Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
H e and Rose sat in a corner, on gray chairs, a square table between them. Finn liked this corner. It made him feel he had her all to himself. It was warm in here. The sweater she’d worn now hung behind her.
Her phone rang while they walked through the woods. When the call ended, she told him about yesterday’s incident at the cafe, that she had to go in later, identify George Hindley in a line-up.
He didn’t share that he knew about yesterday.
Rose was nervous, off-balance. It made sense, after what happened yesterday, but he dared to hope he was the reason, that the kiss they shared days before affected her as much as it affected him. Her lips, the taste of her skin, the feel of her—all kept invading his thoughts.
Was she dating the bookstore owner? He needed to know.
She told him about her initial move-in to the cottage. “I found a family of copperheads in the dryer vent. Can you believe it?”
Tiny wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes when she smiled. “You’re not scared of snakes.”
She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Older, wiser now. It was a whole damn poisonous nest.”
Her eyes held that spark of memory, of too many great ideas that got them into trouble. Her lips were glossy. He caught a hint of floral each time she leaned closer to him.
“What’d you do?”
She sat back, tilted her head with a sly grin on her face. “Would you believe I charmed them into moving to the next county?”
He shook his head, fixated on the mischief in her eyes, glimpses of the girl he’d grown up with. The differences came through as well. There was thought and hesitation in her words—that hadn’t been there before. She’d been the confident one, the more mischievous.
He couldn’t resist her teasing, though. She could well kill a snake without help. He’d watched her do it at thirteen.
That floral scent again as she leaned forward over the table.
The loose neckline of her flannel shirt caught his gaze, drew his attention to the slope of her breasts, now exposed by the angle.
He remembered how soft they felt against his chest during their kiss.
He wanted to explore them with his hands and mouth, along with the rest of her.
“I needed help,” she whispered. “Someone stole the shovel from our shed. I called Brigette. Within an hour, all of their sons were there with shovels ready to behead the entire family.”
At those words, he sat up taller and frowned. “All of them?”
“Yes. All four, plus Jeremy and Brigette with her own sharpened spade.”
The thought of all four Conroy sons ready to rescue Rose spiked something he didn’t like. He knew their reputation. Women flocked to them like bees to honey. “You’re pulling my leg.”
She leaned even farther. He swallowed at the hint of lace now visible. Pink lace, the same color as her glossy lips. He rubbed a hand down his leg. It was getting harder to follow her story.
He forced himself to look away, shifting in his seat. She didn’t appear to notice his discomfort.
She asked, “Would you believe Brigette took pictures for the Evers Hollow Facebook page?”
“No.” Brigette despised social media.
“You know her too well.” She took a long sip from her mug, her eyes teasing over its brim.
He set his empty mug down and folded his arms to rest on the table. “Killing poisonous snakes is Brigette’s hobby. I bet another cup of coffee she killed one and that you held one of those shovels yourself.”
She set her own mug down, mirroring his arms. “You think I could drive a shovel through a snake?”
He lowered his voice. “Have you forgotten your first copperhead decapitation? If you’d had a shovel—you’d have taken out the whole family by yourself.”
He heard her inhale. If he edged closer, he’d be able to taste the coffee on her lips. Her impish look disappeared. She studied him with what looked like interest in her eyes.
“I—”
Raucous laughter rang nearby. She sat up with a jolt, a hint of pink on her cheeks.
She grabbed his empty mug. “I’ll be right back.”
R ose wrapped her arms around herself as she waited in line. Time with Finn was exhilarating. He’d been absent from her life for too long. Who knew they could snap back together as if nothing bad had happened between them? Six years, they’d gone without speaking. So similar, yet different.
Of the two of them, he’d been the quiet one until high school. Something changed after he lost his mom at fourteen. He made the varsity soccer team as a sophomore, got his first job at the garage, and his first girlfriend.
Rose kept her best friend status as he moved through his second, third, and fourth girlfriends.
She’d always felt something for him but convinced herself it was friendship, nothing more.
She’d heard it from his own mouth that he would never ask her out.
But last week, what he’d said—the fear of losing her as a friend. It made her think.
They had undeniable chemistry. Hadn’t she told Alec that was her top requirement for a relationship? After Caleb, was she ready for that sort of chemistry? Her ex had destroyed her self-confidence, her ability to trust. Would she ever be able to hear the words I love you and believe them?
She thought of Ada and Becks, last night’s group text thread, their efforts to check on her.
She cherished them both. They were the two who’d lifted her mood after the break-up and encouraged her to pursue her dreams outside of her journalism job.
Becks still lived in New York, but Ada, she’d grown up here in Evers Hollow, lived with a cousin on the other side of downtown.
She placed an order for two more coffees. They drank them, then walked to his childhood home in what she referred to as the Hollows Eight. The street sign read Hollows Loop. Hollows Eight was a much better name.
Rose followed him inside. The house was small, all of it in a straight line.
Two bedrooms, a family space, a narrow kitchen with a dining area on one end.
The kitchen walls were still a cheerful yellow.
The golden laminate countertops were stained and worn, as was the vinyl floor.
Light oak cabinets sagged above the counters, matching the rest of the room.
She smiled when she saw the yellow table and its golden yellow chairs.
“You kept the table?”
Finn shoved his hands in his pockets. “I can’t get rid of it.”
She ran her fingers along its aluminum edge. Rose had loved the days they played at his house, sat at this table finishing homework or eating summer jam and peanut butter sandwiches. Mrs. Murphy made cookies almost as good as Tess.
Drop cloths covered the family room carpet. Paint cans sat in the corner along with a paint tray and an empty roller. The smell of paint hung in the air.
Finn said, “I’ve finished in here. I’ll do the bedrooms when I come back.”
She didn’t ask when that would be. “Are you seeing anyone?” The question came out before she thought it through.
He folded his arms, appearing amused. “Do you think I would have kissed you if I were?”
“Oh.” She hadn’t thought of that.
He said, “I’ve dated some. Nothing long-term. Longest was five months. She wanted the whole thing—marriage, kids, two-and-a-half dogs. I didn’t. At least not with her.”
“Really?” She glanced up at him. Was that hope in her own voice?
“Yeah.”
“And you went to UNC Chapel Hill.”
“Yeah.”
“Too bad the hospital here closed.” She watched for a reaction. He didn’t seem to have one.
Instead, he asked, “What about you and Alec? How long have you been seeing him?”
She and Alec. Did he think?—
She couldn’t help it. Laughter spilled from her lips. “No. We’re friends. That’s it. He’s commitment phobic.”
Did he look relieved?
She followed him down the hall. Finn’s old room looked different.
All his posters, the quilt his mother made, his twin bed, were gone now.
As were the curtains. A lone dresser covered in stickers remained.
Tack and nail holes marked out a dot-to-dot on the walls that made no picture.
A partially deflated air mattress sat in the middle of the wooden floor with a sleeping bag and a blanket thrown on top. A zippered duffel bag sat nearby.
She asked, “When will the house go on the market?”
“Soon. I met with the agent last week.”
“How do you feel about selling it?”
He shuffled his feet, nudged the air mattress. “It’s not my house. It’s Pa’s. I’m dealing with it.”
With the way his shoulders hunched, she wasn’t so sure. She wouldn’t pry.
Instead, she ran her fingers over the top of his dresser, studying the stickers he’d attached from long ago. She recognized many of them.
Finn walked her back to her cottage. She unlocked the door and turned to him.
“I have to return to Asheville for another night shift,” he said. “I wanted to see you though—make sure you were okay.”
She should have known her time with him would be short. He had a life in Asheville. She shouldn’t be upset or sad. The words they’d exchanged these past days mattered. The kiss—that mattered too, but a restored friendship was her goal. “I understand.”
He touched her arm and turned her to face him. His fingers slid into her hair, cupping her face in his hands. “Do you? Am I that easy to read?”
She met his gaze with her own. He was close, like before when they’d kissed.
How could she resist what she felt? More than friends.
If she moved just a tad, his lips would touch hers. They both moved. A sound left her when his lips caressed hers—soft, warm, breathtaking. He pulled away and let go of her. “I’ll see you soon.” He turned and disappeared into the woods.