Hold Me Close (Ryker Falls #5) - Wendy Vella Page 0,24

and cedar. It was two stories in the middle with wings jutting left and right. Her dad loved plants and trees, so they were everywhere, in beds or in clumps. He wasn’t big on neat or aesthetic, it was just a case with him of, a plant should go here, so it did.

“Must have been fun growing up here.”

“It was. We had to work hard, but there was lots of play too. Love, laughter. I was lucky to grow up in this family.”

“Really lucky, and I’m pleased you did.”

“Thanks, and see you round.” She got off and handed him her helmet. “Much to my surprise, I enjoyed that.”

“Anytime you want a ride, red, I’m your man.” He’d taken his helmet off too and waggled his eyebrows.

“Ha, that was really smooth,” Maggs managed as all the spit dried up in her throat. And what a ride it would be.

“I love the way your mind goes straight to the gutter.”

“You went there first!”

“Not at all. I was offering a ride on my bike.”

She didn’t buy the innocent look. “Right, of course you were.”

“Your folks home?” He looked at the house again.

“They’ll be working. I’ll go and track them down.” A lump of emotion balled in her throat at the thought of seeing her family again.

“Hey.” She felt Fin’s hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m all good. The wind made my nose run.”

“No. Good is what you definitely are not, and I wish you’d tell me what’s going on, Maggie.”

“I’m okay, Fin, really.” He saw too much. Until she’d made the decision to tell others what had happened, she needed to keep him at arm’s length, because she had a feeling he could easily break down her barriers.

Coming home to Ryker Falls had taught Maggie some things. One was that she never wanted to leave here again. It was home, and she loved her friends and family. But the other thing she’d learned was that Fin Hudson meant something to her. She’d not realized just how much until she’d seen him again.

Distance, Maggie thought. Treat him like she did the others, and surely everything would go back to normal.

“So I’ll see you, Fin.” Stepping back and away from him, she raised her hand and walked toward the house. He watched her—she felt his eyes—and it wasn’t until she was inside the house with the door closed that she heard the throaty purr of his motorbike rolling back down her driveway.

Chapter Eleven

Fin rode slowly back to Ryker Falls. He used the time to think about things. So many things. A few weeks ago, he’d worried about idiots getting frost bite when they hiked up the mountains unequipped. Now he had this stuff with Maggs and a femur with a missing body he’d found on his doorstep.

What the hell was her deal?

Riding back into town, Fin parked outside Joe’s bar. Coffee, he thought, and maybe a burger. Or maybe a beer? Was he ready to talk to people with all this crap swirling inside him?

“No time like the present to find out,” he muttered, heading to Apple Sours—or A.S., as the locals called it. It had been his friend’s first foray into business, and he loved the place. Maybe it would right all the crazy in his world for a while.

“Oh, Findlay Hudson, just the man I wanted to see.”

Speaking of crazy. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Howard?” Fin stopped on the sidewalk and waited for Dylan’s mom to reach him.

“Any news on who that femur belongs to?”

“None, sorry.”

“Well, you let me know when you hear something.”

When hell freezes over.

“I want to discuss the scavenger hunt with you.”

“What scavenger hunt?”

“We are having one for New Year’s Eve called Hunt For Your Honey. We have yet to promote it, but I want to get a jump on things.”

“I shudder to think what Hunt For Your Honey means.”

“The details are still being worked out.” Her mouth formed a small disapproving line.

Because she was the mother of someone he respected, and that someone was married to a Trainer, Fin always tried to be nice to her. Sometimes it was hard, as she’d been a bitch as long as he’d known her.

On the big-boned side, she usually wore a lot of makeup and exercise clothes when she wasn’t in one of her power suits. Today she was covered from head to toe in a black overcoat with a fur collar. On her head was a hat in the same material. She looked to Fin like some