stop talking.
“I wasn’t in the middle. I was firmly on her side. My father knew that. That’s why he hated me.”
“I’m sure your father didn’t hate you, baby.” I nuzzled her cheek as I tried to shoulder some of the immense burden she’d been carrying for years. “But I understand what it’s like to live with a rigid man who believes his is the only opinion that matters. Demetrius is like that.”
“He hated me,” she said, threading her fingers through mine. “That’s why he threw her out. He knew he would be punishing both of us. He killed two birds with one stone, so to speak.”
“If you and your mother were close, why didn’t you stay in contact?”
“When he kicked her out, she left with the clothes in that suitcase. She didn’t have any money. According to him, he made the money, so it was his. She didn’t drive and barely spoke English.”
“So she had nothing?” My gut clenched. I could only imagine how terrified that poor woman must have been.
“No.” She shivered, prompting me to pull her into my arms. “It was winter, just a few weeks after Christmas, and he kicked her out with no money, no car, no job, and little more than the clothes on her back.”
“Son of a bitch. And I thought my father was ruthless.”
“Yeah, well, my old man takes the prize in that department.”
“So what happened to your mother, sweetheart? Where did she go?” I was almost afraid to ask.
“I guess she couldn’t get a job with no home and barely speaking the language. She probably went to a shelter for a while, but of course you can only stay there for so long.”
“Right.” I knew that because I donated large sums of money to several homeless shelters in the area as a small way of making amends for being a selfish bastard. I wanted to believe that when I met my maker, he’d look past some of my indiscretions if I could claim I’d done a few good deeds.
“Eventually the police showed up on our doorstep. Apparently she still had some I.D. because they’d found it on her when they picked up her body.”
“Oh God.” I kissed the top of her head as I closed my eyes. As bad as my family was, given the option, I would have taken them any day over the monster Eleni had grown up with.
“She froze to death.” She’d choked on her words, barely able to get them out.
“I’m so sorry, baby.” No words could accurately describe the sorrow I felt on her behalf.
“She was alone out there with no one to turn to for help. She had no family, no friends. We were all she had. And I let my father kick her out on the street with nowhere—”
“Stop,” I said, pulling her closer when she sobbed. “It wasn’t your fault. You were just a kid. You had no control over what happened.”
“Mrs. Heiss, the lady next door, helped me look for her for a while. We called different shelters and pinned up flyers. We even tried to file a missing person’s report, but the police said there was nothing they could do because she’d left voluntarily.”
“She never tried to reach out to you?” I didn’t want to worsen her pain, but it was difficult to imagine a mother who loved her child walking away for any reason.
“I think she was afraid. My father threatened her and me. And I think she knew he didn’t make empty threats. He was a control freak.”
“I hate that you had to go through that. No wonder you have difficulty trusting people, men specifically.”
“Did I say that?” she asked, appearing dazed. “I trust men, just not with my heart.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, trying to ignore the niggling voice telling me I had no right to ask her to trust me.
“I trusted your brother when he promised me he would take care of my best friend. I know he loves her, that he would never leave her or hurt her.”
For the first time in my adult life, I wanted to be more like my brother, the kind of man Eleni could trust. “But you don’t believe you could meet a man who would love you
“I wasn’t in the middle. I was firmly on her side. My father knew that. That’s why he hated me.”
“I’m sure your father didn’t hate you, baby.” I nuzzled her cheek as I tried to shoulder some of the immense burden she’d been carrying for years. “But I understand what it’s like to live with a rigid man who believes his is the only opinion that matters. Demetrius is like that.”
“He hated me,” she said, threading her fingers through mine. “That’s why he threw her out. He knew he would be punishing both of us. He killed two birds with one stone, so to speak.”
“If you and your mother were close, why didn’t you stay in contact?”
“When he kicked her out, she left with the clothes in that suitcase. She didn’t have any money. According to him, he made the money, so it was his. She didn’t drive and barely spoke English.”
“So she had nothing?” My gut clenched. I could only imagine how terrified that poor woman must have been.
“No.” She shivered, prompting me to pull her into my arms. “It was winter, just a few weeks after Christmas, and he kicked her out with no money, no car, no job, and little more than the clothes on her back.”
“Son of a bitch. And I thought my father was ruthless.”
“Yeah, well, my old man takes the prize in that department.”
“So what happened to your mother, sweetheart? Where did she go?” I was almost afraid to ask.
“I guess she couldn’t get a job with no home and barely speaking the language. She probably went to a shelter for a while, but of course you can only stay there for so long.”
“Right.” I knew that because I donated large sums of money to several homeless shelters in the area as a small way of making amends for being a selfish bastard. I wanted to believe that when I met my maker, he’d look past some of my indiscretions if I could claim I’d done a few good deeds.
“Eventually the police showed up on our doorstep. Apparently she still had some I.D. because they’d found it on her when they picked up her body.”
“Oh God.” I kissed the top of her head as I closed my eyes. As bad as my family was, given the option, I would have taken them any day over the monster Eleni had grown up with.
“She froze to death.” She’d choked on her words, barely able to get them out.
“I’m so sorry, baby.” No words could accurately describe the sorrow I felt on her behalf.
“She was alone out there with no one to turn to for help. She had no family, no friends. We were all she had. And I let my father kick her out on the street with nowhere—”
“Stop,” I said, pulling her closer when she sobbed. “It wasn’t your fault. You were just a kid. You had no control over what happened.”
“Mrs. Heiss, the lady next door, helped me look for her for a while. We called different shelters and pinned up flyers. We even tried to file a missing person’s report, but the police said there was nothing they could do because she’d left voluntarily.”
“She never tried to reach out to you?” I didn’t want to worsen her pain, but it was difficult to imagine a mother who loved her child walking away for any reason.
“I think she was afraid. My father threatened her and me. And I think she knew he didn’t make empty threats. He was a control freak.”
“I hate that you had to go through that. No wonder you have difficulty trusting people, men specifically.”
“Did I say that?” she asked, appearing dazed. “I trust men, just not with my heart.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, trying to ignore the niggling voice telling me I had no right to ask her to trust me.
“I trusted your brother when he promised me he would take care of my best friend. I know he loves her, that he would never leave her or hurt her.”
For the first time in my adult life, I wanted to be more like my brother, the kind of man Eleni could trust. “But you don’t believe you could meet a man who would love you
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