“That’s the last thing on my mind. I glad to see you.”
“Oh, Finn. Were you scared?”
“Terrified. Mostly that he’d kill me. I didn’t see a weapon. Oliver thinks he might have been after my car, but why beat me up so badly?”
“It doesn’t make sense. Does everything hurt?”
“Not after the pain meds. My legs weren’t a target. But as you can see my chest is a roadmap of bruises.”
A half grin. “And such a nice chest it is.”
He started to chuckle but it turned into a moan. “Don’t make laugh.”
Elise scanned the room. “Finn, where’s Fiona?”
“I talked to her after we got the CT scans back. She was alone with the kids but Tim’s mom is coming over to stay with them. She’ll be here soon.”
“Poor thing. If she needs any help, I could go over there.”
“That’s sweet of you. She couldn’t get ahold of Tim. Which makes things worse.”
“I can see why it would.”
He yawned.
She stood. “I should leave. You need to rest.”
“Come back later?”
“I will, love.”
But he fell asleep before he heard the endearment. Which was probably for the best.
* * *
Finn looked around the huge den of Fiona’s house. It held a desk and four chairs; the walls were lined with shelves of books. A Murphy bed had been tucked into a recessed hideaway on one long wall. The mattress was pulled down as a bed for him.
His sister walked inside. He could see the lines of stress under her eyes and at the corners of her mouth. He patted the mattress next to him. She sat.
“I hate that you’d be taking care of me now when your own life is in flux.”
“Hush. If you weren’t here, I’d worry more. How do feel?”
“Better but only because of the meds.” They were still heavy duty and he couldn’t stay alone after three days in the hospital.
“The boys will want to see you when they get back.”
“They should so they don’t worry.”
“You haven’t looked in a mirror, I take it.”
“No, is it bad?”
“You’re still a handsome devil, but you have bruises on your face, arms and torso.”
“You’ll have to prepare them.”
She nodded.
