“She cleaned Dad’s blood off of my hands.”
“Fuck.” Jared’s tone is stunned. “You never told us that.”
“None of your business,” I remind him.
“Still,” he continues nonplussed. “It’s kind of a big thing to do for someone.”
Yes, it’s a big fucking deal. Only one of the million reasons why I missed Winter so damn much when she moved away. And why I’ve fallen so hard for her since she returned.
“Anyway,” I say in an effort to bring the subject to a close. “After she helped me clean up, she stayed over. Nothing happened,” I feel compelled to add.
I’ve thought about that night countless times over the years. How Winter was there for me. How her body melded to mine.
Thank God I didn’t take it as far as I wanted to. That would have been wrong on so many levels. However, the truth then is still the truth now—I wanted Winter badly, and that night, it took everything in my power to stop myself from telling her that.
“Sounds like you two are right back where you’re supposed to be,” Liam says.
I glare at him. “Aren’t you the same guy who warned me away from her when she first came back to town?”
“I’ve changed my mind,” Liam says. “I was looking at you and Winter through jaded eyes. I think you two could be really great together.”
His response is too honest for me to fuck with him. And the brutal candor of his answer is so clearly laced with pain about his own relationship with Cathy that I don’t want to go after him. Given that, my only option is to stay quiet. Because fuck if I’m going to tellanyonehow I feel about Winter before I tell her.
* * *
Winter
I’m relaxingon the couch with Theo, watching a lighthearted movie, when Hunter comes home.
“Hey, darling,” he says as he walks into the living room.
Darling. I’ve missed the south. More than I’ve cared to admit. And I’ve really missed the people. One person in particular.
Flipping around to face him, I reach out and touch his bicep as he joins me on the couch.
“How are you?”
Hunter blows out a breath. “I’m good.”
I rub his arm. “How are you really?”
He shoots me a lopsided grin, the kind of grin that says he knows what I’m asking but he’s not really sure what to say. That’s Hunter speak for—I appreciate you pushing me, but I may not be ready to answer you yet.
But then, he does answer me, and his response is stripped of any cover.
“Honestly?” he says. “I want to know why it took so damn long to catch him.”
I feel the same way. “I often wondered why it wasn’t solved,” I say. “I thought about your dad endlessly, you know. And about the four of you needing closure on his case.”
“I didn’t know that.” Hunter shifts so our legs are touching. “I shouldn’t be surprised, though. You’ve stood by me from the beginning on this. I would have completely lost it were it not for you.”
I move my leg to his knee. “You healed on your own.”
“Not true. I healed with you by my side.” He reaches for my hand. “And in my bed.”
I squeeze his hand. “I know you didn’t actually mean that to be flirty.”
He chuckles. “No.” He pauses before saying, “I told my brothers what you did for me that night. How you helped me clean up.”
