Her lips flattened so hard it caused the skin around them to turn white. “This is none of your business, Matt. But if you must know, we’re trying to get Jesse on the state team. Not showing up today could go against him.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Birdie’s hand curled around my arm in the way it always had when she wanted me to think about what I was about to say. Looking down at her, I found compassion and kindness in her eyes. And I knew she was right—arguing with Melissa over this would only bring more tension to an already stressful situation. And it certainly wouldn’t cause her to change her mind. Melissa was as bullheaded as I was.
Stepping aside, I watched her and the kids leave before saying to Max, “I could do with a coffee.”
“Yeah,” he said gruffly. “I could too.”
I had zero fucking clue how he put up with Melissa. How he allowed her to walk all over him. I wasn’t a man who liked to control my woman but fuck if I’d put up with the shit he did. He knew I felt that way. And I knew by the avoidance blazing from him that he knew exactly what thoughts were running through my mind. This would be just one more thing to come between us.
The battleground the relationship between him, Melissa, and me had become was a fucking minefield I was tired of. Adding to it every time we saw each other wasn’t something I wanted to continue doing, but I feared he was drifting further away from me so I kept showing up trying to build a bridge back to him. Sometimes it felt so hard to reach him that it physically hurt.
Birdie took charge the minute we entered the kitchen. “You two sit down and catch up. I’ll make the coffee.”
Max glanced at the kettle and then at Birdie, nodding. It was painfully obvious, though, that he’d rather make coffee and fill another few minutes with activity than sit and talk.
“What are your plans?” he asked as he took the seat across from me at the long dining table that was as perfectly tidy as the rest of his home. I wanted to stand on the fucking thing and dirty it with my boots. That would piss Melissa off and maybe we’d finally get the almighty showdown we all desperately needed.
But, I didn’t. Mum raised me with enough manners not to do something like that the day after our father died. The time would come, though, and I was more than ready for that confrontation.
“Once we’ve organised the funeral, we need to make a plan to go through Dad’s place and clean it out,” I said.
Max’s fingers began drumming on the table like I knew they would. It was one of the coping mechanisms he’d used since childhood when nervous. One that had annoyed the hell out of me as a child. It didn’t so much anymore. Not with the patience the military had drilled into me.
“Yeah, but how long do you plan to stay here?” he asked.
“As in here at your place?”
“Yeah.”
I drew in a long breath and slowly released it. This conversation wasn’t going anywhere good. If I was sure of anything right now, it was that.
“We can leave any time you need us to, brother.”
He ground his teeth together, a grimace working its way out across his cheeks. “That’s not what I said, Matt.” The use of my name signalled his mood. When he was in an easy mood, he used the nickname I’d been given in my twenties. When he was tense, it was always Matt.
“No, but it’s what you’re thinking. And I’m good with that if it’s what you need to get through this.” It was the last thing I wanted, but what I wanted more was for my brother not to be hit harder than he already was by Dad’s death.
He stopped drumming his fingers for a few beats before starting back up, deep in contemplation. “We’ve got the kids to think of. They need routine. Maybe stay a couple of days and then see how they are.”
It was my turn to grind my teeth. The words out of his mouth were not my brother’s words. They were his wife’s words, and that shit pissed me off. This had nothing to do with the kids or their routine and everything to do with Max bowing down to whatever Melissa dictated.
“Here’s your coffees,” Birdie said, cutting into my thoughts and giving us a break in the conversation right as it had been about to go downhill at a rapid rate of knots.
Max gave her a tight smile. “Thanks, Birdie.”
She sat next to me and squeezed his hand. “Whatever you need, I’m here. Don’t think that just because Winter and I aren’t together anymore that I don’t care, because I do.”
“I know.” He swallowed hard, unable to conceal his emotions. It was the first time in my life I’d seen Max struggle with them. However, he quickly pushed past them and looked at me. “I’ve been in touch with the funeral director. We’ve got an appointment with him this afternoon to go over everything. We’re thinking Tuesday for the funeral.”
I processed everything he said and read between the lines. Melissa wanted us gone as soon as possible.
Taking a long, slow drink of coffee, I stalled while figuring out how best to broach the subject that had to be discussed. When I had my thoughts in order, I placed my mug down on the coaster in front of me. Melissa was fucking anal about using them. We’d had numerous arguments over those damn things, but if there was one thing I was well trained in, it was picking my battles. This was a battle I didn’t need on this trip, so I used the coaster.
“We need to go over Dad’s will,” I said, fully anticipating the heavy silence that followed.
“Dad’s will?” I felt every ounce of weight in his question. Max knew nothing of the will.
“Yes. His lawyer has it, but there’s also a copy in his safe.”