Chapter 20 Finn
FINN
For all my talk about getting up at the asscrack of dawn, I loved a good sunrise. Standing outside the fire house with a full cup of steaming coffee, I sipped and waited for the sun to make its appearance on the edge of town.
A slight shuffle-step whispered over the sidewalk to my left.
Tamping down a groan, I turned, coming face to face with Tammy. My eyebrows shot upward. “You’re up early.”
“Always up early nowadays.” She thumped her fist against her hip. “These old bones don’t appreciate a nice bed like they should.”
“That sucks.”
“Yes, it does.” She stopped beside me and craned her neck to stare at me. “You need to know there’s a rumor going around that someone saw Ronan sneaking out of Bree’s apartment window.”
I snorted coffee, then coughed so hard I nearly vomited it at her feet. “That’s not really any of my concern. We’re friends.”
“That’s exactly what I said.” Tammy’s eyes narrowed. “But maybe you ought to guard your heart a bit better, Finn. I like Bree, but maybe she’s not as sweet as she seems.”
My entire body blazed with an instant denial.
I tamped that shit down and locked it tight.
Even someone I trusted, someone like Tammy, wouldn’t understand what was happening between the four of us.
But I refused to just let it go. “Don’t believe everything you hear, Tammy.
You know better than most how this town is with gossip, especially with someone new.
Bree’s a wonderful person, and I don’t want to hear any more talk like that. ”
Tammy continued to stare at me with that inscrutable look of hers, but she eventually nodded. “I see what you mean.”
If Tammy spread what I said, it might end the rumor once and for all.
Declan, Ronan, and I garnered a bit of respect over the years, and I had no qualms about using that to my advantage.
No one deserved to have a fresh start more than Bree.
And if she was spending private time with Ronan, that meant I could ask for the same.
I patted Tammy’s shoulder and made sure she didn’t trip on the curb as she headed down the street toward the coffee shop.
A week later, I’d figured out the perfect plan and put it in motion by sending Bree a text saying I needed her to meet me. I hinted at the urgency of it and sent her my pinned location.
Then I waited. My first day off from firefighting and I knew exactly how I hoped to spend it.
An easy breeze tickled the tree branches behind me, causing the newly formed leaves to rustle.
Gravel crunched and spewed as Bree rounded the curve. She came to a grinding stop beside my truck, her sedan dusty from the long gravel road. “Finn? What’s wrong?” She started talking before she’d fully left the car, eyes shot wide and a frazzled look on her beautiful face.
“Easy, love. Nothing to panic about.” I held out my hand, palm up. “Just wanted to surprise you. You up for a little drive?”
She studied me a beat too long before the worry washed away and she slid her hand into mine. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” I walked her around the truck and helped her into the seat before closing the door and climbing in the driver’s side.
A series of rapid-fire questions exploded from Bree the instant I closed my door. I grinned and shook my head. “I’m not telling you anything until we get there.”
“But where is there?” She huffed and crossed her arms, but the light smile gave her away.
I cranked the truck and headed out of town, humming under my breath the entire way while Bree pretended to stew in her lack of information.
Her body language shifted the further we drove.
What started with tense shoulders and crossed arms turned into leaning forward with her hands clasped beneath her chin.
She all but bounced on the seat in her excitement.
I parked in what little shade the spring branches offered and waited for her to look at me. “Your mother used to come here when she needed time alone. I thought you might feel closer to her out here.”
She slid out of the truck and walked straight toward the cave system tucked behind a line of trees. A stream wound its way around to our left and eventually led to a narrow waterfall I hoped to show her. If not today then someday.
A chill lingered in the air and brushed over my skin when I entered the cave behind Bree.
She stopped several feet in front of me, then walked on through to the clearing on the other side.
The cave system could take days to navigate all the way through every twist and turn, but her mother had never bothered going further than the same clearing where Bree stood.
She sniffled at my approach and covered her mouth with both hands.
Oh shit. “I’m sorry, Bree.” I settled my hands on her shoulders and tugged her back against my chest. “I fucked up, didn’t I?”
“No.” A ragged breath shook her shoulders. “No, Finn. You did something wonderful, and I’m grateful. I never knew about this place. You’re right, it does make me feel closer to her.”
“She used to tell me that she wanted to build a house here. Said she’d be the witch in the woods.” I grinned at the memory. “Course, we were ten at the time.”
“She always claimed we had a bit of magic in our blood.” Bree wrapped her arms over her chest and gripped my wrists at the same time.
We swayed in a slow side to side motion, letting out bodies move to the sound of creaking trees and bubbling water. It was so peaceful here. I understood why Shayla wanted to live out here away from everyone.
“There was one time when I was in kindergarten that she tried to get me to dress up as a witch for Halloween. Nana had a fit. Said if I wanted to be a magical creature I should be a leprechaun or a unicorn.” Her voice quivered at the end, and she rubbed her cheek back and forth over my forearm.
Tears dampened my skin, and I turned her in my arms. “Let me guess. She told you that you could be any damned thing you wanted.”
Bree nodded, her throat working. She swallowed, tried to speak, then pressed her lips together.
Time stopped when she looked up at me with tear-streaked cheeks. “You still can, Bree. She always believed in you, and even though you lost her too soon, she would want you to do whatever the hell made you happy.”
“She used to say that to me. Made Nana furious. But then Nana would come into my room after Mom went to bed and tell me the same thing.” She released a shuddering sigh, her eyes drifting closed. “I miss them so much.”
“I know.” There was nothing else I could say, nothing I could do, to take her pain away.
I held her, and I told her stories about her mother, things her grandmother had said or done that she might not remember, and I let the world go on without us.
We stayed there for hours before finally heading back to her car.
Bree took my hand as we walked across the rough gravel to where she’d parked. Her fingers laced through mine, and she rested her head on my shoulder. “Thank you, Finn.”
“You’re welcome.” Anything for you. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I lost them when Bree stood on her tiptoes and kissed me.
Hadn’t expected that, but no way I’d pass up the chance to kiss her. I backed her against the car and deepened the kiss.
She made that little moaning noise in the back of her throat and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I’ve missed you.”
I pressed my throbbing cock against her stomach, letting her feel how much I’d missed her. “Sorry I haven’t been able to come by the pub as much. Spring’s a busy time for us.”
“You’re here now.” The suggestive tone and arched brow led to Bree opening the back door and sliding into the seat. She pulled me inside with her, giggling when I bumped my head on the roof of her car.
“I feel like a teenager again.” I pulled her into my lap and kissed the side of her neck.
Her giggles turned into sighs and groans when I ran my hands beneath her shirt and over her breasts.
She pushed my jacket off my shoulders and tossed it beside her, her legs pressing on either side of mine and cradling my cock.
I helped her out of her shirt and removed her bra, barely waiting for it to fall from my fingers before I sucked her nipple into my mouth and gripped her hips. She rolled her head back, holding onto my shoulders and arching her back to give me better access.
The windows fogged over, leaving us in a cocoon of bliss. I kissed a line from her breast to her collarbone, then eased a hand into her pants to cup her sex.
“Fuck, Finn.” She ground her hips into my hand. “I want you.”
“I’m here, love. I’m right here.” And there were too many clothes between us.
A knock pounded on the window beside my head.
Bree squealed and lunged to the side, using her hands to cover her body.
I yanked my jacket up from the seat where Bree tossed it and threw it over her, tucking her head into the curve of my neck and placing a hand on the back of her head.
“It’s okay. I’ll take care of it.” It didn’t take much to figure out who I’d find on the other side of the window.
Keeping Bree tight against me with my jacket shielding her, I rolled the window down.
A man in a plain blue uniform stood on the other side. He bent slightly to get a better look at me and his eyebrows rose. “Finn? What the hell you doing out here?” His face flushed. “Oh. Well.” He coughed and tugged at his collar. “You know you can’t have sex in a public parking lot.”
“Yep.” I managed to keep my voice controlled.
Bree’s chest heaved against mine, her entire body shaking.
My pulse responded to hers and joined the race to beat right out of my chest. Would he recognize Bree?
No one else had hair her shade of red. “Sorry, Officer Henders.” I addressed him with all the respect he deserved.
I’d worked alongside him often enough during fires.
He was a good guy. A bit square and by the book, which explained why he’d been willing to approach Bree’s car, no doubt after seeing the steamed up windows. Shit! What if he ran the plates?
I rubbed a hand up and down Bree’s spine, willing her not to raise her head. I didn’t care if the whole world knew about us, but she’d asked to keep things quiet.
Henders took a step back from the window and tugged on his belt. “Figured you’d know better by now.” Shaking his head, the man took another step back.