Page 40 of Unbound

My stomach cramps because I know my words are only a partial truth. I have no choice but to deploy soon, in less than a month.

Eden nods against me, mumbling something I can’t understand. I let her cry it out for a few more minutes, brushing my hand over her hair soothingly.

Finally, she lifts her head up, wiping her cheeks with the sleeve of my hoodie she’s wearing. “I just, I never imagined my first baby to go this way. I always thought it would be perfect. I thought I would get the white-picket-fence life, with my family around me to celebrate becoming a mom, to throw me a baby shower, and now … now they don’t even know about the baby. I’m running from everything and everyone. I’m in a fake marriage to use someone’s insurance, which just overall really sucks. He … he deserves better. He deserves a better mom than me.”

“Oh, baby, no. Don’t ever say that. Don’t ever let yourself believe a lie like that. You’re already an incredible mom. Look at what you’ve been through. Look at what you’ve done to protect him, to provide for him, to keep him safe. You’re one of the strongest women I know. He doesn’t even know how lucky he is to have you as a mom.”

She searches my face with her big green eyes. The golden glow of the sun bathes her skin in an angelic light, making her look ethereal. I have to focus on my inhale so I don’t forget to breathe.

“You’re stunning—you know that?” I whisper. “Normally, I would’ve asked your dad for your hand, just so you know. I was raised right.”

She smiles, looking out toward the ocean. “You could ask my older brother, Adam. I’ve decided I want to reach out to him and Dan. I’m ready to face them and tell them what happened. I know they’re probably worried about me, and I’ve been … I was selfish to run off and not tell anyone where I was.”

I release an exhale, slowly nodding. “Okay, well, in that case, I have something to tell you.”

Her eyes widen. She gets off my lap, sitting across from me. She’s still holding my hand, squeezing tightly.

“What?”

“A couple of days ago, I saw a post about you being missing. And I reached out to the person who’d posted it.”

She claps a hand over her mouth.

“I’d been monitoring the situation with the loser who had come up here and kidnapped you, to see if anyone realized he was gone. I was periodically checking the local news groups from your hometown, and that was when I saw someone posted about you being missing. It was a woman named Harley Wesson.”

Eden’s lower lip is trembling. “That’s my sister-in-law.”

I nod. “I reached out to her, and I spoke to your brother as well.”

She looks over toward the sunset, where the orange and pink are bleeding through the sky. “Are they angry with me?”

“No, baby, not at all. They were worried sick about you. It took some convincing because they thought for a minute that I might have kidnapped you, but I was able to reassure them that you were safe and sound and scared to come home.”

“Do they know I’m pregnant?” Her voice is barely above a whisper.

“No. I didn’t tell them anything except that I was helping you and that you’re safe. I told them I would try to get you to contact them to talk. Adam threatened to come up here and kick my ass, but I didn’t tell them where we were.”

Eden sighs, dropping her head between her knees. I scoot over to sit beside her so she can use my shoulder to lean on if she needs it.

“I don’t know where I would be without you.”

“Good thing we don’t have to think about that because you’re right here with me, exactly where you’re meant to be.”

After the sun is nearly gone, the temperature drops substantially. Eden shivers, sliding closer to me. I wrap my arm around her shoulders.

“We should have them meet us at Redford Ranch, whoever you want to see. I get a week off before I leave, and I want you to meet my family before I go.”

She blows out a breath before nodding. “Okay.”

14

EDEN

Icouldn’t do this without Sterling by my side. Facing my family after everything I’ve done and running away feels like willingly walking into the sharp end of a kitchen knife.

The twenty-one-hour road trip back to Texas was actually pretty fun, considering we got to sink into the comfort of getting to know about each other’s family while reminiscing about how crazy our first meeting was.

When we pull into Redford Ranch, my jaw nearly falls to the floor.