On the heels of that thought came another. Did Brady know he and Anna were seeing each other? He’d thought their night in the motel was their secret, but obviously there were conversations happening he wasn’t a part of.
“I knew my birth mother was from this area, but I didn’t know she was still here. I was born in Colorado, so I just assumed she was still there.” She picked what had to have been a very tiny piece of lint off her sleeve, since he couldn’t see it. “Of course I recognized the name of the town when the team reviewed your grandmother’s application, and I was looking forward to seeing some of the places where my mom would have been when she was a kid. I didn’t expect to actually meet her.”
“That’s quite a coincidence,” he said, and then he wanted to kick himself. Gram’s application was not something he wanted anybody dwelling on, but especially not Anna. He decided it was best to steer Anna away from how she’d ended up here and more toward her family. “You’ve actually met Christy, then?”
“Brady drove me to her house and we talked. Not for long, but enough to break the ice, I guess.”
Finn remembered the day Brady had gone to Gram’s house to go over the electrical with the Relic Rehab crew—the way he’d stopped short and stared at Anna. He supposed there was a resemblance between mother and daughter, though he hadn’t really noticed it until he’d heard somebody whispering about it at the café.
“Who told you?” she asked, squinting at him because the sun was low behind him and probably reflecting off the river.
“I’m actually not sure who was doing the talking, but I heard two women whispering about it when I stopped at the café to grab a breakfast sandwich. It was just speculation, but it rang true. So I guess you and everybody else involved should know it’s not really a secret anymore.”
“I’m probably the only person who cared if it was a secret, but I’m a pretty private person. My husband cheating with a professional rival of mine and our subsequent divorce was well covered by the tabloids, so I’m not one for sharing a lot these days.”
He knew she’d been divorced. He wasn’t sure if she’d mentioned it in passing or if one of his family members had talked about it. But this was the first time he heard the lingering hurt and bitterness in her voice, and he could see why she wouldn’t want her personal life on display, even in as benign a way as small-town gossip.
“Obviously you and Brady are doing okay,” he said, trying to ignore his annoyance with his best friend for not telling him what was going on. It was probably a tough spot for Brady to be in. “How did your meeting with Christy go?”
“Better than I expected, actually.” Her face softened, and he wished they weren’t standing on rocks in the river, so he could wrap his arms around her. “I thought I would have a lot more anger, but it turns out that she really did just do what was best for me, out of love. It’s hard to fault her for that. My dad? I’m still struggling with him a little because keeping it a secret made it much more traumatic for me than it needed to be.”
Secrets definitely made a mess of things, and that awareness made him uncomfortable. He hated that he was keeping secrets from Anna, and it made him sad to imagine how different things could be if he wasn’t hiding things from her and they could live their lives on their own terms.
“So you’ll have a relationship with Christy, then?” he asked. Maybe the town grapevine buzzing about her wouldn’t be as painful if there was no reason to keep it a secret.
“Yes, I think so. I’m actually having dinner with the entire family tomorrow night. I guess they usually do it on Fridays, but I haven’t met Chris yet and they’re going on vacation, so...tomorrow it is. Since you already know about me and Christy, and you’re practically part of their family anyway, do you want to come with me?”
“It seems like kind of a big deal for you,” he said. “With a lot of people. Are you looking for an ally?”
“Not an ally, really.” She gave a nervous little laugh. “I’d say it’s more like taking you home to meet my family, but you’ve known my family your entire life and I’m the one meeting some of them, so...”
Like a boyfriend. The thought brought a rush of pleasure, and he hopped to a rock that was closer to her so he could take her hand. Then he lifted it to his mouth and kissed her palm.
“I would be honored to go with you to your family dinner.”
She giggled in a way that made him feel young again, and he held her hand as they navigated the rocks back to shore. Then he kissed her softly, his hands on her waist.
“This has been a very good day,” she whispered against his lips.
“It’s not over yet,” he whispered back before he kissed her some more.
She was right. Today had been a very good day—one of the best, except for the little black rain cloud always hovering in the back of his mind to remind him that all of this was fleeting.
Even if she never found out the truth about the Bayview Inn, he knew. It ate at him every time he was with her and if not for the possible repercussions Gram could face, he would have confessed long ago. But he couldn’t.
And whether she found out the truth or not, she wasn’t staying in Blackberry Bay. She had a home in Connecticut. A successful television show. Book tours and whatever else she had going on in her life. One way or another, he was going to have to let her go eventually.
Just not today.
Chapter Thirteen
They had reached the part of the renovation where the time flew by, and Anna was exhausted by the end of each day. They all were, but it was also the part of the renovation where it all started coming back together. This week they’d begun the process of refinishing the hardwood floors, as well, now that the heavier construction was over.
And a lot of work was getting done in the kitchen, too. Brady had been in and out over the course of the week, doing electrical as needed, and they’d be putting the new cabinets in soon. Anna liked to refinish original cabinetry as much as possible, but the Bayview Inn’s kitchen was so out of date that the large and clunky wood had to go.
She’d just gotten off the phone with the company delivering the counter and vanity tops when Tess walked into the kitchen. She was bent over slightly, one hand pressed to her back, and Anna was thankful Tess had accepted the suggestion that her bedroom be moved downstairs. It had upped the budget more than she liked, but it was worth it to make sure Tess’s home worked for her as well as future guests.
Assuming the Bayview Inn ever actually became an inn. Anna had her doubts about that. Not only because Tess’s family had their own lives to return to and it would be too much for her to handle alone. But also because she couldn’t imagine the older woman having the patience or tact to host strangers in her home. She adored Tess, but she was a handful.
“You look tired today,” Anna said gently. “You know you don’t have to be here, right? We can work around you for the day. And Alice and Joel are learning how to miter trim board corners. That’ll give Mike and Cody plenty of filming opportunities.”
Tess waved her hand as if didn’t matter. “I’m fine. Just feeling a little overwhelmed today. It’s a lot of change for an old bird like me.”
“I know, but I think you’ll find it’s all worth it in the end, and with a fresh new inside, this grand old house will be easier to keep up.”
“It’s a lot,” Tess said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. “This grand old house is definitely a lot to take care of, and the older she and I get, the more run-down we look and feel.”
It broke Anna’s heart to hear the thread of despair woven through the older woman’s words, but she knew she had to choose her words carefully. She didn’t want to let on that she knew about Tess’s scheme to get help, and she was also afraid that in her current mood, the older woman might say something that would incriminate her.
“Once the work is done and you can move back in, she’ll f
eel like home again. You’ll feel better when we’re all gone.”
Tess frowned and shook her head. “I don’t know about that. I like having you around. Maybe not the cameras and the other folks, but I wouldn’t mind if you stayed.”
You are not going to cry right now, Anna told herself firmly. “I like it here, too.”
She liked Blackberry Bay and Tess and Brady and all of them a lot, but she didn’t want her mind latching on to the idea of staying. The problem was that she liked Finn most of all, and she couldn’t help wondering how she would feel if he was talking about her staying and not his grandmother.
Her watch vibrated and she checked the notification to find a text message from Finn. Are you almost done?
Even though she’d already met and spent time with Brady and Christy, she’d woken up incredibly anxious about tonight’s dinner. That was a lot of family she didn’t know under one roof.
But she shouldn’t have worried. Chris was as wonderful as Brady. Not quite as outgoing, maybe, but kind and interested without being nosy. His wife, Marcy, was a teacher, and their boys, CJ and Benny, were a handful. Wrapping her mind around suddenly being an aunt to three nephews was a lot to process, but in a good way. And she’d already put their birthdates in her calendar so she could send gifts when the time came.
She already knew Reyna fairly well thanks to the new cupcake addiction she and Eryn had acquired. Once it was known Anna and Reyna were actually sisters-in-law, the length of time they spent chatting in the bakery had increased, and she liked Brady’s wife a lot. She hoped to find time to have lunch or a girls’ night with her before they wrapped up filming.
The dinner was actually a barbecue, so overall, it was a casual evening of them getting to know each other. Watching Finn with CJ, Benny and Parker was her favorite part, though. He had a way with the boys, and they all clearly adored him. They were comfortable together, and eventually Anna found herself sitting on the floor with them, building tall structures out of blocks that the boys could knock down. Judging by their laughter, it was a favorite activity of theirs.
“They like you,” he said quietly when the boys were lured away for a few minutes by the offering of pudding cups.
“They’re adorable. So much energy, though.”
“Do you see yourself having kids someday?” He asked the question casually enough, but she got the impression by the way he looked at her that he cared about her answer.
“I think so.” She sighed and looked at the boys who were feeding themselves pudding with varying degrees of success. Vanilla was definitely the right choice. “I was pretty focused on my career during my short marriage, and after the divorce...well, there was a lot more focus on my career. But I don’t see myself not having kids someday. What about you?”
“Yeah. I definitely want kids. I always assumed I would in a vague, someday sort of way, but since Parker came along and I’ve watched Brady with him, it’s not really a question anymore. I definitely want children, when the time is right.”
“Somebody needs to have a girl,” she said, and they both laughed.
They were interrupted, then, by Marcy and Christy wanting to know more about how filming was going and what it was like to be on TV, but throughout the rest of the evening, Anna’s gaze was constantly drawn to Finn and the kids.
This, she thought, looking around the large, loud and obviously happy family group. This was definitely something she wanted in her future. And it was Finn’s face she saw when she imagined who would be at her side.
She wanted to build a life—a family—like this with him. And even though the thought made her smile, deep down it scared the crap out of her. Sneaking around for motorcycle rides and amazing sex was one thing.
Putting her heart out there was another thing entirely.
* * *
The next day was a light day for the family because the crew was filming Anna doing something they called walk-throughs, which appeared to mean she walked through the rooms and talked about what they’d done so far and what they hoped to accomplish next. It involved a lot of talking and a lot of takes, so when his mother showed up with Grizz, Finn took advantage of the fact nobody cared what he was doing and went outside to play with the dog.
“Oh good, you’re here,” his mom said. “Can you watch him for a little while? I want to talk to your dad about a few things and I don’t want to bring him in with me.”
“I’m always up for dog-sitting.”
They played fetch for a while, using the raggedy old ball Grizz always brought with him for car trips. He loved riding in the car and it usually meant seeing new people. Those people didn’t always have balls or sticks to throw, so he brought his own.
But it was a warm day, so eventually they sat in the shade of a big elm tree and Finn idly rubbed the dog’s head. When he saw Anna step onto the front porch, her gaze scanning the yard, he waved to her.
As she walked over, he kept one finger under Grizz’s collar to hold him still. He wanted to see Anna and if she got distracted by a dog running to meet her, she might not make it as far as his shady spot.
“Time for a break,” she said, sitting in the grass next to him. He released the dog’s collar, and he immediately leaped into Anna’s lap. “Who is this?”
“This is Grizz, the grizzly bear. He’s my dog.”
Anna looked up at him. “Wait, you have a dog?”
“Okay, fine,” he said. “He’s my parents’ dog, which means he’s the family dog and I’m part of the family, so he’s kind of mine.”
She laughed and scratched under Grizz’s chin, which meant his dog would now love Anna forever. “That’s a big, fierce name for a little peanut of a dog.”
“He might be little, but he’s always believed in his heart that he’s actually a grizzly bear and behaves accordingly.”
“That’s a very good way to go through life,” she said in a higher-pitched way that made Grizz immediately roll onto his back so she could rub his belly. He writhed in ecstasy while Finn rolled his eyes.
“You’re officially his best friend forever now,” he said.
“I bet Grizz has a lot of best friends.”
She was right. “He’s a pretty friendly guy overall. But if for whatever reason he doesn’t like somebody, he can be a little ferocious about it.”
“I never got to have a pet growing up because my...my mom is allergic to everything.”
Finn caught the slight pause before she said mom, but he didn’t comment on that. He assumed she meant her stepmother, and once again he was struck by how difficult that must have been for a teenage girl. “I can’t imagine not having a dog in my life. Leaving Grizz every time I come visit never gets any easier.”
“You don’t have a dog of your own?”
“I don’t live in a dog-friendly place. They need room to run and play, and I’d feel guilty about a dog being alone while I’m working. Tom wouldn’t care if we had a dog in the office, but we have a lot of meetings and, believe it or not, not everybody likes dogs.”
“True, but do you really want to be doing business with people who don’t like dogs?”
He laughed with her. “No, I don’t.”
“I’d like to see your apartment,” she said in a rather abrupt change of subject.
“It’s not very exciting.”
She laughed. “Maybe not, but I’m curious what your life is like when you’re not helping Tess around the inn.”
“I wouldn’t mind taking you there.” Maybe it would be a little risky to give her that much of a glimpse into his life, but it wasn’t as if she didn’t already know he wasn’t only the inn’s handyman. The problem was having her figure out he wasn’t really the handyman at all and going digging to see what else wasn’t true.
But he wanted to take her home with him. He wanted to take her out for a nice dinner and then make love to her in hi
s own bed. And he very much wanted to fall asleep with her in his arms and wake up next to her.
“Do you have any plans this weekend?” she asked as she tossed the ragged ball for Grizz to fetch.
He’d planned to hole up in his room with his laptop, but it definitely wouldn’t take much to change his mind. “Nothing much. Do you have something in mind?”
Grizz seemed to have given up on the game, choosing instead to watch some birds flitting around the gardens, so Anna drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs.
“I bet I could talk Eryn into going home for the weekend. She misses her wife and their kiddo when we’re on location, and it’s a long drive, but she’s used to it,” she said. Even though she was watching Grizz, he could see the tinge of pink on her cheeks. “I could tell the crew she and I are making the trip back together, but then she could drop me off with you and I’d be off the grid for the weekend.”
“How clandestine,” he said, and her cheeks darkened. “I like it.”
“I’ll try to wrap up a little early on Friday, because it’s a five-hour drive for Eryn. Then she’ll have to pick me up somewhere in town on her way back Sunday evening, since I was supposed to be with her and they’ll notice if she returns without me.”
“She knows, then? That you’ll be with me?”
“I know I said I didn’t want anybody to know, but it’s hard to keep secrets from a woman who is not only my assistant, but my RV roommate.”
“If she’s on board, then we’ll go. It would be nice to go away with you.”
Neither of them heard his mother coming across the lawn until she was almost upon them and Grizz jumped up to greet her as if she’d been gone a week. “I was wondering where you got off to. And Grizz, of course. He can go from sleeping to up to his ears in trouble in the blink of an eye.”
“We played some ball,” Anna told her. “Now he’s stalking the birds. I’m pretty sure they’re taunting him, actually.”
The Home They Built Page 14