Page 20 of Unbreak Me
“I was so scared you would hate me,” I admit softly.
“I could never hate you.” His eyes hold mine, and something familiar flashes in them. It’s gone before I fully get a glimpse of it, but it gives me enough strength and hope to walk toward him.
“Let’s just get this bandaid ripped off.” I open the back door and step inside with Ryder right behind me. Jake meets my eyes first as his fork clatters to his plate. He’s staring wide-eyed at me.
Miles turns to see what the commotion is and meets my gaze. “Eve?” I nod my head and feel everyone’s eyes on me. I see Travis standing with a beautiful dark-haired girl who must be his wife, Sophia, before my eyes land on Max. Once I meet his eyes, I choke back a sob. He’s grown up so much and looks just like his dad and uncles. I remember holding him the day he brought him home. I was only sixteen and hadn’t been dating Ryder long, but his family immediately welcomed me in and felt that connection between Ryder and me. I would help out with Max as much as I could and fell deeply in love with him.
He runs to me now, and I drop to my knees to hug him. He wraps his arms around me, and I almost break in two. “Max, I’ve missed you so much,” I whisper into his soft hair.
“You left without saying goodbye, Evie.” I hold back a sob at the mention of the name he used to call me. “Uncle Ryder was so sad.”
“I know, love, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I didn’t get to say goodbye. I promise you I had a good reason, and I won’t ever leave like that again without saying goodbye.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
He nods his head and grins at me. “You came back. Everyone said you weren’t coming back, but I knew you loved us too much and would come back. Uncle Ryder won’t be sad anymore. Right, Uncle Ryder?” He looks up at Ryder and sees him holding Ryland. “Who’s that?” His cute face is furrowed in concentration.
I prepare myself for the second bomb about to be dropped. Ryder smiles down at Max. “This is Ryland. She’s your cousin Max and my daughter.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
RYDER
“Daughter? You have a daughter?” Travis’s voice breaks through the deafening silence.
“Yeah, I do.” I glance down at Ryland, and she’s taking everyone in. I can’t stop staring at her and taking in every little detail. I’ve only felt this instant soul-consuming love twice in my life. The day I met Eve and the moment I first laid eyes on my daughter this morning.
“Ryland, this is your family. This is your cousin, Max, and this is Uncle Travis and Aunt Sophia,” I say, pointing to them. And over there are your Uncle Jake and Uncle Miles.” I’m not sure she understands at two, but I need to break the ice somehow. I can feel my brothers’ confusion and anger being thrown into the mix.
Sophia must feel it, too, because she comes up to us to soften the blow. “Hi, Ryland,” she says softly. “I love your pink pajamas.”
“Pwincess,” she says, pointing to the little princess covering the top.
“I love princesses too,” she smiles. Nemo comes running in the kitchen, and Ryland’s eyes light up.
“Doggy!” She giggles.
“Yes,” Sophia says, laughing. “That’s Nemo. Do you want to pet him?” She nods her head excitedly and reaches for Sophia. Smiling, she takes her from me and meets my eyes. I know she’s making sure I’m okay as I nod briefly. “Why don’t we go in the living room, and you can throw the ball to Nemo with Max?”
“Thank you,” I say softly, knowing she’s letting my brothers have a moment with Eve.
“Come on, cutie. Let’s go play with the doggy.” I watch them walk over to the living room area and grin when I see her laugh as Nemo licks her cheek.
My brothers are standing at the island waiting for me. I know they want answers. That makes two of us. Eve follows me over there and I can tell she’s nervous as hell to face them. One of my brothers is hard enough, but to have all four of us staring her down has got to be intimidating as fuck. The need to make her feel more comfortable overtakes my hurt and anger as I give her a small, encouraging smile. She takes a deep breath and faces my brothers.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“You’re sorry?” Jake looks at her in disbelief. “Do you have any idea the hell you have put Ryder through? That you have put us all through? We were a family, Eve. We trusted you. You were like a sister to us, and you fucking left without so much as a goodbye. Then you show up three years later with my niece in your hands. A niece I knew nothing about. You kept Ryder’s daughter from him for three fucking years.”
“I swear I had a good reason. You guys were the only family I’ve ever had, and it killed me to leave like that.” Her voice trembles as tears fall down her face.
“Do you know how many days it took for Max to stop asking about you? He cried and begged me to bring Evie over. I had no clue how to explain why you just left like that when I didn’t understand it myself. I trusted you enough to get to know my son. You knew how much trust that took, and you broke it.” Travis’s words make her cry even harder.
Unable to watch it any longer, I pull her into my arms, and she buries her face in my chest while she sobs. It’s the first physical contact I’ve had with her in three years, and it’s like touching the other half of my soul. I close my eyes briefly at the sensations it brings and try to get my emotions under control as they all slam into me at once.
“I think we need to take a minute,” I say when I can speak. “I know we are all hurting here and have questions, but we don’t have the whole story yet.”
