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“Were you fighting?”
Pressing his quaking lips tight, it took a moment before Hunter nodded. He spun, pinning his tormented gaze back onto her. “You can’t tell.”
“You have to tell!”
He shook his head and gripped her shoulders. “No. Pops rarely does this. And he was so ashamed that he took off into the woods as soon as he came to.”
“Hunter—”
“No!” He leaned down, his hot breath painting a path across her forehead. “The state will remove us if anyone finds out. That would kill Hazel, and you know it.”
“Mama would take you both.”
“There’s no guarantee that they’ll let her. Don’t you remember what happened after my parents died?” His pleading held fire as his grip on her arms tightened. “They placed her in Billings, Janie. Billings! And we almost didn’t get her back. She’s still messed up because of it.”
Janie shrank as she blinked back tears, and Hunter softened his hold.
“Please, Janie.” His hoarse whisper hinted tears.
How could she deny him? “Is Hazel safe?”
“Yes. I made sure she was. And I will again, if I need to.”
Biting her bottom lip, Janie tried to think how she could get her friends out of this awful situation. But there wasn’t an answer. Nothing clean or easy or obvious.
Hunter pulled her close and then wrapped her in a hold that was both possessive and needy. “I trust you, Janie.” Then he pressed a kiss to her head.
So many emotions turned in her heart and mind she couldn’t even name them all. But what she did know for certain was that she would protect this boy and his sister with every shred of strength she owned.
“I’m here for you, Hunt.” She twined her arms around him, careful to avoid the cut on his upper back.
Hunter sagged against her even while keeping her firmly against him in his embrace. “I need you,” he whispered.
Something warm and delicious swirled in her chest. “I’m always going to be here for you.”
Apparently, that was a vow Janie could not break.
“Do you not like grape jelly?”
Jerking from her trancelike stare across the river, Janie forced a smile as she turned to look at the man she’d come to the creek with. “I like grape jelly fine.” Just, usually not the store-bought kind. Mama had been making her own since forever, and this factory-jarred stuff was vastly different. But Janie jammed the half of sandwich she had in her hand into her mouth and took a hearty bite.
Wonder Bread was also not her fave. But they didn’t need to go into that either.
“Did you come here a lot as a kid?”
“Yeah. We spent nearly every decent day after school out here.”
“We?”
“Hazel, Hunter, and me.”
Grady shifted in his spot near the trunk of an aspen tree, propping an elbow on his knee. “Ah, so you grew up together.”
“Yes.”
“Did you have a falling out?” He took a bite of his own sandwich, clearly expecting that she would have a story for him to hear.
“Not really.” At least, she and Hazel hadn’t. She and Hunter . . .falling outdidn’t even begin to describe the mess between them.
