AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cheryse knew the Stones took weapons seriously, and not just using them. She had witnessed their father teach them to handle guns and swords and every kind of weapon. She thought of the shadowbox in the corner of the library with all the Stone weapons from throughout the centuries. Even their own father’s weapon was protected with major security.
Hunter pulled a wallet from the box, followed by a book. He actually laughed and showed her the title.Atlas Shrugged.
She laughed too. Trent always wanted to talk about this book when he was rereading it.The Fountainheadwas another Ayn Rand book he was always discussing and reading. Her eyes grew misty; he would never tell them about those books again. “I hate this so much.”
Hunter put the box on the floor. “I know.” He picked up Trent’s wallet and thumbed through it. Then he paused. He tugged out Trent’s driver’s license and stared at the picture.
She knew Hunter was mad at her, and she wanted to respect the space he was putting between them, but she couldn’t help but want to see the driver’s license. Which was dumb. She scooted closer to him and peered at the photo.
“Here,” he said, pushing the picture at her.
She recoiled at his dagger-sharp voice.
Methodically, Hunter folded each piece of clothing in his precise way. So different from the way Trent would have just thrown the T-shirts in a bag. A laugh escaped her lips at the memory.
Hunter froze and turned back to her, his brow furrowing dangerously. “This is funny? Going through Trent’s things? Is this just a party for you? You want to go tell your boyfriend about it?” He turned back and kept folding T-shirts.
Anger boiled inside her. “Stop. I wasn’t laughing at that. I was just …”
“What?” he demanded.
Normally, he wouldn’t goad her into a fight. Even when he was mad at her, that wasn’t his style. He must be hurting pretty badly to act so rash. “I was thinking about how you methodically fold things and Trent would’ve just shoved it all in a bag.”
He didn’t look amused, and he didn’t seem to care. He pushed all the stuff together in a messy way, then stood and threw it into the box on the floor. “Like that? Should I treat Trent’s things the same way he treated himself? All messy and scattered? Maybe I should blow it up.”
Cheryse wilted in the face of his rage. She covered her face and sobbed.
“Reese,” he said, immediately softening. He dropped beside her and put his arm around her.
This gaping hole of pain, bruised and bloody, was too much. She sucked in a breath and felt emotion bubbling at the back of her throat. She hadn’t felt this kind of emotion since her ex. “I’m sorry.”
“I know.” He leaned into her.
That made her cry harder. “I can’t believe Trent’s gone. I can’t …”
He rubbed her arm. “That wasn’t fair of me. I’m sorry, too.”
After a bit, she pulled back and sucked in a long breath. “I know I hurt you. I shouldn’t have kissed you last night.”
“Why shouldn’t you have kissed me?” Hunter’s gaze roved past her, though he kept his arm around her shoulders.
“Because … I’m dating Roger and it wasn’t appropriate to—”
“To what, Reese?” He shot to his feet. “Was that just some grief make-out session? ’Cause it didn’t feel like agriefmake-out to me.”
She was shocked by his question. “What are you talking about?”
He stared her down again. “Did you only make out with me because we were sharing grief?”
The truth was that Cheryse hadn’t processed it all entirely; she’d been too busy dealing with the rapid-fire way everything seemed to be happening. “I don’t—”
“Why did you kiss me?” Hunter asked, cutting her off. He crossed his arms, his body language making it clear he was shutting her out. “Actually, never mind. Just tell me why you’re dating that …”
Cheryse didn’t know what he was going to say, but she was pretty sure it would be disparaging. “What, Hunter?” she challenged, feeling stronger now that she had something she could actually fight about. “Oh, that’s right. You don’t like Roger because he helps raise money for good causes.”
He didn’t say a word. They were in a complete standoff.
“I have many reasons not to like him,” he said stubbornly.
