Page 48 of The Moment He Couldn’t Walk Away

“Okay, Mom, I will.”

“Ha.” Finch was suddenly nervous being here alone with her, but strangely he didn’t want to leave.

She used to be the least comfortable person he knew, but that had changed lately. He still felt uncomfortable around her, but that was because he couldn’t deny his attraction to her, no matter how much he wanted to.

He took his mug and followed her into the living room. She sat on one end of the sofa, and he the other.

“The sixties called. They want their chair back,” Finch said, looking at the hanging seat.

“Ha” was all she muttered, huddling into her robe.

“Nina, I need to ask you something.”

“Oh God, what? I don’t think I can take much more. This week has been hell.” She pulled up her knees, the gesture defensive.

“Are you in some kind of trouble?”

Chapter 14

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to answer his question, so Nina let the silence settle between them, watching out the corner of her eye as he raised his coffee to take a mouthful. Finch seemed comfortable with quiet, and she envied him that.

While her life had been spent mainly with her mom, if she was on her own, there was usually a radio going. Nina wasn’t sure what that said about her, but she wasn’t keen on absolute silence.

It probably says you don’t like your own company.

“Why did you ask me that?”

“It was just something Sheriff Dans said to me.”

Her chest tightened. “What did he say?”

“He asked me if you had told me anything, and then he said, ‘Do me a favor and keep your eyes out for anyone in town who makes you uneasy.’”

“Wh-why would he ask you that?” She heard the stutter in her own voice and cursed herself for it.

“Because he saw us kissing upstairs when he was getting something for Nancy.”

Nina wrapped her hands tighter around the mug, letting the warmth settle her after those words. “You should go, Finch.”

“I can, or you can tell me why he asked me that.”

“No.”

“No, there is nothing going on that’s worrying him?”

“That—the last one,” she said too quickly.

“That man is one of the best I know. He’s honest, intelligent, and would protect this town with everything at his disposal if need be. If he says something like that, then there is a problem, Nina.”

“He had no right to⁠—”

“I told you he saw you kissing me and clearly thinks there is something between us, although I explained there wasn’t. But my point is, he deliberately spoke to me about you, and I want to know why.”

“It’s not your business,” she said.

He’d seen her throw up in the bathroom, which was mortifying, but right then she didn’t have the strength to care. Exhaustion had her head hitting the back of the sofa. She hadn’t slept much since her mom died because she couldn’t shut down her brain.

“Maybe it isn’t my business,” Finch said, “but then again, maybe it is and I can help.”