Elijah has spent his whole life hiding his body , working odd jobs, avoiding emotional entanglements, never daring to trust anyone enough to reveal himself fully. Everyone sees the rough exterior: a towering man who works construction jobs and drives an old truck. Nobody sees the shy heart under it. Nobody has ever touched him - really touched him - and loved what they found. Until Dean. Dean moves into town after retiring from Military, setting up a custom furniture business. He's instantly drawn to Eli not because Eli tries to impress him, but because of the way Eli looks away every time Dean looks at him like he sees him.