Unexpected Eva (Triple Trouble #3)(44)

Forty-eight years on, she still complains about the freezing temperatures.

Those were my goals, too. I wanted what my parents had. I still do. It’s what bothers me most days.

If I could simply let my guard down. Find my twin soul.

Olivia described Lincoln and me as a burden. That word of hers, burden, I’ve committed to memory, forever.

It hurts knowing me and Lincoln were not a strong enough reason for Olivia to stay in Castleview Cove. She couldn’t be tied down. Didn’t want to be. Her desire to live a nomadic life was much too strong, so she left me holding the baby. Literally.

I’ve still, to this day, never wrapped my head around why her maternal instincts never kicked in. Especially when I see Eva with her two boys and Corey and Shane’s wives with their children. None of it makes sense to me.

As soon as Lincoln popped out into the world, I instantly fell in love with him. It’s a feeling I can’t even explain.

The warmth in my heart. A whoosh of emotion.

I felt this overwhelming feeling to protect him with all that I was.

Olivia left me to protect him alone.

And I did.

I made sacrifices.

I did the best I could.

A few years later, after she left, I had a couple of relationships. I was always the careful father; to reduce Lincoln’s confusion, I didn’t let anyone into our lives who had no intention of sticking around.

None of them did.

No one ever rocked my world.

It never felt right.

Then casual hookups became my thing. Always when my mom took care of Lincoln. I would never do it around him. But I was never the long-term plan for anyone. Always the rebound guy or the guy to fuck with until their forever came along.

’Cause who the hell wanted a guy in his twenties with a toddler?

I sure hope I’m not Eva’s rebound. Or that I’m repeating the same cycle again because I suddenly feel like it’s my time now. With her.

Nonetheless Eva hasn’t been separated from Ewan all that long.

It’s possibly too soon.

Not for me. But for her.

I’m ready. I have been for a while.

Wishing and hoping, two of my strongest desires. I believe anything is possible. I wished for Eva to be mine and hoped she would be.

It happened.

Now it’s time to make my own destiny. Like my mother and father did.

Challenges have never daunted me, but I have yet to devise a plan on how we tell our loved ones without hurting them.

Like a strategic game of chess, each move we make will have to be tactical, considered with a massive dollop of patience, or its checkmate for us before we even begin.

I for one don’t want that to happen.

Lost in my rambled thoughts, I continue to carve my way around the sweeping road. My tires bite harder into the tarmac as I throw my black beauty into the tight corners.

I haven’t been able to concentrate for days. Eva has consumed all my thoughts.

Some not-so-great ones too.

That poor girl.

She’s been through the mill with Ewan.

I sat by her side in the police interview room as she ran through the text messages Ewan has been sending her. Sometimes up to twenty times a day. It overwhelmed her with emotion as she explained in vivid detail his escalating aggression. And don’t get me started on the name-calling.

The yelling, the insults, and his anger toward her. It’s all getting out of hand.

If Ewan is trying to break her, he’s doing a good fucking job.

She’s been having nightmares, is unable to sleep, and feels terrorized in her own home.

And the worst part. She’s scared. Scared to speak to him. Anxious when he drops the boys off. Stressed to the point of developing a skin rash at the base of her hairline on her neck. Something I noticed this weekend but said nothing.

The poor girl is suffering mentally and physically.

After hearing all of Eva’s evidence, I was explicit with Sergeant Taylor; proceed with caution, but protect Eva and her boys. Luckily, he’s a good friend of mine and knows me as a family friend of the Wallace’s. I asked him to keep mum on the whole situation. If it remains a secret in Castleview for longer than two days, it will be a world record.

Eva was informed how serious gaslighting was. It’s a very serious offense, and they explained at length how they would proceed. First, they would pay Ewan a visit that very night.

I’d never heard of the term before, but apparently, it’s a term used when a manipulator tries to confuse someone’s perception or manipulate reality.

Sergeant Taylor explained it all to us.

And Ewan sure knows how to take gaslighting to a new level. Telling Eva she’s the problem. That she’s turning the boys against him and she’s the one who turned him to drink.

He’s baffled her with words. Mind-bending manipulation at the highest level.

And then there’s the aggression. It’s escalating.

He grabbed her, leaving his mark on her on Sunday night. I saw those bruises.

My blood boils like a burning inferno in my veins. He’s a bastard.

A bastard I’m not sure I’ll be able to control my anger around, but I have to stay calm. Be her rock. I want to be.

I want to be everything he’s not.

For her.

In addition, per Scots law, Ewan has had a harassment warning filed against him. Something he has had to sign to ensure he understands the severity of his actions.