I stare at her, stepping closer to where she’s sitting and slide my hands around to her back. I don’t know where this woman has been living for the past four years, but I’m going to assume she was totally off the grid. Which means everything she knows she learned before that, before she was out of high school.
Eloise is fucking intelligent. She reads Moby Dick. She knows what an IRA is. She likes to learn, and she has a good memory. She’s never had the opportunity to be her best self.
I’m going to counter her in a way she’s not expecting. “Yes, I think you should open an IRA. I’ll get the paperwork started today.”
She gasps. “Cannon, what are you smoking?”
I shrug. “I don’t need to smoke anything to recognize that you’re brilliant, and the right opportunities will change your life.”
She smirks. “Well, not everyone has opportunities, Cannon. Some of us were born on the wrong side of the tracks, and we die there, too.”
“But not you, because yesterday I was there to pull you off the chair and carry you to the other side of the tracks. There’s no need to go back. Don’t let your pride or some idea that you don’t deserve the world get in your way and stop you from seizing this chance.”
After a few seconds, she says, “I can’t decide whether you’re delusional or cruel.”
“Neither.”
“Not many people get to cross the tracks, Cannon. It doesn’t work that way. Society is set up to keep the poor in their place.”
Fuck, she has a strong understanding of economics and social issues, too. I need to stop being shocked by her education. Time to prove her wrong. “I did.”
Her eyes widen, and then her gaze narrows.
“Yep. I was born poor, Eloise. My mother was seventeen when she had me. Her parents kicked her out of the house, and my father skipped town when he found out she was pregnant. I never met him. My mother did the best she could, but we were fucking poor. Sometimes we lived in her car. Sometimes she rented a mobile home or a tiny apartment. I’m not saying this to compare myself to you because I’m certain you’ve been through things I cannot ever imagine. I might not have had nice things. I never met my grandparents. My father was long gone.
“But my mother loved me. She didn’t abuse me. She sent me to school with clean clothes, even if they were from a thrift store. But I wanted out of that poverty, so I joined the Army right out of high school. I worked hard. I climbed the ranks. When I got out, I took night classes and got my degree. I just finished it two years ago. I met Blade along the way. He hired me, and here I am.” I glance around at my nice apartment.
She’s staring at me with wide eyes. “Where’s your mother now?”
I wince. “Sadly, she died while I was still in the Army. Hit by a drunk driver. Pissed me the fuck off because she deserved a leg up, and I had intended to make her life better as soon as I could. I didn’t get that chance.”
Eloise leans into me and wraps her arms around me. “I’m so sorry.”
I kiss the top of her head. “Thank you.” For a while, we stay like this, her sitting on the stool, me holding her and inhaling her scent. It’s soothing.
When I pull back, I say, “Let me help you. Stop running. You can have the world. You can even go to college if you want.”
Her brows shoot up to her hairline. “College?” She smirks again.
“Definitely.”
“I don’t even have a high school diploma.”
“Then you’ll take your GED. I know you’re fucking smart, Eloise. I bet you could pass the GED test this afternoon.”
She swallows. “You’re serious about this.”
“Very.”
“Okay. It would be stupid for me to be stubborn and turn you down.”
“Exactly. You have nothing to lose because it’s already too late to worry about getting comfortable with having nice things. If you left right now, would you ever forget that bubble bath?”
She gives me one of her stunning smiles. “No. Never. I can’t wait to use your tub.”
“You may do that after I feed you. Oh, and June would like to meet you if you’re up to it.”
“June wants to meet me?” Her voice squeaks.
