Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
S am nodded at the question, his gaze locked on the yard in front of his house.
“I knew Mak was struggling to make ends meet after the separation, what with the cost of apartments around here and Brad not doing what the court tells him to. I asked her to come stay for my last days so she could save up. I qualified for a program for home care, so Mak took the classes one weekend and is able to earn a wage as my in-home caregiver. Emi only qualified for two days of school a week until she starts kindergarten, but by then…Mak should be able to get a job.”
When he was gone. Dead. That’s what Sam meant.
Finn inhaled and tried to rally. “If there’s a-anything I c-can do to help. You know I’ll d-do it.”
The older man nodded, a smile hovering on his thin lips. “I appreciate that. Mak thinks I’m doing her a favor by letting her stay and get on her feet, but that girl… She’s worth her weight in gold.”
Finn nodded. “She is.” Her kindness in caring for Sam was more proof of her soft heart, not that he needed proof.
“Well, we’ve talked about you buying my place in the past, if I ever decided to sell. I think the time’s come.”
They had discussed it, but now wasn’t the time for such conversations in his opinion. “What about t-t-treatments?”
Sam waved a hand as though shooing away the idea. “I don’t want to be a lab rat. I’ve made my peace with dying. I only bring this up because I want to help Mak as much as I can before I go. Make sure they’re able to keep a roof over their heads.”
Finn nodded his understanding.
“I told you I’d give you first chance to purchase since you need the land for your animals, and there’s not much land left down here. I’m hoping we can work out a compromise.”
Finn nodded readily. “I’m l-listening.”
“I’ll sell you the land for a fair price, but only the land. I’ll leave Mak this house on a small lot she can manage, so I know there’s a roof over their heads and a good neighbor to watch over them.”
Finn felt his heart pinch, and he immediately nodded. “That s-sounds m-more than f-fair.”
“I know you wanted the entire property, but I need to know Mak and Emi are safe.”
“Yeah, I g-get it. I can m-make that w-work. I’ll check with m-my brothers and g-get started on the paperwork w-with an offer. M-make s-sure it’s quick.”
“Make sure what’s quick?” Mak asked as she emerged from the house.
“That was fast. Emi’s asleep already?” Sam asked.
Mak shot her uncle a suspicious glance and nodded. “Out like a light after playing all day and her bath. What’s going on out here?”
“Just talking,” Sam said. “Trying to settle up a few things before I go so batty, I don’t have my head to do things properly.”
Mak sucked in a breath, and Finn saw her blink hard to push back the tears glittering in her eyes.
She glanced at Finn, and he willed strength in her direction. For the first time, he appreciated the fact his parents’ passing had been quick. His father had died instantly in the crash, and his mother bled out in a matter of agonizingly long, yet short minutes. He’d never considered his parents’ deaths a blessing, but in that sense, it was.
Mak would need all the support and handholding she could get. To see Sam diminish day by day… His heart broke for all of them. And her desire to be friends made even more sense because of everything she was going through and faced.
“Sit with us.”
His s ’s sounded slurred a bit, but he managed to speak more than one word around her for a change, a fact Sam beamed about like a proud papa.
Finn started to stand and offer her his chair when Mak walked over to an Emi-sized kid chair and sat in it. A low chuckle left him, surprising all of them by the looks he received, but he couldn’t help it. Mak fit just as well as he imagined Emi would, and the sight was cute as could be and a distraction from the heaviness of the conversation.
Mak sniffed. “Laugh all you want. Being small has its advantages.”
His grin widened, and a full-blown laugh emerged, scoring a blush to her pretty cheeks.
“My little Itty-Bitties,” Sam added, a smile in his gruff voice. “Speaking of which. Have you told Finn your plans for your bakery?”
To Finn, Sam said, “She talked to the owner of London’s Lattes and has been checking into getting a home-baking license so she can sell her cakes. London’s interested in buying from her.”
“ Might be interested,” Mak corrected. “She said to check into it. I’m going to take her some samples and hope she wants to buy from me if I get approval.”
“That’s a start,” Sam said. “I know that girl’s parents. Good people. If London made the offer, she means it. Her parents might have you make stuff for the pier house too. Lord knows those fishermen get hungry out on the pier all day.”
“He’s r-right.” Finn managed a nod at her, thrilled that she had some good news in her life and something to look forward to.
If she got a license to sell her baked goods, he’d make sure Alec carried them at the convenience store, and he could also include her name as a recommendation for anyone renting the party venue.
Maybe she’d want to set up to sell at the market? He’d include her in his spot if needed so she could avoid paying the setup fee. The kids would love a treat while waiting in line to pet whatever animal they took to show in order to promote the farm.
Mak’s cheeks warmed with color, and she fidgeted a bit on the chair. “I have to say, it would be a dream come true. I’d love to own my own bakery. Especially if it meant I could work my schedule around Emi’s school. It would be such a relief.”
Yeah, when he talked to his brothers, he wanted to make sure the offer they made Sam was a good one. “Have y-you looked at…b-business grants?”
“I’m not familiar, no,” Mak said with a shake of her head.
“Didn’t think of that. You wouldn’t have to pay back a grant,” Sam added as he glanced at Finn. “That means money would go a lot further, wouldn’t it?”
Finn dipped his head in a nod, and he saw the man’s mind cycling through this new bit of information.
“Mak, you gotta check into that. It would make me rest easy to know you’ve got a good start on a business and a livelihood before I pass.”
“Sophia…c-can help.” He hated the pauses and stutter in his speech, but slowing down meant not stuttering as badly. He’d take it as a win.
Mak’s eyebrows furrowed. “Sophia from the birthday party? Dawson’s wife, right?”
“That’s part…of what she d-does,” he said carefully. “Especially…f-female…owned b-businesses.”
A sparkle of hope appeared in Mak’s gorgeous gaze at his words.
“The Itty-Bitty Bakery.” Sam grinned. “You said if you ever did it, you’d name it that.”
“I did,” Mak said, smiling at him. “You’ve called me that my whole life and inspired the bite-size goodies I bake.”
Sam rubbed a hand over his chest, over his heart. “I don’t pray often enough, but I pray right now I’m here to see it happen.”
The man’s words rang with hope and yearning. And like it or not, Finn frowned when he thought of Sam’s old, dated kitchen inside the house.
He inhaled, because once the offer was out there, he couldn’t take it back. “You’d be sure…t-to pass…inspection. If you used…the k-kitchen. In the p-party barn.”
Mak sucked in a breath and blinked at him, and Sam looked as though he wanted to hop out of his chair and dance a jig at the thought of Mak’s dream being one step closer to coming true.
“You’d let me do that?”
He stared into Mak’s surprised expression and wondered if every offer her ex had made had come with a catch or condition. “Yes.”
“Finn, that’s an amazing offer, but it’s a huge commitment. I mean, I wouldn’t want to keep someone from booking the venue because I’m in the kitchen.”
“Don’t be silly. A schedule would fix that,” Sam interjected with a wave of his hand. “Right, Finn?”
He nodded. “Usually empty M-Monday… to Thursday. S-some evening parties.”
“So she could bake during the days while Emi’s at school or playing where she could watch her. Mak could work with that,” Sam said on her behalf.
“Sam, slow down,” Mak said, sliding Finn another questioning glance.
“Why? That’d be perfect for you. You could start baking soon as you get the go ahead and build up your business right now. You’d have your own bakery in no time.”
Sam’s voice thickened, and his gaze got misty, once again revealing his fear that he wouldn’t be around to see that happen.
Determination filled Finn like a live electric line. He might have hesitated if he hadn’t sampled Mak’s delicious creations, but he knew what she was capable of. She was amazing. And what she didn’t know about business, she could learn.
It was a big risk and a lot of work in the time frame surrounding Sam’s health, but Mak obviously had the talent, and he and his brothers—and sisters-in-law—had the know-how.
Mak split her attention between the two of them, looking shellshocked but excited and hopeful too.
“This calls for a celebration,” Sam said, slapping his hands against the arms of his rocker before getting to his feet. “And I’ve got just the thing now that Mak made a trip to the store today.”
Mak watched as Sam headed for the house, leaving them alone. Then Finn felt Mak’s unwavering stare on him.
“I…don’t know what to say. Thank you isn’t enough,” she said softly.
“It is.”
The way she looked at him… Finn felt the kick of her gorgeous gaze all the way to his soul.
“Finn… At the party. After…”
She wrapped her arms around her front, her eyelashes fluttering a bit as she looked at him.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is that you need to be sure about this. If I take you up on the offer to use the kitchen… That’s a professional relationship that—that comes with boundaries.”
He saw the question etched in every line of her beautiful face. Could he be her friend? Nothing more?
“A bakery would be my future—and Emi’s. And that’s something I can’t jeopardize. I won’t. Plus, there’s Emi to consider, too. I don’t want Emi to get attached to someone if… Do you understand what I’m saying?”
He hadn’t factored in how dating might impact her daughter in a negative way. He wouldn’t admit it to Hud, but his brother had been right that Mak was a protective mama first. As she should be.
But she was also the loving niece of a dying man who would need more attention and care with every day that passed, and that would take a toll on her as well.
Sam’s news had gutted him, and Finn still tried to process it. The burdens Mak carried had to weigh heavily on her. Yet she shouldered them alone, and he hated that for her more than anything. He wanted to be there for her. “What ab-bout y-you?”
He winced at his blunders and saw her face squinch up a bit as though she was going to fuss at him for giving the mistakes weight.
“What about me?”
“Y-you h-help them," he said carefully. “Wh-who h-helps you?”
“Me,” she said simply, stubbornly. “It’s the single mom mantra, in case you haven’t heard.”
She tried to sound flippant or maybe confident, but he heard the thread of vulnerability in her tone.
He stood and stretched out a hand toward her. She didn’t hesitate to take it and he liked that.
Finn tugged her to her feet, then cupped her face and stroked his thumb over her cheekbone. “And if I…s-still…w-want you t-to…lean on m-me—friend?”
He watched as her gaze flared a bit. She pressed her cheek into his palm, like she couldn’t help herself, before pulling away.
“I would appreciate a friend. My life is chaos, but a friend would be wonderful.”
Chaos mixed with a little hurricane named Emi. And a tsunami named Sam. Mak was about to get sucked out to sea, and he couldn’t stand the thought of her struggling.
“I’m sorry. I just— I can’t handle more right now, Finn. I hope you understand. If I use your kitchen and something happened—I would be shooting my future in the foot on top of everything else.”
Is that what she thought of him? “I wouldn’t d-do that to you.”
Her smile was sad. And far too wary.
“You say that now. I never thought Brad would do the things he did, either, but…he did. He does.”
“D-don’t,” he said, scowling at her. “Don’t c-compare…m-me to him.”
Her expression softened even more. “You’re not like him. You’ve already proven that in so many ways. I’m just saying; it could get awkward,” she said, taking his hand in both of hers and pulling it from her cheek. “And right now, I need a friend more than anything else. Can you accept that? Really accept that? If not, this isn’t going to work.”
Finn stared down into those gorgeous blue eyes, his heart twisting. She was officially friend zoning him, even though he’d technically led the conversation toward that end.
Still, he’d give her that. Give her friendship, a usable work space, a shoulder to cry on.
Whatever she needed, all the while keeping Hudson in check.
If friendship was all they could have, somehow it would have to be enough.