Page 10 of The Moment He Couldn’t Walk Away

She spun to face him, and he saw she was crying again. Tears ran down her cheeks, and it made his chest burn.

“Go away.” She then picked up her coffee and walked inside, and he let her go.

He deserved that. Picking up his own mug, Finch drank it down too fast, because apparently he couldn’t do anything right this morning, and burned his mouth enough that his eyes watered. His siblings would have said that was payment for being a shithead, and they wouldn’t have been wrong.

The cake was good, and it took a lot more than his life imploding to rob him of his appetite, so he ate it, but left Nina’s piece because eating that didn’t feel right considering his behavior. When he was done, Finch walked inside, looking around for Nina, but there was no sign of her. If he spoke to her again, he’d just mess it up anyway, so it was better he left.

“Hey, Finch.” The voice came from a dark-haired woman he’d never seen before. She was middle-aged, he thought, but then, he wasn’t good at guessing ages—and rarely tried with women. “I’m Amber.” She was folding napkins as she spoke.

He nodded.

“Amber came to Lyntacky looking for work,” Nancy said from behind the counter, “and is staying for a while. She’s cleaning for me while Sally’s away on vacation visiting her sister, who just had her first child.”

That was another thing about the people in this town. They were always oversharing information he didn’t need or want.

“Nice,” Finch said, because nothing else came to mind. He nodded at Nancy, and the woman called Amber who he would never speak to again, and reached for his wallet. “I’ll settle up, Nancy.”

Minutes later he was heading outside feeling worse than he had when he’d arrived. Maybe not worse, because he’d felt things he hadn’t in ages. But what he did feel was shame for the way he’d treated Nina when she’d done nothing to deserve it. She’d just been there and triggered him, and he’d spoken without thought.

“So there’s an apology in your near future,” he muttered. Fuck, he hated admitting he was in the wrong, which was most often the case these days.

Chapter 4

“Hi, Nina. Where are you off to?”

She was just about to climb into her car outside Circle Left when she heard someone calling her. Nina found Birdie and her husband, Sawyer Duke, approaching. Birdie wore a thick jacket, scarf, gloves, and hat, but her husband’s only concession to the cold weather was a sweater.

“I’m going to visit Mom, so I’ll see you around.” If she got into the car, they wouldn’t see that she’d been crying.

The couple didn’t head into Circle Left but continued on toward her.

Damn.

“Are you okay?” Birdie touched Nina’s arm, and she nodded quickly.

“I just need to go.”

“To your mom’s rest home?” Sawyer asked.

Big, intimidating to those who didn’t know him, Sawyer had once worn the title of grumpiest Lyntack, but not now. Now he was in love and happy.

“We’re your friends, Nina,” Birdie said, now rubbing her arm. “You can talk to us if something is wrong.”

“I-I’m all good,” Nina insisted, though the stutter clearly stated that she was not, in fact, all good. “I’m going to visit Mom,” she said again.

“Okay, we’ll drive you,” Sawyer said. “Come on.”

“I can drive myself.”

“You’re upset, so we’re driving you. The kids are at Brody’s. Let’s go.”

Few people could change a Duke’s mind when it was set. Nina had never managed it.

“Hi, Finch!” Birdie said, her eyes finding her brother, who was now standing on the steps outside Circle Left.

Nina watched him literally freeze in place at his little sister’s greeting. His eyes went from Birdie to Nina. She knew he wanted to walk in the other direction, and that made two of them.

Asshole.