Levi blamed me for all of it.
But I was done carrying that burden.
My whole life I’d been his protector, his family. I’d been the little voice on his shoulder urging him to make the right choices. But Levi was damaged. He was his own worst enemy. Always reaching for something—anything—to stop the voices that lived inside his mind. The voices whispering constantly that he wasn’t good enough. Wasn’t strong enough. Wasn’t worthy enough.
Music saved him.
It had saved us all.
But it would never fix him.
Just like I couldn’t fix him.
I got that now. I could be there for him, stand by his side, lift him up when he fell. But I couldn’t fix him. I’d tried—I’d tried so fucking hard over the years that it had slowly chipped away at my soul. Caring for Levi had overshadowed my hopes and dreams.
And it had almost cost me Eva.
My fingers slid between Eva’s, the simple touch anchoring me. I was going to marry this girl one day. It was the craziest notion I’d ever had, and when you were a world-famous musician, there were many, but I felt it all the way down to my soul.
Eva was it for me.
My salvation.
She was my shot at something real. Something good and pure and untainted by all the other bullshit.
“So what exactly does you bein’ here mean, Rafe?” Mr. Walker dabbed his mouth with a napkin before throwing it down.
“Dad,” Eva said at the same time as her mom grumbled, “Gavin.”
“This is Eva’s life. Our daughter’s life, Jesse,” Dad let out a weary sigh. “You saw how happy she was on the tour. It was like we were gettin’ our girl back, and then she turned up on our doorstep heartbroken because of him.” He looked right through me, but I didn’t flinch.
I deserved his wrath.
I also respected the hell out of him for how much he cared about Eva.
“You’re right, Dad.” Eva shifted beside me. “It is my life. I love you and Mom so much, and I’ll always be grateful for what you did for me. But I need to make my own choices now.”
“Eva, sweetheart—”
“I love Rafe, Dad. I’m in love with him. He hurt me, yes, but there are things you don’t understand. And honestly, I shouldn’t have run the way I did.” Her eyes flicked to mine. “I should have stayed. I’m sorry.” She held my gaze, silently telling me everything I wanted so desperately to hear.
“Eva, your father has a point.”
“Not you too, Mom.”
“Hear me out. It’s clear you and Rafe share something very special, but I worry, baby. I worry about how your relationship will survive the limelight. Rafe’s band is becomin’ a worldwide phenomenon. That’s a huge responsibility and look at Lev...” she trailed off.
“It’s okay, Mrs... Jesse. I am fully aware of my brother’s weaknesses.”
“The truth is Rafe, you’re all still young. I don’t claim to know much about the music industry, but I can’t imagine you have many adults guidin’ you right.”
“Alistair is—”
“Mr. Portman seems like a nice enough man, but he’s a businessman. He wants to make money. He wants you to make him lots of money.”
“Mom,” Eva gasped.
“It’s okay.” I squeezed her hand. “Your mom is right. We’ve all had to grow up a lot faster than most kids and we’ve all been through things no kid should have to go through. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to succeed, we do. Music is everything to us. Succeeding is everything to us.”
“Rafe, I...” Mrs. Walker blanched, wringing her hands on the table as guilt glittered in her eyes.
“I know you think I’m just a selfish rock star with no sense of right or wrong, but with all due respect, you don’t know the first thing about me.” I pulled my hand free of Eva’s, my body vibrating with frustration. “I’m really hoping you’ll give me the chance to prove you both wrong. Thanks again for the meal.” Shoving back from the table, I stood up and excused myself. It wasn’t my house, and I knew I was making a scene, but I needed air.
I needed to be able to breathe for a second without Mr. Walker sitting there, judging me.
“Rafe, wait...” Eva’s voice gave me pause, and I glanced back to look at her. I was already halfway to the back door, but she silently pleaded with me not to go.
“I need some air. I’ll be okay, finish your meal.”
I didn’t wait around to hear her words as I made for the door and slipped out into the Walkers' yard.
“I think I owe you an apology.” Mr. Walker looked over at me as I sat on one of their garden chairs, staring out at nothing.
“You don’t owe me anything, sir.”
He dropped in the chair beside me, stretching out his legs. “You know, me and Jesse always wanted two kids. That was the dream. Two kids, a quiet life in the country. But it took us a long time to get pregnant with Eva, and then she was born and we knew with one look into her big blue eyes that she was all we needed.” He released a heavy breath, running a hand down his face.
His eyes caught mine and he grimaced. “You have to understand, Rafe, when we got the news Eva was sick, it was like... well, let me just say I’ve never felt so terrified. I’m her father. I’m supposed to be able to protect her.”
“But you couldn’t protect her from that.”
“No, son, I couldn’t. It changed her. Non-Hodgkin’s took a piece of my daughter and I didn’t ever think we’d ever get it back. Then Molly entered her into that talent contest and it was like gettin’ a glimpse of her again, the girl who constantly sang around the house. Her and that guitar were inseparable from the moment I bought it for her. And after everythin’, it was music that brought her back. That’s why I encouraged her to go on the tour. I wanted her to live, to experience life and remember how good it could be. I sure didn’t see you comin’.”
“I never wanted to hurt her, Mr. Walker.” The guilt was like a scab. Each one of his words picking at the wound until it was bloody and raw.
“She loves you, you know,” he said, ignoring me. “It’s the same way her mom used to look at me. Made me feel ten feet tall every time she pinned me with those sea-greens. My baby girl gave you her heart.” He stood up, cutting me with a harsh look. “I’m trustin’ you not to break it again.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he walked back into the house as if he hadn’t just rocked my world.
It wasn’t the blessing I would have liked, but something told me it was the best I was going to get.
“Hey.” Eva peeked around the door. “You survived the Dad Talk. Sorry about that. I tried to beat him to it, but my mom held me down to give him a head start.” Her smile made my heart pick up a beat. I reached for Eva’s hand, threading our fingers together as I pulled her down beside me.
“I think he gave me his blessing.”
“Yeah?” Her brow rose, a hint of amusement on her lips.
“Well, he didn’t send me packing.”
“My dad is super protective. They both are.” Her voice dropped an octave.