“Tell me why you think that.”
So he did.
Every detail from the village bombing in Myanmar to the conference in Bangkok to their fake marriage at the resort in Phuket to... “I keep telling myself that I wasn’t an idiot, but, but...”
“Broken promises.”
He glanced at Ham.
“A father who left, didn’t say goodbye. A woman you trusted who betrayed you. And now Chloe...”
“And now you’re a shrink.”
“It’s not hard math.”
In the distance, thunder sounded.
Skeet sighed. “I spent fifteen years thinking I wasn’t enough.” He finished his coffee. “Sort of thought this time was different.”
“You’re not disposable, Easton. That’s your wounds talking,” Ham said softly.
Oh, the boss used his big-boy name. He sighed. “Yeah. It’s hard to escape.”
Ham stayed quiet. Finally, “You know what I heard when you walked away from that argument?”
Skeet’s jaw tightened. “What?”
“A man who’s terrified.”
“I’m not?—”
“Not of her getting hurt—although I understand that.” Ham turned, bench creaking under his weight. “You’re terrified because you care about her. Really care. And caring means risk.”
Skeet drew in a breath.
A siren wailed in the distance—sharp, insistent—then faded into traffic noise.
“I know you’re tempted to run,” Ham continued. “Push it away. A relationship—love—is complicated. And it’s easy to use offense as armor to protect yourself from getting hurt again.”
Yes.
And Skeet was sort of caught on the other word...love.
Aw.He might very much be in love with her.
“You have a choice. You don’t have to let fear make your decisions for you.”
The string lights near the food vendor swayed in the breeze. The scent of rain layered the air.
“The answer isn’t keeping her from doing what she’s doing,” Ham said softly. “It’s trusting that God will watch over both of you. Don’t give in to the temptation to go it alone just because you’re hurt.”
Skeet’s throat tightened.
“What if I can’t?” The words came out broken. “What if I’m not built for this kind of trust?”
“You’re probably not. Maybe none of us are. But that’s when you lean into the God who loves you.”
Skeet glanced at him.