Hold Me Close (Ryker Falls #5) - Wendy Vella Page 0,29
Ted when I see him.”
“Why are we seeing Ted?”
“I said shut up.”
“You don’t get to speak to me like that. I may be your sister, and you may be pissed with me, but don’t you dare have that tone.”
“I just did. Now smile. I’m not letting Ted and that bloody ranger know we’ve been arguing.”
“What?” She looked through the windscreen as they drove in through the lodge gates. Ted was standing outside with Fin.
She didn’t want to get out. In fact, that was a lie—she did, but only so she could run back to her house and lock the doors.
Too much emotion. Too much pain. She was hurting people, and that had never been her intention. Why was this so complicated? She’d come home to be the person she’d been before she left, but it wasn’t working.
“Nash!”
He’d been in the process of leaving the pickup but turned to look at her.
“I never meant to hurt you. I just thought this was the best way to handle everything. I love you and the others; I would never intentionally hurt you.”
His face softened, and he leaned over and gripped her chin. “Leave it now. We’ll talk later.” He then kissed her forehead. “I’m glad you’re back, Tigger. I missed you.”
Swallowing down the tears, Maggie got out and followed her brother to where Ted stood with Fin.
The lodge had changed everything in Ryker Falls. With it had come tourists, and Maggie’s business had flourished because of it. Built in natural tones with huge glass windows and everything a guest could want, it was a place that looked as if it had sat here forever. Phil and Roxy loomed big and rugged over them.
“Hey, Maggs.”
“Hi, Ted.” She accepted his kiss on the cheek, but it was still a shock. The big bad Teddy Bear had softened since she’d left, and Maggs knew this was all because of the woman he loved. Looking at him, she saw even his face had lost that hard-edged expression.
“How’s Mandy? I need to call in and see her and the sisters again. I didn’t get a chance to chat last time, as Tea Total was busy.”
His smile was blinding. “Mandy’s great. Awesome, in fact, and I know she and the sisters would love to see you. The business is going better than any of them thought. They’re always needing adults to read on Thursdays too. The kids love it. Last week, Mandy managed to get Bas from the garage in. He even sang.”
“I’ll be sure to put my name on the roster then.” It would be part of her growth.
She nodded to Fin and made herself meet his eyes with a smile. He gazed back with that steady look that unsettled her. It was like he could see what she wasn’t saying.
“So Fin’s here because he’s buying the other twenty acres,” Ted said to Nash.
“I don’t understand?” Maggie looked from Ted to Nash. “What has this got to do with you?”
“I’m buying some land off Ted. Surprise,” her brother muttered.
“And now we’re going to be neighbors, Nash. That just makes a man feel really happy.” Fin smiled at her brother. “I didn’t realize you and Maggie were related.”
“She’s the baby of our family.” Nash held out his hand. “As long as you keep to your side of the boundary fence, I’m sure we’ll do fine.”
They knew each other because they played basketball and their teams were in the same league, but she saw the surprise that he’d not known they were siblings.
“I have no problem with that,” Fin drawled.
Ted waved them down beside the lodge, and soon they were in Fin’s cruiser heading to view the land her brother had purchased.
“How come you didn’t tell me about this, Nash?”
He was seated beside her in the back.
“Like you tell me everything, do you mean?”
That shut her up. She looked into the rearview mirror and met Fin’s eyes. The look he gave her suggested he’d heard Nash’s comment and was in sympathy with him.
She’d come home to get her life back on track, find normality, but what she’d found were people who saw more than she’d given them credit for, and she wasn’t sure what to do about that.
Chapter Thirteen
Fin had organized grid searches, and today he was leading a party that was moving higher up the mountain. It was overcast, one of those days where the sun fought and lost the battle to shine. In these conditions, it would be easy to miss something, and they’d had a light dusting