“This is Finley,” he says, introducing me as I offer Asher my hand.
He takes it, his rough-from-work fingers reminding me of Noah.
“It’s nice to finally meet you.”
He smiles at me and then turns to Noah. “She’s pretty.”
Noah drapes his arm around my shoulders, a hint of possessiveness in his movements causing my heart to flutter. “I noticed.”
My eyes move around the workshop. It’s brilliantly set up. There are large vents above the table saw to pull wood dust from the air, and separate zones for wood carving and staining. There are pieces in various stages of completion around the space. Each one is more stunning than the last.
“You keep working. I’m going to show Finley the cabin.”
“I’ll come down as soon as I’m done in here,” Asher says.
Once we’re back outside Noah says, “Don’t be offended if we don’t see him again until we leave.”
I laugh and take his hand. “I’ve been warned.”
As we make our way to the path Noah pointed out earlier, I get my first glimpse of the lake. It roots me where I stand. Noah, not realizing I had stopped, rocks to a halt when he tries to move forward and I don’t come.
“It’s so beautiful,” I sigh.
He squeezes my hand. “I thought you’d like it. Wait until you see the view from the cabin.”
That gets me moving. The cabin is simple. It’s a log cabin with one main room and a small bathroom. The focal point of it is a large picture window overlooking the lake.
“Wow,” I breathe, crossing the room to stand in front of the window.
The lake is small; some would even call it a pond. Its size does nothing to distract from how beautiful it is. If anything it makes it seem all the more magical with its lush circle of snow dusted pine trees surrounding it.
“Can we walk down there?” I ask, pointing to the water.
He offers me his hand. “Let’s go.”
There are stone steps leading down to the water’s edge. Someone, probably Asher, cleared the snow from them. There’s a wooden dock to the left of the base of the stairs, below Asher’s workshop. There’s another set of stone stairs on the other side of Asher’s workshop, this one leading to a small beach.
“He has a beach!” I point at the beach and jump up and down excitedly.
Noah laughs and tugs me onto the dock. “We can come back next summer.”
“Good. You were right. This place is amazing.”
He smiles at me. “I thought you’d like it here.”
“You thought right,” I reply, and then add, “are you sure we couldn’t ice skate on that lake?”
His head jerks with his laugh. “If it’s cold enough, maybe in January.”
We both sit at the end of the dock and take in the beauty of this place. It’s almost too perfect up here. I’m happy to have Noah to share it with. This place, though peaceful, is lonely in a sad way. My thoughts shift to Asher and my heart hurts that he has no one to keep him company here.
“Do you ever worry about your brother?” I ask, changing the subject.
“All the time. I hate that he isolates himself the way he does and feel guilty I don’t come up here to check on him that much.”
“Does he deliver the pieces he makes?” I ask and Noah shakes his head.
“He does most of his business online and has a delivery service handle the shipping and installation.”
“What about food?”
“There’s a woman who comes out once a week to clean. She also does his grocery shopping. She even stocked the cabin for us this weekend.”
“Does he date?”
He tips his head down to look at me. “Why? Are you interested?”
I elbow him. “I’m curious, not interested. But, I have to say I have about ten friends in Texas that would sleep with him on sight alone.”
Noah blinks. “What?”
I grin up at him. “Your brothers are hot. Don’t worry though, I think you’re the hottest of the bunch.”
He growls and gives me a kiss so hot my toes curl. “Don’t you forget it.”
We sit there for what seems like hours. I pull out my phone to snap pictures for my mom.
It’s not until Noah’s stomach grumbles and we both want to warm up that we head inside. I stay in the cabin and get a fire going in the woodstove while Noah walks back up to his truck to get our bags. He’s faster than I am and starts a late lunch for us after I refuse his help with the fire. I’m a New Englander now; I need to be able to start my own fires.
After I get the fire going and confirm Noah has lunch well under way, I explore the small cabin. “Did your brother make all of this furniture?”
“Not only the furniture, he built his house, the workshop and this cabin.”
My mouth drops open. “He did?”
He grins at me. “He had help, but yeah Asher built these.”
“That’s so cool.”
He carries two plates over and we sit on a wood framed sofa to eat. “It was a big project for him to tackle.”
“What did your parents think about him moving up here?”
From what I’ve seen of his family they are all close and tied to Woodlake.
“The land has been in the family for generations on my mother’s side. My uncle inherited it and since he didn’t have any kids, he offered it to us before he sold it. The money wasn’t important to him but keeping it in the family was.
“He didn’t have any kids and was moving to Belize. My parents didn’t want it but would have bought it if none of us kids wanted it just to keep someone else from buying it. Asher surprised all of us by not only wanting the land but wanting to build on it.
“He was working for my dad before Eli took over the store and hated it. He’s never been comfortable around people and with the way he looks, he got attention he didn’t want living in the city.”
“Was there anything up here or did he have to build from scratch?”
“Our uncle used to fish up here so there was a shack. It was where this cabin sits now. He lived in that shack while he built his house. I’ll never forget the day he finished it. He proved everyone wrong.”
“He sure did.” I look around, even more impressed now. “So, where are we sleeping tonight?”
One thing I noticed about the cabin was its lack of a bed.
Noah stands and walks over to a cabinet built into one of the cabin walls. He grasps a hook I didn’t notice and pulls downward.
“Oh cool,” I say as I stand. “It’s a murphy bed.”
Once Noah has the bed all the way down he lies across it. “Care to join me?”
I cross the room to the door and flip the lock. “Should we close the curtains?”
“And miss out on the view?” Noah counters, tugging off his sweater.
I undress as I close the distance between us. “Will you be looking out the window or at me?”
He pulls me into his arms and kisses me, effectively giving me his answer. For the rest of the weekend we do our best to ignore the view.
18
Noah
“Let me get that.” I jump up when I see Finley struggling to carry a box.
We’ve been home from our weekend away at the cabin for two weeks and things are moving along exactly how I want them to. Well, not exactly. If I’m being honest, I’d rather she just be my wife now.
I love her. Hell, after one weekend with her, even Asher’s half in love with her now. Watching her pull him out of his shell was almost magical. She has this way of making people feel comfortable. It must come in handy since she talks to so many people for her job.
“I have it,” she argues but doesn’t resist my taking it from her.
“Where do you want it?”
She motions to her milk crate coffee table. The crates’ days are numbered. We dug out an old steamer trunk out of her shed. It was filthy, but after Finley got it cleaned up, she fell in love with it. She painted it earl
ier and now, it’s drying on a stack of newspaper in her office.
Once I set it down, she pulls a photo album out from the top and motions for me to sit down. She sits next to me and flips it open, gently stroking her hand over the first picture. It’s her, on her wedding day.
“God, look at you,” I breathe.
I’m jealous of the asshole who was lucky enough to marry her. He should have treasured the gift he was given but instead broke her. He never deserved her. That’ll be the regret he has to live with for the rest of his miserable life. There’s no way I’ll ever make the mistake of not cherishing her.
Her lips tip up in a small smile and she turns the page. There are more pictures, snapshots and not the professional full-length pictures of her. In the first one she’s in a robe getting her hair done. The next one is of her with her bridesmaids. Then there’s one of her with her flower girl.
“My mom brought this box with her when they came. I wasn’t ready to look at these photos then.”
She pulls in a breath while I hold mine.
“That’s my cousin Heather.” She taps the picture with her fingertip.
She turns the page and I see Allen at once.
Her fingertips nervously dance over his photo. “We were so young.”
“You need to talk to someone about him.”
She gives me a wet laugh, lifting her sleeve to her nose. “But, we’re divorced.”
I hug her to me. “That doesn’t erase your marriage.”
She sags against me and I turn the next page for her.
“My dad hated that tie,” she mutters, pointing at a photo of her parents. “My mom fussed over it all day.”
She sucks in a breath when we get to the picture of their first kiss as man and wife.
“I was so angry at him for coming here.”
“Finley.”
She gulps.
I turn the page. “He wasn’t the same man you married.”
“I know,” she agrees, even though her tone doesn’t.
Page after page, we flip through her entire album, a single teardrop splashes on the final page.
She hurriedly cleans it away, it’s streak blurring the image of them looking out the doorway of a limo, waving goodbye.
I close the album, lean forward to place it on top of the box and then lean back to settle her across my lap.
She cries herself out, eventually falling asleep on me. Once I’m certain I won’t wake her, I shift her fully onto the sofa and cover her with a blanket.
Then I carry the box upstairs to one of the spare rooms. I’ll tell her if she asks but I don’t want her getting upset all over again. Fin has been bottling up all the emotions her ex’s visit created. As much as I hate to see her hurting, she’s processing years’ worth of anger and betrayal. He’s lucky he’s back in Texas since all I want to do is kick his ass for all the shit he put her through.
I’m on the bottom step when someone knocks on the door. Looking in the direction of the den I race over to it and open it before whoever is on the other side can knock again.
“Hey, Abby,” I say, surprised to find my sister there. “What are you doing here?”
She shrugs, stepping past me. “I had an open house not far from here. Where’s Finley?”
“She’s napping in the den.”
Abby takes a step back. “Is it a bad time? I wanted to see the top floor.”
She hasn’t been by since we finished it and her arrival might be a blessing in disguise. “Now’s good. We won’t wake her up there.”
She steps out of her boots, setting them on a drip tray Finley set up by the door.
“Oh, is that chalk paint?” She asks, pointing to the steamer trunk.
“Yep,” I say.
“I like the teal,” she whispers.
Then she pulls off her hat and gloves, shoving them into the pockets of her coat before shrugging it off. I take it and drape it over the bottom post of the bannister.
She follows me up the stairs. Some random stuff Finley found in the shed is currently all that’s up there.
“Is she still going to move her office up here?” Abby asks, moving to look out one of the dormer windows.
“Not anytime soon.” I shake my head. “She’s gotten used to having her office downstairs.”
“She should get a roommate,” Abby says, clearly on a fishing expedition.
I don’t take the bait. “Why would she need a roommate?”
Abby gives me a not so innocent shrug. “This big old place and her all by herself.”
“You know she’s not by herself,” I grumble.
“Oh?” She acts surprised. “Are you moving in?”
“Abby,” I warn.
“Well, why not? You’re in love with her,” she argues.
“Now’s not a good time.” I take a seat in one of the chairs.
She moves quickly to sit across from me. “That doesn’t sound good. What happened?”
“She was crying over their wedding album today.”
She cringes. “That’s awful.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I hate seeing her upset.”
“It’s a good sign she trusts you enough to show her emotions in front of you,” Abby says sympathetically.
I drop my hand. “It is?”
She nods. “Can I do anything?”
“I don’t know,” I admit.
She reaches across the table to grab my hand. “I’m sorry I was being so pushy earlier about you moving in.”
I give her hand a squeeze. “It’s okay.”
“Give her time. It’s probably a good thing she looked at those pictures.”
“You think?” I ask, wondering if it’s a bad thing that I put the box away.
“Of course. Better to cry about it than bottle it all up.”
I stand, letting go of her hand. “I need to do something. Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
With care to not make a racket, I pull the box with the album out of the spare closet and carry it back downstairs. If crying will help her, I’ll hold her everyday until she’s run out of tears.
Finley hasn’t moved an inch from where I settled her. Her eyes are red rimmed from her tears, but she’s still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
“What did you dash off for?” Abby asks as soon as I’m back.
“Did what I could to avoid a bottle up.”
She nods. “She’ll get past this, I’m sure of it.”
“Thanks Abs.” I smile.
A soft smile spreads across her face, reminding me so much of our mother. “Enough about us. Any big deals since the last time we talked?”
She stretches her neck to one side, massaging it with her fingertips. She wrinkles her nose. “It’s too cold. Everyone stays inside if they can.”
When I frown, she’s quick to defend herself. “Oh don’t make a face. It happens every year. I’m used to it and have been a good little ant, saving all spring and summer.”
“Don’t let Gideon hear you calling yourself an ant,” I tease.
She crosses her arms. “It’s not my fault you’re all giants.”
“Fair enough, ant,” I joke.
Then both of our phones ring.
I pull mine out and furrow my brow. “It’s Dad.”
Abby holds up her phone. “Eli is calling me.”
“That’s strange timing.” Prickles of unease crawl up the back of my neck as I answer.
“Dad?”
“We’re at All Saints. They think mom might have a blood clot,” he tells me, his voice coming out in a rush.
I stand as soon as he says All Saints, Woodlake’s main hospital. “Abby’s with me. We’re on the way.”
Eli must have given the news to her. With her phone to her ear, she’s pale as she follows me. This time I make no effort to silence my steps down the stairs.
“Finley.” I shake her shoulder trying to wake her.
She blinks open her eyes. One good look at my face has
her quickly sitting upright. “What happened?”
“My mom’s at the hospital. I need to go but didn’t want you to worry.”
She reaches for my hand. “I’m coming with you.”
“You’ve had a rough day.” I argue but it’s weak. I want her with me but don’t want her to feel obligated.
She stands, ignoring my half-hearted protest. “You’re not talking me out of this.”
When she sees Abby her brows come together in confusion. “Abby?”
“You were asleep when I got here. It’s snowing so you’ll want a sweater, a warm coat and some boots.” Then her eyes move to me. “Give me your keys. I’ll start warming up your truck.”
“They’re on the kitchen counter,” I tell her, watching Finley hurry out of the room.
“Let her be there for you.” Abby steps close to me, touching my arm, her eyes following the direction of my gaze.
All I can think of is our mom. “Was Eli calling Asher and Gideon?”
“Gideon was the one who called Dad and Eli. I think one of them tried to call Ash but if he’s in his workshop there’s no telling if he knows or not.”
“All set,” Finley says, dashing back into the room.
“I still need to warm the truck,” Abby says, leaving before I have a chance to ask her anything else.
“What’s wrong with your mom?” Finley asks, pulling her purse strap up her arm.
“They said she might have a blood clot.” I try to keep my voice strong, but it wavers slightly.
She cringes but doesn’t say anything.
When we get to the truck, Abby crawls into the backseat. She checks her phone a hundred times on the way. Each time letting us know there’s no news. As much as I want to tell her to stop, I don’t. It’s her way of coping. I won’t take it away from her.
When we reach the hospital, I drop them at the main entrance. I find I miss Abby’s constant updates of no news during the short time it takes me to park.
Gideon meets me at the door.
“Why didn’t you call me?” I accuse.
He looks at his feet. “It all happened so fast. I managed one call to the store before they took us back.”
Fix Her Up (The Fix Book 1) Page 18