10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Gage
I grip the steering wheel like it's the only thing keeping me from shattering.
Eden sits beside me, a careful foot of space between us that feels like a fucking chasm. The heat's on full blast but the cold still seeps in through the open vents… or maybe that's just the ice forming around my heart.
Three days. Three goddamn perfect days that I never should have let happen.
Her lip trembles. She bites it, and the painful gesture hits me hard. I remember how those lips felt against my skin, how she tasted, how she—
No.
The road stretches ahead, winding down the mountain that's been my sanctuary. My prison. Until she showed up and made it feel like home.
A flash of memory shakes before my eyes. Eden in my flannel, barefoot in my kitchen. Her laugh when I burnt the toast yesterday. The way she curled into me at night, trusting me completely. Her fingers tracing my scars like they were something beautiful instead of marks of my failure.
I open my mouth. Then snap it closed for what must be the hundredth time.
What the hell can I say? That I'm sorry? That I want her to stay? That the thought of her walking away makes me want to drive us straight back up this mountain and never let her leave?
The town appears through the trees. My hands clench tighter on the wheel. Each mile brings us closer to the end, and I'm fighting the urge to turn this truck around.
Then Eden goes and makes it a million times worse when she shifts in her seat and turns to face me.
"Thank you for everything, Gage." Her voice is soft, broken.
Christ.
The words hit me like bullets. Each one precise. Deadly. Final. I've survived firefights that hurt less than this quiet goodbye.
I manage a tight nod, forcing back the storm of words threatening to spill from my chest.
My throat feels like sandpaper when I finally speak. "Where do you need me to drop you?"
"The mechanic on Main should be fine." Eden's fingers twist in her lap. "Hopefully they can tow my car today."
The muscle in my jaw ticks. I should be the one helping her out of this mess. Daniel's voice echoes in my head - his last words, making me swear to take care of his little girl as the darkness took hold of his eyes.
Isn't that what I've been doing?
The bitter laugh nearly escapes. No. What I've been doing is taking advantage of his daughter, losing myself in her body, pretending I deserve even a moment of the peace she brings.
The final corner opens up to reveal the small mountain town spreading out below us like a miniature Christmas village. Wooden storefronts line the main street, their roofs heavy with fresh snow.
My hands start to shake.
This is it. The end of whatever fantasy I've been living these past three days.
Eden shifts beside me. I want to reach over, pull her into my lap like I did last night, bury my face in her hair and forget the rest of the world exists.
Instead, I guide the truck down the winding road into town.
"That's the mechanic." Eden's voice breaks through my thoughts as she points to the Auto Shop.
The red and white sign swings in the mountain breeze, each creak another nail in the coffin of what we shared. I pull into the gravel lot, killing the engine but keeping my hands locked on the wheel.
"Thank you," she whispers. "For everything."
Her lips part, and for a moment I think she might tell me this is stupid, might give me the opening I desperately need to turn this fucking truck around and go back to my cabin.
Tell her to stay. Tell her you need her. Tell her these three days have changed everything.
But I can't. I'm not the man she deserves.
My jaw clenches as I force out the words that will end this. "Take care, sunshine."
The light dims in her eyes. Her shoulders drop, and I watch the hope drain from her face. She wanted more from me - needed more. But I'm too much of a coward to give it.
Eden swallows hard, a small nod the only acknowledgment of my dismissal. Without another word, she pushes open the truck door and steps out into the crisp mountain air.
My hands grip the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white as I watch her walk away. Her blonde hair catches the sunlight, and for a split second I see her as she was three days ago - standing in my doorway, soaked to the bone, bringing life back into my world.
The shop door swings shut behind her with a final click.
And just like that, I know.
The mistake isn't letting her walk away. The mistake is believing I'm protecting her by doing it. The mistake is thinking I'm honoring Daniel's memory by pushing away the one person who makes me feel whole again.
I've survived firefights and explosions, carried brothers off battlefields, but watching that door close behind Eden Blake might just be what finally breaks me.
The thought of driving back up that mountain without her makes bile rise in my throat. Going back there alone would kill me.
My eyes drift to the passenger seat.
The leather still holds her warmth, the ghost of her presence lingering like the final dagger to my chest. She sat there not two minutes ago, close enough to touch but already slipping through my fingers.
Something catches my eye on the dashboard - a flash of soft blue fabric. Her scarf. The one she wore when she first showed up at my door, now forgotten in her rush to escape.
My fingers close around the delicate material.
Before I can stop myself, I bring it to my face, inhaling deeply. Eden . Sweet and warm. The scent sends my mind spiraling, and something inside my fucked up head snaps.
"What the fuck am I doing?" I smack my own forehead.
How can I sit here and let the best thing that's ever happened to me walk away?
I can't. I physically cannot let her go.
Not when she makes the nightmares stop. Not when she looks at my scars like they're beautiful. Not when she brought light back into my world with nothing but a smile and that fucking sass that makes me growl.
Daniel wouldn't want this. He wouldn't want me pushing her away, using his memory as an excuse to hide from happiness. He'd want me to protect her, yes - but also to love her.
And fuck me, I do love her. I love her so much it terrifies me.
I throw the truck into park, rip open the door, and charge into the mechanic's shop like a man possessed.
I burst through the door, the bell clanging violently against the glass. My heart hammers against my ribs as I scan the cramped space.
And there she is.
Eden stands at the counter, a pen poised over some form, but she turns instantly—like she feels me before she sees me. Her eyes widen, and her breath catches audibly across the room.
I don't hesitate. Don't think. Just move.
I cross the grease-stained floor, ignoring the startled mechanic behind the counter. All I see is her—the woman who crawled inside my broken soul and made a home there.
I cup her face in both hands, my calloused palms against her soft skin, and growl from somewhere primal inside me, "You're not leaving me."
The mechanic—Marty, according to his name tag—blinks rapidly, completely out of his depth. "Miss? Do you know this man? Do you want me to—"
Eden's eyes are wide pools of surprise. "Gage—"
"I love you, Eden." My voice cracks, splitting open like the rest of me. I don't give a shit who hears. "You hear me? I love you. I should've told you the second I had you in my arms, but like I was when your father's blood was on my hands, I was a fucking coward."
She stares up at me, stunned silent. Tears well in those beautiful eyes, catching the fluorescent shop lights.
I press my forehead against hers, every muscle in my body trembling with the effort not to crush her to me.
"Not anymore. You've changed that part of me. I don't care about the past, don't care what the world expects from you. From me. You belong with me, sunshine. You know you do."
I pull back, searching her face for any sign that I've completely misread everything. My hands still cup her cheeks, thumbs brushing away the moisture gathering at the corners of her eyes.
"Tell me I'm wrong," I challenge. "Tell me you don't feel it, too."
I hold my breath, waiting for her answer, feeling like my entire world hangs in the balance.
"I don't want to leave you, Gage," she whispers, her voice catching on my name. "But I don't know how to just… stay ."
Relief floods through me—not complete, but enough to keep me upright. She feels it too. This isn't just in my head.
"Then let's figure it out. Together." My voice comes out raw, desperate, nothing like the controlled soldier I've been for decades. I don't care. "Just stay with me tonight. Tomorrow we make a plan... together. "
Her tears finally spill over, tracking silver lines down her cheeks and over my fingers. I brush them away with my thumbs, memorizing the feel of her skin against mine.
"You really love me?" she asks, voice small but filled with hope.
"More than my own damn life," I answer without hesitation.
And then she kisses me—deep, desperate, like she's making a decision with her entire soul.
Her arms wrap around my neck, pulling me closer as if afraid I might slip away. I respond instantly, one hand sliding into her hair, the other wrapping around her waist to anchor her to me.
The mechanic clears his throat awkwardly. "Uh—should I give you two a minute, or...?"
I don't take my eyes off Eden as I pull back from the kiss.
"Yeah." Without looking away from her face, I reach for the form she's filling out and rip it cleanly in two. "And I'm gonna be the only fucking man who's going to help drag her car our of that ditch."
I don't wait for her response. Don't care about the mechanic's gaping mouth or the paperwork fluttering to the floor.
The only thing that matters is getting Eden back where she belongs—with me.
I scoop her into my arms, one arm under her knees, the other supporting her back.
I kick the door open with my boot, marching through it without breaking stride.
"What are you doing?" She's melting against me, her face tucked into the crook of my neck.
"Taking what's mine," I growl, reaching my truck and yanking the passenger door open with one hand while keeping her secure against me.
I place her on the seat, but before I can pull away, her hands are in my hair, dragging my mouth down to hers. The kiss is everything I've been holding back since I watched her walk away.
When I finally tear my mouth from hers, we're both breathing hard. Her lips are swollen, cheeks flushed, eyes bright with something that looks a hell of a lot like the love I feel burning through my veins.
"You're insane," she whispers, but she's smiling, that sunshine smile that makes my cold, dead heart beat again.
"For you? Absolutely." I brush my thumb across her bottom lip, still damp from our kiss. "Come on, sunshine. Let's get you home."
I slam her door shut and stride around to the driver's side, feeling more alive than I have in eight years. Maybe more alive than I've ever felt.
As I slide behind the wheel, Eden reaches for my hand, lacing her fingers through mine.
"Home," she repeats softly, and it sounds like a promise.
" Home. "