The Home They Built

by Shannon Stacey

  “Do you want to sit down?”

  He shook his head. “Not really. I want to—”

  “I had a meeting yesterday with the network collective,” she broke in. She needed to put the Bayview Inn to rest because if they were going to talk, she didn’t want that between them anymore.

  “Collective?”

  “Oh, it’s just what I call them, I guess. And they said—”

  “Wait.” He practically barked the word, so she stopped talking and waited. And waited.

  And waited. “What am I waiting for, Finn?”

  “Don’t tell me about your meeting yet. I didn’t listen to the voice mail that Gram left on my phone while I was on my way here. I have something to say to you and I want to say it before you tell me what happened. I want that—the mess with Gram—to be separate from this.”

  “Separate from what?”

  “Us.”

  That single word made her breath catch in her chest. Us.

  “It’s important to me that you know that what I want to say to you has nothing to do with whatever happens with the house. This is about you and me, and nothing else.”

  “Okay,” she said so quietly she wasn’t sure she made an actual sound.

  “I am head-over-heels crazy in love with you, Anna,” Finn said. She put her hands to her mouth, pressing her fingers against her trembling bottom lip as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I needed to come here so I could tell you that.”

  “I am so madly in love with you, too,” she whispered. “It doesn’t even make sense, but it’s the truth.”

  The corner of his mouth quirked upward in a crooked grin. “This is my first and only time, so I’m no expert, but I’ve gotten the impression over the course of my life that love doesn’t really make sense.”

  “Is this the part where you kiss me?” she asked, taking a step toward him.

  “Almost.” But he did reach out and take her hand. “I’m sorry. I was a wicked jerk the day you got that call from the network. I reacted badly and I took all the fear I had for Gram out on you. It wasn’t your fault and I’m truly sorry I blamed you.”

  “I’m sorry, too. I did take advantage of Tess’s application to have an excuse to go to Blackberry Bay. Once I was there and saw the impact it was having on your family, it was too late to get out of it. All I could do was try to make it work.”

  He tugged her a little closer. “No matter what comes of it, I want you and me to put that behind us. I want us to be together, Anna.”

  “I do, too. No matter what.”

  He kissed her then, his mouth claiming hers as though to make up for the time they’d lost. She stood on her toes, her fingers curled in his hair. He kissed her until she was out of breath and she didn’t even care. She just wanted more of him. All of him.

  When he broke off the kiss and stared into her eyes, brushing her hair back from her face, she could feel the love radiating out from him and her heart felt whole for the first time.

  “You know what we should do now?” she asked, grinning at him.

  “Oh, I can think of something.”

  “You should listen to that voice mail from Tess.”

  His grin faded. “That’s definitely not what I was thinking.”

  “Trust me.”

  When he pulled the phone out of his pocket, she led him over to the couch and they sat down. She curled against him as he hit Play and put it on speakerphone.

  “You woke up the whole neighborhood with that death machine this morning,” Tess said, and Anna chuckled. “Anyway, Anna called and she got the network people to pretend the whole Bayview Inn thing never happened, so you can keep your motorcycle. And I hope you didn’t answer when I called because you’re out on a long ride. To Connecticut. Bring her back with you, okay?”

  As his grandmother spoke, the tension seeped out of Finn’s muscles. Anna could practically feel his muscles relaxing, and the long breath he exhaled seemed to clear away the last of it.

  “How did you do that?” he asked, taking her hand in his.

  “They’re smart men. They knew that me fighting them in public would cost them more in the long run than what went into the Bayview Inn.”

  “What about your show?”

  “That’s over.”

  His thumb stroked the back of her hand. “I’m sorry, Anna.”

  “Me, too. But I don’t think I can really regret what happened. Look what I got in return.”

  He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “What are you going to do now?”

  “I’m not sure. I have the book coming out. Maybe I’ll write another. I could do freelance design work. I have enough savings so I don’t need to jump into anything.”

  “I have a crazy thought.”

  “Just one?”

  He chuckled. “For now. That master suite at Gram’s with its own bathroom and sitting room? I was thinking about moving in there.”

  “Really?” She picked her head up so she could see his face. “What about your business? And your place in Portsmouth?”

  “I’ve been doing my business remotely with some commuting for a couple of months and it works for Tom and me. And I’ll let the apartment go. I’ll bunk at Tom’s house if I have to spend the night in Portsmouth.”

  “That would make it so Tess can stay in her house without worrying about the upkeep or the expense, because, let’s face it, she’s not really cut out to be an innkeeper.” They both laughed. “But it will only work if you really think you’ll be happy there.”

  “I don’t think I ever really wanted to leave Blackberry Bay, so I think I’ll be happier. But the only way I can be sure is if you join me.”

  “Finn Weaver, are you asking me to be the first honorary guest of the imaginary Bayview Inn?”

  He stood up and tugged her to her feet. “I’m asking you to be my wife.”

  Standing in front of Finn with her hands in his, Anna saw their future flash through her mind. Together in the house they both loved, their lives made fuller in the best possible way by sharing it with Tess. They’d raise their children there and get a dog. They’d be surrounded by his family. And her family. She would spend every day of the rest of her life with this man.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I want to be your wife.”

  He kissed her until everything faded away except this man—the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with.

  “I love you,” she whispered against his mouth.

  “I love you, too. And I can’t wait for us to go home together.”

  Epilogue

  “I heard your mother say it’s almost time to cut the cake,” Anna whispered in Finn’s ear. He was her husband of one hour and forty-five minutes, and she figured they had at least a couple hours to go before they could be alone.

  “Which one?” he whispered back.

  She laughed, the sound traveling across the sprawling yard and making their guests turn to look. “I can’t believe we have three wedding cakes.”

  “I can’t believe they’re all carrot cakes,” he replied, hooking his arm around her waist so he could pull her close.

  “You need to prepare yourself for the inevitable judging after the cake,” she warned.

  “It’s our wedding, not the county fair.”

  She laughed. “It’s cute you think that matters.”

  The wedding planning hadn’t been difficult. They would be married at home—having moved in two months ago when the renovations were completed. They were in the upstairs suite, with Tess in her downstairs room, and none of them had regrets. Anna and Tess got along amazingly well, and Tess did her best to let them have their space. And Finn and Anna would be working on filling the other room with a growing family very soon.

  Anna was wearing a traditional white gown that hugged her body and Finn wore a tux, though
they’d invited their guests to dress casually for the outdoor wedding. Most of them had ignored that. The flowers were simple and from the florist in town. All in all, most of the planning had gone smoothly.

  Except for the wedding cake.

  As the premier baker in Blackberry Bay and the mother-in-law of the best man, Jenelle Bishop intended to make them a traditional but elegantly decorated carrot cake. Tess claimed her carrot cake was better and she should get to make the wedding cake since she was hosting the wedding, along with the bride and groom. When Alice pointed out that Tess used her recipe and didn’t make it as well, her mother-in-law challenged her to prove it.

  So Finn and Anna had three wedding cakes and all she could do was hope they managed to escape the reception before one of them asked which was best.

  Finn snorted. “If they had asked us, I would have voted for chocolate.”

  “I think there’s a rule about New England weddings in the fall having carrot cake.” She stood on her toes to whisper in his ear. “But you were smart enough to marry a woman who stopped at Bishop’s and bought two double chocolate his and hers wedding cupcakes, which are hidden very well in our bedroom right now.”

  He growled and pulled her hard against his body. “I love the way you think, Mrs. Weaver.”

  The sound of silverware clinking against glasses caught their attention and they gave their guests an obligatory kiss. The not-so-obligatory kisses would be saved for later.

  “I didn’t know it was possible to be this happy,” he whispered against her mouth, and tears blurred her vision. There had been several bouts of happy tears over the last couple of days as their friends and family arrived to celebrate their wedding with them.

  “Let’s stay happy by putting off the cake cutting as long as we can,” she suggested. “Let’s mingle and try to be hard to pin down. Avoid your mother, your grandmother and Jenelle.”

  Laughing, he threaded his fingers through hers and led her into the crowd of guests. “You think like a Blackberry Bay native.”

  They made their way through the guests, stopping and chatting for a few minutes before moving on. Everybody was in a celebratory mood, and there were lots of smiles and a few happy tears.

  Her family was there. All of them. While they weren’t all sitting together at the long folding tables under the rented canopy, her father had walked her down the aisle. Christy and Naomi were both mothers of the bride, and her sisters had been her bridesmaids. Her parents. Her sisters and her brothers. Her nephews. Her heart was full of love for all of them, and having them all here to witness her marrying the man she loved made her feel whole in a way she hadn’t for a long time.

  And Eryn had traveled from Connecticut with her wife and their son to be her matron of honor. Their friendship hadn’t ended with the end of the show, and they were in almost constant contact. And because Eryn and Tess got along so well, she and Kelly were going to stay at the house for the week Anna and Finn were away and have a true family vacation in Blackberry Bay.

  Anna and Finn sat for a while at the table where their best friends had congregated. When setting up for the wedding, they’d cleared a space for the kids to play, complete with a few outdoor games and a playpen in the shade. Brady and Reyna were there with Parker, who had mastered walking and refused to stay in one place. Their friends Cam and Meredith had Sophie and Carolina with them, though Carolina was asleep on a blanket under the table. She was one of those toddlers who went full speed, dropped for a nap, then got up going full speed again. CJ and Benny were playing trucks, and Sydney’s kids were playing with the little ones, too, even though they were a little older. Weddings were boring for the preteen set.

  “My mother’s coming this way,” Reyna said after they’d been sitting for a few minutes.

  “If you dive under the table, don’t fall on Carolina,” Meredith said, and everybody except Anna and Finn laughed.

  “When are we having cake?” Brady yelled to Jenelle, and because she was looking their way, Anna couldn’t even throw anything at him.

  “You’re going to pay for that,” Finn warned his best friend, but she could hear the laughter in his voice.

  He stood and took Anna’s hand as she pushed off the folding chair. She smiled at him and shook her head. “I guess it’s time.”

  “I’m not going to pick a favorite,” he said.

  “Not today,” she said. “But I know you and you’re going to end up telling them each their cake was the best at some point.”

  “I don’t know. Baked goods are serious business in this town.” They were skirting around the guests on their way to the cake table, but when they passed by a large tree, Finn tugged her hand and pulled her around to the other side of the trunk. It wasn’t exactly private, but it was as close as they were going to get. “One more hour and then we’re leaving.”

  She laughed. “One more hour and we can start leaving. It’ll probably take at least that long to say goodbye to everybody.”

  “Let’s just get on the bike and go. They’ll figure out we’re gone at some point.

  They were taking his Harley over to Maine, and then riding up the coastline to a cottage on the rocky beach they’d rented for a week, and Anna couldn’t wait.

  “We’re going to be so exhausted we’ll probably sleep for the first half of our honeymoon,” she said.

  “That’s fine as long as I’m sleeping with you next to me.”

  When he bowed his head to kiss her, she felt the familiar rush of joy and love. “You’re right. We’ll just get on the bike and go.”

  “Seven days alone.”

  “And we’ll have to spend most of that time in bed since we can only fit a couple days’ worth of clothes in the bags on the bike,” she pointed out.

  “One hour.” He grinned. “We sneak off, eat our cupcakes and hit the road.”

  “I like the way you think, husband.” The glow in his eyes when she said the word matched what she felt, and she squeezed his hand. “I love you, Finn.”

  “I love you too, wife of mine. Forever.”

  She kissed him, one long and sweet kiss, and then she gave him one of those crooked smiles he loved so much. “Let’s go eat some carrot cake.”

  * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Operation K-9 Brothers by Sandra Owens.

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  Operation K-9 Brothers

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  Chapter One

  “Stupid me. I trusted you,” said the voice on the other end of the phone.

  Jack Daniels, Whiskey to his SEAL teammates, blinked sleepy eyes at his bedside clock. Three in the morning sucked for getting angry calls from women. What the hell had he done to this one?

  “Who’s this?” That was the wrong thing to say. Jack held the phone away from his ear in an effort to save his hearing. He didn’t recognize the number on the screen. Her voice wasn’t familiar either.

  “Sweetheart,” he said, interrupting her tirade. “You sure you have the right number?” Even though her voice and phone number didn’t ring any bells, he couldn’t say for sure he wasn’t the douchebag—along with some other impressively creative names she was calling him—in question.

  Ah hell, now she was crying.

  “How could you?” she said, her words slightly slurred. She hung up on him.

  After thirty minutes of trying to go back to sleep, Jack let out a long sigh. How could he what? That question was going to bug him until he got an answer. Although her voice hadn’t been at all familiar, he’d liked it, even when she’d been calling him names. He grinned. Sewer-sucking slimeball an
d twatwaffle were good, but his favorite was doggy doo. That one had a nice ring to it.

  He got out of bed and padded to the living room where he’d left his laptop. Dakota sighed in resignation before hoisting herself up from her dog bed, her nails clicking on the wood floor as she followed him. She liked her sleep, something he interrupted too often for her taste because of his nightmares. At least they weren’t occurring every night anymore. She sat near his leg and peered up at him with worried eyes.

  “Not a nightmare this time, girl. We got a mystery on our hands. What do you think of that?”

  She knew him inside and out, knew from the tone of his voice that he wasn’t weighed down by his memories this time. Once she determined he didn’t need her comfort, she made two circles, got her damaged leg under her, then curled up on the floor at his feet, apparently liking her sleep more than mysteries. Jack was intrigued, though, his interest in something flaring for the first time since coming home.

  It only took a few minutes to find a name and address attached to her phone number. Nichole Masters, currently living in Asheville. Nope, not ringing even one little bell in his memory bank of female acquaintances or hookups. It was possible he’d forgotten one but not likely. He had a good memory, especially for women, and she had a sexy voice he was sure he wouldn’t have forgotten.

  Jack stared absently at the half moon framed by the window. Coming to a decision, he nodded. “All right, Nikki girl, you have me curious.” As his teammates would tell anyone who asked, get on Whiskey’s radar and all bets were off.

  He showered, and after staring at himself for a minute in the mirror, he shaved off his beard, seeing his face for the first time in months. He felt naked.

  * * *

  At sunrise Jack made a recon run on one Nichole Masters. Her house was a cute little bungalow near the River Arts District of Asheville, North Carolina. As soon as he downloaded her Facebook profile picture to his phone, he knew that he’d never met her. There was no way he’d forget that face.