“Well.” Brendan looked to Brie. “If you ever figure the woman out, I’d be more than interested to know.”
“I’ll keep you posted.” She unfolded her arms as she gestured around the house. “Might take me awhile, though.”
Finn hoped it took her as long as possible. “No kidding.”
“Anyway, what do I owe you for coming here?”
“Nothing,” he said, and shook his head.
“Oh come on, you came down on your day off.” She pushed off the door frame and took a step closer to Brendan.
“Brie, I called him, I can take care of it,” Finn said.
“Actually, neither of you need to do anything. It took me less than half an hour. It really isn’t necessary.”
“What if I pay you in wine? Two bottles. You’d actually be doing me a favor as there is no way I’d be able to get through Bethelda’s supply anyway. It’s less things for me to get rid of in the end.”
Not for the first time that day, Finn thought about Brie leaving town. He really, really didn’t like the idea of it. But he never had liked the idea of her leaving. Even that very first night when he’d met her, he’d felt a sense of disappointment when she’d said she would only be in Mirabelle for two nights.
Now two nights had turned to indefinitely and he could hear the ticking clock that was hanging over his head.
“Deal.” Brendan’s voice brought Finn back from his thoughts.
Brie grinned as she walked past him to the floor-to-ceiling wine cabinet. He had the urge to put his hands on her as she passed, to pull her close, to not let her go.
“You have a preference?” She opened the doors and gestured to the mostly filled cubbyholes. The squares were large enough for a regular-size bottle of wine, twenty across and fifteen high.
“Damn, that’s a lot of wine.”
“Exactly. So see, you’re helping me out.”
“Clearly. Well, Paige likes pinot grigio and she’s been on a red wine kick lately.”
“I’d give him one of these.” Finn crossed over to her on the pretense of helping. Really he just took the opportunity to be near her. Coming up behind her, he kissed her neck as he reached around her, grabbing a bottle of pinot that Bethelda had five of. He handed it to Brie before reaching up and to the left, his free hand at her side, holding on to her hip. “And that Malbec we had last night.”
She turned to look over her shoulder at him, her eyes golden. “Good choices.”
“Part-time bartender, remember?”
“Oh, I remember. Why else do you think I keep you around?”
“That and because of my fire-lighting skills.” He grinned.
Brendan cleared his throat, causing them both to turn. He didn’t look uncomfortable so much as amused as he looked at them. “You know, if you just give me the wine, I can go so you two can continue whatever it is that you want to continue.” His eyes glowed with humor.
“I’ll help you out.” Finn shook his head as he grabbed both bottles. “You don’t have enough hands with your tool kit, and it would be a shame to break one.”
“It really would be,” Brie agreed. “And thank you again, Brendan. I really do appreciate you coming over.”
“It’s not a problem. Also, Paige told me to say hi, and that she really enjoyed lunch with you yesterday. She also said she was looking forward to you coming out next week with her and the girls. To be honest, so am I.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because, whenever the girls get together, it’s always interesting.”
“Should I be nervous? Finn said the exact same thing.”
“No, not nervous.” Brendan shook his head, grinning. “It just always makes for a good night.”
Yeah, Finn would just bet his friends enjoyed their wives going to Girls’ Night Out. A number of their children had been conceived after those evenings.
“Anyway, I’ll see you later, Brie. And don’t hesitate if you need help with anything else. I’ll gladly take more wine as payment.”
“Noted.” She laughed, waving good-bye as Finn led Brendan to the door and outside.
“I like her,” Brendan said as he headed to his truck. It was parked at the end of the driveway, right behind Finn’s.
“I do, too.”
“You should know Paige told me about Bethelda being Brie’s biological mother. Not because she wants to go far and wide with the information, but because she wanted me to understand the full scope of the situation.” He opened the backseat door behind the driver’s seat, setting his toolbox on the floor before he turned to Finn. “And you have to know, man, none of us are going to hold that against her.”
“I know.” Finn nodded, wishing more than anything that he hadn’t made it into such a big thing when he’d found out. But he was going to continue on his mission of making Brie forget about all of that.
And as he’d been a pretty big ass, there was a lot to forget.
“Good.” Brendan grabbed both wine bottles from Finn and stuck them in the pouch behind the driver’s seat. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“I’m spending it with Brie, so that’s guaranteed.”
“Good man.” Brendan clapped Finn on the shoulder before he got in his truck and pulled out of the driveway. And as Finn headed back to the house, the smile on his face was one that couldn’t be messed with.
* * *
Church on Sunday morning was an interesting affair. Brie had only gone the previous week to get out of the house. It had also given her the opportunity to connect with her past in a way, being in that building. She hadn’t exactly had any intention of going again that weekend.
That was until she’d spent all of Saturday with Finn. By the time Sunday rolled around and he’d asked her if she wanted to go, she figured she might as well go for broke and just spend the whole weekend with him. Well, going to church with him led to her sitting with his family…his entire family.
It wasn’t just his parents and grandmother who were there, either. Shep, Hannah, and baby Nate sat in the pew in front while Finn’s aunt Marigold, uncle Jacob, cousin Meredith, and Meredith’s daughter Emma were in the pew behind them.
Brie got a rush introduction of everyone she hadn’t met before Mass. After Mass they all went into the parish hall for doughnuts—she had one with chocolate frosting—and coffee. It was there that everyone was able to chat a little bit more at leisure, and Hannah took the opportunity to introduce Brie to Meredith.
Finn’s cousin had inherited from the fairer side of the Shepherd family, or more accurately the Franklin family, with her blond hair and light complexion. She also had Ella’s sapphire-blue eyes, and so did her daughter Emma. And yet that blue had completely skipped both of Ella’s children who had the stormy gray, which—Finn told her later—was from his grandfather Owen.
There was something about eye color that always fascinated Brie…maybe because she’d always wondered where she’d gotten hers from. Who had given her golden brown eyes that changed with her mood? Maybe she’d learn the answer to that question while she was in Mirabelle.
Maybe…maybe…maybe. So many maybes.
“Well, we won’t keep you, darling,” Faye said as she patted Brie’s arm. “Finn said that he’s been helping you clear out a room this weekend, and that you still have a ways to go.”
“Yes, ma’am. He’s been a big help. I’m sure there will be at least one more truckload of donations before the day is over.”
“Excellent. That’s what we like to hear for the Triple C.”
“I hope you enjoy the cobbler,” Meredith said, tossing her empty coffee cup into the trash. “For whatever reason, Grandma Ella’s is better than anyone else’s.”
“That’s how it works, right? My mother’s chicken enchiladas are other-worldly, and I follow the recipe to a tee, but somehow, they lack a little something. Still good, just probably a nine and a half to my mom’s ten.”
Once everyone said their good-byes, Finn slid his hand to the small
of Brie’s back—a gesture that wasn’t missed by anyone in his family—and led her to the door.
“Tell me more about these chicken enchiladas,” he said as they stepped outside.
“So good you’ll forget your name,” she told him as she tightened her coat around her waist.
“Well, I think I just figured out what I want my next meal payment to be.”
“Deal.” She leaned into him, both wanting more body heat—the temp hadn’t cracked forty—and using his body as a shield against the wind.
Finn’s hand moved from the small of her back and to her waist, pulling her in close. She couldn’t help but smile as they walked, because as she was learning, she really liked to be close to this man.
* * *
Finn thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the day, which was saying a lot as he spent most of it in Bethelda’s house…cleaning Bethelda’s house. But no matter how not great the task at hand was, it was made exponentially great because he was doing it with Brie.
He never once hesitated to touch her, brushing up against her, coming up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he kissed her neck.
It was one of the best afternoons he’d had in a long time. Well, since before the previous afternoon with Brie, because that afternoon had been phenomenal, too. But besides the times he’d had his head up his ass when it came to her, all of the time spent with her was pretty fucking phenomenal.
Before they went over to his parents’ for dinner, they sat at the dining room table, making sure that both Lo and Frankie ate their dinner before they left. Once the animals were good and full of food, Brie bundled herself up in her black leather jacket, and they were out the door with Frankie by their side.
It was going to be a full house that night with his parents, Ella, Shep, Hannah, baby Nate, Finn, and Brie. None of the Shepherd men would be at the bar because they’d given the reins to Reggie Chambers for the evening.
Reggie was born and raised in Mirabelle. Joined the army right out of high school and had been serving for the last fifteen years. He’d gotten out four months ago and moved back to Mirabelle in need of a job.
As the bar had been going through some changes over the years, mainly Shep taking a step back from bartending as much and focusing on beer brewing and his family, they’d had to hire someone else full-time. So Reggie, along with two of the other part-time bartenders, would all be able to hold it down just fine.
When they got to the house, it was immediately clear to Finn that his grandmother was having an incredibly good day. Ella was chatty and smiling, moving around the kitchen a little bit more spryly than even on her best days. Finn had been given the job of cutting strawberries—along with Hannah who wasn’t allowed near a measuring cup—while Ella walked Brie through the cobbler mixing. Shep just supervised the whole thing while holding baby Nate in his arms.
After that, Ella instructed Brie through cooking the strawberries and rhubarb down in the sugar syrup. Once everything had been put together in the baking dish, and the dish in the oven, it was time for a refill on their Mirabelle Sweet Teas. By the time his dad had another batch ready, the pot roast that his mother made had rested long enough and it was time for dinner.
Ella ate like a bird these days, so she took control of the conversation during the meal, telling Brie about her grandparents. Brie hung on her every word, listening about how Petunia loved to cross-stitch, how her favorite flowers were yellow daffodils, how she loved Elvis, how she secretly read Harlequin romance novels…and then gave them to Ella to read when she was finished.
Harold was very much a good ol’ southern boy. He wore his blue jeans everywhere, except Mass on Sundays. He smoked one cigar a week, which was always on Saturdays. He loved Johnny Cash, Johnny Carson, and Johnnie Walker Red. He also loved his girls more than anything in the world.
Something, or more accurately someone, that Ella didn’t really talk about was Bethelda. She was mentioned here and there, mostly when she was a baby or in adolescence. But she was never really the focus, and adult Bethelda was avoided all together.
Maybe that would be a conversation for a later date, at a time when everything wasn’t as light. Because as they sat around eating warm cobbler—that Brie declared was the best she’d ever had—with ice cream melting over the top, it definitely wasn’t the time for a Bethelda convo.
It was close to nine when Finn finally got Brie out the front door, with a load of leftovers from his mother. Finn was also greeted to a parting smirk from Shep, who’d been more of an observer that evening. An observer of how Finn and Brie interacted. Sure his mother had paid plenty of attention to them, too, but she’d been slightly preoccupied with trying to impress Brie. Not all that surprising as Finn hadn’t brought a girl to that house since Rebecca.
He was pretty sure his mother was ignoring the fact that Brie wasn’t staying in Mirabelle…like mother like son.
Once he got Frankie in the back—and set the bag of leftovers on the floor—he moved to the front and got inside. But the second he shut that door behind him, he felt the mood in the cab of his truck change.
It was like Brie had been holding her breath for the last few hours and finally let it out, and with the release of that breath she deflated. Maybe it was because he’d spent a solid forty-eight hours with her that he was so attuned to her, he wasn’t sure, but all he knew was she was going through something painful in that moment.
He wasn’t an idiot; he knew that even with the good history she’d been given she was probably going to have a hard time processing it all. Anyone would. This was the family she never knew…never had a chance to know.
“You OK?” he asked, his voice low.
Brie looked over to him, a sad smile on her mouth. “No.” She shook her head. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I want to learn everything I can. And what Ella told me, what she knows about all of them, experienced with them…it means everything to hear it. But it’s a lot. You know? I just wish I’d known them.” Her voice cracked just slightly on the end, and he knew she was trying to keep her emotions in check. “Just for a moment.”
Finn reached over, grabbing her hand and pulling it up to his lips. “I have absolutely no idea what it’s like to be in the situation you’re in. But what I do know is that for as long as you want me around, I’ll be here for you.”
“Can you take me somewhere? Not back to the house. I just want to be anywhere else. With you.”
“Absolutely.” He gently pulled her closer as he leaned over, pressing a kiss to her mouth. It took an effort of will to pull away from her, but he managed. He started his truck and backed out of the driveway, knowing exactly where he wanted to take her.
Chapter Seventeen
Unsteady
The five-minute car ride was a quiet one, Brie’s hand in Finn’s, his thumb moving back and forth in a gentle, comforting stroke. She liked his hands on her body, was becoming more and more accustomed to it. Not in a way where she was becoming immune to his touch, just that it felt right.
She looked out the window, not seeing much out into the night. But she wasn’t really paying attention to what she saw as her mind was going through all of the things she’d just learned.
Petunia and Harold had tried for kids for years before they finally got pregnant with Bethelda. Petunia had been thirty-nine, Harold forty-three. According to Ella, they’d doted on their one and only daughter. Ella had also said that Brie’s grandfather had loved his girls more than anything in the world.
Yet from everything Brie knew about Bethelda, she seemed incapable of love. That was what she couldn’t wrap her mind around.
It was the truck coming to a stop that pulled her from her thoughts, and Brie moved her gaze from the side window to the windshield. The headlights from Finn’s truck illuminated the two-story A-frame in front of them. Because of the dark, she didn’t pick up much on details besides the fact that it stood on ten-foot pylons and had a waist-high white picket fence running around the perimeter.
She turned to him as he shut off the engine, more than slightly surprised. “You brought me to your house?”
“Yeah, I figured we could stay here tonight if you want. Lo will be fine, she’s eaten dinner and—”
“Yes.” She cut him off. “God yes.”
They were out of the truck a moment later, Frankie leading the way and Finn slightly behind her as they made their way up the stairs. The sensor light turned on, illuminating the bright red front door and the windows on either side, also sporting the bright red paint. She was pretty sure the house itself was gray, but besides that she couldn’t tell anything else.
Finn opened the front door, Frankie heading in as Finn reached in to flip a light on. He held back outside, waiting for Brie to proceed him into the house. As she walked down the hallway—mahogany hardwood floors creaking slightly under her feet—she passed a small den on the left, spotting a desk and half-filled bookcases. To the left were two doors, one that she guessed to be a closet, and the other door opened to where she could just make out that it was a bathroom.
The end of the hall opened up to the living room, Finn flipping another switch that filled the room with light. A dark gray sectional sat in the middle of the room, facing the brick fireplace in the corner and the massive flat screen TV above it. Off to the right was a wall of windows, blackened from the night. As the back of the house faced the water, she had no doubt in her mind those windows provided an excellent view of the water in the daylight. Frankie had already taken up her spot on the massive dog bed in front of those windows.
“Let me put these away.” Finn came up behind her, kissing her on the back of the head before he headed to the left of the living room and to the kitchen.
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