ache that’s urging me to study and get to know him. It’s a weird thing to say, but for some reason, I kind of feel like I already know him.
“Do you have sunflowers at your place too?” Elena asks as she follows him up the steps and tries the front door. It opens right away, and before I can tell her to wait for me, she dances right on inside.
“No sunflowers,” Ajax says as he watches after her. “I do have a garden, though. Mostly vegetables.”
“Yuck!” I hear from inside. Elena is like most kids where vegetables are concerned. She’d rather eat Oreos and milk for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I can’t help but smile at her reaction, and it seems Ajax feels the same, his stoic face breaking into a slight smirk that seems to soften that gruff and grouchy exterior of his about a hundred-fold.
“You gonna check out your new place?” he says, picking up the suitcases again and nodding for me to go ahead of him.
Taking a deep breath, I take one last look around the exterior, relieved this place is exactly as I hoped so far. It’s the perfect location to forget the world and start fresh.
“You don’t have to carry all that for us,” I say as I step onto the porch and look up at him. I’m five-foot-four and he’s a solid foot taller than me. As a curvy girl who always feels rather large, his size dwarfs me and makes me feel tiny. He also makes me feel safe. And that’s something I haven’t felt for averylong time. If ever.
“I don’t mind,” he says back, his normally growly voice a soft rumble. It makes tingles skitter about beneath my skin.
“You’ve already done so much. I don’t want to put you out.”
His brow lifts and his face breaks into a smile again. “Sweetheart, if driving you a short distance and carrying a couple of bags is putting a man out, then you haven’t been treated right.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him if he’s the man who wants to show me what I’ve been missing out on, but the words don’t even whisper past my lips. They stay caught in silence as my cheeks turn a bright shade of red and I scurry as fast as I can inside the cabin. I have exactly zero experience when it comes to men, and I'm not sure why I’m suddenly feeling like this random guy in the middle of nowhere is the man to teach me. Especially when I’m sure he just sees me as a kid. As one of my mother’s many boyfriends used to say, I’ve got rocks in my head if I thought any guy would look twice at me.
“This is like a really cool treehouse but on the ground,” Elena says in awe as she rushes about the place. “We even get our own rooms!”
“Cool, huh?” I say, finding my eyes welling with tears at the sight of her joy. All I’ve ever wanted is to give her a safe and loving home to grow up in. I hate that it took Mom passing away for me to be able to do it, but we’re here now, and I hope that all of our worries are behind us.
“Which one is mine?”
“Any one you want. You choose,” I say, trying to wipe my tears without being seen as she rushes off again and starts yelling about the virtues of each room.
“You OK?” Ajax asks, and I force a bright smile onto my face before I turn to him.
“Yeah. I’m just tired from the long trip. Thanks for helping us the rest of the way here.”
He smiles. “As much as I come off as an asshole the first time you met me, I couldn’t really leave you two out on the road. It wasn’t any trouble.”
“You didn’t come off as an asshole,” I say, laughing as I spot Ellie doing starfishes on the top of one of the beds.
“She seems happy.”
“Yeah. Well, she’s been through a lot.”
“You too, I’m sure.”
I shrug. “I’m older than her, so I’m used to it. But she’s young, and I want better for her.”
“Listen, I know you’re technically an adult, and I’m just some old guy stickin’ his nose in where it’s not wanted, but if you two are in trouble, you can tell me. I could probably even find a way to help.”
My arms immediately move to fold around my middle and I shake my head rapidly. “We don’t need any help,” I shoot back, my defenses rising again. He seems nice, safe even, but the last thing I’m willing to do is spill my guts when I don’t need to. “We’re fine just as we are. Thanks for the lift.”
“OK then,” he says, lifting his hands like he’s surrendering and taking a few steps back. “Guess I’ll leave you two to settle in. But if you need anything”—he pulls a pen from a little jar on the counter and slide a notepad closer to write on it—“this is my cell. Call me any time.”
“Sure.”
