Chapter 4
Good luck with that?
Nina nearly strangled herself as she wound her scarf around her neck with a muttered, “Jerk.”
Then she sighed as she stared across the snowy yard. Actually, she was being kind of a jerk herself, but there was no way she’d survive a month in the same house with that man. Young Finn from high school had been a schoolgirl’s dream. Grown-up Finn on the other side of the door behind her was a woman’s happily ever after fantasy—and heartbreak.
She’d recognized it from the moment her fingers touched his and she’d begun wondering what it would be like to kiss him and feel the strength of his arms around her. Learning he was a veteran only added to his overall appeal. She respected a man who fought for their country and protected the freedoms they all enjoyed.
Good heavens. How had her foolish heart not learned its lesson by now?
No, this had nothing to do with her heart. She certainly wasn’t going to go and fall for the guy. His good looks affected her because she was lonely, that’s all. It’d been a while since she’d been kissed and kissed good.
That made her channel Scarlett O’Hara—As God is my witness, I’ll never let my heart be broken again.
She rolled her eyes at her silent theatrics and stomped through the calf-deep snow to her rental car while zipping her jacket against the wind. More than a few inches had fallen since she’d arrived last night, and light flakes were still swirling down from the leaden sky.
Parked beside her car was a big, manly GMC truck. Yep, that fit Finn. Big truck for a big guy.
Good—he’ll have plenty of room for his suitcase.
Nina brushed the snow off the driver’s side door of the rental and pressed the fob to unlock the vehicle. When she pulled on the handle, the door opened only a few inches before getting stuck. She tried to kick the mounded snow out of the way with a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Her family may have moved to Arizona, and she may have spent the last eight years in L.A., but she’d been a Wisconsinite until she was sixteen. Experience and common sense told her with the snow practically up to the bumper, she wasn’t going anywhere in the little tin can she’d rented.
She slammed the door shut again and flipped around to lean back against it with an annoyed huff. Frustration mounted at the sight of Finn mirroring her pose as he leaned against his truck. She hadn’t even heard him come outside.
He tapped a sturdy, wooden cane against the toe of his boot while the wind played with his dark hair. “Need a ride?”
“I need someone to plow out the driveway. Is that part of your deal with Eric?” she asked without much hope.
“Nope. I don’t have a plow.”
Well, that was stupid. Shouldn’t a truck that big have a plow? Especially in Wisconsin?
“But there’ll be someone out here by this afternoon,” he assured her.
“Perfect.” A rumble in her stomach agreed with her sarcasm.
Finn stepped aside and opened his passenger side door. “Come on. I made it in here, I can get you back out to the grocery store.”
She didn’t hate the idea of riding in the cozy confines of his truck as much as she should—which was exactly why she hesitated. “Do you need to go to the grocery store?”
“No. I stocked up before the storm. But it’s not every day I get to rescue a damsel in distress.”
Nina tucked a strand of hair that kept blowing across her face back behind her ear. “I’m hardly in distress.”
“Honestly, I just figure it’s best to feed the dragon before the fire breathing starts.”
“You’re not funny.”
“Sometimes I’m kinda funny, but hey, if you’d rather not ride into town with me, then help yourself to whatever I have in the fridge or pantry.”
“I don’t think so.”
His laugh said she was being an idiot. “You can ride with or not. Either way, I’m going to town to pick up a few things I need from Riley’s Hardware. As you’ll recall, it’s right across the highway from the grocery store.”
He shut the door with a little shove and started around the front of the truck with his cane. She was being a bit of a dragon, wasn’t she?
A bit?
As he got in on the driver’s side, she crossed to his truck and opened the passenger door to climb inside.
He didn’t say a word until he’d navigated the two-feet high snow drifts in the long driveway and they’d turned onto the plowed road. Then he gave her a sideways smirk. “That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”
“I’m not used to needing help.”
“People don’t do things for you?”
“I’m an assistant. I assist, not the other way around.”
“I suggest the next time someone offers to help, say thank you, and let them.”
She shrugged with a noncommittal noise and looked out the side window at the passing scenery. Snow weighted the branches of row upon row of the Christmas trees on Baxter’s Tree Farm. When she was a little girl, every year her whole family used to take the sled and walk the rows until she and Josh agreed on the perfect tree for their dad to cut down. She’d really missed those outings when they’d moved to Phoenix.
“I’m sure you ask for things every day for Peyton,” Finn said, his voice wiping aside her memories.
“That’s different. It’s my job—and the things they do are for her.”
“There has to be a few things that get done because you’re the one asking. Or, maybe not, if she’s the sweet one and you’re a demanding shrew,” he mused with raised eyebrows.
She deserved that, but when she gave him a resigned smile of acknowledgement, his answering grin started her pulse thrumming in her veins. Searching for a distraction, the first words her brain latched on to and spit out were, “What happened to your leg?”
His smile vanished and his fingers flexed on the steering wheel. He cleared his throat as he shot her a quick glance. “That’s a little personal.”
“You’re right. I’m sor—”
“It was an I.E.D.”
She hesitated, then asked, “What’s that stand for again?”
“Improvised explosive device.”
The chilling words sent a shiver down her spine. She couldn’t even imagine. The thought of what it was like for the soldiers in a warzone made her chest tighten. “Are you…okay? I mean…well—”
“It’s okay,” he rescued her from her fumbling words. “Other than the limp, I am okay. My patrol was lucky, only two of us got hurt. Charlie Company lost a guy two weeks before we got hit.”
“That’s terrible. I’m sorry.”
He nodded and fell silent as he turned off of the side road where Peyton’s house was located and onto the two lane country highway leading into Pulaski. She wanted to ask how long ago it happened but didn’t want to pry again. Instead, she concentrated on the view out the window to see if she recognized anything else besides the Christmas tree farm. Navigating through the snowstorm by GPS last night, she hadn’t been able to see anything other than the road in front of her.
“My turn,” Finn said. “What brings you to Wisconsin for a whole month during the winter? And don’t tell me it’s none of my business.”
“Well, it really isn’t.”
“What happened to my leg wasn’t any of yours.”
“I didn’t force you to answer.” She argued her point only because no one but her best friend knew why she was here. Not counting the Veterans Valentine’s Day Auction, her secondary motivations were personal.
Like Finn’s injury?
Yeah. She gave a silent inner sigh, but just then, he slowed down and flipped his right turn signal for a road she definitely knew did not lead to town.
“I don’t really have much to do today,” he said casually. “I can just keep driving around until you answer.”
Brat. Her sideways glance caught the smirk on his lips. “Who says I won’t lie to you just to avoid being kidnapped?”
“You don’t strike me as a person who lies.”
He was right, but that was just his lucky guess. “I’m writing a screenplay,” she admitted, her tone slightly defensive. “Peyton promised me weeks of peace and quiet to write while she was on location.”
His chin tilted in consideration before he gave a little shake of his head. “I can buy the writing, but there’s more to it than peace and quiet. You said you had something to take care of for her.”
Yeah, veteran or not, she was not admitting she’d agreed to be put up on the auction block like a piece of meat. In the end, she’d only said yes because Peyton had begged, then bribed her with an extra two thousand dollars to donate to the fundraiser. And she had a soft spot for veterans.
Finn was still slowing for the turn when she insisted, “It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s big enough to get you here. You could’ve been writing in sunny L.A—assuming that’s where you live.”
“It is.” Nina crossed her arms over her chest. “Look, can we just go to town, please? I answered your question, and I didn’t lie.” I just haven’t told you everything.
He turned off the signal and stepped on the gas. “I’m gonna figure it out.”
Maybe. If he went to the auction on February thirteenth. But until then, her lips were zipped. Besides, why did he care, anyway?
When they reached Pulaski a few minutes later, Finn dropped her off at Super Ron’s and promised to be back for her in a half-hour. She finished her shopping in twenty, and waited inside the entrance with her bags in the cart. The snow had stopped and the clouds were clearing, leaving it much too bright outside without sunglasses.
When her cell phone rang and she saw Peyton’s smiling face in the ID circle, Nina quickly swiped to answer. “Hey, you’re up early.”
“Too early.” The sound of a yawn came across the line. “Judging by the time on your text, so were you. Is everything okay? You’re not backing out of the auction, are you?”
“Nooo…but did you know your house is being remodeled?”
“Not until April.”
“Try right now. Your cousin hired Finn Regan to do the demo in exchange for room and board.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, man, I’m sorry, Nina. I swear I didn’t know.”
“I kinda figured.”
“Wait, did you say Finn Regan?” Unmistakable interest wiped all the sleepiness from her friend’s voice.
“Yeah.”
“Room and board?”
“Well, more like free rent.” Rays of light from the emerging sun hit the fresh snow outside, and Nina pivoted away from the blinding sparkles. “He’s living in the house. In fact, his dog woke me up this morning, and then he came in to get her. I wasn’t even dressed.”
“Ooh.” A naughty grin took over her voice. “What was he wearing?”
“Peyton.”
“Please tell me it was a pair of jeans and nothing else. No—better yet—boxer briefs and nothing else. Or—even better—”
“Stop.”
“What? It’s Finn Regan. Come on, you remember how hot he was.”
Still is.
“I remember how much you liked him,” her friend teased.
“He was fully dressed, so please, just stop.”
Her laugh echoed across the line. “Okay, okay. So…what now? What do you want me to do?”
Nina glanced over her shoulder as the automatic doors opened and closed for a woman with two small kids. Suppressing a shiver, she turned her back once more. “Can you call Eric and have him make Finn find a different place to live for the next few weeks?” The question sparked a little twinge of guilt, but she did her best to ignore it.
“I can, but can’t you just ask Finn?”
“I did ask him, but he won’t leave. He said, ‘It’s a big house.’”
“Well…he’s not wrong.”
“Peyton.”
“Come on, Nina, it’s only a month. Live a little—with Finn Regan.”
Another blast of cold air hit her back as the doors opened behind her. She hugged her free arm across her middle as she hunched her shoulders. “Stop saying his full name like he’s some sort of god. You remember what he was like back in high school. I don’t do—”
Finn suddenly appeared beside her cart. Nina bit back a surprised gasp as her heart surged against her ribs. Darn him—but thankfully, his timing was perfect because he’d cut off the words casual sex.