A New Leaf (Hemlock #1)

Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Charlie

In the weeks since dinner at Finn’s, I’ve been at his place almost every night. We walk the dogs, eat dinner, and sometimes watch a movie or read. There’s an easy stillness between us when we’re together. We’ll casually glance at each other every so often and give the other a soft smile that says so much without having to say anything at all.

This new routine with Finn brings me a sense of comfort that I haven’t felt in a very long time. When I’m with Finn, it feels like my brain can power down for just a moment—I can finally breathe easily again. The weight of the world no longer causes that crushing, aching feeling in my chest.

“Excuse me, ma’am?” a voice asks. “I have a question about this pothos . . .”

Jolted from my thoughts, I apologize profusely to the customer and answer her question, then give her a ten percent discount on her pothos purchase for having to endure my daydreaming on the job. With December’s arrival comes a new wave of people bustling around the shops of Hemlock. The holiday crowds are by far the busiest and the most stressful, with everyone rushing to find unique local gifts for their loved ones. Though this is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year—a dark, heavy feeling lurks on the horizon.

The first anniversary of my parent’s death.

A delicate hand touches my shoulder, shaking me from my reflections. I have got to get it together today, or I won’t last through this holiday season if I keep zoning out like this.

“You okay, lil’ Gremlin?” Marnie questions, her warm blue eyes softening.

“Yeah.” My voice is tinged with sorrow. “My mind just feels weighed down.” I rub my hands down my face, paying special attention to my sleepy, unfocused eyes. A tension headache is looming. I can feel it.

The bell above the door chimes, and I groan. It’s not even noon, and I need this day to be over like yesterday.

Marnie peers toward the front of the store, her eyes narrowing and then relaxing with recognition. “I got this, Grem. Head to the back and take a breather,” she says with a salute.

My slumped shoulders and heavy heart drag me back to the office, but before I can sit down, I hear Marnie and Finn whispering.

When did Finn come into the store?

“Got it. Yeah. Okay. Jesus, you’re scary,” Finn whispers.

Marnie threatens, “You fuck this up, I’ll end you. I’ll burn every last one of your slutty little sweater vests. Got it, West?”

Fearing for his life, Finn replies, “You could’ve just ended with ‘you’ll end me.’ What did the sweater vests ever do to you?”

Do I have the energy to deal with this right now? Definitely not. Am I going out there anyway because I’m nosey? Duh.

My clogs scuff the floor as I slowly approach the front counter. Marnie’s pointing a finger at Finn, and Finn looks like he’s seen a ghost. They both freeze with wide eyes when they see me.

“I have many questions, but I’m not sure I want the answers,” I say with skepticism.

Marnie’s blue eyes narrow at me. “How much did you hear?”

My eyes go wide. “You threatened the slutty sweater vests.”

“I won’t apologize for that.”

“It would be out of character if you did.”

Finn interjects, “Can we talk about why my sweater vests are slutty? I kind of like this topic.”

“No,” Marnie and I say simultaneously, our eyes narrowing at Finn’s devilish smirk.

He gives a quick nod. “Noted.”

A few customers begin filtering into the store, and Marnie walks over to help them, leaving Finn and I alone.

“Here you go,” he says, handing me what I assume is a hot chocolate. “Oh. I brought these, too.” Finn pulls out a small bag of mini marshmallows from his coat pocket. “You know, in case the ones that I already added in aren’t enough.” He winks.

It’s a mystery how he does it, but sometimes he just knows what I need, when I need it. Like the time he returned my packages or stopped by my house to walk Vera when I was too tired. Sometimes, he’ll even leave little notes with funny drawings taped to my front door. It’s like he has a sixth sense for my emotions.

“How did you know I was needing this?’

A shy smile creeps across his lips. “I had a hunch.” He shifts his weight on his feet, tucking his hands in his pockets. “I—uh, I wanted to ask you something. Twice a month, I visit my grandpa, and I was wondering if you’d like to come with me this time? We can make a whole day of it, get out of Hemlock for a bit.” The tips of his ears are beginning to turn pink, which only happens when he becomes shy or unsure.

“I ask for one thing and that’s what you propose?” Marnie yells from the front of the store, clearly eavesdropping. She stomps up to the both of us with a huge palm plant in her arms, shaking her head in disbelief.

Finn shrugs, pinning me with a warm smile. He’s responding to Marnie, but his eyes are focused on mine.

“I’d like her to meet my grandpa. He’s a fun guy, and I looked up to him growing up. I think he’d get a kick out of Charlie.” Finn’s bashful tone pairs perfectly with the cute blush on his cheeks. How can anyone say no to that? He’s so genuine with his ask. If I said no, it would be like taking a toy away from a child.

Visiting Finn’s grandpa will most likely be painfully awkward. And I’ll probably need an escape plan. But I’m doing this because it’ll make Finn happy, and that’s important to me.

“Of course.” I smile. “I’m not sure that I’ll be the best company, but I can try to turn on the charm.”

His brows pinch together as he tilts his head. “Charlie, I don’t want you to ‘turn on’ anything. I want him to meet you for exactly who you are. Not some watered-down version of you just to please other people.”

I blink a few times, completely taken aback by what he just said.

Speechless, my eyes dart over to Marnie; her eyes are wide and lips are slightly parted with shock. She knows all about my struggles in past relationships. She’s heard all the conversations, all the guys who said, “Can't you be a little more personable, just for one night? I need you to not be so standoffish, you’re embarrassing me.”

Then there’s Finn, who’s asking me for nothing more than to be myself. Marnie gives me a quick, approving wink as she walks back to the office with the oversized palm in her arms.

Staring at Finn, I quickly nod, swallowing down the obnoxious lump of emotion in my throat. “Yes, I can do that.”

Those dimples appear when he smiles down at me. “Perfect. We’ll talk more about the details tonight. I should get going before Frank starts wreaking havoc at the café. He already stole a bunch of bananas earlier.”

Before Finn leaves, I call out to him. “Also, did Marnie tell you to bring this?” I shake the cup of hot chocolate.

Stopping in his tracks, Finn faces me. “How could you say such a thing, Charlotte?” he says just a tad too loud. His hand clutches at his chest in mock offense, then he winces as he realizes that other customers are watching his dramatic performance. Finn takes a few steps until we’re face to face again. “That’s all me. She just gave me the idea to get you out of town for a day. Which, I hate to admit, is a good one.” He pauses briefly, studying me for a moment. The moment feels intimate as Finn tucks a fallen strand of hair from my clip behind my ear. I lightly shiver at his touch as his thumb gently grazes my cheek. “Sometimes I just get a feeling that you need something. Whether it's hot chocolate, a random errand, to walk Vera–you get the idea. A small thing to make you smile or to make your day a little easier. I might not always get it right, but I’ll try my best to figure it out.”

Okay, so he does have a weird sixth sense. Strange. But I like it.

“I really appreciate it, you know. I might not always say it, but I really do,” I whisper.

“I know, sweetheart.” Finn places a heartfelt kiss on my forehead, and my eyes fall shut, relishing in his comforting touch. “I’ll see you tonight, okay? Text me if you need anything.”

Emotions overwhelm me, which he can see written all over my face. Right now, my feelings are out of control; my brain feels like a jumbled word search, where you can’t find any words no matter how hard you try.

So I do the next best thing.

I stand up on my tiptoes, pull the lapels of his jacket down to me, and press my lips to his before he leaves to head back to the coffee shop.

“Your grandpa is in a throuple?” My voice screeches like a frightened owl. It’s safe to say that my jaw is firmly planted on the floor of Finn’s SUV. Finn is caught between laughing and cringing as we drive out of town to see his grandpa.

“I’m not really sure it’s a ‘throuple’ per se, because I think there’s more than three people in the relationship. Not sure what the right label is. I don’t ask questions. Mainly because I don't want to know anything about”—he takes his hand off the steering wheel and waves it in front of him—“all of that. You know?”

My cheeks puff as I exhale. “Fair enough. I wouldn’t ask questions either.” I turn my face away from Finn to look at the deep green forest passing us by. We decided to take the scenic route to his grandpa’s retirement home, which is a little out of the way, but the drive is beautiful.

After another thirty minutes on the road, Finn turns into the entrance outside of the facility and my eyes practically bulge out of my head. This place is nice. Very nice. At first glance, you’d think it was a five-star hotel. I’m envious that his grandpa gets to live in a place like this.

When we get out of the car, I put my hands in my jacket pockets for warmth. Finn takes notice and flashes me a confused expression.

“Give me that,” he says, taking my hand out of my pocket and intertwining our fingers together. “Much better. My hand was getting cold, and it needed yours.”

A smile spreads across my face as I shake my head in amusement at Finn’s cheesy charm.

Finn gives a quick smile to the people working at the reception desk, and they tell him where we can find his grandpa and his . . . ladies. We continue down the hall, up a wide staircase, and enter a beautiful lounge room that is decorated from top to bottom for Christmas. My jaw, once again, plummets to the floor at the scene before me. Sure enough, an older gentleman is seated in a large armchair, surrounded by three older ladies. One lady’s hand is gently rubbing the man’s thigh and occasionally sneaking dangerously close to an area that is not appropriate for the public.

What the fuck did I get myself into?

As we approach them, I grab Finn’s arm with my other hand, my fingers digging into his coat. I keep my shocked eyes glued to the scene before me.

“You owe me your life, Griffin,” I whisper out of the corner of my mouth. “Your entire fucking life. I want my name on your life insurance policy pronto. Got it?”

“Are you planning on killing me or something?”

My head slowly turns to him, pinning him with a threatening glare.

“Give me a week to get my affairs in order and then kill me. Okay?” He jokes, squeezing my hand and dragging me against my will over to the group.

“Can you believe Glenda? That snake. I know she cheated at Bingo. I’m so tired of her playing the dead husband card. For fuck’s sake, we all have dead spouses! Ain’t nothing shocking,” says one gray-haired lady.

“Speaking of shocking, I heard Agatha got caught stealing Glen’s Viagra and trying to sell it to that sweet Canadian couple on the second floor,” says another gray-haired lady.

I’m in hell. Who did I wrong in a past life to end up here?

Again, I slowly turn to Finn and give him a death stare. He just mouths, “I’m sorry!”

Sorry isn’t good enough. Sorry won’t save him.

“Finn!” his grandpa Arty yells with excitement. “Oh! You brought a friend! Who is this?”

Finn blushes. “This is . . . uh.” He looks down at me with his panic-stricken face. “T-this is my—uh . . .”

Ugh. This is painful to watch. My secondhand embarrassment can only take so much.

“Girlfriend,” I blurt out. “I’m his girlfriend. Charlie.” I reach out my hand to shake his.

“Nonsense, beautiful girl! We hug around here. C’mere!” Internally, I groan. Not a damn hug. At least I know where Finn gets his charm.

Reluctantly, I hug Arty, trying my damndest not to be stiff-as-a-board during the embrace. When I cast a glance at the three old birds, I see that they’re all giving me a death glare.

I’ve entered the Twilight Zone.

Once Arty releases me from his vice-like grip, I look down at the three ladies who want my head on a platter during the early bird special and I blurt out, “Don’t worry, ladies, I’m taken.” I hike a thumb over my shoulder, gesturing at Finn. “Arty is all yours!”

It’s all incredibly awkward, and I’m doubling down on the discomfort by making things weirder. Finn’s snickering behind me, and I’m ready to hitchhike home.

This is why Marnie never lets me out in public.