Finn's Fantasy (Maine Men #1) - K.C. Wells Page 0,88

it but to climb.

Grumbling, Joel carefully made his way up the ladder, keeping his eyes locked on the cat, willing it not to decide to move any higher before Joel reached it. Midge meowed as he leaned against the top rungs and stretched out his hands toward her. “Here, kitty. Nice kitty. Don’t be an ass, kitty.”

Midge didn’t move as he grabbed her and tucked her under his arm. “Christ, what are you feeding her? She weighs a ton.” Now one-handed, he made his way to the ground, with a great deal more care than he’d used on the way up. At last his feet touched the earth, and he shuddered a sigh of relief.

Megan scooped the cat out from under his arm, and held her against her chest. “You bad kitty, scaring me like that.”

If she’d been scared, she deserved an Oscar for that performance, because Joel had seen no trace of fear. Then he noticed her cane lay on the ground, and he picked it up. Midge chose that moment to squirm out of Megan’s grasp and make a dash for the house.

“Poor thing. She must be starving.” She smiled as Joel handed her the cane. “Thank you so much. I had visions of her starving to death up there.”

Joel snickered. “Seems to me that cat is way too fond of her food to let that happen.” He brushed cat hair off his suit jacket. “Now can I go home?”

Megan widened her eyes. “Don’t you want to stay for a coffee or something?”

“No, I do not. It’s getting late, and Finn is coming over for dinner. Thanks to Midge here, I haven’t prepared so much as a carrot.”

Megan bit her lip. “I’m sorry. You should’ve said.”

Joel regarded her in amusement. “Why—would it have done any good?” He sighed. “I’m glad Midge is down safe and sound. Next time, call a neighbor? You know, someone who lives closer than I do?” And with that, Joel hurried around the side of the house to his car. As he got behind the wheel, he sent up a silent prayer.

No more surprises, please. Tonight is important.

Maybe the most important night of his life, and so much was riding on it.

His phone buzzed, and Joel pulled it hurriedly from his pocket. He smiled when he saw it was Finn.

“Hey. Where are you?”

Joel sighed. “Megan’s. I’ll tell you all about it when I get there. It’s going to take me at least an hour to get back.” He paused. “I’m sorry. This is not how I wanted tonight to go.”

Finn chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. Bramble’s been on his walk, and now I know approximately when you’ll get here, I’ll make dinner. It won’t be your lasagna, but it’ll be edible—I hope.”

“The whole point was, I was supposed to be cooking you dinner.”

“Hey.” Finn’s voice softened. “It’s okay. I’ll see you when you get here.” He disconnected.

Joel took a deep breath. Okay, Plan B. So what if Finn cooks? He’s still going to be there, right?

And they had things to discuss.

Seventy-five minutes later, Joel pulled onto his driveway behind Finn’s truck. As he switched off the engine, his phone pinged.

Go to the side gate.

He frowned. What the hell? Joel got out of the car and went toward the gate. There was music coming from somewhere, and as he opened the gate and walked through, he realized the source was his own backyard.

What is going on?

Joel rounded the corner—and came to a dead stop as hundreds of white lights blinked into existence. They were everywhere: in the trees, along the top of the fence, and wound around the deck railing. Lights hung from the pergola’s top beams, and more lights snaked around all the posts.

It was like walking into a fairy grotto.

Then his heartbeat raced when Finn stepped into view. He wore a tux, and Joel had never seen him looking so good. “Welcome home.” Finn walked to the steps, clearly waiting for him, and Joel went around the deck, his heart still pounding. Finn held out his hand and Joel took it, climbing the steps.

“You did all this… for me?”

Finn smiled. “With a little help from Grammy. I borrowed every set of Christmas lights she’s got, and believe me, we’re talking thousands of lights.” His eyes sparkled. “And of course, your sister helped a bit too.”

Joel froze. “My…”

Finn grinned. “I needed you out of the way while I set all this up.”

He let go of Finn’s hand, pulled his phone out and dialed. Before