Untold

by Shannon Richard

  “Finn, I haven’t even really started looking. The stuff that I’ve gone through, and gotten rid of, she bought in bulk. The things that don’t have ties to anything. Well, unless you count all of that yarn I got rid of.”

  “I see what you did there.”

  Her mouth turned up in a half smile. “I don’t do well with clutter, and there is so much of it there. That’s why I couldn’t work until I got the office cleared out a little. Sometimes it’s been hard for me to breathe in that house, let alone focus.”

  “That makes total sense. So that’s your plan while you’re here? Working on your thesis in between going through Bethelda’s stuff?”

  “Yeah.” She nodded.

  “And what about when you’re not doing either of those things?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Well, he’d started on this track, he might as well barrel on through it. Full steam ahead. “Have dinner with me.”

  Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “I thought that was what we were doing now.”

  “I mean a date. I pick you up. I take you out.”

  “Finn, I…” She stopped for a second, giving a slight shake of her head. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you and I tend to run hot…especially in unsupervised situations where there can be, how did you word it? Moments of weakness?”

  “What’s wrong with moments of weakness?” The memory of them kissing on the floor after he caught her came to mind…quickly followed by one from the night they’d spent together where she’d been riding him.

  “I don’t get you.” Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. “First you like me, then you don’t like me, and now you like me again?”

  “See, that’s the thing. There was never a point where I didn’t like you. I was just trying not to like you. You should take that as a compliment.”

  “Oh really now?” She laughed.

  “Yeah. Try as I might, I failed miserably.”

  She leaned back in the seat, her eyes not leaving his. “Was the you trying not to like me part of your whole you don’t do relationships thing?”

  “Part of it.”

  “What’s the other part?”

  “I don’t do repeats.” His answer might’ve been a little too honest, but he figured that was the best way to proceed with Brie at this point. Especially given his end goal.

  “So you never want seconds?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “Except with you.”

  “Is that supposed to be a compliment, too?”

  “Take it how you will, but it’s the truth.”

  “Hmmm,” she hummed, her mouth slightly pursing together and distracting him for just a second. “So what’s the deal? As long as I’m in town, we what?”

  “Have as many moments of weakness as possible.”

  “And when I leave we just both go on our merry way? No strings attached?”

  “In effect.”

  “It’s just that simple?”

  “Why can’t it be?” he asked, resting his elbows on the table as he leaned forward and dropped his voice. They weren’t exactly talking in an unbreakable code here, and the place was busy. “We know we’re compatible. I also get the feeling that with what you’re dealing with being in town, you might need more nights of forgetting.”

  “Is that so?”

  “It’s just a hunch. Besides, you might need a friend every once in a while. No man is an island.” He gave her one of the grins he’d given to many a woman, the ones that always got him exactly what he wanted.

  Her eyes narrowed and she laughed, shaking her head. She wasn’t in any way oblivious to what that look implied. “Yes, but you aren’t exactly offering just friendship.”

  “I’m not. But if that’s all that you want, then that offer is on the table, too.” Though he had a pretty good idea they’d end up sweaty and naked anyway.

  The heat that flashed in her eyes said she was thinking the exact same thing. But quickly following that heat was hesitation.

  “How about we start off smaller. Not a one-on-one date, but more of a group thing. Come to the Sleepy Sheep, maybe one night when a Stampede game is on; those are always guaranteed to attract a crowd. You can get out of the house, meet a few more people in town.”

  “Make friends?” she asked.

  “Yes, just not the type of friends that I’m offering to be.”

  She laughed, turning her head for just a second. When her gaze met his again she was smiling. “OK,” she agreed.

  Finn had never been happier at one single word in his life, because he knew it wasn’t just her agreeing to come out to the Sheep.

  * * *

  Thursday night was bitterly cold. Well, bitterly cold for Florida that was. It was in the low thirties and the next night promised to drop to the twenties. Brie’s plans of sleeping by the gas-lit fire in the den had been dashed as she couldn’t get the stupid thing started. She couldn’t get the one in the living room to light, either.

  Instead she turned the heater to sixty-five and hunkered under the covers with Delores, or Lo as she was now referring to the cat.

  As Brie tried to go to sleep her brain—not all that surprisingly as it had done it every other night that week—found its way to Finn. She replayed their dinner through her head. The easygoing look on his face as she’d looked up at him, that sexy smile he’d kept shooting at her, the look of determination when he’d tried to convince her of his proposal.

  Or maybe plan was a better word. Idea? She wasn’t sure, but proposal seemed too…too something else. Something being a territory that neither of them were going to wander into, no matter what happened.

  What was going to happen? What did she want to happen?

  The more she’d seen Finn the more she realized she liked seeing him. It was like it had been when she’d first gotten to Mirabelle. Those two evenings that she’d walked into the bar and he’d made her forget.

  And what he’d promised that night was to make her forget again…and again…and again.

  But then it was hard for her to forget those few days in between them sleeping together and him apologizing. All of those days he’d been an asshole.

  “How is a guy supposed to atone for his sins if you won’t let him?”

  “Atone for your sins? I already forgave you, Finn.”

  “Good. Now the next goal is making you forget about them.”

  And he wanted her to forget about him being an asshole. She didn’t think he’d turn on her again, but as the saying went: once bitten, twice shy. If anything, this week had made her realize that Finn would be a pretty good ally in this town.

  Except, he hadn’t used the word ally. He’d used the word friend. What he’d meant was friends with benefits. Brie had never dabbled with that particular arrangement before. She had more than one doubt that it would actually remain in the realm of no strings attached.

  Way more than one doubt.

  But did she really want to spend the rest of her time in Mirabelle alone? No man is an island. Yeah, that was something else she was beginning to realize more and more. Especially as she spent most of her time with a cat.

  Isolating. That was the word Hannah had used about being in a similar situation.

  Brie was suddenly uncomfortable…fidgety. She rolled over to her back, the air mattress groaning under her as she moved. She stared up at the ceiling not knowing what she wanted except that she didn’t want to spend the next month alone.

  She knew that for damn sure.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chicken Potpie, Fuzzy Fox Slippers, and Fate

  Brie woke up bright and early on Friday morning. She made herself a cup of coffee, had breakfast with Lo, and then sat down at the desk in the office. Before she knew it, it was almost one and she was starving. She was used to getting tunnel vision when she was working, especially when she was on a roll.

  Even with the sun shining brightly, the temperature outside
had barely cracked forty. A chill lingered in the house and Brie was in the mood for good soup and a hot sandwich. As she really had no desire to stand in front of a stove to prepare said soup, she decided to venture out.

  Besides, she had a few errands she needed to run. She hadn’t gone to the grocery store in a week and she needed to pick up a few things she was getting short on. There was also the fact that a number of packages had apparently built up at the Mirabelle Information Center where Bethelda used to work. Someone who worked there had found out about Brie taking over Bethelda’s estate and left a message on the house phone. She’d sounded more than slightly hostile, saying if the packages weren’t picked up she was going to throw them in the Dumpster.

  After washing her face and running a brush through her hair, she touched up with a little concealer and put on mascara. Once she put on a clean pair of jeans and a thick sweater and scarf, she was out the front door.

  As she’d yet to go to Café Lula she decided to head down to the beach to try out what they had for lunch…and maybe get herself something sweet while she was at it. There were a good number of cars in the lot when she pulled in and parked in front of the brightly painted cottage.

  The building was salmon, the shutters yellow, and the eaves lilac. A large green sign hung over the turquoise door, big black letters reading “Café Lula.” Brie made her way up the green stairs—the same green as the sign—and pushed the door open. A bell rang as she walked in, finding the inside of the café to be much like the outside.

  The walls were turquoise and displaying a variety of beautiful paintings and pictures and works of art. The doors and windows were yellow. The tables and chairs scattered across the blond hardwood floors were all painted in a variety of colors from the same palette of pinks, periwinkles, greens, and oranges. But what really got Brie was that the whole place smelled like coconut and chocolate.

  Her stomach rumbled as she made her way to the line. It didn’t take too long for her to get to the counter, just long enough for her to figure out what she wanted to eat: crab bisque, a fried green tomato grilled cheese, and sweet tea.

  Didn’t matter how cold it was outside, it was always the time for sweet tea.

  “For here or to go?” the woman at the register asked.

  “For here,” Brie said as she handed over her credit card.

  But before the girl at the counter could grab the card, Brie heard a familiar voice. “Hello, Brie.”

  She turned to see Harper and Grace standing off to the left on the other side of the counter, both of them smiling wide. Brie hadn’t seen the pretty blond since the morning of the funeral…when she’d fled like a bat out of hell.

  “H-hi.” Something about that memory had her feeling slightly off balance.

  “That one is on the house, Lillian.” Grace nodded to the register.

  Brie shook her head. “Oh, that’s not necess—”

  “I know it’s not necessary. I want to do it anyway. But I will take you joining us for lunch as payment.” She pointed to a door behind the counter, a door that they had clearly just materialized out of.

  Brie’s gaze moved from the door back to the women, hesitating for just a moment. There was that initial voice in her head that questioned if lunch was a good idea. But then she reminded herself that Harper knew the truth so there most likely wouldn’t be any unpleasant surprises. She also reminded herself that the only conversation she’d had that day had been with her cat.

  Her cat…that was a new development. One she wasn’t going to focus on at the moment. Not that she could focus on it because it was then that another—louder—voice was speaking…a voice that sounded a lot like Finn. No man is an island.

  Besides, it was only Grace and Harper. She could handle two people no problem.

  “OK,” she agreed.

  “Perfect.” Grace beckoned Brie with her hand, waving her through the open space between the counters. “They’ll bring your food with ours.”

  Grace led the way, her blond ponytail swinging back and forth as she pushed through the door and into the back. Brie followed behind her, while Harper took up the rear.

  Brie barely got a glimpse of the kitchen—stainless steel appliances and countertops, yellow and blue tiles on the floors and climbing up the walls, an island in the center—before her eyes moved to the table and chairs in the corner where two other women sat. She recognized Paige immediately, but she had yet to meet the curly haired blond with a baby on her shoulder.

  So much for it being just two people…the unknown had just doubled in size. Well, more than doubled including the baby, but as the child was sleeping, Brie wasn’t too worried. Besides, she was wearing a pink onesie with little giraffes in tutus on it.

  There was nothing intimidating about giraffes in tutus.

  “Ladies, we have a guest joining us,” Grace announced.

  “Brie, this is Mel and her daughter, Juliet. Mel, meet Brie.” Harper moved to Brie’s side, waving her hand to the woman with the baby.

  “Nice to meet you,” Mel beamed at her.

  “You too.”

  “And you remember Paige.” Grace indicated the brunette from across the table as she sat down next to Mel.

  “I do.” Brie nodded, moving to the empty chair next to Paige and hanging her purse on the back. She wasn’t exactly sure what to expect as she took her seat, but there was that part of her that was bracing for the worst. She couldn’t help it. “Thank you for letting me join you guys.”

  “No thank-you necessary.” Mel shook her head. “We like new people around here.”

  Paige scoffed.

  “Well, we do.” Harper moved her hand in a circle, encompassing everyone at the table. “There are some people in this town who can be a bit more resistant.” Her mouth pinched as she said it, taking a seat next to Grace.

  “Which we’ve heard you’ve experienced a little of.” Mel nodded.

  “Or a lot of,” Paige said as she turned in her seat to face more toward Brie. “Believe me, I get it. Unlike the rest of these ladies, I’m not from Mirabelle, either. Philadelphia, born and raised.”

  “On a playground was where she spent most of her days.”

  “Thank you, Will Smith.” Paige rolled her eyes at Grace. “Anyway, I moved down here about five and half years ago, and I had no intention of staying.”

  Brie had followed the conversation like a tennis match, and she couldn’t help but smile at the rapid fire and easy comfort with which they conversed. It made her miss her own friends. But at the mention of permanence in Mirabelle, she finally spoke up.

  “Oh, I’m not staying.” Brie shook her head. “At least not beyond the spring.”

  “Well, while you’re here, you’ll at least know a few friendly faces,” Mel said.

  “That’s for damn sure,” Harper agreed. “And none of us will be judgey or ask questions you don’t want to answer.”

  “But we will be more than happy to lend an ear when one is needed,” Grace added.

  “So you’re offering everything and demanding nothing, even though you don’t know me?”

  “My grandmother used to always say you could spot a kindred spirit immediately.” Harper rested her elbows on the table, leaning forward just slightly.

  “Besides,” Grace said as she shrugged, “we’ve got nothing to lose being nice to you. And all of us know what it’s like to be targeted…singled out. Some of us more than most.”

  “I get that.” Brie nodded slowly. “But I get the feeling that a lot of those instances in which you were targeted and singled out have to do with the person that brought me to this town in the first place.”

  “You’re not her.” Paige said it like it was the simplest thing in the world.

  “Yes, but she was my biological mother.” That Band-Aid was getting easier and easier to rip off. She wasn’t sure if she was just getting used to it, or if she was just developing nerve damage.

  A moment of stunned silence went around the table, everyone lo
oking surprised except Harper. Brie’s eyebrows rose as she looked at the raven-haired beauty.

  “Not my business to tell.” Harper shrugged. “Or Hannah’s.”

  Apparently there were some people in Mirabelle who didn’t talk.

  “It doesn’t change anything,” Grace said simply. “You talk when you want to talk. If you want to talk.”

  Brie sat there in stunned silence, amazed with what these women had just offered her. She’d never experienced anything like it in her life, and there was some part of her that thought she never would again.

  Just as quickly as that thought came she pushed it away, focusing on the moment.

  As the next thirty minutes went by—and Brie enjoyed every delectable bite of her lunch—all of her apprehension disappeared. Every woman at that table was friendly beyond measure, an easy smile on their faces as they told her about themselves and asked questions that were surprisingly not all that prying.

  Before Brie knew it, thirty minutes turned into an hour, which turned into two. Harper was the only one who had to leave after lunch, needing to get back to the spa for her next massage client.

  Mel had only had her daughter a month ago, so she was still on maternity leave. She was taking advantage of her days off from teaching high school students math. Having regular lunch dates with her friends was both a nice treat and it got her out of the house, a need that Brie completely understood. Mel’s husband, Bennett, was a carpenter. He did custom woodwork, refurbished antique wood pieces, and made some of his own furniture. He’d also recently remodeled their house.

  “It was only a two-bedroom, one-bath and he built us a brand-new master suite. He’d started before I even found out I was pregnant.” Her hand moved to Juliet’s back who was currently fast asleep. “But once he found out? He wouldn’t sit still until he had everything finished. People always say that women nest when they’re pregnant, but I swear to you, my husband was worse than any woman.”

  Brie found out that Paige only worked at the funeral home three days a week. Her days off were spent working on her art, the same art that was displayed on the walls of the café. Brie made a mental note to take a closer look later.