AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He hesitated, like he wanted to say something, before he gave a short nod, his plush lips sealed as if he were refraining from saying what was on his mind.
I wished he would just lay it out.
To my heart, I knew it was an accident, but I also knew how scared I’d been when she’d fallen.
Looking back, I probably should have given him a few more details, but I’d thought by stating it the way I had, I might save him some pain.
But he didn’t say anything.
He just climbed into his SUV and drove away.
I stuffed the dirty clothes I’d left on the bedroom floor into the duffle bag and tossed my toiletries bag on top, totally ignoring the way my stomach tilted when I glimpsed my toy stuffed at the bottom.
That baby was always going to remind me of Caleb Greyson.
I was pretty sure it was going to have to be retired.
Zipping up the bag, I blew out a breath as I glanced around the room.
Heaviness sat on my chest.
A ten-thousand-pound boulder I couldn’t budge.
I’d gone straight to the guest room to gather my things, giving them space, the time he had seemed to need with Evelyn. It felt like he’d turned a corner, even though that corner was still bound and riddled with fear.
Evening was approaching, the sky still light, though the intensity had dulled, as if a grayed filter had been placed over the heavens, giving it that moody vibe.
Or maybe it was just a filter of melancholy that had been painted over me.
It was really my fault that I’d let myself get so attached. That it felt wrong that I was about to leave. That I wanted to stay when I needed to remember my staying here had just been a job.
Hopefully, if he wasn’t too freaked out, I would still be welcome to return for Evelyn’s training tomorrow.
I tossed the straps of my duffle over my shoulder and headed out of the room. A stilled quiet held fast to the house, not that I’d have been able to hear someone talking or moving around on the other side of it, the place so big and vacant it echoed the loneliness.
I just hoped that maybe now something new would fill it. That Caleb had come to a turning point. The stupid part of me wanted to stick around to witness it, while the logical girl who wasn’t going to let herself get trampled again knew I really should run.
Turn my back on these emotions that had begun to run rampant.
Caleb Greyson was dangerous to me. I knew it, felt it in my soul.
I took the stairs at a clip, my boots booming on the wood like thunderclaps.
A racket in the perfect stillness.
I almost grinned that I was the one causing it.
I hit the landing with a thud, pinned a bright smile on my face, and went in search of Evelyn so I could tell her goodbye.
At the thought of it, a knot formed so tight in my belly that I thought I might throw up.
Crap, I’d gotten in too deep. I really should cut the cord. It would be better. End whatever this was before it got out of control.
Except that cord started to strangle when I finally heard the low murmuring of voices coming down the hall from the direction of the kitchen, one low and deep, smoothly rough, the way Caleb Greyson was. The other was timid and shy but brighter than I thought it had ever been.
Wearing the casualness I kept trying to don, I peeked through the archway. “Got my things. I’m going to head out.”
“Oh man, you have to already? But I’ll see you tomorrow!” Evelyn peeped from where she sat on one of the stools on her knees and leaned on the island, not paying that much mind to her injured arm.
At the sight of her, tears pricked at the backs of my eyes.
I was definitely in danger, and I knew it was time I put up some boundaries. I’d never wanted to hold back affection from the child when I knew she needed it so desperately, but that affection had become something I shouldn’t let it.
It was the kind that was absolutely going to crush me.
Panic welled, a rising tide, dragging me so deep I thought I was going to drown. And if I got any deeper, I was not going to make it.
Sweat slicked my neck, and it hit me so fast and hard that it nearly knocked me from my feet. Where my stupid heart had gone. I’d put it right there on the chopping block because this child wasn’t mine, and she never could be.
“I’m not sure, Evie-Love.”
Caleb had been jabbing at the microwave buttons like he’d never used it before, and his attention whipped toward me when I said it. Something passed through his stony features. Regret, maybe? Anger? Hard to tell when he remained all glowery and rigid.
