Chapter 19
Sophie sat on the porch with her tea and stared out at the landscape. They had all known on some level that Eliot had not had an easy life; seeing the proof for themselves, though, was jarring. Their Eliot had been though ten kinds of hell his entire life and none of them had known. Things would have to change now. They all knew what the hitter carried. He wouldn't have to do it alone anymore.
"I finally talked to Eliot. He's on his way back. He sounded exhausted."
"He is exhausted, Nate. This can't be good for him. He still has headaches all too frequently and refuses to let any of know. Now with the added stress of having all of us know about his past, I fear they may get worse."
Nate worried about the very same thing. The past month had shown them all how vulnerable Eliot actually was. Nate couldn't help but think about all the times Eliot had been "off" and none of them had ever thought to find out why. Not that he thought Eliot would have told them anything, but still, they could have tried.
"I think you're right. Getting him to actually relax will be difficult. I talked to John. He said Eliot has always been like that. He goes one hundred miles an hour all the time. He doesn't know how to stop. We already knew that."
Sophie stood and headed inside. Her thoughts were all over the place and she hated it. Was this how Eliot felt now? He was always so controlled.
"He'll just have to rest and relax."
With that, Sophie grabbed her teacup and headed for the kitchen, wondering what lunch might entail. Would Eliot want to make lunch when he got back or would he be too preoccupied?
Reaching for her phone, she sent a quick text to her favorite retrieval specialist. While waiting for a reply, the Grifter set about making some lemonade. She plucked the raspberries from the refrigerator and placed a pan on the stove. Making the simple raspberry syrup would sweeten the lemonade as well as add a tartness to the light drink.
The ding of her phone interrupted her thoughts. It was Eliot. He was pulling up the house now. She hoped he wouldn't try to hide behind his gruff exterior. When Eliot chose to open himself up, it was a wonderful thing. Taking her syrup off the stove, Sophie began juicing the lemons. She chose to be optimistic about Eliot. It would help nothing if she got down as well.
Mixing up the lunch concoction, Sophie said nothing as Eliot entered the kitchen and started pulling vegetables out of the refrigerator. Kale, tomatoes, spinach, even carrots and radishes were piled onto the counter as Eliot prepared lunch.
"Need some help?"
Eliot placed the organic chicken breasts on the counter before looking up, gaging her facial expression. Trying to find some hidden purpose. When he seemingly found none, he handed her the carrots and radishes and pointed at the slicer.
"Get those as thin as you can. I'll grill the chicken strips for the wraps."
"Do you want to the bacon diced or are you just going to use it in the strips?
"Strips."
Turning her back on the obviously nervous hitter, Sophie set about finishing her tasks. The grilled chicken wraps sounded heavenly. Glancing at the counter beside her, she wondered if the Avocado was going to be used in Eliot's famous Avocado Mayo. She hoped so. Even Hardison and Parker ate that. Leave it Eliot Spencer to think of other people while he was trying to make sense of his own life.
Eliot felt the delicate arms wrap around him from behind and flinched. The smell of her perfume told him it was only Sophie.
"Thank you for being so selfless all the time, Eliot. We don't act like we appreciate you, but we do. I guess we should say it more often."
"Is this about the mayo?"
Sophie dissolved into laughter. Leave it to Eliot to brighten her mood even while he was carrying a burden much too heavy for him alone.
"Yes, it's about the mayo. You know Parker won't a wrap unless your avocado mayo is on it and Hardison won't eat anything healthy unless you make it."
Turning back to her veggies, Sophie barely heard the thanks over the sound of the chicken on the grill.