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Finn stared at those four words, the backlight illuminating the darkness that surrounded him. It was as if those words held the answer to some mystery he was trying to solve.
Suddenly, all the pieces of the puzzle came together.
Finn typed out a quick reply to Ryan and hit the send button, filled with excitement and hope that he could do the right thing and maybe fix the mess he made.
CHAPTER 51
COLLEEN
Colleen finished tossing the green salad and then arranged sliced tomatoes and lettuce leaves on a plate. Her phone pinged with an incoming text. Her heart pounded as she dried her hands and quickly pulled her phone out, somehow hoping it was Finn. It wasn’t. It was from Lucy:
I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow. Lots of love from me and Justin.
She typed a reply and shoved the phone back in her pocket. She had to stop expecting Finn to magically show up. The sooner she focused on the here and now, the better.
“Tomorrow is a big day. You weren’t supposed to be cooking tonight,” her mom said, entering the kitchen.
“Making a salad is not cooking,” Colleen said over her shoulder. “You made the potato salad, Sean is barbequing the burgers, and Ryan is—I don’t know what Ryan is supposed to be doing,” she said with a laugh. “Where is he, anyway?”
Ryan walked in, carrying a shopping bag. “Ryan was on an important mission for his sister’s favorite chardonnay. And,” he said, pulling out a carton of ice cream, “her favorite cookie dough ice cream from Scoops.”
“That was thoughtful of you,” she said, giving Ryan a kiss on the cheek. She recalled with a sharp pang the ice cream that she and Finn had shared at his loft that night. Would it always hurt this much?
“Am I too late?” Aidan asked as he joined them.
Colleen rushed to her brother with her arms opened wide. “Aidan! I didn’t think you would be able to get away.”
“I want to be here for you,” he said, giving her a big hug.
“Thanks. It means a lot.”
Sean came in holding a platter of burgers. “Let’s eat.”
“Just take the picture already,” Aidan said with his head perched between Colleen and Sean’s shoulders.
“This is the last one,” Colleen said through a forced smile.
“Got it,” Ryan said, returning to his seat and fiddling with his phone.
Colleen took another small bite of her hamburger and then set it aside. It was Sunday night. Tomorrow at this time, she will have given her statement. Technically, she was prepared, but emotionally, she was struggling. It was going to be surreal to listen to other women give their statements and then deliver her own statement to Mr. Pike. Her statement was strong, and she wanted him to hear every word she had to say. She hoped she would be able to hold herself together and not break down in tears.
And, of course, she missed Finn. Sitting in their kitchen, surrounded by her family made her feel his absence that much more. He should be here. Giving herself an inward kick in the ass, she refocused on her brothers. They had interrupted their lives to be here with her. Each of them was so different and yet they had each other’s backs in any situation.
Ryan stared at his phone with the intensity of a cop about to interrogate a suspect. Aidan wasslowly eating his hamburger with deliberation as if it was part of his mindfulness practice. And Sean was talking a mile a minute with their mom, peppering her with all kinds of questions about Molly.
“So, does Molly have a thing for a rancher?” Sean asked, scooping up another helping of potato salad.
“They have a thing for each other,” her mom answered with a wink. “Blake’s a good man. They’re taking things slow for now. Molly’s main concern is Finn.”
The table fell silent for a moment. Finn was a sensitive topic. Everyone knew Colleen was in love with him. But for now, it was a subject to avoid.
Surprisingly, it was Ryan who broke the silence. “I was hard on Finn at Dad’s funeral. I misjudged him.”
Colleen exchanged curious glances with Sean and Aidan. Ryan resented everything about Finn and dissed him whenever he could.
“Misjudged him?” her mom asked.
Ryan gave a shrug. “I always thought he was a pretty, rich boy who bragged about himself. But I was wrong.” Ryan sucked in a breath. “His life hasn’t been a bed of roses. I’m sorry he got shot, but even worse is that he’s got an asshole for a father.” Taking a look around the table, he said, “We were lucky to have the father we had.” Ryan knocked back the rest of his beer.
