Chapter 269
Walter cut off Evangeline’s caution with a cocky eyebrow lift. “Evangeline, you really think I’d have sleazy thoughts about you?”
The kind of thoughts a husband had for his wife was considered sleazy? Were they not just part of the deal?
For Evangeline, however, those words twisted into something else entirely as they reached her ears.
She was just kidding herself all along. Walter had never really been into her. What could he possibly want with her if not just to blow off some steam?
She raised her eyes slowly, meeting the gaze of her uncles.
Holden, the most fiercely protective of the bunch, had tears welling up eyes. “Evie, if you’re going to
in bis lie to Grandpa now, you’ve got to be ready to keep that lie going until his last day. Are you… sure about this?”
Why did the Foster family’s untouchable, regal princess keep getting tangled up with a guy like Walter, the town troublemaker?
Holden wanted to convince Evangeline to shut down Walter’s nonsense, to kick him out of her life for good. However, the sight of Cole, so still and pale in his hospital bed, made Holden’s resolve waver.
He knew the other four Foster brothers felt the same, which was why they all kept silent about Evangeline’s messy situation with Walter.
With all five uncles watching, Evangeline gave a serious nod.
“It’s fine. As long as Grandpa is okay, I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Her uncles‘ faces were etched with worry, but Evangeline cracked a breezy smile.
“Really, it’s not as bad as you think. If Walter and I patch things up, I won’t have to stay here. I just need to convince Grandpa that I’m staying with the Gordons.”
She might have looked calm, but inside, Evangeline was a storm of mixed emotions about the whole Walter mess.
Could she actually share a home with Walter and keep her heart locked away?
Also, once they left the Foster family’s care, splitting paths, how would she ever explain it to Trey?
Nonetheless, she could not dwell on these questions anymore.
The room was heavy with tension as Cole finally stirred awake.
Lying in the hospital bed, his eyes flickered open, dull and tired, an oxygen tube trailing from his nose. When he saw Evangeline, his hand weakly reached out,
“Evie, Evie,” he croaked, his voice raw and scratchy.
The rush to save him while he was knocked out under anesthesia had been so frantic that they had not been careful with the tube in his throat.
Chapter 269
+25 BONUS
“I’m right here,” Evangeline whispered, her voice trembling as she clutched her grandfather’s frail hand. How are you feeling? Anything hurting?”
The doctors had warned about possible side effects from the anesthesia, and with Cole’s health already fragile, he could not just tough it out. He needed to tell someone, get help right away.
“No…”
Cole tried to shake his head, but the oxygen tube limited him to a tiny, constrained motion. Still, that small shake was enough for Evangeline to catch his meaning.
Cole’s gaze did not wander as he squeezed Evangeline’s hand, took a laborious breath as if mustering all his strength, and then said with great effort, “You and Walter…
