Page 113 of Hero Unbound
If she wanted to stay quiet, he didn’t blame her. He’d stayed silently at her side, or out of the way in the room, the whole time. When Annie cleared her and Eva turned to him and asked him to take her home because she wanted to see her dogs, he was happy to do so.
The dogs were what broke the emotional dam. Lilah had dropped them off at Theo’s house, so he took Eva straight there. He carried her from his truck to the porch to protect her feet, and he set her down on the steps.
The moment he opened the door and let the thrilled dogs out to see Eva, she scooped them to her and began sobbing. His heart broke at the sound, but he didn’t try to stop her. She needed this. He couldn’t even imagine how many emotions must be pouring through her system—anger, grief, fear, relief. She sobbed them all out, her precious dogs—the love of whom had saved her life—more than content to stay in her arms.
Theo knew she needed them more than him, and that was okay.
When her tears finally subsided, he reached down and picked her up—Sugar still in her arms—and carried them inside, Spice trotting next to them. He set them on the couch and got a tissue from the side table and wiped her face.
She just stared at him, saying nothing. That was okay too.
He wrapped an arm around her and laid them both down there on the couch where they’d had their first kiss so many weeks ago. Sugar was once again between their torsos, and he patted the couch so that Spice would jump up and join them too. Eva relaxed her head against his chest, and her arms came around him.
Together, they slept.
* * *
He woketo the feel of Eva’s fingers tracing up and down his arm. At some point in their nap, both pups had jumped down and gone to lie in their favorite spot over by the window.
“I’m so sorry you thought you were alone,” he murmured. It had to be said. He couldn’t let it eat at him any longer. “That I let things get so bad between us that you didn’t think I would try to help you.”
Her fingers stopped their path. “I can’t believe you came for me even when you didn’t know what Gareth had done.”
He sat up on one elbow so he could see her eyes clearly. He wanted to make sure she understood the truth of his words. “Of course I did. Because you’re worth fighting for, Evie. Because even if Garethhadn’tdone those things, you’re still worth fighting for.”
She sat up and tucked her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. “I’m broken. Even knowing that Gareth is at fault for some of it, I’m still broken. It’s going to take me a long time to sort through all of this. To figure out and piece together what has happened.”
Theo sat up also, keeping his distance from her since she wasn’t touching him. “Yes, it will take a long time, and it won’t always be easy. The pieces you put back together won’t build the same Eva that you were.”
She shuddered. “I don’t want that Eva.”
“Good, because you get a new one. You get to choose who you become from here.”
She was quiet for a long minute, just staring forward, before finally speaking again. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me and how much you’ve helped me—today and since I arrived in town. But if you want distance while I’m handling all this, I understand.”
He turned and cupped both her cheeks. “If you want to walk through this alone, I understand that and will respect it.” Although it would hurt like hell to keep away from her. “But if you’ll allow me, I would be honored to walk through this with you in whatever way you need.”
She leaned in until her head was lying on his shoulder. “I’m not sure what the answer will be. It may change day by day.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Then we’ll take it day by day.”
They sat there for a while, both content just to be silently near each other. Finally, Eva pulled away from him. He didn’t want to let her go but, more than that, wanted to respect whatever boundaries she needed—starting immediately.
“There are three things I want to do as soon as possible. They’re running over and over in my mind, and I can’t do anything else until then.”
He nodded. “Tell me.”
“First, I want to call my parents. Gareth has kept me from them for far too long. I owe them an apology, and I’m praying they’ll forgive me. I’m not sure how much about Gareth I want to tell them, but I just want them near me.”
“I don’t know Marilyn and Noah well, but I can’t imagine they’ll be anything short of ecstatic to hear from you.”
She let out a soft sigh. “I hope so.”
“We can go call them right now if you want. Or hell, let’s get in the truck and drive to Colorado. We can be there by tonight.”
“I’ll start with a call this evening and see how that goes.”
He fought the urge to pull her against him. They needed to do this her way.