“Like you go around telling people about your deep, dark personal shit!” At least now that she was mad, she could breathe a little easier.

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” She stared up at him in shock. He grimaced slightly. “That’s not classified.”

She didn’t want to know anything like that. She wanted to know what made him the man he was today. She wanted to know what made him care about her, of all people.

“You should forget about me. Find someone else.”

“Not happening.” He stared down at her firmly.

“I’m not good for you, Zeke. I’m not good for anyone.” The emotions were rolling back as her temper faded. That buffer was gone. She let out another sob. “Fuck. I’m losing it.”

“Then lose it, baby. I’ll hold you. I’ll help you.”

“You can’t!”

“I can,” he said fiercely. “You can lean on me, Eden. I’m not going anywhere.”

She let out a laugh, but it wasn’t filled with humor. Then she buried her face in his shirt and for the first time since her parents died and her life went to shit, she cried. She cried until there was nothing left. Until there was a void inside her. Empty.

Fuck. Fuck.

Had he pushed her too far? He’d seen some cracks in her armor and he’d forced them open. For what? Had he gotten any further ahead with her? Or had he just gotten impatient and pushed when he should have gone slowly?

Damned if he knew.

All he knew was that she was almost comatose. Her eyes were open, but they were unseeing. He knew she had to be exhausted. He stared down into her pale face, the shadows under her eyes.

This wasn’t Eden. She was so strong. Always fighting. Whether it was against him, her brothers, or herself. She didn’t just give up. But right now, it felt like she was doing just that.

Or maybe...maybe this was a turning point? A chance to reset?

God, he wished he was good at this emotional stuff. He was a man of action. He didn’t understand exactly what was going on with her. He had bits and pieces but not enough to figure out where to go from here.

But right now, he needed to get her out of this state of nothingness. But how?

He took a breath, let it out slowly and went with what his gut said to do.

She was limp in his arms, almost lifeless. He just hoped she’d respond to this.

“I think Daddy’s baby girl is all tired, isn’t she? Poor princess. Don’t worry, Daddy is going to take care of his girl. How about a bubble bath, would you like that, little one?”

He stood up from the couch and made his way down to a room at the end of the passage. The cabin was a little musty and could use some airing, but overall it wasn’t too bad. He walked inside and switched on the light. Eden whimpered.

He kissed her forehead, barely feeling her weight in his arms. Had she lost weight since last time he’d carried her? He suspected she had. Her cheekbones were sharper, her skin paler.

She wasn’t taking care of herself.

Well, that was all about to change. Because that was going to be his job. A plan came to him. He could use this situation to his advantage. Maybe it didn’t make him a good person, but he wasn’t above using whatever methods he needed to in order to get what he wanted.

He walked into the nursery. His friend, Hayes, had tastes that meshed with his own. Hayes had lost his wife over a year ago and no longer used this cabin because the memories were too much for him to handle. Zeke was surprised he hadn’t sold it. Maybe he couldn’t bring himself to do it considering how much time he’d spent with his wife here.

This room was definitely fit for a princess. A bed took up one corner. It had a white bedspread with fairies on it and a white lacy canopy above it. The headboard was wrought-iron that had been spray-painted white. A large, round pink rug was in the center of the room. Next to the bed was a door. In the opposite corner was a white crib.

A white desk with a small stool in front of it was in the corner directly to his left. There were shelves next to the dresser filled with books and toys.

He glanced around the room, wondering what could help him. He didn’t feel right taking things too far without her being more with it. Frankly, he was starting to get really worried. He laid her on the bed and stepped back. She whimpered again and he took that to mean she didn’t want him to stop touching her.

“Easy, princess. Daddy is going to get you something to keep you company while I run you a bubble bath. Does that sound fun?”

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