Page 134 of Challenged by the Single Dad

Once they reached the top viewpoint, he held her hands in his and turned her to face him. “It’s called the primal scream.”

She looked at him like he was nuts.

“When life becomes too much and you feel like a bottle of shaken Coke ready to explode, this helps—a lot.” Then he released her hands, turned to face the blackness, held his arms out wide, sucked in a deep breath, and let out a wild, animalistic, soul-cleansing scream.

With his chest heaving, he turned to her.

She regarded him like he was crazy even more than before.

All he did was offer her a small smile of encouragement.

And apparently, that was all she needed, because she turned to face the black sky just like he had, opened her arms out wide, ready to fly, pulled in a deep breath, and let go.

Pride surged through him.

He did it again.

Then she did it.

Then they did it together.

On that last one, she turned to him and practically fell into his arms, once again crumpling in anguish as the events of the day all came to a head.

He carefully lowered them to the ground on their knees and he just held her as she sobbed. She rallied quicker than she had in the car, which was a good sign, and when she lifted her head, hope shimmered back at him in her eyes. She had exorcised the demons that plagued her. Taking her hands again, he helped her stand up.

“Chloe Voss, I challenge you,” he started, earning a curious brow lift from her. He smiled. “I challenge you to trust me. To trust that no matter what happens with this baby, I’m not going anywhere. And I challenge you to do the same.”

Understanding flickered in her gaze.

“You ran once—when Elliott died. And I get that. I understand. But this is different.You’redifferent. You’re stronger. And baby or no baby, I will love you forever. I want to share my life with you. I think we’ve both earned a second chance at happiness, don’t you?”

Swallowing hard, she pulled in a shaky breath, and a fresh tear sprinted down her cheek. But she nodded. Even if it was a small one.

“Do you accept this challenge?” he asked, rubbing his thumbs over the backs of her hands. “To stay and love me no matter what? No more running.”

Another nod, this time a little bigger. “Yes,” she whispered. “I accept the challenge.”

Smiling until his cheeks hurt, he pulled her into his arms, kissed her forehead, and held her like he never wanted to let her go. Because he didn’t.

She shivered in his embrace. “Can we go home?”

His heart swelled close to bursting when she said that last word.

Home.

Because his home was her home now. Hopefully, forever.

Nodding, he took her hand and carefully led her back to the car.

“Thank you,” she whispered as they made their way back down the mountain. “For rescuing me.”

“You rescued yourself,” he said, making sure she knew how tough she was. “I just came to get you.”

“I love you, Dominic McEvoy.”

He rested his hand on her damp thigh. “And I love you, Chloe Voss.” Then he moved his hand to her stomach. “And everything you’ve given me.”

She swallowed and placed her hand over his. “I guess sometimes you can’t see the stars until you’re in the dark. Thank you for being my North Star and guiding me home.”

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