Bet in the Dark

by Rachel Higginson

  Fin was everything I wanted.

  Eventually, he slowed the kiss and pulled away. “I missed you Ellie. God, I missed you.”

  “It’s been a week, Fin,” I tried to sound exasperated but my voice was still breathless from his kiss.

  He rested his forehead against mine, “We have a lot to talk about, but my grandma will kill me if we’re late. She’s impatient to meet you.”

  “I’m also anxious to meet her,” I admitted.

  Fin cocked his head back and stared at me for a while, like he couldn’t believe I was here, like he couldn’t believe we were together again. Finally he said, “Then let’s go.”

  I grabbed my purse and then Fin led me down to his Jeep and soon we were on the road to the residential parts of La Crosse. His grandma lived in a precious little blue ranch with a front porch and winding front walkway. We parked on the street and Fin walked around to let me out. I was fine with getting out on my own, but he had sworn his grandma would kill him if she saw him lacking manners. He reached for my hand immediately, tugging me along behind him. There was a wheel chair ramp to the front door and we took it, with Fin smiling back at me the entire time.

  I was giddy with all his attention, ridiculously so.

  Fin’s grandma met us at the front door immediately reaching up to Fin, which was quite a ways and pulling him down so that she could kiss him soundly on the lips. I mashed my lips together to hide my smile, she was precious. Fin towered over her; she couldn’t be much more than five feet tall, with snow white curly hair and sharp gray eyes that snapped to me as soon as she was done with Fin.

  “Are you Eleanor?” she asked in her sweet old lady voice.

  “Ellie,” I corrected automatically. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Hunter.”

  “Oh sweetheart, call me Grandma, everyone else does.” She smiled at me and then reached out her hands so she could grab my face, just like she did Fin. I noticed when she had them placed on my cheeks how shaky they were and wondered if these were the signs that worried Fin and made him seek out more help for Declan. She kissed me on the forehead and while I was a little embarrassed, most of all I was blessed that she was offering me her acceptance already.

  “Grandma, I kiss her enough, she doesn’t need any more from you,” Fin teased.

  “Finley,” she gasped and swatted at his arm. “You’ll embarrass her.” She moved out of the way and Fin led me into the house.

  “I’m hoping to embarrass her,” he admitted. “I get jealous of those kisses; I don’t want her giving them out to anyone else.”

  Grandma was wrong though, I was too shocked to feel any embarrassment. My heart was pounding in my chest, my mind swirling with hope. This was going to be a good day..

  “My lands,” his Grandma gasped.

  Fin ignored her and led me to the dining room that was set up immaculately. The room was small, fitting only a long table, the chairs that went around it and a China hutch at the far end. Real China was set in each place and real silver silverware.

  “This is gorgeous,” I gasped. My parents had a full set of China that was promised to me in their will, but they never used it. It just sat untouched, even when they catered events at their house.

  “Grandma believes that Sunday lunch is an art form,” Fin explained.

  “At your house, it is,” I agreed.

  He smiled down at me, pleased I liked the table so well. His grandma started bringing in food just then so I wiggled out of Fin’s hand to see if I could help.

  “Can I help you bring the food in?” I asked politely.

  “That would be wonderful,” she agreed. “We’re still waiting on Tyler, but he knows better than to be late for lunch.”

  I shot Fin a glance and mouthed “Tyler?” He winked at me.

  Grandma continued, “Finley go get your brother. You’re going to have to pull him away from his video games, but tell him you brought a girl for him, that will cheer him up.” She grinned at me and I was completely charmed by her.

  Fin mouthed, “Are you Ok” to me and I rolled my eyes.

  Compared to my family, his was a peaceful walk through the park.

  By the time Grandma and I had the food spread out on the table, Ty had in fact arrived and Fin pushed Declan to the head of the table where his wheelchair could fit comfortably. Fin and Tyler took the seats closest to Declan, leaving Grandma and I to sit at the other end.

  Declan stared at me for a while and I couldn’t help but stare back. He looked like a younger version of Fin, with tussled hair and a strong jaw, only his rested slightly askew. His eyes were the same dark, rich brown and were just as sharp as Fin’s and his grandma’s. His head rested against a neck brace that hung around his shoulders and his hands clutched at the controls to his automatic wheelchair.

  “Fin, introduce me to your girlfriend,” Declan demanded through mumbled words.

  “She’s not my girlfriend yet, Dec, I have to convince her first,” Fin grinned at his brother. “Got any tips?”

  “Have you kissed her?” he asked innocently. I smiled because he was so adorable and so much like Fin.

  “Of course, brother. Look at her,” Fin turned to me and smiled. In this setting, he was the man of the house and he looked and acted like it. He sat up straight and commanded attention. Even next to Ty, who I assumed incorrectly would dwarf him; Fin played this role very well.

  “Good point,” Declan admitted and then suggested. “Have you sent her to Ty? Ty always straightens you out.”

  Fin opened his mouth to say something but I interjected, “He did send me to Ty. And Ty did straighten me out. Or tried to at least.”

  “That’s right, Dec, I told her what a good man your brother was, don’t you worry.” Ty agreed gruffly.

  “And she still doesn’t want to be your girlfriend?” Declan asked Fin seeming genuinely confused by this. Fin shrugged apparently not so sure anymore and Declan took the opportunity to jump in and announce, “Good, then she can be mine.”

  Ty, Fin and I burst into laughter while Grandma chastised him from across the table. After that Fin said grace per Grandma’s request and then the food was passed around. We fell into comfortable conversation, laughing and joking.

  I easily fell in love with Declan, faster and harder than I ever had with Fin. He was so sweet and charming, I couldn’t help myself. And all the while I interacted with Fin’s family he sat back with an arm across my chair just watching me, like I was the most precious thing he’d ever held. And I fell for him all over again when he patiently helped feed his brother, leaving Declan with both his dignity and pride. Fin humbled me in a way no other person had before, leaving my heart a big mushy puddle of love.

  I enjoyed watching how everyone interacted and even how they included Ty and forced him to relax. Ty told me that he was meant to do something for this family but over lunch I could easily see how much they were doing for him too.

  “Now, Tyler,” Grandma cut in very sternly. “When are you going to bring over a girl? If Fin can find a good one, I know you can.”

  “Hey!” Fin objected.

  “Turns out they’re not so easy to find, Grandma,” Tyler ignored Fin completely. “And besides, has your grandson told you how he went about getting this one? He forced her to work for him and held her hostage by a huge debt of money.”

  Fin paled next to me, I watched the color drain out of his face from the corner of my eye. If I wasn’t so amused by it I would have probably gone to his rescue. Maybe….

  “Finley Davis Hunter is that true?” his grandma gasped while Declan laughed.

  “By the way,” Ty cut back in. “You should have come to me first, son. I’ve been trying to help this family for the last three years and not one of you has let me so far. I’m giving you this money. If you want to pay me back you can, but I won’t argue about it. You’re going to take the money.”

  Tears immediately pricked at my eyes and not at all because that meant I was free from the debt. Fin already made me f
eel like the debt was forgiven. These tears were for Declan, because no matter what happened between Fin and me I was never going to be able to come up with that kind of money.

  “What’s this money for?” Grandma demanded, setting her knife and fork down.

  “Declan’s facility, Grandma,” Fin explained. “Thanks for the offer Ty, but I don’t need it.”

  “What do you mean you don’t need it?” I snapped, whirling around to face him.

  Fin chuckled, and then explained, “It became clear very early on that you were not going to be able to come up with the money, Ellie. Besides, it was only seven thousand dollars. I knew it wouldn’t take much for me to come up with that, so I made some small changes.” He shrugged casually like I hadn’t been obsessed with this amount of money for the last six weeks. “I was able to save the majority of it pretty easily.”

  “What changes did you make?” I gritted out.

  “I cut back on my expenses, upped my cut on the games and stopped dating random girls.” Fin grinned at me.

  I was gaping at him, mouth unhinged, eyes bugged out, hands shaking. “What?” I squeaked. “I’ve been sick over this money!”

  “I told you not to worry about it,” he reminded me sternly as if I should have listened to him.

  “Yes, I know you told me that. But I did it anyway!” I argued helplessly. “I did worry. And I even saved money. Plus all that time I spent with you! I can’t believe this!”

  “You don’t regret the time you spent with me, do you?” Fin teased. He didn’t even feel bad about this, not even a little bit.

  “Yes, I do. Some of the time I do regret.” But then I broke into a smile and ruined the whole thing. “But what about the money I saved?”

  “How much did you save?” he asked carefully.

  “Like,” I cleared my throat, embarrassed to admit this next part. “Like fifty dollars.”

  Ty and Fin broke out into laughter. Even Declan smiled at me.

  “Ellie you exist on Ramen Noodles and pay for gas in loose change. I never really had high expectations for you to pay me back. Besides, I have been meaning to take a bigger take of the winnings anyway.”

  I sat back in my chair speechless.

  “So you don’t need any help?” Ty asked gruffly.

  “Thanks man, but no I don’t.”

  “This means Declan can go now? We can afford the facility?” Grandma asked with so much hope in her voice I almost started to cry again.

  “Yep, Dec, it’s for sure now, you can go,” Fin said proudly.

  To which Ty grunted.

  Men.

  After dinner I helped clear the table and do the dishes. Grandma promised that Ty and Fin often offered to help but she didn’t trust them near the China. And while I dried every dish carefully, very, very carefully, she explained what an honor it was to be able to help in the kitchen. I was apparently the first person she had let in there in over thirty six years, since Fin’s mom which she professed was a terrible mistake.

  And in the end I did feel privileged. Especially when she took my forearm in her little grasp and started crying all over again because of how happy she was Fin found a girl for him, a girl he like enough to bring home and meet her.

  He interrupted our waterworks and asked me to go sit out back with him.

  Grandma patted my arm and said, “Go on then, when a good man like that asks you to sit with him you just say yes.”

  “Ok, yes,” I smiled down at her and then followed Fin out back.

  The backyard was just as charming as the front of the house with big flower beds and a charming patio swing that was shaded underneath a huge maple tree. We sat swinging for a little while in silence just enjoying the warm spring afternoon and each other.

  “You should have told me about your back up plan,” I scolded, only barely holding on to my resentment over the whole thing.

  “I should have. But I was a little bit afraid. You were so upset over the idea of me just forgiving the debt, I didn’t think the fact that I didn’t need the money would make much of a difference. It was never a big deal for me. Even in the beginning. I’ve had losers walk away from their debt before and I’ve taken the loss, but you were by far the biggest amount. I just didn’t know how to tell you and still keep you.” Fin took a breath and admitted, “I’ve known for a while that the debt wasn’t yours.”

  “What?” I gasped not exactly expecting him to lead with that. “You made me go through all of that and you didn’t think I ever lost all that money?”

  “No, at first, there wasn’t really another explanation. I thought you were just scared of your own consequences. But as soon as I got to know you I realized you wouldn’t have tried to flake out on losing, and you never would have got involved unless you could have paid in the first place. But by then I liked having you around and I didn’t know how to get out of the mess I’d made. It seemed I was always falling for you, since that first time in your apartment when you thought I was a drug dealer. And I just kept falling, harder, faster…. forever, until finally I was in love with you and there was nothing else I could do about it.”

  I officially stopped breathing. Turning my head so I could meet his gaze, I asked, “You’re in love with me?”

  “Since you made me your Burgerwich,” he said seriously. “I was never going to make you pay that money, I just didn’t want you to stop coming over. I didn’t want to have to work any harder for you; I just wanted you to be mine. And then I didn’t know how to tell you that, how to make you forget about it. You threw all that moral high ground at me and I realized what a huge mistake I’d make. I was an idiot. Will you forgive me?”

  “Yes,” I nodded quickly. And I did, for everything.

  Fin broke out into a blinding smile that lit up his whole face. “And will you let me help you fall in love with me too?”

  I sucked in a breath at his question. He was the vulnerable Fin again, the one that opened himself up so carefully and asked for the simplest things…. a better place for the brother he lived, a nice life for his grandma, the love of a girl that was already way past loving him.

  “You don’t have to,” I shrugged, loving that instead of giving up his eyes became steely with determination. “I’m way past loving you; I’m onto the next thing, like really, really loving you or something.”

  “Don’t joke around, Ellie, tell me your serious,” he demanded, the authoritative tone cutting the air between us.

  “Yeesh, you’re always so bossy!” I grumbled but fell forward, grabbing at his shirt to hold myself against his chest. I looked up at him and smiled. “I’m being serious, Finley Hunter. I love you. I have for a while now, although not as early as the Burgerwich.”

  His palm cupped my jaw and his thumb brushed against my cheekbone, “The real kind of love? Not just the kind you say but don’t mean?”

  “The real kind,” I promised. “The kind that has a future, so you better hope you don’t get tired of me.”

  “Does that mean you’ll introduce me to your family?” he asked carefully.

  “Sure,” I tilted up so I could kiss his chin and he pulled me against him, tucking me into him. “Apparently you’ve already met Lennox and Grayson.”

  I felt it through his whole body when he smiled. “They had no idea why you were so worried.”

  I snorted something unintelligible. We were silent again and then I said, “You should probably tell me you love me again.”

  He chuckled, his chest shaking against me, “I love you, Ellie. You came into my life and demanded that I paid attention. I’m not letting you go, I won’t. I’ve let a lot of things go in my life, things that needed to be set free, things that if I didn’t release I would have become bitter and empty. You are not one of those things; you are one of the rare, beautiful things that I am desperate to keep. I want you forever, Ellie.”

  I turned to face him, ignoring the tears pooling in my eyes and kissed him long and hard until cat calls and whistles could be heard throug
h the window from Declan and Ty. Finally I said, “I love you too.”

  And Fin said, “Good.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “Alright, B,” I called down the hall. “I’m going to help Fin with his big poker game.”

  She poked her head out into the hall and threw me a sly smile, “Is that what the kids call it these days? You didn’t tell me Fin had a big poker game.”

  “Oh my gosh,” I laughed. “I’m telling Beckett to start texting you again.” I threatened on my way to the door.

  “Don’t you dare!” she squealed and then ducked back into her room. “I just got him to stop!”

  I laughed at her, wondering how my brother was really handling rejection for the first time in his life. Probably not well.

  Oh well.

  I pulled on the door and came to a screaming halt. Literally. Tara was standing on the other side of the door with her hand poised to knock.

  “Sorry,” I breathed when I finally stopped screeching. “You scared me.”

  “I could tell,” she intoned dryly. She looked pretty much the same, her wild faded pink dreads a mess in a ponytail on the top of her head. Her light blue eyes were bloodshot and dull but clearer than I’d seen them in the past and her skin had just a touch more sun to it than the last I’d seen of her.

  It had only been six weeks since we’d said goodbye in this very place, but it felt like a lifetime. I was a different person now, but I highly doubted she was.

  “What do you want, Tara?” I asked with little patience.

  She suddenly seemed on edge, like she was meeting me for the first time and she was nervous. “I just came by to talk, Ellie.”

  “Oh.” That kind of threw me; I guess I wasn’t expecting that. “Well, I’m on my way out actually, to dinner.” I mentioned dinner as a reminder of the last time we’d talked, but by her blank expression I didn’t think she remembered saying that phrase to me moments before my whole life fell apart.

  “I’ll be quick.” She gave me a sheepish smile and I felt my resolve cracking just a little.

  “Ok, I guess.”