Chapter 35 Finn
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Finn
It has been almost a week since the day Mav and Riley were both nearly taken from us. I don’t even like to think about it because the thought of never being able to hug either of them again shatters my heart into a million pieces.
I wasn’t even there to witness it, but Cole’s description of what happened has been enough to plague my dreams. My sleep has been spotty, at best.
That’s why I’m making another cup of coffee in the middle of the afternoon. I take a sip of the caffeinated goodness, hoping it gets me through the rest of the day.
I hope Riley sneaks into my room again tonight. The only decent night’s sleep I’ve had this last week was the night she crawled under my covers and snuggled her back against my front.
With my face buried in her wavy hair, I was finally able to set my anxieties to the side and sleep the whole night.
She doesn’t seem to want to be alone, not that I blame her after what she went through. I would glue myself to her side right now if she’d let me.
I bring my coffee cup with me into Cole’s office. We need to talk about a few pieces of equipment that we’re going to replace before the busy season starts in just a few months.
Usually, winter drags on for me. I would much prefer to be busy all the time, with something to do with my hands, and winter offers a lot more idle time.
Having Riley here has made it a lot more enjoyable, even if I know it won’t last long.
Cole is hunched over his desk with his head resting in his hands. My guard is immediately up. “What’s wrong?”
His head snaps up, eyeing me as I sit in one of the chairs on the opposite side of his desk. “Just some contract stuff… nothing you need to worry about.”
My hackles start to rise. I know it isn’t solely Cole’s fault that he shoulders most of this side of the business.
There was a time in my life when I was more worried about having fun than being a responsible business owner. I’ve grown up a lot since then.
“What if I want to worry about it?” I finally ask.
His head tilts to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Maybe I want to worry about all this stuff. Maybe I want to take some of the burden off you.”
I take a deep breath. I wasn’t planning on doing this right now, but I guess it’s time. Here goes nothing.
“I don’t want to sit on the sidelines anymore. I want to really be a part of things,” I say.
Cole’s head jolts back, like my words were a slap to the face. “You are a part of it.”
I hold up my hand. “I know, I know. Just hear me out.”
He nods, leaning back in his chair.
“When we started all of this, I wasn’t in the headspace to handle a lot of the business side of things, not just the manual labor.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love all of that, but I want to do more.
I want to take on more responsibility. You shouldn’t have to deal with things like this all on your own.
We’re all partners in this, and I want to carry my fair share of the load. ”
“It isn’t like you’re slacking off, Finn,” he says. There’s a gentleness in his eyes that tugs at my heart. “You do way more of the physical stuff than I do.”
A smile cracks across my face. “And I still want to do that. How else am I going to keep these babies in peak condition?” I ask, flexing my biceps.
Cole huffs out a laugh.
My arms fall back to my lap. “I just want to be a part of your side of things, too.”
He nods, like he’s processing everything I just said.
“I’m not the same fuck-up of a kid I used to be, Cole. I promise I’m not going to run our company into the ground.”
“Finn,” he says on a heavy exhale, “I would never think you would do that. If this is what you want, then we’ll figure it out. It will probably be better for all of us.”
“I agree.”
He runs his hand over his face. “We need to bring some other people in, too. We can’t do this all on our own anymore, at least not well.”
“I never thought I would see the day that you would admit that on your own free will.”
“Shut the fuck up,” he says, rolling his eyes. “Let’s find a time for all three of us to sit down and talk about all of this. We’ll figure it out.”
I nod because I know we will. We’ve made it this long in business together. This is just another bend in the road we have to navigate together.
“Have you seen Riley today?” Cole asks, completely changing subjects.
“I saw her before she left for her doctor’s appointment.”
Theo took her to a primary care doctor in town the day after the accident. He confirmed everything Abby had said the night before.
Today was her follow-up visit to make sure she was recovering as expected. Theo and I both offered to take her to the appointment, but she was adamant about going on her own.
The first few days, she took it easy, spending most of her time in bed or on the couch. She and Mav have been inseparable. Everything they went through indescribably bonded them.
She’s doing a lot better now and has been working far more than she probably should be.
“Has she still been having the bad headaches?” he asks.
The corner of my mouth tilts up. “Why don’t you ask her yourself?”
Things are much different between the two of them compared to when she showed up during the storm of the century.
Riley doesn’t seem to hate Cole anymore. She seems more confused than anything. There’s a sadness in her eyes whenever she looks at him now, too.
Cole, on the other hand, is all over the place. Sometimes I’ll catch him staring at her longingly. Other times, it’s clear he’s still frustrated with her. The sharp edges of his emotions have evened out, but they’re still there.
“Because I don’t know how to be around her right now,” he says, letting his head fall back against his chair.
I think that’s all he’s going to say, but then he spills the entire story. He describes everything that happened back then, and how it all came to light.
Everything makes a lot more sense now.
“Do you still have feelings for her?” I ask.
He just nods, like he can’t verbalize the words themselves. I knew this already, but I wanted to have him confirm it.
“Can you forgive her?”
He shrugs. “I honestly don’t know.”
I get where he’s coming from. I really do. What happened back then is messed up. All the heartbreak could have been avoided with a conversation.
The past can’t be changed, though. All any of us can do is make the best of the future laid out in front of us.
Wow… look at me being all full of wisdom.
I have no idea if Cole and Riley will be able to work things out between them, but an ember of hope flares to life inside of me.
Maybe there’s a chance they can find peace with each other—and maybe then I’ll have a shot at keeping Riley in my life.