15. Encroachment #2
Rising to his feet, he strolled across the lawn in his bare feet.
The grass was short and rough thanks to Haley’s robot mower that currently hummed on the far side of the lawn.
He grinned, remembering her hilarious blog post in which she’d named it, compared it to a faithful goat, added a pink bow, and informed her eager readers of its pros and cons, the alternatives she had considered, alongside her comical personification.
“Sure, I can talk.”
Long pause. Then a chipper, “How has your summer been going? I’m homesick. Tell me something crazy about Foothills.”
Shit. They hadn’t chatted for fun in ages. Yeah, they agreed to stay friends, but he really, really didn’t want to lead her on. Truth time. “Crazy, huh? Well, it’s been interesting so far. Went hiking with Grady and everyone yesterday. Your old friend Haley came with us.”
“Oh, I’m so glad. She’s had a hell of a time of it lately. How is she? Does she seem like she’s settling in okay?”
“Um, yeah, she’s doing great—” Shit. How did one go about saying, and I’m having completely commitment-free sex with her ? Would you mind talking to her and personally telling her you don’t mind?
“I’m so glad. You should invite her to the pub to be sure she’s getting out. Hey, you both lived in San Francisco. I’ll bet she’d appreciate having someone to compare notes with.”
“Yeah, that came up.”
“Oh, and you know those cheesy croissants you love so much from the bakery? Those are her favorites, too.. Maybe you can drop one by for her on my behalf one of these days?”
Shit. Okay. Here goes. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Trace—”
“But maybe she’ll think that’s weird, like you’re flirting or something. Honestly, I encouraged her to go out and find a rebound, but now I think I pushed and what if she’s not ready for that? I mean—”
“About that. Um, well—”
The sliding door to the bedroom opened and Haley raised her hand to shield the sun from her eyes. Barefoot on the flagstone, she still wore nothing but his t-shirt, her hair a little wild from the nap.
Bad fucking timing. As usual. He cleared his throat to interrupt Trace and said, “Hey, sorry, but I’ve got to run.”
“Of course. Talk to you later.” She remained chipper as she hung up.
He clicked off, stuffed the phone in his pocket and strolled across the lawn toward Haley.
She seemed to realize she looked a wreck and smoothed her hair, grinning shyly at him. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he said as he reached her. “Feeling better?”
“Getting there. I didn’t mean to interrupt your call.”
“We were just wrapping up.”
“Okay. Don’t you work tonight?”
“Nah.”
She scowled. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be lazing around anyway. Doctor Halseth’s orders.”
He winked. “Nice try. The second I leave, you’re going to start working on the furniture.”
Trailing her hand over his abdomen, she grinned. “Maybe.” Skimming along the waistband of his jeans, she yanked him closer.
Gulping helplessly as she found skin, dipping lower, he stilled her hand. “Dammit, Haley. We’re not having concussion sex.”
She laughed, her voice still hoarse from the nap. “I need a shower. My head still hurts. I may need help.”
The woman was relentless. “Don’t make me look like the jackass that turns down a gorgeous woman, nor the guy that takes advantage of an invalid.”
“Ouch,” she teased. “Fine. I’ll just go take my own shower and go back to sleep again.”
She pulled off the shirt and flicked it on the bedroom floor as she walked inside.
Ignoring the image of her taunting curves strutting away, he headed for the kitchen to fix an early dinner. She went quiet after her shower. Didn’t say it, but he could tell her head was throbbing and she was probably nauseous again.
Night came, and they fell asleep at sunset, rising at sunrise again. Her head was better, but still nagging. He texted Grady and had a hammock and pastries delivered within an hour.
Tearing open the bag, the contents still warm and gooey, Haley whimpered as she took a slow bite. “My favorite. Nothing like it anywhere else in the world.”
Gnawing in his gut, Finn tried to work up the nerve to say something. Every time he opened his mouth to say it, he lost the words.
While Haley took a shower, he set up the hammock between two trees at the edge of the lawn.
They spent most of the day rocking, dozing, reading, chatting, or simply watching the puffy white clouds passing overhead.
He doubted either of them had indulged like this in ages, and he couldn’t bring himself to ruin it.
By sunset, she was getting restless, which he took as a good sign that she was almost back to normal. Her ankle was looking much better already.
The following morning, she woke at dawn, showered, and appeared with coffees for them both as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
They snuggled up on the bed, sipping their coffee while the room brightened. “How do you feel?”
She inhaled slowly, draining the last of her coffee and setting it on the floor next to the bed. “No headache. No nausea. Ankle is still achy.”
“Good.” He grinned, setting his mug on his book that he’d dropped to the floor on his side of the bed as he fell asleep last night.
He checked the wound on her head, clean and bandage free.
He kissed her forehead next to the wound, moving his way down her cheek until he reached her lips.
Holding back, he asked again, “What about now?”
“Better.”
He took his lips with hers, drawing back again.
“Better,” she said without prompting. “But not there yet.”
Going slow and mellow, they made love as the sun rose, the night fading away.
Limping over to her neatly stacked clothing pile along the far wall, Haley grabbed a pair of jeans and her Halseth’s t-shirt. He grinned, enjoying that she wore the shirt when she needed pick-me-up attire. Didn’t hurt that the shirt hugged all the right places.
As she pulled the snug denim over her ankle, she let out a pitiful whimper. “Okay, I should have gone with sweats or at least boot cut jeans, but it’s too late now. Ankles suck.”
“Yeah, that ankle’s going to be hurting another few days, maybe even a few weeks.” He scanned the stacks, not seeing anything of the leisure variety aside from expensive yoga pants, which wouldn’t be much kinder to the ankle. “Do you even own sweats?”
She rolled up the cuff of her jeans to take the pressure off her ankle. “No. Nate didn’t like them.”
“What business was it of his? Wait, don’t answer that.” What area of her life had he not micromanaged? Asshole. For Haley’s sake, he didn’t rant and bitch like he wanted to, for fear of making Haley feel even worse for staying with the dickwad for so long.
Setting her feet back on the ground, she shrugged. “I do like pretty things, so I dress for me, which luckily aligned with Nate’s preferences. But I may have to invest in a few practical things. Like slippers and sweatpants.”
She grabbed their empty coffee cups and limped out of the bedroom.
He wanted to haul her back in here and not let her walk on the ankle until it had fully healed, but he could see the fierce independence set in her expression, her cheek parked between her teeth, her blue eyes boiling with stubbornness. At least her head was better.
Hopping in the shower, he took his time so she could have some time alone.
He’d have to see if she was up for company another day, maybe start on that furniture, or if she wanted him to go.
Drying off, he wrapped the towel around his waist and headed back into the bedroom.
Dammit, he’d forgotten to move the laundry along last night.
Probably smelled now, so he’d have to re-wash and stay at least until the dryer was done.
Heading down the hall, he froze, hearing some guy talking in the kitchen with her.
Haley’s voice was calm, but he could hear the monotone sneer in every clipped word.
“Why are you here? I’m coming down in two weeks to sign all the final paperwork.
The lawyers could have mailed this for me to review in advance. ”
“Come on, Haley, we were married for almost ten years. It’s important that we go through this together. You deserve so much more than a share of our divided assets. Are you sure you don’t want alimony?”
Did she still have that stubborn edge to her expression, or was she wearing the phony polite face? Finn stayed out of sight, unsure what she’d prefer. Having a near-naked man come out of her bedroom was not going to be helpful at this point.
This time, her voice raised a few decibels.
“I don’t want any permanent ties to you.
Half of our assets should cover my inheritance from my father…
” She trailed off for a moment, then continued, “And the fact that I gave up on my career goals to support you . I don’t blame you.
It’s entirely my fault that I didn’t ignore your insistence that you would make the money while I kept the house, but because of my stupid decision to drop out for you , I have no marketable skills.
So I’m taking my share, and that’s it. All ties severed. ”
“I miss you.” Slimy bastard. “We were good together.”
Haley’s voice rose an octave. “No, we weren’t. Our marriage should have ended long before you started sleeping with everyone.”
“Haley. Sweet Haley. A man has certain needs, and if his wife isn’t living up to his expectations—”
Okay, that’s it. Finn shifted the towel so it rode extra low on his hips, barely hanging on, and mussed his hair, playing up the look. Strolling into the great room, he acted startled to see the stranger in the kitchen with Haley. “Sorry, Haley. I didn’t realize you had company.”
She bit her lips to mask her amusement. “Good morning, Finn. Coffee? Nate was just leaving.”
“That’d be great. Why don’t you sit down for a bit? My turn to fix breakfast.” He rubbed a hand through his hair again, feigning exhaustion from a long night of sex.
Turning, she snagged a mug from the cupboard. Her weight all on the good ankle, she guarded her movements to conceal the injury.
Asshole Nate’s jaw dropped open as he read the back of Haley’s shirt, his head whipping back and forth from Haley to Finn. “Finn Halseth?”
Strolling closer, Finn accepted the coffee from Haley and leaned against the counter next to her.
“That’s me.” He wrapped his arm around Haley’s middle.
“Impressive. You recognized me quicker than most, even faster than Haley.” Playing it up, he teased his hands under the hem of her shirt, grazing his fingertips along her skin.
Calculating, struggling to figure out what was going on, Nate looked downright constipated. “How long has this been going on?”
Haley rolled her eyes and growled, “Oh my god. Nate, not everyone’s like you. Vows mean something to some people. Namely, me. I met Finn a few weeks ago. He lives in Foothills.”
“What a coincidence. He must have lived in San Francisco until a few months ago. You’ve been blaming me for my infidelity, and you’ve been hooking up with a professional football player all this time?
No wonder you always had the game on.” Nate paused, then turned to the door.
“Look over the paperwork, Haley. See you in two weeks.”
“Don’t come back,” she grumbled, letting him see himself out.
Finn held steady, listening to the engine start, then the sound of Nate peeling out of the driveway. “You okay?”
She stepped to the opposite cupboard, but hissed as she bore weight on her ankle.
“Of course not. What a creep. I don’t know what he wants from me.
One minute he’s begging me to come home, the next he’s accusing me of cheating, then offering to support me for the rest of my life, then… I’m so done with his rollercoaster.”
“I’m so sorry. You’re almost free of him.”
Nodding, she crossed her arms and stared blankly out the window.
Moving closer, Finn rested his hands on her hips, resisting the urge to yank her against him and hold on for dear life. Her head thudded forward and banged into his sternum.
She mumbled, “That was awesome, having his hero come out all naked and satisfied after clearly having had a good time with me.”
“It was either that, or kick his ass, or let him know you’re fucking amazing in bed and out, and he’s the asshole with the problem. But that’s none of his damn business. Hell, he probably had so many affairs to find a woman that didn’t find him inadequate.”
Haley looked up and grinned. “I like you, Finn.”
He chuckled, “I like you, too.” Moving to the fridge, he went digging for eggs and chiles.
Limping around the island, she pulled up one of her new stools and rested her elbows on the countertop. He refilled her coffee before setting a frying pan on the stovetop. She sipped her coffee and grinned. “I like the view.”
Flicking off the towel without ceremony, her riotous laughter exactly the response he was going for, he cracked a few eggs in the pan, going about making breakfast.