by Vella, Wendy
She pulled her hand free. “I won’t make that promise. I did it, and I’m not sorry.”
“You could have been hurt. A stray punch could have knocked you out.”
“It didn’t, and I can handle myself. I grew up on a ranch.”
“Be reasonable here.” Fin felt his frustration climb at her stubbornness.
“Fin?”
It was reflex that had him reaching for Maggs again. Grabbing her arm, he hauled her to his side before turning to face his father.
“Hi, Mr. Winter,” she said when he didn’t.
“Hello, Maggie. I was looking for Mallory. Have you seen her?” His father’s eyes were on Fin.
“Yes, she was down here and has just gone up. You must have just missed each other,” Maggs said.
“I told her to go to bed. Clearly she had other ideas.”
“She’s fourteen.”
“I know that, Fin, but it’s late, and she promised she’d go to bed, then slipped out when we fell asleep. I only realized she wasn’t in her room when I woke needing some water.”
“She can’t get into trouble here,” Fin said.
“She’s my daughter, and I worry about her. I didn’t know you were down here.”
Fin knew one day he’d look like this man. His father, a stranger.
“Nice that you worry about her.” The words came out snide, and Fin instantly regretted them, but his feelings toward this man cut deep.
“I worried about you and your sister, Fin.”
“Oh, please, you were never home. Mom worried about us.”
“I had to work, Fin, to pay the bills. Your mother wasn’t well and couldn’t leave the house.”
He felt all the anger, hurt, and frustration he’d felt as a fifteen-year-old well up inside him.
“She needed you!”
“Fin.” Maggie slid an arm around his waist, but he was too far gone to acknowledge her.
“And this is not the place to have this discussion. If you’re finally ready to listen, then we’ll talk. But not standing here where anyone can interrupt us.”
“We have nothing to discuss.”
“I’m here in your hometown because I think we do. I’ve stayed silent for long enough. I want a relationship with my son.”
“Why now?” Fin’s words were hoarse.
“Because I thought I could live without being a part of your life, but I can’t.” His father’s smile was sad. “I have always loved you, and what happened tore that apart, but as I’ve got older I’ve realized I don’t want to live with regrets, and you are my biggest.”
His chest ached as he watched his father walk away from him. It was so tight, he struggled to breathe. He had hated and loved that man most of his life.
“Fin.” Maggie moved to stand in front of him. “Talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to say.” He stepped around her and walked away.
Chapter Twenty
Four days after the night at Falls Lodge, Maggie forced herself to get out of her warm bed. She threw on some exercise clothes, layered up with a jacket, hat, and gloves, then headed outside.
Buzz was waiting for her, leaning on the side of the house.
“The only reason you want to walk with me,” she said to the fur ball who barked a greeting, “is because I’m slow and there’s a biscuit in your future.”
A light fall of snow powdered the ground, and looking up, she thought today’s walk would be a short one. The sky looked ready to dump more of the white fluffy stuff.
Maggie walked to the mountain chatting to Buzz, who bounded ahead then doubled back to make sure she was there. She’d missed this. The serenity and solitude of Ryker Falls.
Tugging down her hat so her ears didn’t turn to ice, Maggie trudged up the small incline. Mr. Goldhirsh had told her fresh air and movement were important, so she was trying that out. Looking at her watch told her she was thirty minutes down, and feeling surprisingly fresh. She’d be able to have coffee and food soon too, which only improved her mood.
Maggs had not seen Fin over the last few days, which suggested to her he was hiding. She’d been to the main street twice and visited both Phil’s and Tea Total, plus ordered pizza and visited her friends. She usually saw him around, but he’d gone to ground.
What she’d witnessed that night at the lodge told her he was running from his demons, just like her. His, however, were old, and he’d been carrying them about like luggage for years.
She’d heard his name mentioned. People were constantly discussing him in connection with Simon Linbar’s body, and who would have killed him and left him up there on the mountain. She also heard people discussing Fin’s family, and how he didn’t seem to want to spend time with them. She’d tried to shut down those particular lines of conversation and usually failed. But at least she’d tried. Whatever was going on with Fin was his deal, not anyone else’s.
She’d had a drink at A.S. and casually brought him into the conversation. Joe had told her he was working hard and hadn’t come out to play for days. He’d said he was constantly climbing the mountain, searching for clues as to who had murdered Simon Linbar and that he was going to burn out if he didn’t stop being so dedicated.
According to Lenny who worked at the lodge, Mallory, who he’d become friends with because she was a “nice kid,” said that her father had decided to stay for another two weeks. Lenny told Maggie that Mr. Winter must be wealthy, because it wasn’t cheap.
Joe had said he was trying to get Fin to open up but that he was about as malleable as the mountain he tramped all over. So instead he was trying to be there for him if and when he needed it.
She should talk to him. The only problem with that was he would then question her about stuff she didn’t want to share, and there was also that other thing. The hot, heavy thing that lay between them.
Puffing her way up the small incline, she heard Buzz’s high-pitched barking. He’d probably found a small animal.
“Buzz, here now!”
He ignored her, so she tried again, several times, then gave up and went off the trail. The trees and brush were thick here, so she moved slowly, pushing them away. Buzz’s barking had become frenzied.
“There will be no dog biscuit for you if you don’t come now!” He was looking upward when she reached him. “These creatures actually have a right to be here, fur ball, not you.” She saw a tail, but not the body as it disappeared. “And there is no way you are agile enough to follow that.”
Buzz whined and started scratching at the ground in frustration.
“What would you do with it if you caught it? You’re a softy at heart. You may play the big tough guy, but I know better.”
Grabbing his collar, she eased him away. When she looked at him again, he had something in his mouth.
“Drop, Buzz.” He spat it at her feet. Picking it up, Maggs studied the brown leather wallet but didn’t recognize it—but then, she didn’t know who carried a brown leather wallet in Ryker Falls, or a black one for that matter. It could also belong to a tourist.
“Right, let’s head back out to the trail and see if it has a name inside. Then it’s time for coffee and toast.” Buzz barked his approval.
She’d just made it back when the sound of feet had her tensing—after all, she was out here alone.
“Well now, this is a sight!” The Robbins sisters appeared with Mr. Goldhirsh. Both immediately began to make a fuss of Buzz, who Maggs was sure smiled up at them.
“I thought you were injured?” Maggie said to Mr. Goldhirsh.
“I am, but if I use my hiking poles I am fine, and we’re taking it easy.”
Which probably meant they’d already walked more miles than she could in a week.
The three of them stood before her looking ridiculously fit and healthy. Miss Marla wore pink, and Miss Sarah blue. Leggings, zip-up jackets, and caps.
“How come none of you sweat?” Maggs brushed hair out of her eyes. “I walk five feet and I’m dripping.”
> “Your new to exercise, dear.” Miss Marla patted her hand. “We’ve been doing it for years. It keeps us healthy and frisky.”
“Frisky?”
“She had a date last night and didn’t get home until the early hours of this morning,” Miss Sarah said.
“Okay, wow. Go you. I haven’t had a date in ages,” Maggie confessed.
“But as you’re taking steps to change yourself, that will change too, dear,” Miss Marla said. “What’s in your hand?”
“Buzz found it.” She handed the wallet to Miss Marla, who immediately opened it.
“There’s a note in here, but nothing else,” she said. They all huddled closer as she read aloud. “‘He knows and can expose us, A.J. I love you and know you love me. I can’t live my life without you any longer. When I see you with her, my heart hurts. Must we live our life for them? You know my marriage is unhappy, know there is only you I care about. Run away with me. I love you now and always.’ It’s signed with the initial L.”
“Wow,” Maggs whispered. “Just wow.”
“Oh, my.” Miss Sarah wiped her eyes. “She loves him desperately.”
“But who is A.J.?” Miss Marla asked.
“I don’t know, but I don’t think we should have read that.”
“Why, Maggie?” Mr. Goldhirsh asked.
“It’s private.” Looking at the writing again, something tugged at her memory. The way the tails were squiggly, and the i’s had little hearts above them. “And I’m not sure we want to know who wrote it, because if they never ran away, we don’t want to cause them trouble.”
“I doubt a few initials will help us find their identity anyway,” Miss Marla said, tucking the note back in the wallet and handing it to Maggs.
“There’s something familiar about that writing though,” Maggs said.
“Really?” Miss Sarah looked excited.
“I’ll take it to Chief Blake.” Maggie pushed it into her pocket.
“After you’ve studied it.”
Miss Marla and Miss Sarah were fierce gossips. Maggie hoped they kept this to themselves but doubted it.
“Now, Maggs, I want you at my house for meditation tomorrow morning,” Mr. Goldhirsh said. “It’s time.”
“For what?”
“To get that mind of yours working properly again.”
“I… ah, I have a thing.” She skirted around them. “I’ll take a rain check.” Maggs hurried up the path.
“I’ll come to you then,” Mr. Goldhirsh called after her. Buzz, she noted, was now trotting after them.
“Traitor.” It was only because they were heading down and he’d get food quicker.
It was demoralizing that the seniors in this town had it together way more than her. Trudging on, she inhaled cold, fresh air, and had to admit ten minutes later, if only to herself, it was nice being out here alone in the freezing cold. Nice and head-clearing, and yes, it gave her time to think. Okay, her cheeks were frozen, and there was every chance her nose would fall off, but she had to admit her morning walking regime was going okay.
Who had written that letter? Maggie had felt the emotion in every word. Did they run away?
Through an opening in the trees, she saw the ranger cabin where Fin lived. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. Thinking about those kisses and what he’d be like in bed. Thinking about him and his family, and how they’d become estranged.
“And that has to stop now!”
The sound of feet up ahead had her tensing again.
Fin appeared.
“What has to stop?”
“Oh, thank God it’s you,” Maggs wheezed, clutching her chest. Big and vital. Dressed in jeans, hiking boots, a jacket, and woolen hat, Fin stood there watching her as she attempted to get her breathing under control.
“What has to stop, Maggs?”
“Nothing.” She waved a hand about, glad that the color in her cheeks would look like it was from the exercise.
“What the hell are you doing out here at this hour anyway?”
“Walking.”
“I can see that, just not why.”
She noted he wasn’t even slightly out of breath, like the seniors.
“I’m exercising.”
“Seriously?” She heard the surprise in his words, and that pissed her off.
“I can exercise!”
“I thought it gave you hives.”
“Ha ha.”
“I think in future you’d be better walking through town, Maggs. You can get lost on these trails, and no one would find you this time of year, as not many people are about at this hour, plus there’s the snow and ice.”
“I can look after myself. Besides, I just saw the Robbins sisters and Mr. Goldhirsh, and they’re on the trail.”
“They have been hiking here trails for years; you haven’t. I get that you like the privacy though. There’s nothing like being out here alone.”
Maggs nodded.
“But my advice is still to walk in town, and if not, with someone if you’re on the mountains.”
It niggled at her that he didn’t think she was capable, which she probably wasn’t, but still, she didn’t like that pointed out so clearly by him.
“I can handle myself.”
“Sure, I saw that when you attempted to pull a man twice your weight off another man. Both who, I may add, had been drinking.”
“Shut up, Fin. You’re ruining my peace.”
His smile did not make her tummy flutter.
“I’ll walk with you if you want. Just tell me what time. I’m usually out here anyway at this hour.”
Maggs wasn’t sure walking with a man you were sexually aware of was conducive to relieving stress, which she was trying to do.
“Thanks, but I don’t go far and am fine alone.”
“This is far,” he said. “So no more walking this far alone.”
She snapped her teeth together, because anything that came out of her mouth right now would likely be a curse, and she was trying to stop those too.
“Just let it out. I can handle it.” He was still smiling.
“I don’t want to swear at you, because it’s beneath me.” She sniffed. “And now I need to get back and have coffee.”
“I have coffee already on. Want some?”
“I don’t think so, but—”
“You keep going with that and you’ll hurt my feelings.” Fin grabbed her arm and forced her to walk as he tugged her along with him. “I thought we were friends?”
“We are, and it’s not me that’s been in hibernation.”
“I wasn’t in hibernation, I was working. Now come and have a coffee with me.”
“I need to get back, Fin.”
“It’s 7:00 a.m., Maggs. What the hell are you getting back to?”
She didn’t know how to answer that.
“I have donuts. I got them last night.”
“The sugary ones?” Maggs said before she could stop herself.
“Yup.”
What would it hurt to have a quick cup of coffee with him? Nothing at all. It’s not like you haven’t done that before. She wouldn’t touch on anything personal, like his family, and then she’d leave after a donut.
It sounded easy. She had a bad feeling it wouldn’t be.
Chapter 21
“Have you been hiking with Mallory?” Excellent, Maggs. You just told yourself not to touch on anything personal.
“Not yet, and before you ask, I haven’t spoken to my father either. Joe and the others are constantly calling or appearing on my doorstep to see if I’m all right, and then probing gently into what’s up with my family.”
“It’s only because he cares… they all do. You’re one of theirs and upset because your family are in town. It’s natural they worry. Their way of showing that worry is by constantly checking you’re ok.”
“I know,” Fin sighed. “It’s like being smothered by one of Jack’s knee rugs.”
“But we won’t discuss it if you don’t wa
nt to. It, being your family.”
He shot her a look. “I got that, and that’s very accommodating of you.”
She shrugged as they took the right fork that led to his cabin. “I don’t want you asking me personal stuff, so I won’t ask you any.”
“Thanks. And sorry, by the way.”
“For?”
“I was rude to you the night I saw my father at the lodge.”
“There seems to be a pattern forming there.”
He snorted but didn’t add anything. They reached his cabin. Long and low with a gabled roof, it was bigger up close than she’d realized.
“I’ve never been in here.”
“What, never?” He unlaced his boots inside the back door, and Maggs did the same, then shrugged out of her jacket. Pulling out the wallet, she handed it to him to see if he might recognize it.
“I found this on the trail, and no, I’ve never been in your cabin. I had no reason to come inside.”
“Visiting a friend?” Fin took the wallet and opened it.
“Okay, sure, but you never invited me,” she said as he pulled out the note and opened it.
“Well, I’m inviting you now,” he said, reading the words.
“I met the Robbins sisters and Mr. Goldhirsh on the trail, and they read the note. It’s really lovely, isn’t it, Fin, and sad. But I’m not sure we should be looking at it.”
“You have absolutely no context as to who wrote this note and why, and yet it’s made you go mushy,” Fin accused her.
“It’s about loving someone so much you’re willing to risk all to take a chance on that love,” Maggs said, reading the note again.
“You got all that from those words?”
“The Robbins sisters did too.” She felt the need to defend herself.
“Women,” he muttered. “Getting all gooey over a few words.”
“So you’re not a romantic then?”
“I’m a realist. Some note that could have been written years ago is not romantic, especially when the contents suggests that whoever wrote it was willing to break two relationships to achieve their goals.”
“But what if the relationships were unhappy ones?”