Chapter 7 #3
“Sorry. I tend to be a little protective of her. Her metabolism is off the charts. She’s kind of like a bottomless pit. But I’m watching it, now that she’s almost a teenager and puberty is going to hit soon. I don’t want her to get too heavy.”
“Can we not talk about teenage girls and puberty,” Tiny begged from behind them.
Both Henley and Alaska grinned.
“What’s so funny over here?” Brick asked as he approached and sat next to Alaska.
He immediately put his arm around her and pulled her into his side.
Mutt raised his head from where he’d plopped himself in front of Alaska earlier, and after seeing the newcomer was his master, immediately lost interest and closed his eyes once more.
“Girls hitting puberty,” Alaska informed him with a grin.
Brick’s eyes widened. “Nope. No. We’re changing the subject.”
“You can’t come over here and butt into our conversation and demand we talk about something else,” she informed him.
“I can and will,” he said. “Things are going well tonight, yeah? Everyone’s having a good time.”
Alaska shrugged and gave Henley a look that screamed “what can you do?” before agreeing with Brick.
“She’ll work off the calories tomorrow,” Finn told Henley for her ears only.
“I know,” she agreed.
“You want one?” Finn asked.
“One what?”
“A s’more.”
“I was going to get up in a bit and make one,” Henley told him.
“I’ll get it for you. Burnt marshmallow or lightly browned?”
Henley still wasn’t used to anyone doing so much for her.
When the toilet broke in her apartment, she fixed it herself instead of waiting on maintenance.
When her car had a flat tire, she took care of it.
Her dad had taught her to be self-sufficient, and living on the reservation had also drummed that into her.
Living there, they didn’t have a big box store within ten minutes they could run to in order to get what they’d need to fix a window, buy a new broom, or anything else.
They made do with what they had and improvised when they needed to.
“Hen?” Finn asked.
“Sorry. Thank you, I’d love a s’more. And lightly browned, please.”
“You got it.”
Henley shivered as Finn trailed his fingers across her shoulder and down her arm before headed for Jasna, who was standing at the folding table preparing to make another s’more.
As the evening went on, Henley managed to visit with everyone. They either came over to where she was sitting, with Finn hovering behind her, or she spent a bit of time with them while stretching her legs and walking around the fire.
Jasna finally seemed to run out of steam and was sitting on the grass in front of another tree trunk, seemingly lost in thought.
Eventually, Henley stood and turned to face Finn. “It’s getting late, and Jasna looks like she’s beat. We should head in.”
“I’ll walk you,” Finn said immediately.
“You aren’t going to try to convince us to stay longer?” Henley teased.
Finn shrugged. “I’ve about reached my limit of socializing for tonight myself,” he said.
“You lasted longer than I thought you would,” Stone said, clapping his hand on Finn’s shoulder. The other men had also come over to say good night when Henley stood.
“I’m thinking we need to do this way more often,” Alaska said. “Maybe invite all the employees. I bet they’d all love to hang out and chill too.”
“I second that,” Tiny said.
“I’ll check the calendar and see when we can do it again,” Pipe said from nearby.
“Thanks for inviting me and Jasna,” Henley told the group.
“Should’ve done it before now,” Owl told her. “You’re an integral part of The Refuge, Henley, and I’m not sure we’d be nearly as successful as we are today without you.”
She blushed, smiling at everyone. “Thanks. You all make this a perfect place to work.”
“I don’t know about perfect,” Spike said with a chuckle. “But we’ve definitely got our moments.”
Finn stepped over the log and gently took her elbow in his hand. He gave his friends a chin lift and steered her toward Jasna.
“Are you in a hurry?” Henley asked him quietly as she let herself be led away.
“I know them. They would’ve sucked you into some random conversation and it would’ve been another thirty minutes before you would’ve been able to figure out a way to extricate yourself politely. I don’t have to be polite, since they’re my friends and they know my standoffish ways.”
Henley chuckled. “Comes in handy, huh?”
“Yup,” Finn agreed, and his lips quirked upward briefly.
“Aw…is it time to go?” Jasna asked as they approached.
“Yup. Morning’s gonna come quickly,” Finn told her. “And I’m hoping you’ll want to help me with the paddock.”
“What about it?” Jasna asked, her eyes sparkling with interest.
“I need to check the fence, make sure there aren’t any weak spots or places where Scarlet could possibly escape. It’ll be hard work though, so you might not be interested.”
“I’m interested!” Jasna exclaimed. “What time?”
“Seven-thirty.”
“I’ll be there!” And with that, Jasna hugged Finn hard before turning and running toward the cabin where they were staying for the evening.
Henley turned to Finn as they walked more sedately behind her. “Do you really need help? Or did you make that job up?”
Finn shrugged. “It could be put off for a while, but I figured since she’s here and willing, I might as well do it now.”
They’d arrived at the cabin, and Henley could hear her daughter moving around inside as she turned to face Finn.
“Thank you for tonight. I loved getting to know Alaska a little better and hanging out with you and your friends.”
“I had a good time too.”
“You sound surprised,” Henley noted.
“I am a little,” Finn said honestly. “It’s become sort of a habit to hide out in my cabin every night. It’s just easier. But you and Jasna have made me want to try to break out of the self-imposed funk I’ve been in for so long.”
Henley’s heart swelled. “I’m glad,” she whispered.
“Not only that…but I think it’s time I called an old friend of mine. See what he’s been up to.”
“Yeah?” Henley asked.
“Yeah. We were partners in the Coast Guard, and when we got out, I came here, and he went to some small town in Virginia. Believe it or not, he became a librarian.”
Henley’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Uh-huh. I don’t know how the call will go. It’s probably a stupid idea. I don’t even know what I’ll say to him.”
“How about starting off with ‘Hi’?” Henley quipped.
“Smartass,” Finn said with a shake of his head. Then got serious. “I don’t know that I can be the man you deserve, Henley. But I want to be.”
“You don’t have to be anyone but yourself,” she told him. “Because I like you, Finn. More with every day that passes.”
“Same,” he said.
The attraction sparked between them, and Henley pressed her thighs together, trying to control her desire.
Her daughter was waiting for her to come inside the cabin, and everyone around the fire could see them if they bothered to look in their direction.
But there was no doubt that Henley wanted Finn.
Their attraction had been simmering under the surface for quite a while, and now that they’d started getting closer, it was harder and harder to keep her hands off him.
“I want to kiss you,” he murmured.
“Then do it,” she told him eagerly.
“I can’t kiss you the way I want to here,” Finn said, sounding so disgruntled it was all Henley could do not to laugh.
But she sobered quickly as she looked up at him. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in a relationship,” she blurted. “I don’t know what the dating rules are these days.”
“Dating rules?”
“How long a woman should wait before rounding the bases.” Unbelievably, she found herself blushing. Henley hoped Finn couldn’t see her reddening cheeks.
He smiled down at her. “The only thing I’ve been interested in for years is taking care of the animals here at The Refuge…until a certain therapist caught my attention. I’m thinking we can make our own rules,” Finn told her. “We’ll do what feels right.”
“This feels right,” Henley said as she stepped closer, plastering herself against him.
“Yeah,” Finn agreed as he backed them into the shadows to the left of the cabin door. Then he lowered his head and kissed her. All the nerve endings in her body sat up and took notice, and she literally tingled all over.
As she and Finn made out, Henley forgot where they were. That her daughter was steps away. That guests were still at the fire. She couldn’t think about anything other than the taste and feel of Finn. They were both breathing hard when he lifted his head minutes later.
One of his hands came up and he brushed his fingers against her cheek. “You have no idea what I want to do with you right now,” he practically growled.
“If it involves getting naked and licking me from head to toe, I do know,” Henley blurted.
She felt a moment of embarrassment before he made a quiet choking sound and said, “You aren’t far off.”
They smiled at each other.
“We’re doing this,” he whispered.
“Yes. Hopefully soon,” Henley returned.
“When’s Jasna’s first overnight camp?” Finn asked.
Was this crazy? It hadn’t been all that long since they’d both admitted to liking each other and had started texting and talking more. And kissing. She couldn’t forget that. But the rush of emotions between them didn’t feel crazy. They felt right. Henley sighed. “Four weeks.”
“A month,” Finn said with a nod. “Right. This is probably good. Gives us more time to get to know each other.”
He was talking more to himself than to her, and Henley thought it was adorable. And he wasn’t wrong. It was probably a good thing to put on the brakes a little bit.
“You want to come hang out with us at my apartment sometime?” she asked a little shyly. “I mean, it’s not the fanciest place, but we—”
“Yes,” Finn said, interrupting her.
Henley smiled. “Cool.”
“And we can watch a movie or something here at The Refuge in my cabin too.”