“You love her, don’t you?”
Finn shot a look of surprise at Alexis, pausing in his task of handling the details to bring Ellen’s body home to rest. He couldn’t lie to her, not this girl who’d grown into a beautiful young woman—one he regarded as a sister.
“Yes,” he answered simply, then folded the papers they’d completed and pushed them back into an envelope before handing the envelope to her to return to the undertaker.
“Then what are you still doing here?”
“What?”
“Go after her. I can cope with this, Finn. We’ve been expecting it a long time. I know Papa is beside himself with grief—despite the evidence in front of him he couldn’t let her go, couldn’t believe that one day she wouldn’t get well again. I did my grieving for the mother we both remember a long time ago. I’m sad now, but I know she’s finally at rest. It’s been a long time coming. Too long.”
Finn’s throat choked up. She was right, on all counts. She didn’t need his help for this. And he had to get back to Tamsyn. He hadn’t had the heart to try to stop her when she’d left him today. He knew he’d done a number on her—had betrayed the fragile trust he’d painstakingly rebuilt on the backbone of a very shaky start. But he owed it to her to go after her. To apologize, to convince her—
His gut twisted. Could he convince her that his love was real? That he’d believed he was acting in her best interests as well? He wanted to believe the answer was yes…and feared that it was no. That’s why he was stalling, as if he could convince himself that she was back home waiting for him, loving him, as long as he wasn’t there to watch her pack her bags and leave. But sooner or later, he’d have to go home and see for himself.
“I’ll head to the airport right now,” he said, throwing his meager supply of things into an overnight bag and heading for the door.
He stopped briefly to give Alexis a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you,” he said simply.
“It’s what I’m here for. To remind you sometimes that you’re not always right.”
He gave a strangled laugh. Nothing changed between them. Even though she knew he’d been a complete ass with Tamsyn, and she’d soundly told him that not five minutes ago, they still had a connection that not even their eight-year age difference could sever. Friends, family. The lines had always been blurred, but one thing was certain. They were always there for one another and were always one hundred percent up front.
“You’re growing cobwebs,” she said with a cocked eyebrow.
“I’m gone. Wish me luck.”
“You’re going to need more than that, but I’ll wish it for you anyway. Now, shoo!”
He was gone.
A last-minute ticket came at a premium, but Finn didn’t care. Money wasn’t the issue, he’d have paid whatever it took if the ticket could guarantee he’d be able to stop Tamsyn from leaving him. He was flooded with relief as he saw her rental car parked outside the front door to his home. The trunk was open. Clearly he was just in time.
Her keys hung in the ignition and he pocketed them for safekeeping. If she still chose to leave after what he had to say, then he would have to watch her go, but in the meantime he wanted her to have to listen to him.