Elias didn't answer my question right away. He just looked at me for a long moment, and I felt my breath falter till I almost couldn't breathe at all. The diner sounds, the clatter of plates and distant chatter, seemed to fade out.
My stomach was a tangled mess of nerves. Had I pushed too far? Was he finally going to tell me he thought I was some kind of freak? Was I some kind of freak?
Then he spoke, his voice calm, measured. "Ma'am, I think you're a remarkably strong woman." He paused, his gaze steady. "You've been through a lot, and you're fighting to make your own way, to carve out your own path. You're determined, focused. You don't back down from what you want."
