Page 14 of The Paths We Cross
I don’t wait for Rowan to open my door, which apparently annoys him, if the look on his face tells me anything. I walk into the house, the familiar floral smell filling my senses.
The house is small with two bedrooms and one bathroom. There is a small kitchen and a decent sized living room, but it’s nothing in comparison to the size of the clubhouse.
I walk into my bedroom and stop in my tracks when I see the picture of Travis and I on my nightstand. His face just makes me want to cry now. Not just from his loss, but from his betrayal. I walk over and flip the picture over, not able to look at him right now.
I look down and fiddle with my ring. I can’t explain how it feels to wear it, now. Almost like it’s a lie. Did I even really know my fiancé? It doesn’t feel like I did.
I turn around when I hear Rowan enter the room. “Do you need any help?”
He fills out the entire doorway. Where Travis was tall and kind of lanky, Rowan is tall and broad.
“Uh, I don’t think so. Let me just pack up some clothes and toiletries and I’ll be ready,” I tell him.
“Okay. Do you want to bring any of the stuff for the baby? Just in case,” he adds with a pointed look at my belly.
I wince. “I uh, don’t have anything for the baby,” I admit as I turn toward my drawer to pull underwear out.
“But you’re really close to your due date, right?”
I turn around to face him. “I lost my fiancé the same day that I found out we were having a baby,” I admit. “I haven’t been able to move on from that day. I’ve been living in limbo, and I have no idea how I’m supposed to bring a child into this world. How am I going to support them? How am I going to make sure they turn into a good person? I don’t know how I’m supposed to do this alone,” I say as tears stream down my cheeks. “I can’t even bring myself to find out the sex of the baby. How can I buy everything I need when I was supposed to do this with him? And now, I know that he was doing bad things for bad men, and they killed him and almost killed me because of it. Even though he’s gone, they’re still after me now. After us,” I whisper as I run a hand over my belly.
Rowan looks visibly shaken by my admission, but he steps forward and pulls me into his embrace. “You don’t have to do any of this alone, Ev.”
I drop my head to his chest and breathe him in. The subtle woodsy scent seems to calm my nerves, and I can’t explain why.
I don’t know why this man is being so helpful, but I’m so appreciative to have his help. To have the entire club’s help.
I only wallow for a little while before I get back to packing. I don’t have tons of clothes that fit me right now, so it doesn’t takeme too long. I make sure to grab my toiletries and laptop and then we’re ready to head back to the clubhouse.
As I walk into the garage, I look back at my house with longing. This is where I was supposed to start my family, where I was supposed to be with Travis. Now, it’s just a tainted space, and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel comfortable here again.
“Are you ready?” Rowan asks from the passenger’s side of my vehicle. He must have already loaded all my bags, which he wouldn’t let me carry.
“Yeah,” I murmur as I turn my back on my house. “I’m ready.”
10
ROWAN
I walk through the clubhouse in search of my sister-in-law. I got Everly settled into her room last night and was already thinking about what I wanted to do for her.
She broke my heart when she told me why she hadn’t bought anything for the baby. It makes sense. She’s stuck reliving that night seven months ago. I feel like that’s something we have in common. I didn’t lose what she did that night, but I feel like we’re connected through it. I don’t know if I’ve really moved on from that night, either. It changed me.
I want to do something for Everly, hopefully to cheer her up, but I need Sophie’s help. I find her in the kitchen with Chef. She looks up when she hears me enter.
“How is she doing?” She asks.
“She’s doing okay, I think. I actually wanted to talk to you about her,” I say as I shove my hands into my pockets.
“Okay, what’s up?”
“I need you to come to the store with me and help me buy all the baby shit she’s going to need.”
Sophie’s eyebrows furrow. “Why would you be buying all the things for the baby?”
I sigh. “Because I feel like she needs this. She has no one helping her and she’s in a strange place. This is the least I can do for her,” I add with a shrug.
Sophie’s expression softens. “That’s really nice of you. I’ll have to let Gray know so he keeps an eye on Asher,” she says as she pulls her phone out to text my brother. “Okay, let’s go. We can take my vehicle so everything will fit!”
