Page 141 of The Defiant Curse

Oh, it wasn’t lost on him that they were staring at him, and the look said it all.

TREAD LIGHTLY.

When she nodded, Finn knew it was time to make amends for hurting her feelings. Yeah, it had been inadvertent, but when you did something, you fixed it.

Period.

Fiona would box his ears if he didn’t do it because she raised him better, and with the premise to judge not, lest he be judged.

Holding out his arm, she linked hers through it, and he began walking along the cobblestone sidewalk in the village square.

The whole time, no one gave her a second glance, other than because there was a different woman on Finn’s arm.

“I’m sorry that what I said hurt your heart. I wasn’t aware of what happened. I never would have made an intentional bruise on your heart like that.”

Oh, she was aware.

Normally, she wasn’t so sensitive, but the last week had been rough, and it wasn’t looking any better. Before this, she would have handled it differently, but she just didn’t have it in her anymore.

That was for damn sure.

“It’s okay. I just…I can’t carry much more,” she said. “My father would be horrified I took justice into my own hands, and I’m trying to come to grips with that.”

He could see that, and that told Finn everything.

A monster wouldn’t care at all. They would have moved on without batting an eyelash.

That she was all riled up…

It told the tale.

Elizabeth continued.

“Now, I have to live with it. The worst part is in all of this, with the big family I have surrounding me, no one will hold me up, Finn. I’m alone and drowning.”

As someone from a big family, that made him sad. Had his Gabby run from home, he would have been hot on her tail, making sure she was okay.

He wanted to ask why her husbands weren’t here helping her, but he didn’t want to upset her more. As a cop, sometimes, he forgot to hold his tongue.

“I’m sorry you feel that way. What can we do to help you?” he asked. “Because my lass loves you very much, so that makes you part of my family too.”

He saw the tear slip down her cheek.

Immediately, as the brother of a slew of women, he knew he had to do something.

That tender part of his heart wanted to wrap around her and protect her. He’d heard stories about her from Michael and Gabby. Elizabeth was a good person, who was genuinely struggling.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I have a hole in my heart.”

Pulling out some money, he stopped at a vendor and bought her a little bunch of flowers. It was the same vendor that he picked up flowers at for his wife.

What he knew about having women all around them were that the littlest thing could sometimes help the most.

Taking the bright Dahlias, he handed them to her, and she smelled them.

“Thank you,” she said. “They’re pretty.”

Then, he said the words she needed to hear. It was clear that she was drowning, so Finn, as a cop himself, threw her a lifeline.