Finn
Plus, I was headed to her place tonight. We were going to spend the entire weekend together, and I was almost giddy. Having Adele all to myself for forty-eight hours was a literal dream come true. So here I was, ensuring that my stamina was up to the task.
“It means that we can’t sell unless we get this shit figured out.”
I mopped the sweat off my face with my T-shirt and sucked in a deep breath, hoping the hit of oxygen would allow me to focus on what Owen was saying.
“Who is this buyer?” I asked.
“A private equity group. They have a lot of experience in timber, mainly in the Pacific Northwest. It’s the best lead we’ve had so far.”
Private equity and all that entailed was in Owen’s wheelhouse, not mine. If I had to guess, though, these dudes in suits could make a hell of an excel spreadsheet but knew shit about lumber.
“Is that the direction we want to go?” I asked.
“Did Gus get to you too?”
“No,” I snapped. “I haven’t spoken to him in the last couple of days.
I’m only asking questions to ensure I understand.
To you, the rest of us may seem like we’re idiots, but we really do want to understand so we can make the most informed decisions.
” I forced another deep breath into my lungs, this time to calm the anger bubbling up.
“Hebert Timber is not what it once was, but a lot of people here count on us for jobs. I want what’s best for Gus and Jude too.
They’re still operating at a lower capacity, trying to hang on to the legacy and the tradition. ”
“I thought you didn’t give a shit about legacy and tradition.”
“I don’t. I’m only asking questions, and you’re being defensive.”
Selling was the best option. I agreed with him there. But in an ideal world, we’d sell to another family-owned business. The kind of people who would take care of our employees and our land and do it right. Not soulless suits looking to extract every cent of potential profit.
“You know I have a career, right? And a life? I got out of Lovewell for a reason. I’m only wasting my precious time on this shit because of the love I have for my brothers and our family legacy.”
Kicking at stones on the shoulder of the road, I let him rant. Owen had always been the one who was easy to anger. Like Dad, he was smart and ambitious, but there was nothing he hated more than being compared to our father.
Regardless, we needed him. Gus and Jude and I had no idea how to assess the books and determine how to move forward. Cole would be even less help. So we needed Owen.
“I get it. I’m sorry you’ve been dragged back in.”
“It’s fine. We need more detailed information. I’ve contacted Mrs. Garner, and she’s been helpful, but she’s been gone for five years now.”
Figured. My dad’s longtime comptroller was well into her retirement, but back in the day, she knew everything going on at Hebert. I had no doubt that things didn’t go to shit until after she took off for sunny Florida.
“What are you suggesting?”
“Go see Dad in prison.”
My gut roiled at the thought, and my chest constricted so tight I was worried I wouldn’t be able to walk my ass home without passing out. “Fuck no.”
“Gus and Jude have been once before. They’re coordinating another trip. Go with them.”
“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to the state pen to see my murderer father.”
“That’s our murderer father,” he said, back up on his high horse.
“And yes, you are. You’ll take a list of questions with you.
I’ll have my assistant send them to you in the next couple of days.
Get answers for me,” he urged, this time sounding the slightest bit desperate.
“Take notes. You don’t even have to look him in the eye if you don’t want to, but please go. ”
I focused on breathing steadily to be sure I wouldn’t keel over right here. The thought of seeing him made me sick. But Owen had a point. We couldn’t sell without cleaning things up first.
And we needed to sell. I needed my cut so I could start my business, and then we could all move on.
Not to mention, there was a teeny, tiny part of me that felt guilty.
Like I had some atoning to do. After all, I’d worked for the business for more than a year and had never noticed my father’s shady dealings.
Maybe if I helped my brothers get this all squared away, the constant weight on my shoulders would lift.
When I moved back to Lovewell, my father had offered me work. He was practically begging me to join the family business. After years of successfully avoiding it, I gave in, especially when he offered me a brand-new plane.
Flying for Hebert timber was a cushy gig, and it had given me the time I needed to plan my next move while I socked away as much money as I could.
Part of me had hated having to eat crow. Giving in to my father’s nepotism. Especially after he had treated my mother and my brothers so poorly. But it meant I could give my baby girl a good life.
But timber had been losing value for years.
I should have questioned how he could afford all the state-of-the-art machinery and the cars and the houses.
We shared access to the logging roads with three other families, all with timber claims almost as large as ours.
Despite also being some of the biggest logging outfits in Maine, they were struggling and making cuts. Yet Hebert had expanded?
I had been ignorant. Willfully. I’d taken the plane and the job, and I’d put on my blinders. I’d let him bribe me into working for him.
So I had a part to play to get things sorted out, as much as I didn’t want it. Because like it or not, I had to make things work here in Lovewell, the town that despised my family. I had to figure out how to thrive while surrounded by the people who knew all my dad’s dirty secrets.
My daughter was here, and my family was here. They needed me. So I’d do whatever it took.
“Fuck it. I’ll go.”
There was a fresh blueberry pie, a bouquet of daisies, and a package of frighteningly expensive gourmet dog treats on the seat beside me.
I’d win that dog over if it killed me. It didn’t matter that he was tiny.
He didn’t seem to notice how I towered over him.
And I had no doubt he’d rip a hole in my arm if I even looked at Adele wrong.
I was upping my game. We’d been sneaking around and hooking up and flirting when no one was watching. But like I’d told her the night she showed up at my apartment, I was all in. What we had was real, and while we were focused on having fun at the moment, we were building toward a future.
The more time I spent with her, the more I adored her. This was so much more than lust and sex. She was hilarious, and she was sweet when she thought no one was looking. And pushing her buttons was my new favorite hobby.
Tonight, I was riding the kind of high I’d only ever felt when flying missions. But right now, there was no danger, no adrenaline. Only lust and affection for this singularly spectacular woman.
Not even the phone call from Owen or the sinking realization that I’d have to face my father soon could bring me down. Damn, I was a goner.
I had turned off route 901 when the phone rang.
“She-Ra,” I said when the call connected through Bluetooth. “I know you can’t wait to get my clothes off, but I’ll be there in five.”
“No. It’s not that,” she whispered. “Mrs. Dupont just walked by and paused on the sidewalk in front of my house. I swear she was looking in the windows.”
“Okay…”
“She walks that yappy Pomeranian. You know which one I’m talking about? That dog is pure asshole. He-Man hates it.” In the background, there was a quick metal-against-metal sound, like she was pulling her curtains closed. “She’s the biggest gossip in town. I think she’s onto us.”
“I doubt that.” I didn’t give two shits if Mrs. Dupont knew anyway. Sure, I had promised her we could take things slow and keep things quiet, but I was beginning to feel like a dirty little secret.
“I’m going to leave the garage open. Park in there, and I’ll shut the door as soon as you pull in. If you see her, circle the block a few times.”
“This seems a bit extreme—”
She hung up before I could call her out on how batshit crazy this was.
Our situation wasn’t ideal. This was a tiny town that had recently been rocked by an epic criminal scandal involving both of our families. It stood to reason that people would talk. Certain shitty people, of course, would judge. That was inevitable.
But the world would keep spinning on its axis if she and I were publicly dating.
And we were dating—as juvenile as the word was. This was a full-blown relationship.
The world was a dumpster fire. Shitty things happened every day. Why expend so much energy hiding something that was ultimately good and made us happy? That was my take on things.
But Adele had more to lose than I did. My family was already splintered. Even the relationships I had with my brothers were strained. And the less said about my father, the better. No one I truly cared about would turn their back on me, and my dating her wouldn’t be seen as a betrayal.
After ensuring the street was empty, I pulled into the open garage. I hadn’t even turned off the ignition when the door closed and Adele stepped out of the house.
She pulled me close and gave me the kind of kiss that promised this was going to be a very fun sleepover.
“I missed you,” I said, handing her the daisies.
She held them to her nose and inhaled. “These are so beautiful.”
Inside her cozy cottage, I kicked off my shoes and dropped the duffel I’d stashed in my back seat. The kitchen was all white, with butcher block countertops and checkerboard floors, and the dining nook housed a simple pine table and matching chairs.
“Did you cook?” I said, putting my arms around her and kissing her neck while she put the flowers in a mint green vase at the sink.
She nodded. “Nothing fancy. I’m not Alice. Just roasted chicken and fresh sweet corn I picked up at the farmers’ market.”
“Smells delicious. But I think I need an appetizer first.” My hand was already up under her tank top and headed straight for her bra clasp. “Didn’t you get my memo?” I asked, biting her earlobe. “No bra is the best bra.”
She arched back into me as I unhooked the offending undergarment. “I can’t live life braless just because it makes your life easier.”
“Yes you can. I think it would benefit us both.”
She turned around and pushed me back against the island, peeling off my shirt as she went. She tossed it on the counter and popped up on her toes for another kiss.
Her perfect tits and the way she rubbed against my chest made my cock ache. Shit. I couldn’t resist ducking low and taking one pink nipple into my mouth.
She gripped my hair. “Stop,” she begged. “That feels way too good.”
“Wait until I get my mouth on that delicious pussy.” I smacked her ass and pushed the waistband of her shorts down. “I’m starving for it.”
With a throaty laugh, she palmed my cock through my shorts. “Oh, really? I better put you out of your misery, then.”
I picked her up and placed her on the kitchen counter. Then I stepped between her legs and spread them wide.
“Yes. That’s a good girl. Spread for me.”
Trailing my fingers up her thighs, I took in every inch of her, teasing and tormenting and stopping right before I reached her soaking pussy. This woman might kill me.
One-handed, I pushed my own shorts down, then kicked off my boxers. Stroking my cock, I took a step back and surveyed her. She was laid out in front of me, panting and writhing. Her hair was down and her head was thrown back, her naked body ready for the taking.
More than anything, I wanted to push into her and fuck her hard until she came, screaming my name.
But I was promised a meal. And I’d be enjoying one.
I bent down and dragged my tongue lazily through her folds, pinning her thighs open with a palm splayed on each one.
She gasped and bowed off the island in response.
“You like that?”
She nodded, her face and neck already flushed pink.
“Look at you, so sexy and laid out for me. You want more of my tongue, don’t you?”
I tasted her again, eliciting a moan, then flicked her clit and slid a finger inside her.
My intention was to tease her. To make her beg.
But I loved the taste of her and the feel of her so much I couldn’t control myself.
Instead of drawing things out, I dove in, licking and sucking with fervor and reveling in her response.
Within a minute, I had two fingers inside her and she was riding my face with abandon, chasing her orgasm while pulling on my hair. What a way to start the weekend.
She was clamped tight on my fingers, seconds away from crashing over the edge, when the dog went apeshit.
Asshole.
Instantly, Adele released me, but I didn’t slow.
“Finn,” she said, her voice shaking. “Stop.”
That one word was all it took. I stood up and wiped my face, scanning her in search of what had upset her. Then I heard it. The doorbell.
“Shit,” she said, jumping off the counter so quickly she almost face-planted.
“I can’t stand up straight,” she said, looking at me with wide, glassy eyes while I steadied her. “Fuck. Fuck. I gotta get that.”
She whipped her head from side to side in a panic, then dove for her phone, which was sitting next to the sink, before scrambling for our clothing.
“Shit! Take these.” She pushed my clothes into my chest, but she didn’t look up from the screen of her phone. “And go somewhere.”
“Adele,” I said, going for soothing. She had the doorbell app pulled up, but she was flailing too wildly for me to make out the figures on the screen.
“Garage,” she said, pulling her tank top over her head. “Now. I’ll lock the door.”
I scoffed, and my heart dropped into my stomach. “You’re locking me in your garage?”
“You make it sound cruel. There’s oxygen in there.” She shimmied into her shorts and pushed me toward the door.
I paused with my hand on the doorknob while she ran toward the front hall. Maybe it was a delivery?
But then I heard a familiar voice.