Page 47 of In Your Wake

“I wanted to tell you. Trust me, I did.”

“Trust you?” I scoff. “It’s a little late for that.”

“I was afraid.”

I run a hand through my hair, but it doesn’t calm the rage boiling inside me. “I never knew you were such a coward.”

Her expression fades from sadness to hurt. “You don’t understand. I couldn’t—”

“No, Max. You could have. You just chose not to. God, I’ve been so…” Shaking my head, I bite the words back. “You’re not who I thought you were.”

I storm off, stuck between feeling dizzy and wanting to break something.

Max runs up to me and takes my hand, but I jerk it away.

“Don’t you dare fucking touch me! I fucking hate you.”

Hunter snaps his fingers in front of my face, hauling me from the bitter memory.

“What’s up with you?” he asks. “Your aura is all off.”

Next to Hunter, Spencer rolls his eyes.

Blinking a few times, I ignore the resurrected anger stewing beneath my skin. “My aura?”

“Something heavy is weighing you down. A decision,” Hunter explains, his gaze narrowed. “No, more than one decision. You’ve got some serious conflict in your soul.”

“Were you hitting the bong before we got here?” I retort, brushing his hand away from my shoulder.

“I never smoke this early in the day,” he says, adding dressing to a large salad. “Is your hip bugging you?”

“The hip’s fine.”

Spencer pops a piece of cheese into his mouth, but his eyes stay fixed on mine and I wonder if I should tell Hunter what I told him.

“I need to talk to you about something. I want to help with the inn. Get it thriving again.”

“Why don’t you sell it?” Spencer asks. “Might be easier.”

“Yeah, you don’t need to be involved,” Hunter adds. “And besides, you’re not living here anymore, so you can’t run it. Maxine is doing a great job at it.”

He has no clue what’s actually happening. “True, but I’d still like to help her out.”

With a frown, he stops mixing the salad and glances up. “Why?”

“Dad’s leaving it to me and Max before he dies.”

Spencer’s gaze volleys between me and Hunter, but Hunter doesn’t flinch. I can’t stand the pity in his eyes.

“This is something I need to do,” I insist.

Hunter crosses his arms, leaning back in his chair. “But Max won’t ever want to work with you,” Hunter states.

“Which is why I need your help.”

Understanding, he exhales and shakes his head. “I don’t know, Mitch. You know I love you like a brother, but getting between you two? That’d be—”

“Deadly,” Spencer interjects, then sips his water.