Page 95 of The Moment He Couldn’t Walk Away

“What were you talking about?” Nina asked, looking suspicious.

“You, of course,” Lynx wheezed. “Nice shoes.”

“They’re Blue’s and too big, but that girl has style,” Nina said.

The shoes were actually grey ankle boots with fur trim.

“She’s been looking for those. I’ll tell her you have them,” Jay said.

“What do we do with Mabel?” Nina asked, looking around for the feline. She was lying in her bed before the fire, happy and entirely unbothered by the morning’s events.

“She’ll be fine. Let’s go,” Finch said.

“I have a Zoom call I need to take, so I’ll watch her. Call if you need me,” Lynx said.

“Will do.”

When they reached the hooks by the front door, Finch pulled on his jacket and then handed Nina Birdie’s winter one, which was hanging on the coat rack. He stepped outside and then went back in before Nina could follow him. He found a scarf on the rack and wrapped it around her neck. She looked up at him when he did it, and for a moment, neither of them moved. He held the ends of the scarf a beat longer than he needed to before letting go.

“Thank you.”

“Welcome.”

They climbed into his pickup and followed the others out the driveway. Finch knew his parents would want to know what was happening, and he’d have to tell them at some point, but at least for now, they were keeping their distance.

Nina was silent for the first few minutes, huddled in her coat and scarf and, like him, waiting for the heating to kick in. He watched her from the corner of his eye. She was staring out the passenger window at the gray fields sliding past, and snow lining the road. He could see the set of her jaw and the stillness of someone holding themselves carefully together.

He didn’t push her. He’d learned early not to do that when Birdie was upset or unsettled. His youngest sister had always needed time to think things through before she could talk, and filling that silence before she was ready only made her retreat further. He figured Nina could be the same way. So he drove, letting the quiet settle between them, and waited.

He waved when a car passed, but his mind was on what he’d learned today. Who was new in Lyntacky and could be doing this? They were connected to Dale Falcon, he knew that.

“I hate this not knowing,” she said finally.

“Yeah, it’s hard on the nerves. Do you know any of the new people in town, Nina? I know there are plenty who have moved to Lyntacky lately. Can you name some for me?”

“There’s Clint Burrows, who works with the Slatters. Amber, who is a cleaner and works in Circle Left and The Gnat. Kurt⁠—”

“I know who he is.”

“Right, you worked with him. Nice work behind the bar, by the way. I never got a chance to tell you. The glasses suit you. Do you think you’ll wear them again?”

“You think I looked hot in them?” He winked at her. Anything to make her smile again.

Some of the tension that was holding her rigid left her body. “You looked okay in them, I guess.”

“You told me to ‘keep the glasses on’ when I said I’d come round to your place after my shift.”

“Why didn’t you come around?” she asked him.

Finch could feel her eyes on the side of his face.

“Because I’m a mess at the moment.”

“It’s just sex, Finch⁠—”

“No, it’s not just sex.”

“Maybe it’s not” was all she said before listing more names, and for now, it was enough. “Bradley and Cynthia Brown opened the bookstore.”