Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
FINN
I wasn’t sure it would’ve been possible to have a better day than today. By the time Drew, Nola, and I had finished up serving in the Square and closing up, we’d been sure of one thing: this business of ours was actually going to succeed.
And wasn’t that a fine revelation to come to when only hours before the town’s mayor had disparaged us in front of everyone, claiming we weren’t worth the dirt beneath his feet?
Just went to show Dick didn’t know shit. Not about me, and not about Havenbrook. And he certainly hadn’t had the majority of his town’s interests at heart when he’d thrown up all the roadblocks for us to start the business.
Havenbrook was thirsty—pun intended—for a gathering space. Somewhere they could kick back with friends and hang out without having to drive thirty minutes to do so.
I was damn glad we were the ones providing that to the people who’d once looked down upon my brother and me but now saw us as equals.
My main focus all day had been finding Dick and taking care of the little matter of that cashier’s check still in my pocket. But by the time we’d gotten cleaned up long after the last firework had gone off, the Square had been empty. Besides, I didn’t want to waste my time with Dick right then.
I wanted to see Willow.
While we hadn’t made plans, I figured her show on the baseball diamond was invitation enough for me to knock on her door. Even if it was after midnight.
I pulled up to her and Mac’s place, thankful to see lights still burning behind the drapes. Maybe, if I were lucky, she’d make my fantasies come true and let me stay the night. Wake up with her in my arms. I didn’t figure Mac would mind too much. When it came to Willow’s younger sister, she didn’t seem to mind too much at all.
At my knock, the door flew open, didn’t-mind-much-Mac’s face as red as a fire hydrant, her glare aimed directly at me. “What the fuck do you want?”
“I—what?” I furrowed my brow as I scratched my jaw and looked over her head, trying to puzzle out why she’d answer like that. A joke?
“I said , what the fuck do you want, Griffin?” She crossed her arms, foot tapping on the hardwood floor.
Shit, maybe Mac was pissed about how the game had gone down earlier. I’d thought she’d had a good time despite losing, but maybe she wasn’t as easygoing as I’d assumed.
“Hey, I’m sorry about the game. You played great, and?—”
“You think this is about the goddamn game ? Shit, you’re an asshole and an idiot.”
“Mac, what the hell’s—” But my words caught in my throat because over Mac’s shoulder, I caught sight of Willow standing on the staircase, her face passive and emotionless as she stared at me. No smile. No twinkle in her eye. Nothing. My stomach twisted, the urge to go to her too strong to resist. “Willowtree? What?—”
“I know you said you wanted to chat with him, Will, but I could knee him in the balls for you instead,” Mac called over her shoulder, blocking the doorway so I couldn’t get through. “Just say the word. It’d be my absolute pleasure.”
I stared at Willow, her questioning eyes connecting with mine. She stood silent for an eternity.
Finally, she said, “Maybe after we have that chat.”
Thank Christ. A chat would do me some good. I could find out what the hell had happened to Willow between when I’d last seen her in the Square, looking beautiful as hell and smiling at me like I hung the damn moon, to now when she looked ready to murder me.
Mac shoved her finger into my chest, pressing deep as she leaned close. “She might be willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I’m not finding myself quite so gracious given your history. Just remember I’m a fifth-degree black belt. And I’m pretty sure no one would fault me for shooting you in the ass with a BB gun when it’s after midnight, so you better be damn careful with your words. Never can be too sure who’s breaking and entering, now can you?” She spun around and headed for the steps, squeezing Willow’s arm as she passed. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”
After aiming one more glare in my direction, Mac shot up the stairs, and then it was just Willow and me.
I stepped inside, closing the door behind me, before striding over to her. Needing to touch her, to feel her, reassure myself she was all right. “Tell me what’s goin’ on. Mac said you wanted to chat? And why is she ready to shoot me with a damn BB gun? Is it about the game? I’m sorry ’bout that. I should’ve talked it over with y’all first, but I?—”
“You think this is about baseball , Finn?” She crossed her arms, her eyes narrowed as she stared at me.
“I have no idea what this is about, but I’m hopin’ like hell you’ll tell me and tell me quick so I can fix it.” I reached out, intent on smoothing my hands over her shoulders, but she jerked back, out of my reach.
She stepped around me, farther away. Out of touching range. “Is it true?” Her voice was quiet. Calm. Like the eye of the storm.
“Is what true?”
She stared at me for long moments, her eyes seemingly doing their best to read me. “You know, every time we’ve been together I’ve wanted to ask why you left the way you did. Why you never called or wrote. Why you never, ever came back, but something always stopped me. Fear, I guess.” She glanced down and shook her head, a new fire in her eyes when she met my gaze again. “But I’m done living in fear. And I want to know. If you don’t tell me, I’ll have to assume the story my daddy fed me was the truth.”
My stomach bottomed out, my face draining. Dammit, I wasn’t ready for this conversation. I might’ve had ten years to prepare myself, but I wasn’t even close. Not when the outcome could so easily go out of my favor. Not when what I gambled was something as precious as Willow.
I stared at her, trying to find the words to tell her why I’d done the things I had, how it’d ripped my heart out to go, and how every mile away from her had felt like the worst kind of torture.
Her eyes crumbled in my gaze, her stoic expression melting into devastation. “It’s true, isn’t it? What he said.”
“Willowtree, I?—”
“Do not call me that. You don’t get that privilege. Not when all it took to get you to leave me behind without a word was a little cash.”
My body turned to ice as a boulder settled in my stomach. I hadn’t been fast enough. I should’ve found Dick and gotten it taken care of earlier in the day. No, what I should’ve done was figure out a way to tell her well before today, to hell with her relationship with her daddy. Because now…now everything I’d ever wanted was getting snatched away in front of my eyes. I could see it in her face when she looked at me. The disappointment. The anger. The hurt.
It killed me to know I caused it.
“Can’t believe I let you play me for a fool. Again,” she whispered, shaking her head as a tear slipped free and rolled down her cheek. She swallowed, licked her lips. Took a deep, ragged breath. “I’ve spent the whole night hoping with everything in me what my daddy said wasn’t true. It couldn’t possibly be. You’d tell me it was a lie, that it never happened. That my daddy made it all up just to turn me against you.” She huffed and shook her head. “I thought that na?ve part of me was dead and gone, buried alive after you left. The part that was stupid enough to believe everything you said. To believe we had somethin’ special. To believe in us .”
“We do have somethin’ special. You’re the most important person in the world to me.” I reached for her again, desperate to feel her under my fingers. Desperate to wipe away her tears and comfort her. Even though I didn’t deserve such a privilege. “Willow?—”
“Don’t touch me.” She slapped my hands away, her face growing redder by the second. “I can’t believe I let this happen again. I knew it would. I knew, somehow, you’d make me out to be the idiot Haven girl just like I was back then.”
It didn’t make sense. Didn’t add up. Her daddy never would’ve told her the circumstances surrounding my departure. Not when the mayor had blackmailed me, forcing my hand. Even without a sick momma, I hadn’t had a choice. It was get the hell out with fifty grand or stay and be indicted for a crime I never committed—underage alcohol consumption and distributing to minors in a dry county. Apparently, that was one of the benefits of having the sheriff for a best friend.
Unless… Unless Dick didn’t tell her the whole story. Only the part that made me look like a money-hungry coward. Not the part where Dick was close to the devil himself.
I stopped myself from reaching for her again, just barely. But I stepped closer. Displayed as much sincerity in my voice as I could. “Please, sweetness, will you let me explain?”
She breathed out a laugh. “I waited ten years for an explanation. Ten years , not to mention all these weeks we’ve spent together. And now you want to give it?” She shook her head and strode to the front door, not an ounce of hesitation in her movements when she opened it for me as a clear sign to get the hell out. “After all the chances I gave you, I find I’m not much interested in listenin’ anymore. Goodbye, Finn.”