Finally A Bride. Renee Andrews

concerned for Eli.

      “We can sit at the fire pit for a moment,” he conceded. “But I’ll need to get my cabin ready for bed soon.” Without waiting for a response, he started toward the circle of wooden benches and stumps surrounding the devotion area. She walked in silence beside him, but in spite of the lack of communication, he could sense the tension, the undeniable anxiety in the way she moved, and he dreaded the upcoming conversation. Eli had hit his own heart hard, and it’d be difficult explaining the boy’s past without enlightening her to his own.

      But he also knew she wouldn’t leave without knowing. That was the way women were. They cared too much. Needed to know too much. Pulled at a man’s heartstrings...too much.

      Instead of taking a seat on one of the benches, which might have caused her to sit beside him, he selected one of the larger stumps. He watched as she took a bench nearby, sitting slowly and then rubbing her hands down the sides of her jeans.

      Gavin waited for her to say something. But she merely sat there, looking nervous and like...she might cry.

      No, God. I can’t handle this today and You know it. Help me out here, Lord. Let her say whatever she needs to say, learn whatever she needs to learn...and let me be.

      He cleared his throat. “What did you need, Dr. Calhoun?” The abrupt tone returned, but he couldn’t help it. Maybe that would cause this conversation to end quickly.

      She shivered, even though there wasn’t any sign of a chill in the air. “What...happened to Eli?” Her hands flattened over her knees, fingers tightening as though visibly steadying herself for his answer.

      Gavin thought of the boy, so loving and trusting, regardless of every letdown in his past. He’d known what she would ask, but that didn’t make telling her any easier. He inhaled, let it out.

      “He was at home with his parents, a little over a year ago, and they were all sleeping when their house caught fire.” His mind painted a picture of Eli amid those burning flames.

      One of her hands moved to her throat and the other to her stomach. “They—didn’t make it out? His parents didn’t make it?”

      He shook his head. “Neighbors called 9-1-1. The firemen were able to get to Eli, but the house started caving in and they couldn’t get to his parents.” He ran a hand across his mouth, hating the truth of Eli’s past. “From what we know, he somehow got free of his rescuers and ran back to the house, trying to get inside and save them.”

      “That’s what happened to his hands?” Her voice was thick and raspy, filled with the same emotion Gavin experienced every time he thought about what Eli had been through at merely six years old. “He burned his hands trying to save his parents?”

      He nodded, cleared his throat again and stood. “Eli needs that puppy to be okay. He can’t lose someone else he was trying to save.”

      Gavin turned away before he saw her response. He hadn’t wanted to hear the soft sob that tore from her throat. But he did. She was hurting for Eli and he understood why. However, it wasn’t his place to comfort Haley Calhoun. Or any other female.

      He couldn’t go there.

      Not today.

      Not ever.