10. Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Tessa
T he next morning, Finn spent several hours clearing the driveway. He explained that as soon as the roads were clear, he’d take me into town to see a doctor. While I doubted I would have survived the last four days if anything was seriously wrong, the distressed look on Finn’s face made it clear the topic was not up for discussion. Knowing I couldn’t put my real name on the forms a clinic would require, let alone pay for the visit, was something I decided to deal with when the time came.
Finn retreated to his office shortly after lunch, and I spent the next couple hours getting lost in a book. I’d just turned a page when the sound of a door opening followed by the beeping of an alarm system pulled me from the story. Did Finn go back outside?
“Finn!”
Panic shot through me upon hearing an unfamiliar voice shouting down the hallway. Immediately afraid Daniel found me, I frantically looked around the room for a hiding place, my alarm lessening slightly when I realized it didn’t match the angry tone that plagued my nightmares.
“Finn!”
I tensed as it dawned on me that the voice calling for my rescuer was that of woman.
“Finn, where are you darlin’?”
Oh. My. God. Was that Finn’s girlfriend? Or worse , his wife ? He said he had never truly loved a woman, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been relieved by the absence of a ring on his left hand, but none of those things meant there wasn’t a woman in his life.
“I stopped by the post office and got the mail before I made my way up here. Where are you?”
I sat frozen, unable to flee despite being thoroughly unprepared for the confrontation about to happen.
A petite redhead poked her head into the living room. Her delicate eyebrows lifted high as perfectly painted red lips parted. Familiar brown eyes flared wide while we studied each other.
“Oh my goodness. I’m sorry, dear. I wasn’t expectin’ anyone else to be here.”
A feeling of lightheadedness flooded my brain when the woman’s southern accent washed over me. Something tugged at the recesses of my mind while I looked at the stunning woman before me. Soft, auburn curls fell to her shoulders, and I estimated she was in her fifties.
Her face was friendly and inquisitive as she entered the living room. “I didn’t know Finn had company, but now that I do, I’m glad I came.”
A warm smile spread across her face when she walked over and extended her hand, cataloguing the obvious injuries on my face. I could see her questions and let out a breath of relief when she kept them to herself. I shouldn’t have been surprised considering everything I’d learned about the man over the past four days, but I couldn’t help noting there wasn’t the faintest hint of suspicion Finn was the one to put them there.
Still dazed at the bizarre turn of events, I accepted her handshake. Both of her hands wrapped themselves around mine before she introduced herself. “My name is Audrey Remington. I’m Finn’s mother.”
Her words hit me as everything clicked into place. Dark brown eyes sparkled, and I finally grasped why they seemed so familiar. He had his mother’s eyes, I noted while I recalled him mentioning his mother grew up in the south.
“H-hi,” I stuttered, mentally kicking myself. “I’m Tessa.”
Her kind smile was infectious, and I found myself smiling back at the woman I just met.
She leaned toward me as though she was spilling a juicy secret. “I have hoped for so long Finn would find someone. He’s so secretive about that part of his life. Every time I ask if he’s seein’ anyone, he finds a way to deflect or flat out changes the subject. I’ve been so worried about him these last few years since he got back from the military.” Her eyes took on a glassy sheen. “Oh, this is such great news,” she declared, clasping her hands together and holding them to her chest.
I stared in disbelief while she continued her diatribe. She thought Finn and I were dating? In retrospect, I supposed I could see how she would jump to that conclusion after finding a strange woman in his house, not to mention the fact I was wearing his clothes, but the idea that a man like Finn would ever be interested in someone like me seemed utterly laughable.
“Oh, you simply must come to Sunday dinner and meet the rest of the family. I insist.”
My brain hurtled toward self-destruct mode while I tried to figure out how to back peddle out of this conversation. Once again managing to swoop in and save me just in the nick of time, Finn strode into the room and made a beeline for us.
“Mother,” Finn greeted as he embraced her. “It’s nice to see you. I wasn’t aware the plows made it up this far yet.”
Audrey scoffed. “ Mother . Your whole life I’m ‘Mama.’ Then you go off and join the Navy and suddenly it’s ‘Mother.’ So proper. Where did you learn such a thing? It certainly wasn’t from your father.”
Finn pulled back from his mother. His expression was warm in spite of the half-hearted reprimand he received. “Fair enough, Ma. My apologies.”
Audrey nodded in satisfaction. “And you’d know the roads were clear if you bothered to answer any of my phone calls. Honestly, what was the point of allowing the phone company to put a cell tower on your land if you don’t pick up the phone when your own mother calls to make sure you’re still alive?” She propped her hands on her hips while she continued to lay into him. “And another thing. I can’t believe you’ve been hidin’ this gorgeous creature from the family. I always hoped you’d find someone, but this is simply beyond anythin’ I could have asked for.”
Finn suddenly experienced the same brain malfunction I was nearing before his arrival as he repeatedly opened and closed his mouth. After a few moments, he managed to collect himself before clarifying, “Ma, Tessa and I are not dating.”
At his words, Audrey’s happy expression fell. “You’re not?”
“No,” Finn confirmed. “Tessa’s car went off the road Saturday afternoon right before the storm hit. I found her unconscious in her car and brought her back here to ride out the storm.”
Audrey’s calculating eyes bounced back and forth between Finn and I as heavy footfalls approached from the hallway. A large man entered the living room, and I felt my body tense up on instinct. Finn moved closer to my side, bending down before he whispered, “It’s just my dad.” My entire body relaxed as an older version of Finn made his way toward us. Their likeness was uncanny.
Curious eyes bounced around our small group before his solid arm wrapped around Audrey’s waist. Like his wife, his eyes scanned the markings on my face, but he kept his questions to himself.
I took in the pair before me, acknowledging these were the people who made Finn believe in the kind of love that lasted a lifetime. My chest ached when I saw the way Audrey instinctively leaned into her husband’s touch and the way his body held her close, as though he couldn’t bear to have her farther away from him than absolutely necessary.
“Hi. I’m Jacob, but everyone calls me Jake,” the older replica of Finn said as he extended his hand toward me. I momentarily stared at it before warily reaching out and returning his greeting. As soon as his grip released, I pulled back, praying he hadn’t noticed my discomfort.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I murmured. “I’m Tessa,” I added, wringing my hands in the hem of my shirt. Finn’s eyes zeroed in on the movement and narrowed before he stepped forward to usher his parents out of the room.
“I appreciate you guys stopping by, but if the roads are clear then I need to drive Tessa into town to see a doctor.”
Just as they crossed the threshold of the hallway, Audrey turned around. “Tessa dear, I expect to see you at family dinner next Sunday.”
“Tessa doesn’t live here, Ma,” Finn interjected. “She was driving through when she went into the ditch. I’ll call the auto shop and see if they can get her car towed there this afternoon, but I imagine she’ll be on her way in the next day or two.”
My stomach sank when I realized he was right. I intended for Absolution to be a pit stop while I figured out what to do next. While I still hadn’t decided what my next move would be, I couldn’t continue to impose on Finn.
Something in my chest tightened as I realized there was a very realistic chance I would be on the road again by this time tomorrow. A deep feeling of despair wound through me at the idea of never seeing Finn again before I shoved it down. Finn had done more for me than I could ever have expected from a stranger. The least I could do was let him get back to his life.
“Oh,” Audrey said, the dejected look on her face mirroring the way I felt. “Well, just in case anything changes, the invitation stands,” she added before Finn and his parents disappeared into the hallway.
Soft voices drifted in from the foyer. The front door opened and shut, followed by the rearming of the security system.
Finn walked back into the room and looked at me as awkward silence fell over us.
“Sorry about that,” he said. “I gave them a key and the security passcode when I built the house just in case, but my mother has a tendency to let herself in as she sees fit.” He cleared his throat. “If the roads are clear, we really should get you seen by a doctor.” His words hung in the air while we stared at each other. “Just to be safe,” he clarified. “And while we’re gone, I’ll give my buddy a call and see if he can dig your car out and tow it to his shop.”
I stared at the floor, trying to figure out how to tell him that in addition to being unable to afford a doctor, there was no way I could put my real name down on the paperwork.
“Hey,” Finn murmured as he moved closer. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head lightly and refused to meet his eyes. “I can’t go to the doctor, Finn.” I raised my head, my confession hanging between us. Finn’s brow furrowed while his stare roamed over me. His features smoothed as understanding seemed to dawn on him.
“Don’t worry about that. We’ll put down a fake name, and the clinic in town does pro bono work. I’ll make a call before we get there. You won’t have to worry about anything.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he adamantly shook his head. “I’m sorry, Tessa, but I really can’t let this go. You hit your head pretty good in the crash based on how deep your cut was. And while I did my best to clean the wound, some preventative antibiotics wouldn’t be the worst idea.”
Knowing he was right, and that it would be stupid to refuse free medical treatment now that he made sure my identity wouldn’t be compromised, I nodded before heading to my room to get dressed.
I looked down at the shirt I currently wore. I spent the last four days in various combinations of Finn’s clothing, and a sense of dread settled deep in my stomach at the idea of putting the clothes on I fled L.A. in. I closed my bedroom door behind me before pulling the clothing Finn washed from the top drawer of the dresser. I swallowed the lump in my throat while I dressed as acceptance that my time with Finn was coming to an end settled deep into my bones.