enough. Now she had a plan and she could get back to her book.
CHAPTER
• • • • • •
five
FINN HAD LOVED building things since he was old enough to hold a hammer, when his da had brought him into his shop to let him tinker and play with discarded pieces of wood. When he was six, he’d built his first birdhouse. When he was ten, Da had let him build a new house for the dogs by himself. He’d built all kinds of things, learning something new every time. His da had been a master woodworker. When he was fifteen, he’d helped carry Da’s coffin to the gravesite, knowing he’d never stand shoulder to shoulder with his father in the woodshop again.
Three years later he’d lost his mum, then left Ireland to live with Maureen and Johnny and their three daughters. Sure, he’d known Maureen Bellini. She’d often traveled to Ireland to visit with his ma, even when he’d been a small boy. Maureen and his mother had a close friendship—a lifelong one, according to Ma. It had helped that he at least knew who she was when she’d come to the funeral and offered to give him a home with her family when he’d had no one left.
But, still, a hell of a whirlwind for a kid consumed with grief and loss. But the one thing his da had taught him was never to feel sorry for himself, to pick himself up and carry on. A lesson he’d always held on to. Because he might have only had his parents for a short while, but he knew he’d been loved, so what the hell did he have to feel sorry about?
The best way to honor his parents was to do well in life, and he figured he’d done that. He had master carpentry skills, though he’d never be as good as his father. But he had also taught himself how to make a damn fine whiskey. His da would be proud.
Today he finished the last wall in the addition, then began to create the shelves that would line one of the walls.
“Do you like sweating or is this some form of self-torture?”
He turned and grinned at Jason, Erin’s fiancé and one of his best friends. “Sweat’s good for the soul.”
“That’s what I try to tell myself when I’m doing pregnancy checks on cattle in ninety-degree heat, like today.”
Jason stepped into the building and Finn wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, you stink, man. You must have been doing ranch calls today.”
“Everybody gets their turn, and this was my day for it.” Jason looked around the oversized space that would soon be the new storage building for the wedding business. “It’s looking good in here. Lots of space.”
“They need it for all their arches and props and whatchamacallits they use for the weddings.”
Jason laughed. “Yeah, those things.”
“You here to see Erin?”
“Nah. I called her on the way over. She told me she’s busy today. She and her sisters are going over invitations after work and she doesn’t have time for me. She said she’d see me when she got home. So I dropped Puddy off with her so Agatha and Puds could hang out, and she’ll bring both the dogs home. I thought maybe you, me and Clay could go have dinner and play some pool tonight.”
“Good plan. I’m just about to finish up here. You talk to Clay?”
Jason nodded. “Yeah, he’s gonna meet us at the pool hall. I have a change of clothes in the truck so I’ll shower here.”
“Okay. I’ll put things up here then go shower and change and then meet you at the house.”
“Sounds good.”
Jason left and Finn cleaned up his work area, put away his tools, then headed to his place. He stripped off the clothes that were sticking to him like a second skin and went straight into the shower. The semicool water felt great pouring over his head and body, washing away all the sweat and dirt that clung to him. He put on a clean pair of jeans and a T-shirt, then added his going-out boots before making his way to the main house.
He walked in through the back door, never needing to knock. Louise was in there making dinner. He leaned in to take a deeper smell of whatever was in the pot on the stove.
“Something smells good.”
“Chicken for tomorrow night’s dinner since everyone is scattered tonight.”
“Oh, good. It’s my favorite.”
She nudged him with her elbow. “Everything is your favorite.”
He laughed. “That’s