“I figure you quit,” he said, “but you know how I hate to be impolite.”
“No. Thanks,” Tessa said. Part of her really wanted one, but she hadn’t had a cigarette in ten years, and she wasn’t about to give in to temptation now.
“Suit yourself,” Finn said. He sat down next to her on the bed, lit his smoke, leaned his elbows on his knees, and looked up at her, his blue eyes locked on hers and meaning business.
“This might be a good time to give me the full scoop on what the hell is going on here,” he said.
Tessa’s anger was still simmering, but at the same time, she felt overcome with a potent desire to share everything with the one person who would understand why she’d done what she’d done.
“Well,” she said finally, “you remember the night we stole the town bell?”
“Yeah.” He smiled at her and she felt her lungs tighten. Must be the secondhand smoke.
“After you relieved me of my virginity and stole my car—”
“Don’t pull any punches,” he said, letting out a short laugh. “I can take it.”
“Good,” she said. “You’re gonna have to.”
Their eyes locked for a moment, and Tessa felt her face start to warm.
“Anyway,” she said, “later that night, there was a fire.” Finn nodded, and she could see a twinge of sympathy in his eyes that threw her a bit.
“I know.”
“How?”
“Talked to Joe,” he said. “And Izzy.” He watched her for a moment, a sad smile lurking at the edges of his eyes. “I’m sorry about your mom. I always liked her, even when she was beating the hell out of me with that two-by-four.”
Tessa smiled, remembering the sight of Finn being chased down the aisle of the school theater with her mother on his tail, waving that huge chunk of wood. “God. I’d forgotten about that.”
“Not me,” Finn said. “Got the scars and everything.” Tessa let out a small laugh, then felt her smile fade as she let the rest of the story come out.
“That night...” she said, her heart seizing up at the memory. She tamped down the emotion and kept going.
“That night was so awful. I’ve blacked most of the details out. I remember being down on the porch, waiting for you to come back, and Matt Tarpey coming to the house...” She shook her head. “The rest is a blur, except that numb sense of falling and being unable to move at the same time.”
She shot a glance at Finn, who was staring at his shoes, his expression dark.
“Anyway, a week or so later, the cherry on top of the misery sundae: they took Izzy from me.”
Finn raised his head and looked at her. “They what? Who?”
Tessa sighed. “Mary Ellen Neeley. Social worker from Brattleboro. Izzy’s caseworker. Evil little troll of a woman.” She exhaled. “I hate her.”
Finn smiled. “You hide it well.”
“I’d only just turned eighteen,” Tessa said, “and Mary Ellen said I couldn’t have Izzy back until I was twenty-one. If then. She’d interviewed some people in town who told her about the trouble we used to get into and she said she couldn’t be sure living with me was in Izzy’s best interests.”
Finn’s eyes flashed with anger. “What? That’s crazy.” Tessa shrugged. She’d spent most of that fury ages ago. “Mary Ellen basically told me that even though I didn’t have a real criminal record, just the pranks and stuff we did, she had to take everything into account. I was eighteen, I hadn’t even graduated yet, I didn’t have a job, and if anything was ever traced back to me...”
Finn’s eyes squinched shut. “Like stealing the town bell.”
“...like stealing the town bell, then it’d be over. I’d never get custody.”
“God. Tessa.” Finn’s hand landed on hers, the tips of his fingers running over the back of her hand, and God, just that small touch felt so good. Suddenly she felt like crying, and there was no way in hell that was going to happen. She’d stayed strong too long to let Finn bring her down now. So she pulled her hand back and gripped her own knees, wishing now that she’d taken him up on the cigarette. Sure, they killed you dead, but they were magic when you needed a distraction.
“I was such a mess when they took Izzy. I think I just shut down, you know? I finished high school. Max hired me on so I’d have a record of employment. But then, later that summer, the town bell showed up, just sitting by the road on a street in Manhattan...”
Finn smiled, but she could see the self-recrimination in his eyes. “Can’t knock me on my timing.”
“I would have liked to,” she said, twisting her mouth into a small smile.
“Bright side: I made the Guinness for being the first person to fail to fence an item in New York City.” He gave her a mildly chagrined look. “How bad was it?”
“Bad,” she said. “They put it right back into the town hall building, right across the street from Max’s, and the stupid thing chimes every half hour on the half hour.”
“Sorry,” he said.
She gave him a small smile. “That’s when they started the big investigation. What happened to the town bell? Who took the town bell? I freaked. I thought if they traced it to you, then they’d trace it back to me, and I’d never get Izzy back.”
Finn’s face went serious. “I wouldn’t have ratted you out, Tessa. You know that.”
“I know. But if they found out you were the one who took it, it would just be a matter of time before Mary Ellen Neeley came knocking on my door...” She trailed off, sighed. “So, I told everyone I’d heard from you. That you were in Las Vegas, had been there since you left. I don’t know why. I was just panicked, and... eighteen. You just... you don’t see things clearly at that age, you know?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I know.”
She looked up to meet his eyes, and he held her gaze. Tessa knew he wasn’t just being sympathetic. She could see the regret in his eyes, and for a powerful moment, she felt him, the way she used to. That odd connection that linked them back in the day surged between them again, and she could feel his sadness, his regret. His love for her. She felt it all, and knew him in that moment the way she’d known him all those years ago.
Then it was gone, and his eyes were the same unreadable blue pools they’d been since he’d returned. Tessa took a deep breath, pressed her nails into her palm to give herself a new sensation to cling to, and blamed her imagination. There was no point in thinking otherwise.
Finn released her hand and cleared his throat. “So. I’m still not sure how I went from asshole to hero in ten years flat, though.”
“Oh. That.” She chuckled and felt a swell of relief to move the conversation to safer ground. “After I turned twenty-one, Mary Ellen was still fighting my getting Izzy, and I had to go to court. It took a while but I won. Well, mostly. I got custody with state supervision until Izzy reaches the age of eighteen. Anyway, I guess Mary Ellen took it personally. She was all fakey nice about it, but she made it clear that she’d be watching me like a hawk, and if I slipped up, even a little, she’d move to have Izzy taken away.”
“So, she’s a crazy bitch, then?” Finn asked, his eyes twinkling at the edges.
Tessa gave a short laugh. “You said it, not me.”
She met his eyes, and for a moment she felt connected to him again, but again, it was only for a moment. She glanced down at her hands, realized she’d been wringing them, and let them fall flat in her lap.
“Then, not a week later, someone came back from New York and said they thought they’d seen you there and I freaked. At the same time, Alton Summers’s truck died, right before Gloria was about to give birth to their seventh kid. So I took out some cash, stuffed it in an envelope, and put your name on it.”
“Wait a minute.” Finn’s smile faded. “You used your own money...?”
“Mom left me life insurance. I have a full-time job so I look responsible on paper, and the house is paid for. It’s not like I needed the money for college tuition.”
“Yeah,�
�� he said, although his expression was still troubled. “I guess I can understand that.”
“Well, it worked. People started talking about you, and stopped talking about the bell.”
Finn rolled his eyes. “Fucking bell. They got it back, what the hell else did they want?”
“Preaching to the choir, mister,” Tessa said. “Anyway, I sweetened the gossip pool with a few minor details. Told them I’d heard that you became a private investigator.” She smiled, shrugged. “It sounded like something you might do, if you ever went straight.” She turned to look at him. “Did you ever go straight?”
He quirked one eyebrow. “Far as I know, I never strayed, although there was this one time at Scout camp...”
She tightened her lips against the smile forming there and shook her head. “Forget it. My fault for asking. Anyway, every now and again when someone in town needed something, I’d tuck some cash in an envelope. Made you look like the kind of guy who wouldn’t steal the town bell, you know. Mr. Upstanding Citizen Guy. Then, after a while it became... I don’t know. Fun. When people had little problems, needed some help, I could help them, and no one knew it was me. It was like my little secret, my little bit of personal deviance. And it sorta kept you... I don’t know. Alive, I guess.”
She stopped talking and looked up at him. She hadn’t admitted to herself that part of the secret charity thing had been about keeping Finn around, but it had. The realization made her feel suddenly off balance.
“Anyway,” she said, “that’s pretty much the story.”
“Good to know,” Finn said, “seeing as I might be here for a while.”
“What?” Her throat went dry. “Why?”
“The fires. One on the night I left, one on the day I come back. Looks kinda bad. Joe said it might be a good idea to hang around until it all gets straightened out.”
Tessa felt her stomach turn. “But... the fire at Mom’s business... that happened...”
“While we were out stealing the town bell.” He smiled at her. “It’s okay. It happened a long time ago, the investigators deemed it an accident, but Joe kinda has a point. I run out now, it could look bad. And it won’t kill me to stay a couple of days.”
Tessa took a deep breath, resisting the strong urge to toss herself back on the bed and throw a raging fit. “So. Crap. They’re asking questions about Mom’s fire now?” Finn shook his head gently and let out a sigh. “I don’t know. Joe seems to think there’s something there, but that could just be Joe.” He leaned his head into her line of vision until she looked at him. “Tessa, don’t worry. If it comes to it, we’ll just lie about where we were.”
“Yeah, and if we get caught in a lie, I’ll get in trouble, and they’ll take Izzy away. I can’t lose her, Finn, you don’t understand—”
“Shhh.” He reached up and gently touched his thumb over the worry crease forming between her eyebrows, quickly withdrawing his hand. “No one’s gonna take Izzy away from you again.”
He let his hand slide down to her cheek, and Tessa wanted to tell him to knock it off, but she couldn’t. She knew it was a moment of weakness, and she knew it would pass. For the moment, however, Finn had the zing, and it had been so long since she’d zinged with anyone. Right now, she could use a little damn zing, and a moment or two of indulgence couldn’t hurt, right?
Only, he didn’t indulge her. He pulled his hand away, took one last drag of his cigarette, and stamped it out on the bottom of his shoe.
“So, that’s everything?” he asked.
Tessa blinked at the sudden change in direction. “Pretty much.”
“Except the how much,” he said quietly.
“How much what?”
He angled his head to look at her. “How much of your inheritance did you spend trying to make me look like a decent human being?”
“Oh.” She looked down at her fingers in her lap. “Not much.”
“How much is not much?”
“None of your business is how much,” she said, her annoyance rising. “It’s my money to do whatever I want with, and I didn’t do it for you, I did it for me, so this is the end of this conversation.”
His smile quirked at the side of his mouth, and her heart went zing, and... damnit.
“All right,” he said. He stood up and started toward the door. “You don’t have to tell me. I’ll find out.”
She stood up as well. “How?”
He turned to face her, his expression light and playful. “I have my ways.”
“Gonna flirt with the bank teller, huh?” Tessa said. They were now just inches apart, and her smile was fueled by such a strong wave of genuine good feeling that she felt almost dizzy. She wanted to be mad at him. She should be mad at him. Why didn’t she want to slap him? She really should be slapping him.
“What is it about you?” he whispered as though reading her mind, his eyes going soft-focus as their bodies moved closer together. She didn’t answer, merely relaxed as he raised his hand and wove his fingers through her hair. He leaned toward her and she closed her eyes, letting him graze his lips gently over hers. Softly, she fell into the kiss with him, accepting everything for the moment, even though she knew it was just for the moment.
Never make the same mistake twice.
Oh, shut up.
She let the kiss deepen, let her fingers glide over his face. He pulled her into his arms and it felt so good. Like coming home. Like getting a damn break. It was Finn, and even though she would have committed hara-kiri before admitting it, this was the moment she’d wished for in the shadow of her heart all these years, and it felt damn good to finally have it.
But still. Real life and reason were just inches away, and it only took a moment for them to catch up to her. She ended the kiss, pulled back, and looked up at him.
Finn.
“Oh, man,” she said. “I’m stupid.”
“Really?” he said, reaching for her again. “You feel fine.”
She smacked at his hands. “Knock it off. I’m not kidding. Whatever this insanity is between us, it ends here.”
Finn’s head cocked gently to the side, and he unleashed that damn smile that made her get all stupid and zingy.
“You’re right,” he said after a minute. “No more insanity. Although, I have to tell you, you’re not helping matters any.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, so, what? This is my fault now?”
“A little.” He shrugged, his eyes sparkling and playful. “You could help by quitting it with the pretty.”
Tessa rolled her eyes at that one. “Ten years, you’d think your lines would improve.”
“I’m serious,” he said. “I’m only human. You could make an effort, you know.”
“Oh, yeah?” she said, not wanting to smile but doing it anyway.
“Sure. You could go a few days without showering. Grow a big wart on the tip of your nose. Or, hey, one of those moles with a long hair right there on your chin.”
She gave him a playful pout. “You wouldn’t think I was sexy if I had a big hairy mole?”
“Well.” He kept his eyes on hers, gave a short laugh. “How’d this conversation get dangerous again?”
“I don’t know.” She swallowed. “I think we just do that.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I think we do.”
She nodded, staying where she was as he moved forward toward her. In an unexpected twist, though, he simply opened the door for her.
“You’d better go,” he said. “Gotta get cracking on that mole.”
Tessa ignored the cold air wrapping around her and looked at him.
“Where have you been?” she asked.
He let out a small laugh and shook his head. “Las Vegas. Private investigator.”
“Right,” she said.
She held one last lingering look with him, emotions tangling in her chest. She wanted him, and she didn’t want him. She wished she could curl up here with him and forget everything else, and she wished he would go back to
wherever he’d come from and leave her alone. Only one feeling was coming through clearly, and it was the realization that she’d missed him so much more than she’d ever suspected, even in her most private and honest moments.
And that just wasn’t fair.
Tessa pulled her eyes away from him and walked out of the shack into the frigid winter air. She took long deep breaths, hoping the cold air would freeze the feel of Finn’s kisses right off her lips, taking with it her decidedly inconvenient yearning for more.
It didn’t work, but it was worth a shot.
Chapter Nine
Finn stared at the door, the image of its wooden planks burning into his eyes as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on. All he’d wanted to do was return the car, shake the karma, get the mess out of his head so he could go back to his uncomplicated life and move on. When he’d planned the trip to Lucy’s Lake, he hadn’t even planned on seeing Tessa, let alone kissing her.
Twice.
And those kisses had nearly knocked him over. He never thought that she’d still have such a hold on him, after all this time. He released a breath and ran his hand through his hair. She was still there. He could feel the softness of her face in the palm of his hand, smell the scent of her when he breathed in.
Hell. Between Babs and Izzy and Tessa, he was about ready to appreciate some time with Joe. At least Joe was straightforward, even if he was straightforwardly accusing Finn of arson and murder.
It was the women in his life who were truly dangerous.
You ain’t kidding.
Finn blinked, looked down at the dog sitting next to the fire. “You got something to say, dog?”
The dog smacked its lips and rested its snout on its paws. The name’s Wallace.
Finn eyed the dog for a minute. While working birds, he’d been shot at, knocked out, stiffed, and beaten up—most of them more than once—but none of the birds had ever taunted him telepathically.
The Comeback Kiss Page 9
