by Vivian Wood
“And you kept your end of it? You were just a kid when you agreed to that,” Finn said, frowning.
“Honestly? At first, I planned to high tail it to Europe, go so far that they could never track me down. But then I made friends in Seattle, found a job, settled in… The four years passed so quickly, and he didn’t call me back. I kind of convinced myself that he’d let me go.”
“If he had, you wouldn’t be here,” Finn pointed out.
“No,” Nora said with a humorless chuckle. “He called in the debt a year ago. He phoned a few times, and I blew him off. Then he and his men showed up at my apartment in the middle of the night. They pulled me out of bed, kicked the shit out my then-boyfriend. Made me pack a suitcase and get in the car.”
Nora traced the rim of her coffee cup with a fingertip, her lips twisting wryly.
“Nora, that’s horrible.”
“I was a fool to think it would be any other way. My father gets what he wants. Look at us,” Nora said, waving a hand.
“Funny, I could say the same about Wyatt,” Finn said. He watched her closely, she felt his calculating gaze on her face. She stifled the words that rose in her throat, the urge to curse Wyatt’s name. In her experience, family could insult family, but outsiders should keep their mouths shut.
“Well. Here we are,” she said. “So that’s my story. How did you end up here?”
“Well, I agreed to do Wyatt a favor,” Finn admitted. “I didn’t know exactly what it was.”
Nora shot him a glance, gaping at him.
“You didn’t know… You had no idea you were taking a mate?” she asked, blown away.
“None.”
Finn’s somber expression floored her.
“Why the hell did you agree to it, then?” she asked, trying to keep her voice from rising.
Finn lifted a hand, rubbing his neck. He looked almost… embarrassed.
“There are a lot of factors. Mainly, Wyatt told me we were both dead if I ran,” he said.
Nora didn’t have a response for that. He’d mated her under threat of death? How could he sit here, chatting and laughing? Surely he despised her for her part in the whole matter.
“Hey,” Finn said, reaching out and tapping the back of her hand with his fingertips. Nora looked up at him, ashamed at the tears gathering in her eyes. She could feel that tiny bit of hope she’d found, now withering under the weight of truth.
“I’m so sorry, Finn. I didn’t know,” she said, her lip trembling.
“And what would you have done?” he asked.
“I— I don’t know. Walked away, probably.”
“Not easily. What would your father have done?” Finn demanded to know.
Nora hesitated, wondering how much to tell him.
“Probably killed me. My aunt Aggie, too. Or maybe gave us to his men. I don’t know which would have been worse.”
Finn growled low in his throat, making Nora jump.
“We need to go back for your aunt,” he gritted out.
Nora shook her head.
“No. Her son is one of my father’s men. She won’t leave Harris, and I think he protects her as much as he can. With me gone, she’ll be safe again.”
“And now you’re safe, too,” Finn said. “I promise you that.”
Nora looked at him, brushing away a building tear. She’d promised herself that she wouldn’t cry over her situation. What use was crying over something you couldn’t control?
“I appreciate that, Finn. I really do,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s just… I had plans before, you know? My father told me a little about Wyatt, that his main residence is in Seattle, that he’d probably hardly ever be home… I just started making a plan for myself, and now I’m starting over from scratch. I’m just so frustrated, being yanked around. I told my friends I was thinking of moving back. I did a video interview for an architectural firm, trying to get a job…”
Helplessness and self-doubt sucked Nora in once more, destroying whatever camaraderie she’d built with Finn. When she looked up, his face was blank and expressionless, but she could tell that he was angry. She thought perhaps he was feeling pity for her situation again, but in the next instant his demeanor had shifted.
“We should go,” he said, pushing away his plate. He stood and pulled out his wallet, throwing two twenties on the table.
“Go where?” Nora asked, confused by the change in his temperament.
“Is there a decent hotel around here?” Finn asked. He looked tired all the sudden, as if he’d just hit his bullshit limit for the day. Nora knew just how he felt, so she didn’t press him further.
“Sure. Just down the street,” she said, rising and following him out of the shop.
Finn still opened the door for her and ushered her into the car, but Nora noticed that he went out of his way not to touch her. Clearly she’d said something that had put him off, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what. His stony silence reigned as they pulled into the hotel, where he left her in the car and went to check in.
When Finn returned, he opened the trunk.
“Which suitcase do you need?” he asked, his gaze pointedly avoiding her person.
Nora pointed, and he jerked it out of the car. Turning on his heel, he headed back into the hotel, leaving her to follow him to the elevator. As they stepped inside, she turned to him, nervous.
“Finn, did I say something to upset you?” she asked.
“Nothing I didn’t already know,” was his clipped reply. His tone did nothing to invite further questions.
The elevator dinged, doors sliding open to deposit them on their floor. Finn’s jaw tensed, and he stepped out, dragging her suitcase down the hall. He pulled up short at door 203, making Nora almost collide with his massive back.
“This is you. I’m 204,” he said.
Nora blinked. Finn shoved the key card into the slot and shouldered the door open, holding it for her. The second she was inside, he flipped on all the lights, checking the bathroom, bedroom, and balcony. When he found them empty, he chucked the suitcase on the bed. Grabbing a pen and a pad of paper from the bedside table, he scribbled a note.
“This is my number, just in case. I’m next door, to your right.” He pointed in the direction of his room, making sure she understood. When Nora only nodded, he seemed satisfied. “Night.”
With that, Finn was gone, closing the door firmly behind him. Nora stared at the white blank of the hotel room door for a full minute before sinking onto the bed, head in hands.
“What the hell?” she whispered. “What did I do?”
The empty room held no answers for her. After a few minutes, Nora got up and turned off the lights, then pushed the suitcase off the bed and laid down, wrapping herself in the thick comforter. Squeezing her eyes closed, she let the enormity of the day, of her situation, wash over her.
Only then did she let herself cry.
90
Five
Finn stifled a yawn as he pulled Wyatt’s rental car into the long driveway that led up to his farm. On either side of the driveway rose towering rows of poles and ropes, bright green hops plants climbing the structures. It was almost harvest season for the farm, so his four acres were a veritable jungle of lush, green foliage. Finn snuck a glance at Nora, holding in a smile when he saw her open-mouthed examination of the fields.
“Those things make beer?” Nora asked, breaking the silence that had filled the car for over an hour. She didn’t look at him, didn’t seem interested in engaging him in real conversation, but her curiosity was evident.
“Yep. That’s Zythos that you’re looking at there. Over to the west, I’ve got some Mount Rainier and Palisades,” he said. “Those are all varieties.”
“Kind of like how apples have different names for different types,” Nora murmured, puzzling it out for herself.
Finn chuckled as he pulled the car up to the house. She really was very intelligent, his new mate. Even now that sharp amethyst gaze was tak
ing in the rambling, two-story farmhouse. Peeling white paint, tin roof, sagging front porch… Finn saw the flaws, but he was also proud of the place. It was all his, something to call his own.
“Came with the property, I’m guessing?” Nora asked, arching a brow.
“You got it,” Finn said, not taking her words as an insult. The place did need work, after all. “It’s nicer inside. Well, a little.”
Nora just shrugged and climbed out of the car, trailing him as he opened the trunk and pulled out two of her suitcases. She seemed more at ease now; when they’d first climbed in the car, her demeanor had been downright frosty. Not that Finn hadn’t deserved it, of course. He’d pushed her too far last night, she’d brought up Wyatt, and Finn had lost his cool.
Finn led her up to the porch, pausing to unlock the door before waving an arm to usher her inside. Nora stepped in and Finn followed with her suitcases.
“It’s got a certain charm,” Nora said, turning in a circle to admire the two main rooms. The kitchen was on the left, all original 40s appliances intact. The living and dining room were on the right, with a simple table and chairs, plus a brand new leather couch, one of a handful of furniture pieces that Finn had dragged out here from his old apartment.
“I’ve been here full time for four months, but I haven’t really moved in, if you know what I mean,” Finn said.
“I hear that a lot from clients,” Nora said thoughtfully.
“Clients?”
“Yeah. I do interior design,” Nora said, flashing him a wan smile. A little reminder that they were in his house, they were mates, but they were also strangers.
“Ah. I imagine that living so far outside the city isn’t going to be great for that,” Finn said, frowning.
“I’m thinking of starting my own firm, so it doesn’t matter so much,” Nora said. She seemed to choose her words carefully, holding back what she thought he didn’t want to hear. Finn thought of the night before, how she’d said she’d planned her job and future with Wyatt.
His improving mood slid away, pulling back to reveal the ever-present thought that again, for the hundredth time, Finn came in second place. He’d always been too mild-mannered to compete with Noah and Wyatt back when they were in school. When girls got to know him and Noah, they always went for Noah’s intensity and charm. Wyatt was a different kind of draw, but magnetic nonetheless.
Finn had screwed things up when he met Charlotte, immediately ceding her to Noah. Now he was strapped with a mate who’d showed up expecting the wild ride that was Wyatt. She had nothing but disappointment in store, because Finn and Wyatt were impossibly different.
Finn had only just really found himself this year, and he damn sure wasn’t going to sacrifice that to anyone else. No matter how pretty she might be…
Finn glared at his house, wishing he could set Nora’s bedroom up in one of the upstairs rooms. Sadly, they were unfinished. Suddenly it struck Finn that he didn’t have a great place to put her suitcases… or let her sleep.
“Earth to Finn, come in Finn,” Nora joked, waving a hand in front of his face.
“Ah,” he said, mostly to himself. “Sorry, I just realized I’m not really prepared for company.”
Nora looked around, then shrugged.
“Looks clean enough to me,” she said, unruffled.
It was true; Finn’s sparsely-furnished kitchen, living room, and dining room were close to spotless. Less due to his personal orderliness and more due to the fact that he hardly used them, but Nora didn’t need to know that.
“I meant that I don’t have the guest room made up,” he said. “If it’s okay, I’m going to put you in my bedroom for now.”
Nora gave him a sharp glance, and he realized what she thought.
“Umm, I’ll bunk down in my office,” he clarified.
She made a noncommittal noise, and Finn guessed he’d just have to take that for now. He led her to the back hallway, which housed Finn’s cluttered office, the single bedroom, and a tiny bathroom. He showed her his office and the bathroom first, then dropped all her suitcases on his bed.
“I’ll wash the sheets and stuff today,” he said, staring down at her rubbing the back of his neck. She looked so small here amongst his things, lovely and delicate yet very out of place.
“—tour?”
Finn blinked, realizing that Nora was talking to him.
“Of the farm,” she said slowly, giving him that questioning look again.
“Oh. Uhhhh…” Finn looked at his watch. “Noah and Charlotte will be here any minute. Maybe you can check it out in a couple of hours, if that’s okay?”
“Sure,” Nora said, looking a little deflated.
He was at a loss for a minute, not knowing what to do next. Luckily, Finn’s cell phone chirped, and he pulled it from his pocket to find a text from Noah.
“Perfect timing. They’re here,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief.
Finn headed for the front door, swinging it wide. Charlotte was already halfway to the house, while Noah pulled several paper grocery bags from the backseat. Charlotte pulled Finn into a quick hug, her wide eyes conveying her sympathies for his situation.
Noah stepped up and dropped his bags on the porch, giving Finn a hard glance.
“Right!” Finn said, realizing his gaffe. “Noah, Charlotte, this is Nora.”
Nora eyed Noah with a surprised smile. She accepted a friendly handshake from both newcomers.
“So nice to meet you,” Charlotte said, giving Nora a huge grin. “They’re freaky, right? Like looking at the same guy in two different dimensions.”
Nora laughed and nodded.
“Yeah, basically,” Nora agreed. “It’s… something.”
Finn tried not to feel jealous over the way Nora examined Noah for another long beat; as usual, he couldn’t help but wonder how he measured up to his twin.
“Don’t get any ideas,” Charlotte joked. “Noah’s a one-woman man.”
Nora blushed.
“Not a problem,” Nora said, rolling her eyes. “One mate is more than enough, don’t you think?”
“You got that right, sister,” Charlotte said. She turned and patted Noah on the shoulder, giggling at his playful smirk.
“We brought groceries. Figured you still didn’t have any food in that fridge,” Noah offered.
“Guilty,” Finn said, leaning in to snag two of the brown paper bags.
“Hope salmon is alright for lunch,” Charlotte fussed. “I brought stuff for sandwiches too, though.”
“Salmon’s good,” Nora said, in response to Charlotte’s questioning look.
“You know I’ll eat anything,” Finn said. He gave Noah a long look, wondering how he could get his twin alone and explain the situation to date.
“Ah, ladies,” Noah said, reading Finn perfectly. “How’s about you two occupy yourselves with some drinks on the porch? Finn and I can handle lunch, I think.”
Charlotte gave her mate a knowing smile.
“We brought the stuff to make basil gin lemonades,” Charlotte exclaimed, rushing to unpack the bags, then stopping and turning to Nora. “Oh! I didn’t think to ask if you drink.”
“Oh, god yes,” Nora said.
“Excellent!” Charlotte crowed.
In a matter of minutes, Charlotte and Nora were out on the porch, sitting on the front steps.
“Charlotte will give her the lowdown on the whole family in no time,” Noah said, shooting the front door a meaningful glance.
“No doubt.”
Finn pulled out the salmon, red potatoes, and asparagus, starting the prep for lunch.
“You gonna just cook that fish, or you gonna tell me what the hell happened?” Noah said, grabbing a couple of cloves of garlic and a cutting board. Finn opened a rusted kitchen drawer and pulled out a chef’s knife, handing it over to his twin.
“Wyatt happened,” Finn said. “I may actually, literally kill him.”
“Char’s halfway there. She’d do it with a grin, I
think. I told her she’s being weirdly protective,” Noah said, using the knife to mince the garlic, then dumping it into a small frying pan. He drizzled a little olive oil and turned on the old gas stove. In moments, the delicious smell of garlic filled the kitchen.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, man,” Finn admitted to Noah. “She walked down that aisle expecting to mate Wyatt.”
“She did? You’re kidding,” Noah said, turning to glance out the window at Nora. “Maybe you’re wrong. She doesn’t look like a complete idiot.”
“She told me so. Wyatt wrangled some fucking deal with the Craig Alpha, and Nora was part of it.”
Noah snorted.
“And then he backed the hell out of there at full speed. Typical Wyatt.” Noah shook his head. “The question is, how did you not just punch him in the face and take off running?”
“Craig made it clear that we weren’t leaving until the ceremony was over. Wyatt waltzed us both right in there, knowing full well that if one of us didn’t do it, we were dead.”
Noah stilled, anger darkening his expression.
“Damn him. He has a reckoning coming. I mean it.”
Finn took a deep breath, refusing to let the another wave of useless fury fill his heart.
“I’m not really focused on Wyatt. I just don’t…” Finn gave a frustrated groan. “What am I supposed to do with her, Noe?”
Noah grabbed some salt and pepper from Finn’s meager pantry and seasoned the fish, mulling it over.
“You can’t think of this as a temporary thing, Finny. You need to woo her a little, try to make it work. She’s your one and only, man.”
“How can I woo someone who’s in love with my asshole of a brother?” Finn asked, slamming a hand on the counter.
“Whoa, whoa,” Noah said, holding up a hand. “I think you’re rushing a little on this love thing. From what I know, she and Wyatt have only met a few times.”
“She said she’d started to plan her life with him in Chicago. She was job hunting out there,” Finn griped.
“Yeah, but maybe she was just making the best of a bad situation,” Noah pointed out, laying the salmon on a cookie sheet. He washed his hands and turned the oven on.