Page 71 of Mended Hearts

She nods, then hugs both parents, saying something to them before continuing down the hall. They make their way over to me and Dax and sit. The closeness has me feeling a bit on guard.

“Echo told us you saved Brian’s life. Thank you,” her mom says.

My erratic heart slows a bit at her words, and I turn my gaze toward them and nod in response.

“Pride is an ugly thing,” Echo’s dad says, looking my way. “And this is all my fault.” He shakes his head back and forth. “I set this all into motion so long ago with you and my daughter. I’ve caused all this brokenness.”

Thoughts consume my mind at his admission—something I never thought I’d hear. I shift in my chair, knowing this conversation needs to happen now.

“Permission to speak freely, sir,” I say. Now is the time to get it all out. None of us need to continue carrying this weight. With no objections, I continue, “Sir, to be honest, I carried a grudge, a hatred like no other for you most of my life. It molded me into a cold, calculated man, leading me to serve five tours overseas. Then I saw your daughter again and time stopped.” I rest my elbows on my thighs as I lean forward. “My anger at you subsided and was redirected toward Brian.” I nod, looking in the direction of the hall he’s down. “Poor guy didn’t even do anything to deserve it. I loathed him because I wasn’t him. I was downright jealous. But because of Echo, I made a vow to protect him because I couldn’t stand the thought of her world being shattered if something were to happen to him. It’s always been because of Echo. What I did. What I do. And what I will do. I can’t seem to stop fighting to keep her safe. Even if she’s not mine.”

“Please don’t,” Mr. Price says.

My head shoots up, making sure I heard him right. He holds my stare, and I can see a sea of regret swarming in his brown eyes and I wonder whose sea is deeper, his or mine.

“So yeah.” I look away, letting out a deep breath. “I used to blame you for wrecking my world and destroying my future. But we’re all responsible for our own actions and choices that have led us to this point. In regard to this situation”—I point down the hall—“the only thing you’re responsible for is being a controllingdouche thirteen years ago. You aren’t responsible for that. Brian is.”

“He said you saved his life twice,” Mr. Price says with a sense of awe. I just nod. I’m not much of being an attention whore. Now my brother, on the other hand…

“Third time’s a charm,” Dax mutters, earning an elbow jab from me to his side.

Before I can tell him now is not the time to be joking, I look up to see Echo making her way back out. She eyes us suspiciously as we all now sit in silence.

“Everything okay?” she asks, raising a brow, looking from me to her parents, then back to me.

Her dad sighs, then says, “I think it’s going to be.” Then places a hand on my shoulder and grips it. His gaze falls to my missing hand, and I see him wince once finally taking notice of my injury. “Did you sustain that while saving Brian?”

“Yes, it was the mainphysicalwound I suffered.”

He nods and I feel he’s able to read between the lines. The physical wounds will never overpower the emotional scars. He begins to shake his head as his chest shakes. “So much destruction. So much pain. So much division. We’ve all lost so much.” He looks around at all of us, even nodding at Dax, who has suffered immense loss. “But, son, I fear you’ve lost the most out of all of us.”

“Sir, it’s collateral damage that I would gladly endure again if it led me back to your daughter.” I glance up at Echo, who stands with tears streaming down her face. I jump up and stand right in front of her. “What’s wrong, Echo?” I begin wiping away the tears.

“It’s just Dylan. So much has happened. Y’all have lost so much time.” She shakes her head.

“Hey, hey, hey,” I say, cupping her beautiful face in my hand. She looks up at me and more than anything I want to press mylips to hers and kiss all her worries away. I know it would work. It did in the past. But I don’t. Instead, I smile as I push the loose hair back behind her ear my hand trails down her jawline, resting at her chin. I swipe my finger lightly across her bottom lip. Her breath hitches and my heart pumps faster, loving I have this effect on her. “Do you trust me?”

“More than life itself.” Her lip quivers as she reaches for me, running her hand along the side of my face. The urge to toss this woman over my shoulder and rush out of here flashes through my mind. Keeping my resolve with her is proving to be difficult. I’m just hoping I don’t have to keep it up too much longer. But I know I’d do so for the rest of my life if that’s what she needed.

“Then let me go take care of our son while you figure stuff out here.”

Slightly uncertain, she looks down. She’s been his sole provider his entire life. How hard it must be to relinquish some of that responsibility to someone else. I lift her face back to mine.

“Echo, please. I need this,” I whisper, pleading.

“He’s right.” Her dad stands, placing a hand on both of our shoulders. “Dylan needs this, too. It’s time.”

She nods and I pull her into my embrace. So many emotions and all I want to do is ease her mind—to reassure her. “I love you more than anything in the world, Echo. I know you know that.” She nods against my chest, and I rub her back and cradle her head against me as she cries. “The last thing I want to do is leave you alone to deal with all of this.” My voice shakes as tears begin to stream down my face. “But I know you and I know it’s what you need.” I pull back enough to rest my forehead against hers. “Thank you for trusting me.”

Echo’s hands move to my hips, and she lets out a heavy breath. “Thank you for loving me.”

“I’ll never stop.”

Chapter Forty-Eight

ECHO

“Have you ever done something you’re so incredibly ashamed of that dying sounds better than having to face those you love, knowing you hurt them? I did.” His voice begins to crack, and I wonder how I’m going to make it out of this room without crying. “I know everyone in this room knows what happened, but you haven’t heard it from me.”

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