“Jesus, Whit.”
He raised a hand. “You said you didn’t fuck her, which was tragic enough. But if you almost ruined it because of Abel fuckin’ Trent, I think you have every reason to fix this right fuckin’ now.”
I stared at him.
Whit just grinned like the smug bastard he was. “What? I’m being supportive.”
“You’re being a menace.”
“I can be both.”
I ran a hand through my hair, exhaled hard through my nose. “This isn’t just about sex.”
“Obviously,” he said, shrugging. “But it’salsoabout sex. And the fact that you’ve been treatin’ that girl like she’s communion wine—holy and untouchable—when she clearly wants to drinkyou.”
“Whit, I swear to God?—”
“No, listen,” he cut in, suddenly serious again. “What I’m sayin’ is…you like her. Youcare. I haven’t seen you light up like that since—” He stopped himself. Shifted gears. “And yeah, it scared you. But you’re not scared of her. You’re scared of what it means if you let yourselfhavesomethin’ again.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Look,” Whit went on, “you inherited this church like a stray dog nobody wanted. The Trents ran off. The town shrugged. And you? You stayed. You built a shrine to the past because at least it didn’t leave. But June?”
He leaned forward.
“June walked into all that wreckage with her eyes wide open. She saw you. And she stayed too.”
I swallowed hard.
“You owe her more than silence,” Whit said. “You owe her the truth. About Abel. About Amelia. About the way you can’t stop thinkin’ about her even when you’re elbow-deep in your own damn guilt.”
“I know,” I muttered.
“So?”
“So…when are you gonna come clean about Delilah?”
Whit blinked.
Then his mouth twitched.
“Wow,” he said slowly, like he was genuinely impressed. “That was some real sneaky shit, turnin’ it back on me like that. Who taught you that?”
I just raised an eyebrow.
He pointed a finger at me. “You don’t get to act like a smug bastardjust onceand then think you’re suddenly the emotionally literate one in the family.”
“I’m just sayin’,” I said, shrugging. “You’ve been hoverin’ around Delilah like a stray dog with a crush since the day she stole your lighter and never gave it back.”
Whit scowled. “That was twenty years ago.”
“My point stands.”
He held up a hand. “Okay, this is deflection, and I respect it, but I’m not the one who let a ghost, a cult, and a snake bite cockblock him in a single week, so maybe cool it on the projection.”
I snorted.
Whit snatched the flask out of my hand, then shoved it back in his pocket. “You go see your girl, tell her the truth, and for the love of God,get out of your own way.I’ll be around. Maybe.”
