Considering how much they’d shared in the tree house, it was no wonder they walked the path in silence until they got to her front porch, the soft glow of the outside light illuminating her face.
“Thank you,” she said, her finger hooked in his belt loop. “For tonight.”
“Anytime.” He curled his fingers around her nape, brushing his thumb along her jaw as he pulled her in for a kiss. Their lips met with a spark, that always-evident chemistry between them coming to life as he slid his tongue along hers, pulled her body tight against him.
Jesus, how could he be ready to go again? This girl drove him absolutely fucking crazy in the best possible ways.
Panting, she broke away and dropped her forehead to his chest, her hands resting on either side, his shirt clutched in her fists. Well, one thing was for certain—she was just as affected as he was.
“You should go inside before I take you right here on the porch for anyone to see.” He ran his hands down the length of her back as her laugh puffed against his T-shirt.
“I know I should be scandalized by that, but is it bad that I’m actually considering it?”
He groaned, fisting her tank top at the small of her back and tugging her against him. Letting her feel how hard he was for her. “That’s just cruel, woman. Don’t tease a man in this state.”
She laughed, a tinkling sound, and looked up at him just as the front door swung open. Mac stood on the other side, mouth hanging open, eyes pinging back and forth between her sister and him.
“What the hell?”
Finn’s lips quirked up at the corner. “Hey, Mac. Havin’ a good night?”
“I… Um…” She narrowed her eyes before settling them on Willow and giving her what could only be interpreted as a “we’ll talk later” look. Then she walked away, leaving the door wide open.
So much for the whole against-the-house scenario.
“Seems y’all have some talkin’ to do, so I’ll leave you to it.” He pulled Willow close, pressing a soft, chaste kiss on her lips. Against them, he whispered, “’Night, Willowtree. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He walked backward, their fingers clasped between them until he couldn’t hold on any longer, and then he turned and strolled toward his truck near the front of the property. Leaving was the last thing he wanted to do. Hell, if he had it his way, she’d invite him into her home, into her room, into her bed. He’d spend the night with her, wake her up in the middle of the night with his lips on her, spend an hour inside her, then wake for the day with her in his arms. Pure heaven. Something they’d never had the luxury of doing, but something he wanted to experience almost as much as he wanted his next breath.
Someday. Someday, she’d trust him with that. Maybe. Hopefully. Especially after what they’d talked about tonight. Someday—maybe even sooner rather than later—they’d get to be a couple like that. He could stay at her place, or she could stay at his. They’d wake up, head down to the square, and grab breakfast at the diner. Everyone would look, of course. But she and Finn wouldn’t care. Hell, he’d be damn glad for all the gawking, because it’d mean Willow was his girl for the entire town to see.
So lost in his thoughts, he didn’t realize he wasn’t alone until he nearly tripped over Willow’s daddy. Dick stood off to the side, rage written all over his face. And, shit, wasn’t this just history repeating itself? The last time Finn had made this trek, Dick had stopped him then too. Face as pissed as it was now, spitting fire and threats.
Difference was, Finn was no longer that scared, nineteen-year-old kid with a sick momma and not a whole lot of hope for the future. Now? Now, he had that hope in spades.
“Evenin’, Dick. What can I do for you?”
“What can youdofor me? You can tell me what the hell you’re doin’ on my property before I call the sheriff to haul your ass off for trespassin’.”
Finn cocked his head. A voice whispered that he shouldn’t taunt the man, shouldn’t rub what he’d been doing in his face. But pride was a bitch sometimes, and the satisfaction of pissing him off was too good to pass up. “Been a while, but I think you’ll probably remember if you try hard enough.”
Dick delivered the reaction Finn had wanted, his face reddening, hands curled into fists at his sides. Finn could practically see the smoke emanating from the older man’s ears, and he couldn’t say he was even a bit sorry about it. While Finn wouldn’t go back and change the events that’d led to him leaving—because without them, his momma may not…probably wouldn’t…have been with them now—but he couldn’t help hating Dick for tearing him and Willow apart. For not even allowing him to tell her goodbye.
“I don’t know what you’re up to here,” Dick said, “but you best finish what you came for and leave. Before I make you. You remember how that goes, don’t you, boy?”
Boy? Finn hadn’t been a boy in a long damn time—since well before he’d left in the first place. He laughed, a loud booming sound in the otherwise quiet night. “Guess you haven’t heard the news.”
“What news?”
Oh, this was going to make his whole year. Watching Dick’s face as Finn delivered the information that would ruin his precious little town—at least, in his eyes. “We’re stayin’.”
“You’rewhat?”
“C’mon now, Dick, I know you heard me. Despite you trying your damnedest to run us out with all that red tape nonsense and bullshit regulations, we’re not goin’ anywhere. We’re making Havenbrook home again.”
“You…you can’t do that.”
“Can and will. Drew and I are making one last trip to California to get packed up and bring Momma back with us.”
