Page 9 of Holding Ground

Strip your eyes off him now, Emelia.

“Elliott, hey. This is Emelia.” Manuel motions toward me.

Elliott’s deep-blue eyes take me in slowly. Then I realize he’s not looking at me like I was looking at him. We’re on very different pages. He’s looking at me with an air of contempt, while I was on the whole other end of that spectrum.

I proffer my hand. “Good to meet you, Elliott.”

He looks at my hand for a beat, as if he’s pondering not accepting the gesture. What the hell did I do to this guy? He does eventually slip his hand in mine, squeezing a little harder than necessary, still not saying a word.

As soon as he lets my hand go, he turns his body and attention solely to Manuel. “Roy said you have a leak?”

“Yeah, it’s in the backroom if you want to go take a look. I just have to check Emelia out first. Give me a minute.”

Elliott nods then retreats through the door at the back of the store without a backward glance in my direction.

“I sure hope he’s not the head of the welcoming committee.” I take my items and walk toward the counter.

“He’s usually more friendly than that. I don’t know what’s gotten into him. Don’t get me wrong.” He leans closer, lowering his voice. “He’s not exactly outgoing and chatty, but never rude.” Manuel slides behind the counter and glances toward the back of the store where Elliott still is, forehead creased.

“You more than made up for it, Manuel.”

A big smile lights up his face. “Let me ring you up here so you can get on your way.” After I pay, he bags my things for me.

“Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime. Don’t be a stranger, stranger.” He winks and passes me the bag over the counter.

“I’ll be back, promise.”

The bell rings as I exit the shop and unlock my vehicle. I set the bag on the floor of the back seat, and my hand is on the driver’s side door when a voice cuts from behind me.

“We’re not Juniper Point,” Elliott says, stepping out of the shop.

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t get any ideas.”

“Again, excuse me?”

“I know who you are.”

I tilt my head. “I’d hope so. We just met inside.” I motion toward the store behind him.

What the hell is with this guy’s aggressive tone?

He narrows his eyes at me. “I know your type. You come here with your predatory practices and think you can sweet-talk a bunch of dumb hicks into selling their land and letting you get a foothold. Not here. Mark my words, you might as well move on because it’s not going to happen in Echo Lake.”

Clearly, somehow Elliott has an idea of what I’m doing here. I’m used to resistance when I’m doing my job, but this is the first time I’ve encountered outright hostility. I’m not sure why I didn’t expect it before. Small-town people don’t like change.

My walls slam up around me, and I keep my voice even, my face neutral. “I am here to do a job, you’re right, but it doesn’t involve any predatory practices, and in fact, I think it’s presumptuous for you to assume that I am. I’m here to try to find a win-win situation for everybody, Elliott, and yes, that involves development.”

“Over my dead body.”

“If you insist.” I give him a saccharine smile that seems to piss him off even more. Good.

His face goes red, and he fists his hands at his sides. “I’ll fight you every step of the way.”

“That’s fine. I always enjoy a good challenge.”