Finn

by Chris Keniston

  "Not a tall order at all." Finn shifted forward in his seat. "And where do you expect to find these descendants?"

  "Not—"

  "Sure," he finished for with a chuckle.

  "Oh, that'll be easy," Aunt Eileen said quickly.

  "How is that?" Finn turned to his aunt. "Are you going to tell me the Callahans came from one of the abandoned towns?"

  "Of course not," she waved him off. "Where does anyone go to find out all the gossip that ever was for the county?"

  At the same moment, Finn and his aunt echoed, "Sisters."

  ***

  Joanna had no idea who the sisters were but she was getting goose flesh at the first possible break for her idea.

  "Those two know everything about everyone. If there's a story to be told, they'll know it. And if they don't, they'll know who will."

  "So who knows their real names?" Finn asked.

  "Their real names?" That didn't make sense to Joanna.

  Finn nodded. "My entire life they've been Sister and Sissy. They've run the equivalent of the general store here for just as long."

  "And their parents ran it before them," Aunt Eileen tilted her head at him. "If you're so curious, ask them."

  "Not that curious." He sat back.

  Joanna didn't know what the big deal was, but she'd forgotten how cute Finn looked when he was out of his comfort zone. He was the quiet one of the group. Approaching people, even people she didn't know, and drumming up conversation was her thing, not his. "If you don't think they'd mind talking to me, I'd love to sit down and interview them."

  "Mind?" Aunt Eileen shrugged. "Nothing those two like better than a captive audience. And I bet Ned might know a story or two. He's probably old enough to have lived in a ghost town himself!"

  "Could be," Finn agreed easily.

  "What could be?" Joanna recognized the tall man who'd just walked into the room in what had to be the West Texas cowboy uniform as Finn's dad. With twinkling blue eyes and sharp features, he looked like Finn might in another thirty years or so.

  "That Ned is older than dirt," Aunt Eileen stood and smiled at the man. "I'll get you a lemonade. In the meantime, you remember Finn's friend Joanna from A&M."

  "Nice to see you." Mr. Farraday smiled and Joanna knew from whom Finn had gotten his disarming grin. Finn could have charmed the panties off every co-ed on campus if he'd been so inclined, but the guy bled honor and respect before Aggie maroon.

  "You too." She never knew if she was supposed to stand up or offer her hand or what. She went to stand up and Finn's dad waved her off.

  "Please don't get up. And if anyone really wants to know, yes Ned is older than dirt."

  "See. I'm sure we can find plenty of stories for you, dear." Aunt Eileen practically wiggled in her seat with excitement. "So, where will you be staying?"

  Her original plans for this trip to drive along and stop wherever the mood struck her had died last night. At the only motel for miles, she'd slept fully clothed on—not in—the bed and while she hadn't felt the need to shove a chair under the doorknob for security, she hadn't gotten much sleep. "I need to look into my nearest options. I remember a new bed and breakfast in a town not far from here, but it doesn't have much history yet."

  "That's my sister-in-law Meg's place."

  "Oh, well. In that case—"

  "In that case you'll stay here with us." Aunt Eileen stood from her seat and dipped her chin in a single motion that said there'd be no argument.

  Joanna turned to Finn and palms up he smiled and shook his head slightly. "Guess you have a place to stay."

  Chapter Five

  "This pie is so much better than I remembered." Joanna took another bite.

  Finn shook his head and smiled. Even though she'd had two slices at dinner, now, way past his bedtime, with the entire family gone to bed, the two of them sat in the kitchen having a late night snack. He still expected to awaken any minute in bed and discover this entire crazy day had been nothing more than one extremely far-fetched dream. "You should know, that's your third piece."

  "Fourth if you count the one your aunt gave me before dinner." She waved a forkful of blueberry at him. "Besides, currants are filled with anti-oxidants, they're good for me."

  "Right. So is all that sugar." Finn picked a blueberry from her plate. "So tell me, how did a nice girl like you turn a psych degree into a writing career?"

  Joanna toyed with the berries on her plate. "I knew from the start of school that I'd need at least five years postgrad to do anything with my degree. That was okay because I always figured if I lost steam with my bio credits I could fall back on teaching science."

  "Plan B. Yes, I remember."

  "Well, turns out that therapists aren't allowed to tell their patients to shit or get off the pot, and I'm not terribly fond of thirty tenth-grade biology students several hours a day, five days a week, for nine months a year."

  Neither one of those results surprised Finn. "But writing? As I remember you did nothing but bitch and moan over every paragraph that ever had to be written for English Lit."

  "Turns out writing is way more appealing if it includes a paycheck." She stabbed at another morsel of pie. "And as fate would have it, it also turns out I'm good."

  That he didn't doubt. "So you started writing for travel magazines?"

  Joanna snorted. "Not hardly. I read a book that ticked me off so I sat down and wrote a short story with an end more to my liking. Then I progressed to some freelance articles for the local paper which led into a pretty steady gig for Texas Travel magazine, and in my spare time, I made an attempt at the great American novel."

  "How'd that work out for you?"

  "I'll know if I ever get past page one."

  "Page one?"

  "I've actually written more." Joanna shrugged, "All boring. So in the meantime, I write for whoever will pay me, including the occasional piece for the lifestyle section of my local paper. If you ever make it to the Dallas area and pick up a newspaper, you're bound to find something with my name on it."

  "Next time I'll pay more attention."

  "My byline is J. M. Gaines"

  "J.M.?" Finn didn't understand. "You don't use your full name? Is it a masculine puff sort of thing?"

  "More like self-preservation. Do you watch reality TV?"

  "I barely watch TV, not going to watch a bunch of people running around the world, fighting through the jungles, or sharing a small house."

  Joanna set the fork down and shook her head at him. "Not those shows. There's a popular home remodeling show with a married couple here in Texas. The star's name is Joanna Gaines. You have no idea how many people become incredibly irate when they meet me in person and discover I'm not 'the' Joanna Gaines. Restaurants are the worst. I'm always afraid someone's going spit on my food for revenge."

  "So you go by your initials to avoid any conflict."

  "Exactly!" She swallowed the last mouthful. "If your aunt makes pie like this every day I am going to be in serious trouble."

  "You can work it off like the rest of us, breakfast is at five—"

  "Five? No wonder farm people—"

  "We're ranchers."

  "I stand corrected." She smiled. "You ranchers go to bed with the chickens."

  He almost spit out his aunt's common retort—we don't have chickens—but instead he went with, "Fence riding begins at first light."

  "On the four-wheeler?"

  "Sometimes, but tomorrow we'll be on horseback."

  Her face lit up. "Really?"

  Finn had to laugh. "Of course really."

  "No, I understand you’re really going to be on horseback, I mean can I ride the fence?"

  He hadn't meant his comment to be an invitation, and even if he had, he wouldn't have expected her to take him up on it. "You know how to ride a horse?"

  "Does the merry-go-round at Fair Park count?" she grinned coyly.

  "Not exactly. Besides, I thought you were going to go to town and talk to the sisters?
"

  "I think it would be fun to see what you do in person." She stood and carried the empty plate to the sink.

  Finn did the same and reached for the dish soap. "I'll take care of those."

  "Now I understand why you were the only neat guy in the apartment." Joanna retreated to the table and returned with two empty glasses.

  "You mean I was the only neat person in the apartment. As I remember it, you and I were the only ones who even knew how to turn on a vacuum cleaner."

  "Not true. Terri could turn it on no problem, she just didn't know quite what to do with it after that. So I can come with you in the morning?"

  "Tomorrow we'll be fixing broken chunks of fence wire in one of the summer pastures. It's boring and slow moving riding from post to post. You'll have a much more interesting time in town." Finn closed the door to the dishwasher and turned the machine on.

  "I can hit town in the afternoon."

  Heaven knows what came over Finn, but instead of insisting that heading out to the pasture with him and his dad would not be a good idea, he'd nodded and heard himself say, "Five o'clock comes around awfully fast. We'd better call it a night."

  ***

  Oh boy, Finn wasn't kidding. Five in the morning came around too fast. And it wasn't that she had to be out of bed at five in the morning. Joanna had to be out of bed, dressed and seated at the table by five am.

  "Don't you look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed." Aunt Eileen smiled over her shoulder from her position in front of the stove.

  Already the table was covered by plates stacked with pancakes, toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and holding a skillet, Aunt Eileen turned and piled hash brown potatoes onto the lone empty dish on the table. Joanna could feel her arteries clogging. Even more surprising was the amount of food loaded onto Finn and his dad's plate.

  It had taken Joanna a few long minutes to notice the extra person at the table. At first she thought it was the brother with the baby and then she realized, while clearly the guy carried the same Farraday DNA, this was a new person to her.

  "Jo, this is my brother Connor. He's going to be helping out today."

  "Nice to meet you." The brother, Connor, flashed a bright smile, also clearly part of the Farraday DNA, and then returned to the steak and eggs on his plate.

  "Would you like some coffee, dear?" Aunt Eileen asked.

  "Be warned," Finn looked up from his own cup, "it will put hair on your chest."

  Joanna spotted the orange bottle on the counter. She liked coffee with a lot of sugar and even more cream, but she was pretty sure she wasn't up to cowboy coffee. "Juice will be fine, thank you."

  Filled juice glass in hand, Joanna took a seat, scooped up a spoonful of eggs and a slice of toast.

  "Oh, if you're going to work with us, you'll have to eat more than that." Finn took a bite and Joanna noticed biscuits and gravy were also part of the morning menu.

  "I don't usually eat much in the morning."

  "You also don't usually repair a fence line. " Finn took a sip of coffee and she could see Mr. Farraday and Connor paying way too much attention to cutting the food on their plates. "Trust me when I tell you that you're gonna want something that will stick to your ribs until lunchtime."

  "Finn's right." Aunt Eileen set down a plate of warm ham in front of her. "Protein is good, but carbs are energy." A second later another plate of warm biscuits appeared in front of her. "Try the biscuits. Made from scratch and the strawberry jam too."

  "You'll want to try the biscuit with just butter first." Finn passed her a butter dish. Only this butter wasn't a nice cubed shape, it was a thick slab on a round dish. "One of the neighbors down the road a piece sells fresh butter. You should try it."

  Not wanting to appear difficult, she did as she was told. All it took was one bite for her to nearly moan with delight. "Oh, wow."

  The head of the family chuckled to himself and Connor's smile spread from ear to ear. "My wife is from Chicago. We made a deal long before our wedding day. She gets to sleep until after the sun comes up and I'll keep having breakfast at the ranch. She insists, unlike ranchers, lawyers don't need the extra calories."

  "You live close?"

  Connor nodded. "Next place over. About a mile door to door."

  "I guess that's close in this part of the state."

  All three heads nodded. Then, taking his last bite, Finn stood and picking up his plate and coffee cup, walked over to the sink. His aunt was already cleaning up the mess and Finn gave her a peck on the cheek. "Delicious as always. You're the best, Aunt Eileen." Setting the dirty dishes down, he turned to the folks at the table.

  Joanna was doing her utmost to shovel down the protein to go with the biscuits, but she didn't really think she could eat another bite. Picking up her plate, she stood as well. "I'm ready whenever you are."

  Finn took inventory of Joanna from neck to toe. "The clothes are fine, but the loafers are going to have to go. Did you bring boots?"

  Joanna looked down to her feet. She lived in Dallas most of the time, not Fort Worth. "No."

  "What size are you, honey?" Aunt Eileen moved over and put a hand on her shoulder.

  "Seven and a half."

  "That'll be Grace. I wear a seven. She wears an eight. Double socks will work." Aunt Eileen turned to Finn.

  "Already on my way," he said.

  Five minutes later she looked and felt like a real cowgirl. Including the hat Aunt Eileen had given her for the sun.

  "You're all set." Aunt Eileen grinned at her as if she were a child ready for her first day of school.

  She followed Finn and his brother out the door and to the barn. Inside he walked straight to a tan horse with a white mane.

  "This is Princess," Finn said. "She's pretty easygoing. You should do fine on her."

  "How do you do?" Joanna stepped slightly to the side, near Finn, before running her hand down Princess' head. "You're a pretty girl. Anyone ever tell you that?" The horse snorted and dipped her head and Joanna laughed. "Oh, yeah. We're going to get along just fine."

  Finn slipped the halter over Princess' head and led her out into the aisle between the stalls.

  Once he'd secured Princess in the crossties, Finn handed Joanna a brush. "Brush all the dirt off, and definitely any burrs you find. I'll get her saddled up for you soon as I get Brandy fixed up."

  "No need. I can do it."

  Finn raised a brow. "No. I'll do it." He walked away and returned with a couple of saddle pads with blankets, set them on a nearby bale of hay and turned around again.

  Joanna was pretty sure that having her here today was going to slow him down some anyhow and she didn't want to delay the others any more than she had to. Placing the pad on Princess' back first, she placed one of the blankets over it, carefully lining it up.

  Saddle in his arms, Finn walked up to her. "What are you doing?"

  "Getting Princess ready."

  Looking at the horse, over to where he'd set the pad down and back, Finn blew out a sigh. "I know you want to help. But you've got to be careful around horses. Even the good ones. We don't want to start the day with a horse getting spooked, and I most certainly don't want you getting hurt. If we're going to be working today, I need you to promise you'll do as I say."

  Joanna had to think about that one a minute longer than Finn probably liked. She'd never been one to do as she was told, and Finn had never been one to try and boss her around, so this was new territory for them. But this was his ranch and his horses.

  "Promise," she said.

  Finn lifted a brow at her. "Promise what?"

  "To do exactly as I'm told." She resisted the urge to cross her fingers behind her back. There was, after all, a first time for everything.

  Chapter Six

  Finn set the saddle on the ground, reached out and lifting the corner of the blanket, checked underneath. Not bad, but even a city slicker could have easily figured out what the pad and blanket were for. Though they may not have gotten them in the right order. But Pri
ncess' hide gleamed beneath. She'd done a good job brushing.

  "Excuse me." Joanna stood slightly behind him, the saddle in her hands, far side stirrup resting over the seat.

  "Hey." He moved forward. "That's heavy."

  "Yes. Which is why I'd like you to move over so I can set this on her."

  Finn reached for the saddle and had to give a slightly harder than expected tug for Joanna to release her hold. "Not just for you, but for the horse." He let the saddle fall easily onto Princess' back. Then walked around to straighten the girths. "You don't want sixty pounds of saddle to come down heavy on her back," he said over his shoulder.

  "No." She agreed easily. Perhaps too easily.

  By the time he'd walked back around to where Joanna stood, she'd leaned under, pulled the front cinch toward her and tightened it under the horse, waiting as the mare expelled her breath. He'd caught a glimpse of her hands as she checked the buckle and then continued to wrap the cinch strap until she ran out of length. Curious now, he paused and in silence watched her snug it up and lock in the buckle. As she took a step along and reached for the back cinch, he crossed his arms and stepped up beside her.

  She buckled the back strap and stuck her hand between it and the horse's belly, checking it wasn't too tight, then reached for the mare's bridle hanging on a hook. As easily as he could have done himself, she replaced the halter with the bridle. The mare accepted the bit easily and Joanna straightened the mare's forelock and checked that the cheekpiece wasn't too tight. Crossing her arms the way he had done moments before, she turned to face him.

  "You've done this before." It wasn't a question.

  "Yeah." She nodded casually. "You could say that."

  "Then you know how to ride?" It was a stupid question. No one learned how to saddle a horse without ever learning to ride. It wasn't like the pit crew of a race car that might never learn to drive.