Page 91 of Hero Unbound

Theo sat back farther against the seat. That made so much sense. Seeing someone throw away their dream was doubly painful to someone who’d had their dream ripped away from them.

“Yeah, probably. I still should’ve handled it better with Eva.”

Ray nodded then turned back around to face the front. “There was a time when your father was the only person who believed me when everything about me looked like a lie. If Eva is important, then you’re going to have to be that person for her.If she doesn’t know, help her find out.”

His parents didn’t say anything else. But that one sentence kept ringing in his mind.If she doesn’t know, help her find out.

They were silent the rest of the way back to the Linear property. When they pulled up in front of his house,he reached up and squeezed both their shoulders. Both of them squeezed his hands in return, offering him their silent support.

Once he got out and they drove away, he immediately went to his truck. He didn’t want to go into his house. Eva wasn’t there. He wanted to go make things right with her, whatever he had to do.

But when he got to the big house a few minutes later, she wasn’t around. Neither were the dogs.

He had a moment of panic, thinking she’d left town completely, until he saw the truck was still here. He saw a light on in the horse barn. She was with the animals.

Of course she was.

Which just, once again, made this whole thing with the vet exam not make any sense. But he would help her get to the bottom of it, to understand why she did it. Maybe even see if there was some sort of way to make an appeal, see if she could get a second chance. A gift like hers shouldn’t be thrown away.

He walked inside the barn and didn’t see her at first. Then he started checking the stalls. He got to the last one and found her snuggled asleep in the corner, the horse lying beside her, the two dogs at her back.

He didn’t want to disturb her; now wasn’t the time to talk. They’d both been through too much today. But damned if he could leave her.

Her eyes blinked open as he unlatched the stall door, and she stiffened, about to sit up.

“Stay,” he said as he walked into the stall. “It’s fine.”

“I know I have to leave them,” she whispered. “I know what I did was wrong and I can’t ever be around animals again in the way I want to. But I just wanted one more night before I had to go.”

His heart cracked in his chest. He didn’t have the words he needed to give her right now, so he wouldn’t even try. Instead, he settled down next to her on the hay, the dogs making room so they could all fit together.

He wrapped an armaroundher waist, and they slept.

28

When Eva woke up in the barn the next morning, fog and mist had made their way down from the mountains and over the lowlands.

She stared outside the stall door for a moment from where she sat in the corner. Perfect gloom and doom weather to match the gloom and doom situation.

Sugar and Spice were still right next to her, but Wildfire had made her way across the stall and was munching on hay. Theo was nowhere to be found.

She turned and looked at the dogs. “Was Theo here last night?”

They didn’t answer, leaving her to wonder if it was just one more thing that she’d gotten confused in her mind. She could swear he’d entered the stall late last night then fell asleep behind her. But she’d been so physically and emotionally exhausted that she had to admit that maybe her mind had just made up the whole scenario to bring her comfort.

Because why would Theo have done that? It had been pretty clear after their fight yesterday evening that he didn’t want anything to do with her. And all things considered, she couldn’t blame him.

She checked on the rest of the animals as she walked slowly through the barn, trying not to think about the fact that this might be the last time they were in her care. She’d known this would probably happen once she’d come clean, but the reality of it still sliced at her heart.

Would it have been different if she had been the one to tell Theo about the exam cheating rather than someone else? It definitely couldn’t have been worse. And she had no one to blame but herself for being a coward for too long.

And she couldn’t even think about the engagement pictures Theo had shown her. She’d spent hours studying her social media after Theo had left, trying to remember posting those pictures. Trying to remember anything about that ring being on her finger.

Nothing.Always nothing. Just like Theo had accused her of. She couldn’t blame him for that either.

She left the barn and walked the dogs back to the big house. They didn’t like the fog and lack of light and stayed glued to her side. They hadn’t done that since back when they’d first gotten here. It was only when they saw the house that they finally trotted ahead.

She showered and tried to make herself look like she hadn’t spent a mostly sleepless night in a barn. One last look in the mirror told her she was only partially successful. But she had to go.

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