Chapter 5
“So when can you start, Finch?”
“Did my sisters put you up to this, Mr. Becker? Because so far, I’ve had calls from Mrs. C., Bart, Dr. Hannah, and Old Man Barnes about work they all need done.”
Finch stomped his feet to warm them. He should have worn his boots, not sneakers. It was cold today. Like it was cold the last time you left the house unprepared, you fool.
At least he was wearing his new jacket.
Studying the drive-through coffee hut that had been a fixture in Lyntacky for years, he thought, as he was here, he might as well get a coffee.
“Don’t know about those others, but I need help and knew you had the time,” Klaus Becker said. He was the owner of what the locals believed was the first drive-through in America. As yet, that claim had not been substantiated.
The hut was small, painted with flowers, and had a large neon sign flashing the word “coffee” in red. He’d spent plenty of time driving through here over the years.
You got coffee and awesome food, all with a side of advice whether or not you wanted it.
Leah and Klaus Becker came to Lyntacky from Germany many years ago and stayed. They’d raised their kids and become part of the fabric that made up this quirky town Finch usually loved but lately felt like a really tight sweater.
“Call me Klaus, Finch. I need a hand, and I know you have two spare ones,” the man added in his thick German accent. He had the collar raised on his checked wool jacket, but even though there wasn’t a strand of hair on his head, he wore no hat.
Finch had answered his phone an hour ago because the number said unknown and now wished he hadn’t. Klaus Becker had been on the other end and asked Finch to come and help him with something.
When he found out who had given the man his number, there would be hell to pay, he vowed silently, but he had a hunch who, and he’d be following up on that soon.
Finch had asked Mr. Becker what he was needed for, but the man had cut the call, saying something urgent had come up.
He might be a different person now, and his people skills were sadly lacking, but Finch couldn’t be sure Klaus wasn’t desperate, so he’d come.
Yes, many others would have gladly helped him, but Klaus contacted Finch, and since his doctor cleared him for short drives, he’d gotten into his pickup and driven here.
“What’s the criteria for when we get to call you Klaus, just out of curiosity?”
He tapped his nose. “I know when it’s time.”
“And for me that’s now?” Finch said.
“It is.”
“It’s gonna take some getting used to.”
Klaus smiled. “So, when can you start?”
“I don’t need to be the town project, Klaus. I’m doing okay, so don’t worry. That, plus, I’ve never really built anything, and it’s winter. Sure you don’t want to wait until spring?”
“I thought you military types were tough,” Klaus said.
“Ex-military, and we are, but I thought it was a good excuse.”
“No time like the present to start a new career, and you get plenty of free coffee and muffins with it.”
“I don’t need to work, Mr.—Klaus. Really, I’m all right, I have plenty of money, and I’m getting on with things.” The only thing you’re getting on with is being moody and sorry for yourself.
The man just studied him, head tilted slightly to the right, like he wasn’t sure what to make of Finch, which made two of them.
“We don’t just let our own get on with things, Finch. We help. So shall we say tomorrow?”
If he was a kid, he’d stomp his foot, but he was a grown-ass adult, damn it, who had led men and been a staff sergeant. He could say no and had been using the word all his life. In fact, his mother often said it was the first one he’d learned.
“Excellent. You just get here when you can,” Klaus said when no sound came out of Finch’s mouth.
“I’m not sure if I can even do the work,” he said, reluctant to admit the weakness. “I have headaches, and my eyes hurt sometimes from the injuries I got during the accident.”
“Then let’s just take it as it comes,” Klaus said, not dissuaded. “You’ll find it more enjoyable working for me than those others,” he added.
“Hey, Mr. Becker and Finch!”
They both turned to find Ally, Brody and Phoebe Duke’s oldest kid, waving at them. She was pushing her bicycle up the Becker driveway.
“Hello, Ally. How are you today?” Mr. Becker said, a wide smile on his face.
Finch had watched this kid grow from a baby to a teenager, and one thing about her had never changed—well, two actually—she loved to wear colorful things, and she loved her people passionately.
“Why are you pushing your bike and not riding it?” Finch asked when she stopped before them in purple padded ski pants, a matching jacket, and a yellow woolen hat with earflaps.
Her face scrunched up in frustration. “I got a flat tire a few minutes ago.”
“How come you aren’t in a nice warm car with all those relatives you’ve got?” Finch asked as he dropped down to inspect the tire.
“Dad said he never got rides everywhere, so I can’t either.”
“What a mean father,” Finch said. He found a small piece of wire sticking out of the rear tire. “You want me to drop you and your bike somewhere, Ally? Because this is not taking you anywhere until the tire is fixed.”
She hissed out a breath. “If Dad had dropped me at Uncle Ryder’s café for my shift, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“I noticed right off what a bad parent he was,” Finch said, raising a brow at her.
“He still won’t let me have an iPhone. I’ve got a phone that won’t give me internet access, just make phone calls.”
“Like I said, bad parent,” Finch added, regaining his feet.
She sighed.
“Need a muffin for the journey to your uncle’s café, Ally?” Klaus said.
Ally’s expression slid into a sweet smile. “Yes, please, Mr. Becker. Leah’s muffins are the best, but don’t tell Uncle Ryder that.”
Klaus mimicked zipping his lips and then went into the coffee hut.
“I bet you tell your uncle his are the best too,” Finch said, knowing this kid had it all worked out.
Eldest of the next generation of Dukes, she’d been spoiled by the adults in her family, for all that she was a good kid.
“Shall I drop you at the café?” he asked.
“Yes, please, and thanks, Finch.”
He picked up her bike, took it to his pickup, and lowered it into the truck bed.
“So tomorrow, Finch,” Klaus said, returning with Ally’s muffin.
“Aren’t there actual builders in this town?” Finch suggested, giving it one last shot to get himself out of the work.
“They’re all busy,” Klaus said without even blinking at the blatant lie.
“Are you building the extension to the coffee hut, Finch?” Ally asked.
“Seems like I am,” Finch replied. “You get the supplies, and I’ll come tomorrow, but don’t blame me if it leaks or falls over in the first storm, Klaus.”
“I have faith in you,” he said.
But I no longer have faith in myself.
Finch was practical. He’d had to be, growing up with his parents. Someone had to do repairs, and usually it landed on him and his siblings, seeing as their father was good with his hands but never got around to getting anything done.
They’d learned along the way with help from a few others. He knew he could build this small extension to the coffee hut and that it would be good for him, even if he didn’t want to. Besides, if he didn’t, the locals would just move on to finding something else for him to do.
“Sawyer will come and help you get started.”
“Great,” Finch muttered. He’d have to deal with his brother-in-law, too, but at least Sawyer wasn’t big on talking, just like him now.
“Do you need to call your dad and tell him I’m driving you?” Finch asked Ally, who was now eating her muffin with enthusiasm. He’d never met a Duke who didn’t have a big appetite.
“Why? You’re family—kinda—and I’ve known you since I was born. Plus, there’s the list,” she said, climbing into the front seat of his pickup after waving at Klaus.
“List?” He drove around the curve of the driveway and out the gate.
“Of people Dad trusts. We wrote it years ago. The people in town who I can get help from if I need it. All the McAllister’s are on it.”
He wanted to rub his chest at the spike of warmth her words created. “Nice.”
“I’m sorry you had that accident and left the army, Finch.”
“Thanks, Ally. Me too.”
“But at least Birdie gets to see her big brother more now.”
“You think she missed me?” he teased her.
“Uncle Sawyer told me he was lucky, seeing as he got to have all his family around him all the time, even if sometimes he’d like a break from them. But Birdie had no siblings in her corner until she became his girlfriend and inherited us.”
Finch moved out of his home at eighteen, signed up for the army, and never looked back.
Lynx and Blue Jay had been next, and they’d left Birdie here with their parents.
Finch hadn’t given her situation a lot of thought, if he was honest. He’d just got on with his life.
She’d also had to deal with his dad’s cancer diagnosis, which he still felt guilt over, and the fact she’d not told them she was working multiple jobs to pay the medical bills.
“I think she missed you, but she got us, so it worked out okay,” Ally said, licking her fingers after she finished the muffin, completely unaware that she’d made Finch think about things he hadn’t before leaving the army. “Finch?”
“Ally.”
“Why are you wearing Caleb’s jacket?”
He snorted at that and explained the details to Ally.
“June’s persuasive,” she said.
“And then some.”
The roar of a motorcycle had him looking in the rearview mirror. Two bikers dressed in black leather were behind him. The lead rider then rolled closer until he was beside Finch. The man raised his glasses, studying him. Finch lowered the window, and a blast of icy air hit him in the face.
“Problem?” he queried calmly, because Ally was seated beside him.
“No problem. Just being neighborly,” the man said.
Finch raised his window. The man was no neighbor of his, and he didn’t want him to be. The badge on his arm said Bandit, and they were public enemy number one, no matter what others in this town believed.