Chapter 17
Finch’s family had booked him a haircut. He’d protested and then stomped out of the house with his keys. Of course he could have said no, but he didn’t. Nina worked at The Gnat, and this gave him a chance to see her without it looking like he was specifically doing that.
Which made him sound like a horny teenager and not a grown man who had been navigating the treacherous waters of dating for years. Not that he and Nina were dating, but still, the woman had wormed her way into his head, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Plus, there was the issue of her father.
He’d googled the man, and the results hadn’t made Finch sleep any easier now that he was out of prison.
Would he come looking for his daughter? Finch knew if he was a father, he’d move heaven and earth to find his child.
But Finch wasn’t a drug dealer with no morals.
Arriving at The Gnat, he’d glared at Birdie, as was expected of him, and told her he could make his own damn appointments, to which she smiled and got out of her chair to hug him.
Sisters, he thought. They were the best and worst of their brothers.
He’d then walked in to find JD’s room full of people, with Nina in the middle. They were interrogating her, and his first thought had been to roar at them to stop. But that wasn’t his job. He wasn’t her man and was never likely to be, so he’d stood back and watched—her.
She’d surprised him by telling them things about her past, but unlike with him, she hadn’t told them everything, and he was pleased about that. The fewer people who knew the name Dale Falcon, the better.
“I could totally see you as a Claudia,” Jonathan said from the tattoo bed, which he was reclining on.
“Idiot,” Nina said. “Now everyone can move on, as we have work to do,” she added, making shooing motions with her hands.
Everyone filed out except Finch. Pushing off the wall, he stepped in front of her as she headed for the door. “Are you doing okay, Nina?”
“As okay as can be expected.” She looked up at him, and he couldn’t read anything in her eyes.
“About—”
“No,” she whispered. “We’re not talking about what happened that night, and especially not here.”
He nodded and stepped to the left, and she walked out. Finch followed and went back to the reception area, where his little sister was again seated behind the desk.
“Jessie will be ready for you soon.”
“Imagine my excitement.”
She raised her eyes from her monitor to stare at him. “Is your head sore?”
“A bit.”
“Your eyes are squinty.”
“I’m okay, Birdie. It just happens sometimes if I spend too long staring at my phone. But I’m getting better all the time, I promise.”
She frowned, which made her look cute. Not that he’d tell her that.
“You hate doomscrolling and say it’s the pastime for people who don’t have enough to occupy their time,” she said.
He shrugged, remembering saying those exact words a few years ago when he’d come home on leave. “I’ve changed.”
“Not that much.”
“Birdie, stop dissecting my life. You have one of your own to deal with.”
“I can do both.” She had a determined look in her eye.
The relief of the door opening was short-lived, as he watched Dr. Hannah walk in. Her eyes settled on him with laser focus. “I’ve asked you repeatedly to come and see me, and so far, you haven’t, Finch McAllister.”
“Dr. Hannah—”
“I am your doctor and have been since I delivered you in that barn.”
“Wait,” Birdie said. “What barn?”
“I’m sure you’ve heard this story,” Finch said scowling.
“She may have forgotten, so let me tell you again, Birdie,” Dr. Hannah said.
“Your mom insisted on going out to feed the cows even though she was in labor and didn’t make it back to the house, so I delivered Finch in the barn, as I happened to be there getting some greens.
It was a near thing, and he just about landed in a cowpat, but I caught him. ”
Birdie started laughing. Soon she was hiccupping and bent over at the waist.
“Why is that amusing?” Finch demanded.
His sister continued to laugh as she picked up her phone to no doubt text her siblings.
“Anyway,” Dr. Hannah said, shooting Birdie a hard look, “I have contacted the base you were at, and they’ve sent over your records, so I need you to come in and we can check your symptoms to see if there is improvement.”
Why he was surprised she’d done that, he had no idea. The woman had always been thorough.
“I’ve improved.”
She smiled. “Excellent. Shall we say tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.?”
“Fine.” He sighed.
Jessie the hairdresser thankfully appeared, and he went for his haircut.
Thirty minutes later he was out, with a neat beard and shorter hair.
Of Nina, there was no sign. Should he go back to her room and say goodbye?
No, that would raise questions. So he said goodbye to his sister.
Amber was in there, dusting the reception area.
That woman was everywhere; clearly, she was good at her job.
“That looks nice, Finch. You can see your lovely cheekbones,” she said, which had his sister giggling again.
“Thank you, Amber. That’s very kind of you,” Finch said, then went to kiss the top of Birdie’s head.
“Dinner at our place on Saturday night for Sadie’s birthday, Finch.”
“Okay. What do I bring?”
“Yourself and something pink for your niece.”
“Pink,” he muttered, heading to his pickup. He could manage that, surely?
Finch got in his truck and headed out of town, but instead of turning toward the McAllister land, he went in the other direction.
It had been Jessie who told him that the Burns land was coming on the market for the first time in about a hundred years.
It was situated next to the Reynolds’ land, down a long drive behind a bare grazing block, which Tripp now owned and kept horses on.
Jessie had told him the place was empty, as the Burns family had all moved south. Finch had money, he’d just thought to sit on it for a while, but lately he’d wanted to find a place of his own. He had no idea what he’d do with it, but the privacy appealed to him.
Stopping at the gate, he looked down the driveway. Two minutes later a patrol car pulled up beside him, and Dan Duke got out.
“Finch.”
“Deputy Dan,” he replied after lowering his window.
“Why are you loitering here?”
“Is the Burns land for sale?”
Dan studied him in that cop’s way he had, looking for answers to the questions Finch’s words had given him. “It is. Just came on. Leah and Hudson are over there now, feeding the chickens, which are the only livestock left on the place. Want to take a look?”
Finch nodded.
“Drive on, then.”
“You into real estate now, Deputy?”
Dan smiled, and looked more like the boy Finch’d once played with on school grounds, than the hard-ass cop he knew the man could be.
“Nope, but if I get you to buy it, Jay will owe me.”
Finch snorted, but the roar of motorcycles stopped him from saying anything else. Four of them rolled up beside Dan’s cruiser. A big guy got off and walked toward them, dressed fully in black leathers.
“His name is Walker, and he’s got a few of the locals liking him because he’s a smooth fucker. But Uncle Asher and I aren’t fooled. He’s just a slicker version of Grill,” Dan said out of the side of his mouth.
“Walker,” Dan said when the man reached them.
The biker looked from Dan to Finch, and then back again. “Deputy Duke.”
“This is Finch McAllister. Ex-military,” Dan said.
He didn’t need to add those words, but Finch knew he’d done it to let the man know he could hold his own and wouldn’t take any shit.
“Saw you in town,” Finch said.
The man nodded. “Just having a drive around. I think it’s important the townspeople don’t see us as a threat anymore.”
“You don’t think the loud revs of motorcycles and black leather-clad men with gang patches would do that?” Finch said.
The man smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. There was something about him Finch didn’t like. He couldn’t put his finger on it but put it down to instinct.
“Like me, Finch cares about this town. Also, like me, he experienced what the Bandits did before you arrived and has no wish for a repeat,” Dan said.
Walker put his hands in the air. “Have we done anything since I’ve been in charge other than frequent your businesses and offer our support?”
“Not yet, but it’s early days,” the deputy said in a hard voice.
The biker spread his arms wide. “Come on, what’s it going to take for you to trust us again?”
“Probably about five years of being clean in my town, then I’ll think about it,” Dan said. “Why are you and your buddies here now?”
Something dark moved in the biker’s eyes, and then it was gone. Finch had seen a lot of ugly things in his time in the army. He’d seen men who were bad and had done bad things, and he sensed it when one was standing in front of him.
“See you around, Deputy and Finch McAllister.” The biker nodded at them.
“Not if we see you first,” Dan muttered as they watched the bikes roll away. “Something’s coming, Finch, and right now it’s just a feeling, but it will not be good.”
“I need to tell you something, Dan, so hear me out, okay?”
“Okay, but do we have to do it with my eyes watering from the cold and my nose turning red?”
“And they say cops are tough,” Finch said, opening the door of his pickup and climbing inside.
Dan joined him, and then Finch told him about the day he’d thought he’d seen someone at Nina’s.
“I dismissed it as nothing, and that maybe my mind was playing tricks on me, but I should have told you soon—”
“Yeah, but you have now so all good. Thanks for telling me and checking out the scene at the time, Finch.”
“I know it’s speculation, but do you think the home invasion and car, and maybe what I saw, is in any way connected to her father—or am I reaching?” Finch asked.
“It’s a stretch, but I’ve gone there myself. The problem is, if her father comes looking for her, we can’t know if it’s to connect, or for another reason.”
“I googled Dale Falcon, and he’s a big-time asshole.”
“I’m surprised she gave you his name.”
“I got her at a weak moment. I’m good for it,” Finch explained.