Chapter Twenty-Four
Finn
Her father was right. I honestly had nothing to offer Chloe, except my body. I would be her whore as long as she would allow me to, but that was it. I didn't have money or a future that I could show her to prove why our relationship was safe to take to the next level.
She was going to consider staying in Aspen with me and give up on her dreams. I needed to figure out a way to tell her that she needed to go live her life, and when she was done, come back to me. My dreams and ambitions were smoke I'd blown up my own ass for years. Nothing was going to become of it, and I knew it.
My phone buzzed as I headed to the newest run for an afternoon of losing myself in the beauty of the mountains.
"What's up, Dad?"
"Where are you?" His voice was pinched, and I figured I had an ass chewing on the way. No doubt Chloe's father had called and given my old man a piece of his mind, much like he'd done me.
"I'm around. What do you want?" I couldn't force fake happiness.
"Finn. Come over to the house and let's talk."
"I don't want to talk, Dad. I worked my ass off for you today. I'm going to take my board up in the mountains and try to pretend like everything is okay." I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.
"Everything is okay," my father growled, and I could tell he was holding back his angst. "Look. I want to tell you about what happened with Jonathan Burke. It's a story you need to know, and after I'm done, if you want me to fix it for you and Chloe...I will."
"I appreciate that, Dad, but honestly, I'm good. Chloe's a great girl, but she's far too much woman for a simple man like me. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Like you said, I should have listened to you and kept my dick in my pants."
"Finn, stop it. Get your ass over here." He was losing his grip, and I was done upsetting him.
"I'll stop by later. Love you, Pops." I dropped the call and parked the old truck by the road, not wanting to get a ticket, seeing that the slopes were closed. They never would let patrons on the mountain after a hard snow without packing it. But I'd been skiing my whole life. It was no big deal. I'd just have to be ready to shift at a moment’s notice if the ground felt too unstable beneath me.
My phone buzzed, and I turned it to silent and dropped it in my back pocket. After working to get myself layered up with clothes, I started the long trek up the side of the mountain. It took me a damn hour just to get to the top. I'd never appreciated a ski lift so much in all my life.
I checked my phone to see messages from my father, Brian, Parker, and my girl. I chuckled and dropped it back in my pocket, not willing to feed their emotions. They were overreacting. I was spending a couple of hours by myself, remembering why I wasn't all the things Chloe's dad said I was. Somewhere along the afternoon, I'd started to convince myself that he was right.
Chloe was far too good for me, and I would tell her that, but letting her go just didn't honestly seem like something I could do. If she shoved me away, I'd leave without a fight, but I wasn't going to shove her off. I couldn't. I let everything go and focused on the mountain ahead of me. I prayed like hell it would be a long ride down. I didn't know if I had the stamina to walk back up the hill after the long morning I'd had.
My phone buzzed again, and I pulled it out, growling loudly.
"What?" I growled into the phone, knowing it was Brian and he would forgive me later.
"Dude. Your dad's pretty upset. He just called and said that he's coming to find you."
"I'm fucking snowboarding. I'm a grown-ass man, Brian. What's the big deal?"
"Um, there was a blizzard last night, and you of all people know that makes the mountains dangerous. Go home and stop being a dick. He's worried."
"You and I have been on these mountains our whole lives." I ground my teeth together. "When's the best time to ski?"
"Now, but that's beside the point."
"No, it isn't. Tell me why now is the best time to ski?"
"Because the mountains are empty. Finn. I'm not playing your games right now. If your dad is worried, then respect him, like I know you do, and get your ugly ass home."
"My ass is not ugly. Ask any girl within a five mile radius." I had to lighten the conversation. I couldn't handle much more strife.
"Finn. Go home, dude. We'll go out tomorrow and take a mountain down together."
I sighed and resigned myself to giving into them. Everyone had their panties in a wad, and once again, it was my turn to bend and comfort them. "Fine. I'm already up here, and there's one fucking way down."
"Good. Enjoy it and get home. Text me if you're free later, and we'll grab a beer."
"Yeah, fuck you," I mumbled and pulled my glasses down.
"I'm not your type, remember."
"Right. You're entirely too hairy." I smiled, not wanting to cause any stress on anyone, just wanting a moment to myself.
"Hey."
"What?" I bit my tongue.
"Whatever that mean old fucker said to you today...let it go."
"Does everyone know about this?"
"Small town, Finn," he laughed. "I'm hanging up. Be careful and call me later."
"Later." I pulled the phone from my face and honestly considered lobbing it halfway across the mountain just to get a moment of peace. My dad's problems were his problems, and I didn't need him fixing mine.
I let my thoughts go and bent my knees, turning sharply and shoving off. The wind hit me in the face, and I took shallow breaths, turning and twisting my body as I'd been doing all my life.
Jonathan Burke’s voice lifted inside my head, and I couldn't seem to shake his words.
"You stay the fuck away from my little girl. She deserves better than you could ever give her. Do you hear me? You're a piece of shit who will rot in this town, boning any available woman, and dreaming about a life that will never ever be yours. Do yourself a favor and don't bring down Chloe to your level. You'll hate yourself for it later. Ask your father about that."
Was my mother like Chloe once? Was she wealthy and filled with plans? Had my father fallen in love with her and changed everything? Did it matter? She had been happy.
I could remember so many happy moments with my folks. Wealth didn't matter, and building legacies didn't mean shit if there wasn't someone there to enjoy them with, someone to pass them on to.
My dad was right about one thing: I did need to know the story. It wasn't just about him and Jonathan; I was pretty sure it involved my mom, too.
Had she been with Jonathan, and then Dad stole her?
I lost my footing for a minute, but righted myself.
"Keep your head in the game," I grumbled and over-corrected my next turn. There was no time to fix the error, and I covered my face and tried to relax as I flew forward, knowing it was about to get bad.
The world flew by, colors mixing and fading as I tumbled over myself over and over again. I hit something hard on the way down and lost my vision for a minute.
I lay there for what felt like forever, trying to remember where I was and what I needed to do to get up. It was so damn cold, and the sky was darkening. I fumbled with my phone in my pocket as dizziness rolled over me.
Pressing my dad's number, I put the phone on my chest and closed my eyes, waiting to hear his voice.
"Finn? What's up, son? You on your way over?"
I could hear him, but I couldn't seem to respond. Fear rushed through me, and I groaned, wanting so damn bad to tell him where I was and what I was up to, but words wouldn't form.
"Finn? Stop dicking around, boy. You're scaring me." His tone sharpened, and his anger seemed to burn through the phone.
Tears burned my gaze, and I let out a painful breath. My mind was blurry, and even breathing was hard. I had to have punctured a lung and hit my head on something. Why else couldn't I get a word out?
"Goddammit, son!" I could hear him yelling at Milly to get the truck and call 9-1-1. I let myself fade out as he continued to yell at me to stay awake and think good thoughts.
I let Chloe take up my mind, the warmth of her smile and softness of her lips keeping me busy. I didn’t know how much time had passed before the sound of voices around me ushered in relief. Someone was there to help. Now if I could just flag them down, but I still had no ability to form words.
"Here. Here he is. Bring the stretcher." Someone knelt next to me and picked up the phone. "Hi, this is Leah Smith. We've found him. We're going to assess him and get him to St. Marks. Meet us there."
"Hey, buddy." A male voice spoke near my ear, and as badly as I wanted to respond, I couldn't. Fuck me if I wasn't paralyzed. If I thought I wasn't good enough for Chloe before, this was a moment of clarity. "Just stay still, Finn. We're going to make sure your neck and back aren't broken, and then we'll get you to the hospital. Your dad's gonna meet us there. Just open your eyes if you can hear me."
I tried, but nothing happened. It was like being trapped in my body with no way of communicating out.
"He's breathing, Leah, but non-responsive. Brain injury, I would assume."
They poked and prodded at me as I lay there with my eyes closed, trying to focus on breathing.
"He's got tears coming from his eyes," the female spoke. "He can hear us."
"We're going to pick you up now. If something hurts, just cry out if you can, and we'll stop." The guy patted my chest. "It's going to be fine. We've got the best doctors in the world right down the road."
I didn't remember much more other than bright lights flying by above my head as I opened my eyes for a moment and groaned. My father was running beside the bed with tears streaking down his face, and I knew the shit was bad. He glanced down and pursed his lips.
"I'll see you soon. Hang in there, okay? Don't leave me. You're all I've got, and I'm a selfish bastard."
He patted my chest, and I tried to mumble, “of course not,” but nothing came out. I closed my eyes and let the darkness take me. It was far less frightening than knowing what the hell I'd done to myself.
If I survived, I was done taking shit for granted and defining myself based on other people’s opinions. I knew who I was and who I wanted to be. Outside of all of that, I knew who I wanted, and if I could have another shot at showing her, Chloe would be mine forever.