Why could nothing ever end well?

Eve really wondered what she had done to cause karma to give her such a reckoning. No sooner had she gained hope than the bubble burst again.

'No, stop it. Calm down,' she told herself and took a few deep breaths. She had to come to terms with it. Sometimes everything just sucked. But after every storm, there was always sunshine. 'Get through it. Complaining won't get you anywhere, you know that.'

Slowly, she turned her gaze to Ray and stroked one of the brown strands from the exhausted man's forehead. 'Thank you, Ray ... for everything,' she whispered a little more quietly. He had carried Liam all the way, and she couldn't describe how relieved and grateful she was.

"Don't worry, I'll ... talk to him later about what happened," Eve finally said, leaving open whether she meant the incident with the kiss or the pit.

That wasn't necessary.

Liam was a clever boy. He was always very understanding, and Eve was incredibly lucky to have such a lovely son. Liam had always been very mature about such things. That hurt her heart because she wondered if it was because of all the things he had to hear and deal with at home.

She had already put him through far too much ... It warmed her heart all the more that he could be the child he was here again. He was allowed to cry, scream, and show his feelings. But she wouldn't allow him to run away again.

If she told him she liked Ray, he would understand—not to this complicated extent, but enough for now.

She didn't know herself yet, and she would still have to talk to Ray about WHAT was between them and where it was going. But Liam liked Ray, and she was sure he needed time to understand that his father was no longer a part of her life.

Finally, the cottage came into view. Her feet ached, and she had to force herself to walk every step further. The smallest stones hurt the soles of her feet so much that she would have liked to whinge like a child and stop. But of course, she couldn't, and she wouldn't get home that way either.

Panting, she ran her hand over her eyes, brushed back the slightly sweaty strands of her red curls, and tried not to pant like an idiot because this "little" hike had become much longer and more strenuous than planned. Now, like a man dying of thirst in the desert, she longed to take off her shoes, shower, and sit down for a while.

Her green-blue eyes rested on her son, whose arms hung limply over Ryker's shoulders and whose cheek rested on Ryker's back. Liam was dozing, far too peacefully, for what had just happened.

"My brave boy," Eve murmured, and a loving smile crept onto her lips as if by magic.

As she packed her things to leave Oregon, he only asked her if they were going together briefly. After Eve had stowed away her clothes and the essentials, she came to him—only to find that Liam had already prepared a lot of things on the bed and had even packed his rucksack. The drawers had been cleared out, and he had only packed his favorite things. The boy didn't cry when they got into the car either, which made the problematic step easier than she had feared.

Now they were here.

Safe and surrounded by people who loved and supported them. It didn't matter to the village whether she hadn't been here for a long time or had only been living here permanently for a few months. They were part of the community and, therefore, part of the family. And their new beginning lay ahead of them.

The sun's rays bathed Pineview Cottage in a golden yellow light. Colorful leaves scattered on the grey roof, giving it shimmering splashes of color with the moisture. The wind blew across the lake, driving gentle waves onto the shingle beach. There was something harmonious about how the reeds swayed to the rhythm, and the little swing swung back and forth.

'Everything will be better. Everything will be fine. You can do this.' she kept telling herself. 'You're strong, and you can do anything ...'

Eve's gaze met the figure on the veranda, and her thoughts melted away like watercolor paint with too much water on a palette.

The light of the autumn sun slid over the hair of a dark brown mop of hair. Soft waves of mahogany brown hair framed an angular face with a square jaw under a straight nose. Tanned from many missions in distant lands, the skin had a coppery hue and matched the fawn-colored eyes. The wide anorak emphasized the broad shoulders and muscular arms. The tall man wore dark jeans and sturdy boots, under which the porch wood groaned softly as he stepped out of the shadows and descended the steps, his eyes fixed on his prey like a predator.

Dylan Conner was a handsome man—he always had been. But he reminded her of a lion—impressive and beautiful to look at, as long as you didn't feel his teeth in your flesh.

Reflexively, Eve paused and sucked the air sharply into her lungs. A tremor ran through her body, from the tips of her hair to the tips of her toes, sending an icy chill through her. She felt as if she had been thrown unprepared into the freezing lake in winter.

With his hands in his trouser pockets, he stopped at the bottom of the stairs, glanced over the small group, and frowned.

Disapprovingly? Reproachfully?

"Kaylen," his voice rang out as clearly as the cool autumn wind in the oppressive, crackling silence. With a few long strides, he had bridged the distance to them.

The safe distance melted away.

One step. Another step. Another step.

Bloody hell! This was not a nightmare, a Fata Morgana, or an illusion caused by exhaustion.

Panic stifled every rational thought in her mind.

Evelyn's body tensed and stiffened when Dylan didn't stop but suddenly pulled her into his arms. She collided with his hard chest, then his strong arms wrapped around her.

Completely stunned, Eve's heart stopped for a second, and She blinked. Her next breath caught in her throat. The young woman suddenly felt like a mouse in a snake's stranglehold or like a deer in the glare of headlights—seconds before the fatal collision.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" his rough voice sounded close to her ear. Was his voice trembling? Was it anger or genuine relief?

"Are you all right?" he continued frantically, almost unusually, and suddenly kissed the top of her head.

Eve's ears rang as if standing next to a waterfall. Her fingers were trembling so violently that she had to clench them into fists to hide them while all her thoughts and feelings were running over at the same time.

Then she noticed Dylan turn his head and look at Ryker and Liam. She felt the muscles in Dylan's arms tighten... and then, at last, her shock shattered like glass.