“I can dance!”
“See how good I am.”
“Asshole.”
“Shithead.”
They both whispered so Gracie didn’t hear.
“So, about Maggs.” Pip, with her usual tenacity, had not moved on. “What aren’t you telling us?”
“Can’t a man enjoy a quiet beer in this establishment?” Fin sighed. “And why would I not tell you something about Maggs?”
“I don’t know why you wouldn’t.”
Fin sighed again because it fit the moment. “She was on the side of the road; her car had broken down. I asked if she wanted a ride, then gave her one. I didn’t get to meet her family, as they were doing ranch stuff.”
“Nash can be niggly, but he’s basically a good guy. He just hates it when Maggs dates losers, and maybe if he’d seen you, he’d have thought you were one of those… which of course is right.”
Fin rolled his eyes at Joe.
“Plus you arrived on Harriet, so it’s possibly good they didn’t see that, as her family are protective of her.”
“Harriet?” Fin asked.
“Harriet the Harley,” Pip smiled.
“You just completely emasculated my bike.”
“Okay, even I can see BS when it’s staring me in the face,” Dylan said. “Your eye is twitching. That’s a hell of a giveaway there’s a lot more to this story. You only twitch when you’re evading the truth, Fin. So let’s hear what you’re not telling us about Maggie.”
“You do not know that about me!”
“To be fair, he likely does,” Joe said.
“Don’t you start that profiler shit with me, bud.” Fin felt cornered and wished he’d bypassed A.S. and simply gone home where he had perfectly good beer and a great deal less aggravation.
“Maggs has been off—I wonder if that could be aftermath from what happened in London?” Pip said. “But she won’t talk to us about it, Fin. If you can shed light on that, I’d be grateful.”
Aww, hell.
He loved Pip like a sister, but he’d promised Maggs, so he went for hinting but not actually coming out and saying what had happened.
“That thing that happened in London,” Joe said as he handed his niece a lollipop. “I think it’s to do with that.”
“More sugar, excellent.” Pip glared at her cousin.
“That thing was a terrorist attack,” Dylan said. “And she was in that place, but told us it was all good. Do you think it wasn’t, Fin?”
“Pip would know more about that than me, or Bailey, who is her best bud.” Fin felt his collar tighten for the second time that day. “But yes, I think something is off there. She’s jumpy, and I can’t get her to argue with me, and we always argued,” Fin added. “But it’s my guess she’ll talk when she’s ready. Until then, I guess we wait it out.”
They fell silent then, all no doubt having the same thoughts. What had happened to their fiery redhead to force her to return to them the way she had?
Chapter12
“So what’s up, Tigger?”
Her family had given her the nickname when she was a child, because apparently she used to bounce a lot. It had stuck.
