Finn's Fantasy (Maine Men #1) - K.C. Wells Page 0,26
taking the old deck apart, and I wondered if the kids would like to help out.”
“Want me to ask them?”
“Sure.” He sipped his whiskey while he waited, aware of the muted rumble of voices. He was pretty sure Laura would be on board—Nate was another matter. Joel had expected some reaction to the news he was buying the place, but there had been none.
It’s as if he doesn’t care anymore what I do. The thought stung him. There was little Joel could think of doing that would alter the situation. The only solution was to bide his time and hope Nate came around.
“Okay. Laura squealed and is now bouncing off the walls, so thank you for that. Nate said he’ll come.”
Joel didn’t have the heart to ask what Nate’s exact words had been.
“Can you send your gardening gloves with them? If they’re going to be handling the old decking, I don’t want them getting splinters.”
“I’ll search out three pairs.”
“Three?”
“Of course. I’ll need a pair too.” She paused. “That’s if you don’t mind me tagging along.”
“Yeah right, as if I’d mind. If you’re sure…”
“I’ll sweeten the deal. You and the kids work on pulling the deck apart, and I’ll bring food. I’ll whip up a casserole that you can shove in the oven. How’s that?”
“You’re awesome.” His chest tightened. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I should have been honest with you from the start.” He didn’t deserve her.
In the silence that followed, Joel caught the murmur of his kids’ voices: Laura’s laughter, Nate’s deeper rumble…
“Sweetheart.” Carrie’s soft sigh filled his ears. “I was glad when you finally told me everything. It helped me see the situation from a different perspective. I do understand why you asked me on a date all those years ago. You couldn’t be yourself, so you had to create a persona that would fit in. And while I’m sorry we didn’t have the kind of marriage I’d hoped for, I will never forget that it brought us the two wonderful human beings who are currently arguing about whose turn it is to load the dishwasher.”
He chuckled. “They are wonderful. And I can’t wait to see them Saturday. If you time it right, you might get to meet Finn. He’s the guy who’s going to transform my yard—when he’s not working on that new hotel, of course.”
“He’s one of those guys? Why am I suddenly picturing a heavyset guy with his jeans halfway down his ass, a belch that would frighten small children, and sausage fingers?”
Joel laughed. “I’m happy to report that description doesn’t fit him in the slightest. He’s coming over Saturday to loan me some of his tools—and make sure I can use them without risking any limbs.”
“Good luck with that.”
“What does that mean?”
“One of us is mechanically inclined, and it isn’t you.”
“Hey!” he said in mock indignation.
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
“I’m ending this call right now.”
Carrie let out a hoot. “See? You know I’m right.” They both laughed at that. “Okay, I’d better go see if Laura has gotten her head around the basics of DNA. When she told me what they were studying, she said she’d thought it would be easy, because she already knew all about it, having seen Jurassic Park.”
Joel groaned. “To quote you—good luck with that.” They said goodbye, and he disconnected. Joel shook his head. “‘Jurassic Park’.” He smiled. If Finn was around when Carrie arrived, she’d see just how wrong her assumptions had been.
Then he had another thought. Now Carrie had Eric, she might decide Finn was exactly what Joel needed.
Please, Carrie, don’t try your hand at matchmaking. Because he had no idea if Finn was into guys, and if he wasn’t, Joel would die of embarrassment.
Finn was reaching for a lump of cheese in the deli section of the Goose Rocks General Store when his phone buzzed. He smiled when he saw it was Seb. “Hey. Why aren’t you busy grading papers?”
Seb snorted. “Because it’s six o’clock and I just got in from school. Staff meeting. Long-ass day. Where are you?”
“Shopping for groceries.” Finn dropped the cheese into his basket. The chocolate muffins caught his eye. “And debating whether or not to buy one chocolate muffin or two.”
“Go with two. The way you burn off calories?”
Finn laughed. “Jealous much?” Seb was forever keeping an eye on his figure. He picked up two and added them to the basket. “Okay, why are you calling?”
“Do I need a reason?”
Finn laughed so loud, the customers in the store all looked in his direction. “You always