Page 71 of Shades of You

Mending the ripped canvases, the one with Evan and the one with Brenna, were intertwined. Inexorably. Until I sorted both out, I couldn’t move forward. My gaze drifted to the small gold object lying in the grass. Today had been a big step toward that, though Evan and I were both still unsure around each other. But I finally believed more steps would come.

He picked up the trophy and saluted me with it. “Thanks again for giving me this. And for telling me the story behind it. People have been trying to tell me for years that there were two victims that day.” He shook his head. “I could never see that—I was too consumed by anger. But now I get it. I’m glad to have you back home, Hunter.”

A deep, hard lump formed in my throat. The urge rose in me again—to embrace him. And again, I held back, instead giving him a nod. “I’m glad to be back too. What do you say we get back to it?”

Evan stood, stretching his legs and offering me a helping hand up. His grin was infectious, and despite the weight of the world, it urged me to smile too.

“Guess we’d better start focusing on that championship,” he said. “It’s this Saturday.”

“Right.”

The championship. Another battle to win. And if we claimed victory there, then maybe I could face Brenna with the same determination.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Brenna

A senseof déjàvu filled me as I stepped inside Island Breeze Bistro. Months had passed since I was last here, and so much had changed since that day Knox hurt my arm at the farmer’s market. Yet the retro diner hadn’t changed at all, same black-and-white tile floor, same red booths with cracked upholstery. As I slid into a booth, the comforting scent of hot French fries wafted over to me. Harper arrived moments later and scooted in across from me. We each ordered chocolate milkshakes and handed our menus back to the server.

I was at a loss as to how to mend things with Hunter. He was right about needing to meet my family, yet I couldn’t be confident the meeting wouldn’t turn into World War III. And after the meeting Harper and I had shared with our brothers, I wasn’t sure about that at all. She still had plenty of doubts too but was true to her word to be my shoulder to lean on, and she agreed to meet me here to discuss things further.

“I expected resistance from Eli, but I kind of thought Austin and Braden would be a little more positive about Hunter,” I said with a frown.

Harper traced a condensation ring on the table with her finger, her gaze distant. “They’re like me, Brenna. We all just want you to be happy. And… they have their doubts about Hunter.”

A pang struck me at her words, the same doubt echoing in my own heart. But it was still a jolt to hear it voiced so plainly. “Same old story.” When our milkshakes arrived, I took a long pull of the icy sweetness.

“Look”—Harper reached across the table to give my hand a reassuring squeeze—“we’ve got the most protective brothers on earth. And Hunter is setting off big-time alarm bells for them.”

“And for you.”

She shrugged but didn’t reply, just drank her milkshake. That was all the answer I needed. “I get that this situation is complicated and that Hunter is too.” I understood that both of us had a part in building the fence that now stood between us. Me in feeling like I was choosing him or my family, and Hunter needing to overthrow the demons that had tormented him for over a decade. I’d thought he was well on the way to that until our argument, and his phone call to me early this morning hadn’t settled anything either.

Harper’s eyes locked onto mine with such intensity it felt like she was trying to decipher my soul. “How serious has this relationship gotten, Brenna?”

I took another drink of my shake. The liquid courage did little to untangle the knot in my throat. “I love him.”

“Oh dear.” Harper leaned back, a frown creasing her forehead. “Even with all the… baggage?”

“So what?” My fingers traced the beads of wateron the cold metal shake container. “He gets me, Harper. In a way no one else has.”

“I’m guessing Knox didn’t get you.”

“Definitely not.” I let out a half-snort, half-sigh. “Knox never did understand why I love books so much. It was always ‘Why do you need to have a book all the time? Let’s go out.’ But Hunter”—a smile tugged at my lips despite the turmoil inside me—“he’d ask what story had captured me today, then sit down and read with me.”

“Really?” She looked intrigued now, leaning forward, elbows on the table.

“Yes.” I thought back to the nights Hunter and I spent curled up on the couch, lost in separate novels, yet together in silent camaraderie. How he would listen, really listen, when I raved about a character or plot twist. And how we exploded together in the bedroom—another area where he understood me like no one else ever had.

“Knox wanted me to be someone I’m not. But Hunter dives into my world with me. He doesn’t just tolerate my passions, he shares them. That’s rare, Harper. It’s special.”

I drummed my fingers on the table, the worn white Formica tabletop beneath them representing a familiar comfort. My mind was adrift, trying to think of ways to help Hunter heal his wounds. And knowing that I couldn’t—he and Evan had to do that themselves. And until that happened, the twisting knot in my stomach told me Hunter would never emerge from the shadows.

“Are you saying the rumors about Hunter are wrong? That he didn’t leave town after almost killing Evan only to move on to… worse things?” Harper’s words were soft, searching.

“Hunter’s been through hell and back. The accident… he’d just graduated from high school! And Evan wasn’t much older. Everyone that age thinks they’re invincible. And his time with the Marines? God, Harper, he saw things you and I can’t even imagine. He had to make decisions that had life-and-death consequences. So yeah. All of that left a mark on him.”

“But is he stuck there?”

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