don’t regret that she did.”
“Does she want you back?”
“Apparently,” Ryker said with a shrug. “Callie has been mentioning that she was interested in what was going on in my life lately. Today was the first time I’ve seen her in a long time.”
“She’s very beautiful.”
Ryker thought about denying it, but the truth was that Lydia was beautiful in a very refined way. “Yes, she is, but then, so are you, and what makes you more beautiful than Lydia is that your beauty isn’t only outward. You have a beautiful heart, which is something I really love about you.”
Sophia’s gaze dropped as her cheeks pinked. “But I’m not smart like her.”
“I don’t think the difference between you is smarts,” Ryker said. “You just have different desires in life. I think if you’d wanted to be a doctor, you could have achieved that.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Sophia said with a soft laugh.
“It’s not only geniuses who become doctors, you know. I’m definitely not a genius. I just wanted it bad enough that I was willing to work hard for it. The fact that you didn’t want to be a doctor doesn’t mean you’re not smart.”
“I just don’t really get why you want to be around Bryson and me,” she said. Her brow furrowed as she stared down at their hands.
“Oh. Well, that’s easy enough to explain.”
She looked up at him. “It is?”
Ryker shrugged. “I was first drawn to your devotion to Bryson. As I’m sure you’ve seen, I love children, so to see that in you too, felt a bit like I’d found a kindred spirit. I could see that you cared deeply about Bryson, doing what you could to help him. You exude a gentleness that I have to admit is quite attractive to me. When I’m with you, I feel calm and at ease. In a world that can be quite frenetic at times, I really appreciate that.”
Sophia stared at him, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Just know that I see you, Sophia. I see your heart in the way you love your son and Nana.” Ryker tightened his hold on her hands. “I just hope that you might have room in your heart for me too.”
She began to blink rapidly as moisture sparkled in her eyes. “Really? Even after everything I’ve told you about me, you still think I’m worth the trouble?”
“Did you not hear my story?” he asked. “None of us are perfect. What’s most important is that we are honest about the things we’re struggling with. I’m willing to do the hard work, both personally and together with you, if that’s what you want too.”
“I don’t know how to do the work, to be honest. I know that Bryson needs counseling. I do as well, but it’s expensive, and I don’t even know where to go for it. I’m broken.” She took a noticeably shaky breath and blew it out. “I feel like I’m broken, and that’s not good for anyone.”
“You’re not broken, sweetheart. At least not any more broken than I am.” He stopped talking, waiting for her to look up at him. “Do you trust me?”
Joy filled his heart when she nodded without hesitation.
“Can I talk to my mom about your situation?” he asked, certain that she was going to object. “She has connections that could be helpful. I know she’d want to help.”
“You don’t care if she knows about my past?”
“The best person to know about your past is my mom. She has experience with cult survivors. It’s something she feels passionate about.”
“I just feel so ashamed about it all,” Sophia said, her head dipping again.
“It wasn’t your fault. Most people don’t expect that the person they’re falling in love with will turn out to be a cult leader. The only person responsible for what happened is Ezekiel, and now that he’s dead, he’ll have been held accountable for his actions on this earth.”
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Ryker said, “You know my story. Do you think less of me for how I responded to what happened in Syria?”
Her fingers jerked against his as she looked at him. “No. Of course not.”
“We both ended up in bad situations,” Ryker told her. “But we don’t have to be defined by those situations. We can move beyond them and come out stronger on the other side, even using our experiences to help others. I want that