Finding Eden(54)

"I just . . . I didn't have any photographs. I felt like the world might just . . . forget you," I said, my voice extra gravelly. "It was my way of keeping you alive, keeping her alive," I finished. "Please say something, Eden."

She turned toward me, tears shimmering in her eyes and clinging to her lashes. She shook her head slowly, her lips parting and then closing again. She walked slowly to me and looked up into my face, twin tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. "Thank you," she said simply, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me close.

I squeezed her back. "For what?" I asked.

"For loving me so much. For keeping me alive when I wasn't."

I released a loud breath. "You don't ever have to thank me for that. It's just what I was made to do."

She made a half laugh, half sniffle sound against my shirt and then looked up at me, a beautifully peaceful smile on her face. "Me, too," she said.

"Morning Glory." I smiled and brought my hands up, running them through her still-damp hair.

"Do you think your mom would want a few of these . . . from when you were younger? Or do you think they'd make her sad for what she missed?"

She gazed up at me. "I think she'd like them," she said softly. "I think she'd treasure them."

I nodded. "Okay, then, I'll give her a few. We'll need to go and get your things anyway. Do you think she'll be all right with you moving in here?"

She let out a soft breath. "Probably not, no. But I'll be right across town. We'll work it out. She wants me to be happy."

I nodded. "Yes."

I heard Xander's footsteps behind us and turned around to find him standing in the doorway. "You guys ready to eat?" he asked.

I looked back at Eden and she nodded.

"I see you came across his Eden shrine," Xander said. "I told him this was strange and scary." But the expression on his face was gentle.

"Shut up, Xander," I said.

Eden laughed softly. "It's the most amazing thing I'll ever see in my entire life."

I let go of Eden and walked to the back of the room and retrieved a small canvas. I brought it to Xander and handed it to him, watching his face carefully. "For the next 'Throw Back Thursday'," I said quietly.

Xander took a step back, letting out a very small laugh and gripping his hair right at his forehead. "Holy shit," he said, emotion washing over his face.

Eden walked over to him and looked around at the canvas he was staring at. It was a picture of him as a kid, ten years old or so, standing on top of this rock we used to play on a little ways from our cabins. He was laughing, probably at his own joke, knowing him. I smiled and joined them.

"It's . . ." he trailed off, seeming to be trying to collect himself.

"See, I have a very small Xander shrine, too. Now you don't have to be jealous."

He met my eyes. "Thank you, brother," he said.

I winked at him and grinned. We left my studio and after Eden put some clothes on, she met us in my kitchen where we ate, Eden and me groaning in happiness at the first bite of actual food in almost a week.



**********



Xander left a little while later, seeming to feel better. Apparently he hadn't slept much the night before and so he went home to get some rest. I wondered if he'd get himself together enough to give the girl a chance. I hoped he would. If anyone deserved to be loved, it was Xander. He was one of the best people I knew. I hoped he'd figure that out, too. And I hoped to hell the girl knew it as well. But that was his story, and in the end, we were the only ones who could decide the part we were going to play in our own.

I showered and shaved the four-day growth off my face and then changed into fresh jeans and a dark gray, long-sleeved T-shirt.

When I emerged from the bathroom, I saw that Eden had stripped the sheets off the bed. If there were ever any sheets that needed to be changed, those were them. I chuckled softly to myself.

When I walked out, Eden was standing at the kitchen counter, her hair in a knot on top of her head, going through her phone. She smiled and tilted her head, her eyes moving over me. "You sure do clean up well, Calder Raynes," she said teasingly.

I reached her and bent down and kissed the side of her throat, feeling the steady pulse beating underneath my lips. "Mmm," I murmured, pulling back and smiling. "So do you. But I still prefer you dirty and sticky with peach syrup."

She laughed and turned back to her phone, pressing the send button.

"Your mom?" I asked, nodding my head toward the phone.

She frowned and nodded. "Yeah. I didn't mention this, but her messages have been increasingly frantic." She turned toward me. "She's overprotective. I guess I can't blame her, and I've tried to be understanding, but . . ." She sighed. "Anyway, I should get back and reassure her and spend some time with her. Do you have to work or anything? Your roofing?"