Hold Me Close (Ryker Falls #5) - Wendy Vella Page 0,46

hand back.

“Which I’m not entirely sure is a compliment, but considering all the others you just threw at me, I’ll let it slide.”

“Big of you.”

“What you did tonight was reckless, Maggie. Promise me you won’t step in the middle of something like that again.”

She pulled her hand free. “I won’t make that promise. I did it, and I’m not sorry.”

“You could have been hurt. A stray punch could have knocked you out.”

“It didn’t, and I can handle myself. I grew up on a ranch.”

“Be reasonable here.” Fin felt his frustration climb at her stubbornness.

“Fin?”

It was reflex that had him reaching for Maggs again. Grabbing her arm, he hauled her to his side before turning to face his father.

“Hi, Mr. Winter,” she said when he didn’t.

“Hello, Maggie. I was looking for Mallory. Have you seen her?” His father’s eyes were on Fin.

“Yes, she was down here and has just gone up. You must have just missed each other,” Maggs said.

“I told her to go to bed. Clearly she had other ideas.”

“She’s fourteen.”

“I know that, Fin, but it’s late, and she promised she’d go to bed, then slipped out when we fell asleep. I only realized she wasn’t in her room when I woke needing some water.”

“She can’t get into trouble here,” Fin said.

“She’s my daughter, and I worry about her. I didn’t know you were down here.”

Fin knew one day he’d look like this man. His father, a stranger.

“Nice that you worry about her.” The words came out snide, and Fin instantly regretted them, but his feelings toward this man cut deep.

“I worried about you and your sister, Fin.”

“Oh, please, you were never home. Mom worried about us.”

“I had to work, Fin, to pay the bills. Your mother wasn’t well and couldn’t leave the house.”

He felt all the anger, hurt, and frustration he’d felt as a fifteen-year-old well up inside him.

“She needed you!”

“Fin.” Maggie slid an arm around his waist, but he was too far gone to acknowledge her.

“And this is not the place to have this discussion. If you’re finally ready to listen, then we’ll talk. But not standing here where anyone can interrupt us.”

“We have nothing to discuss.”

“I’m here in your hometown because I think we do. I’ve stayed silent for long enough. I want a relationship with my son.”

“Why now?” Fin’s words were hoarse.

“Because I thought I could live without being a part of your life, but I can’t.” His father’s smile was sad. “I have always loved you, and what happened tore that apart, but as I’ve got older I’ve realized I don’t want to live with regrets, and you are my biggest.”

His chest ached as he watched his father walk away from him. It was so tight, he struggled to breathe. He had hated and loved that man most of his life.

“Fin.” Maggie moved to stand in front of him. “Talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to say.” He stepped around her and walked away.

Chapter Twenty

Four days after the night at Falls Lodge, Maggie forced herself to get out of her warm bed. She threw on some exercise clothes, layered up with a jacket, hat, and gloves, then headed outside.

Buzz was waiting for her, leaning on the side of the house.

“The only reason you want to walk with me,” she said to the fur ball who barked a greeting, “is because I’m slow and there’s a biscuit in your future.”

A light fall of snow powdered the ground, and looking up, she thought today’s walk would be a short one. The sky looked ready to dump more of the white fluffy stuff.

Maggie walked to the mountain chatting to Buzz, who bounded ahead then doubled back to make sure she was there. She’d missed this. The serenity and solitude of Ryker Falls.

Tugging down her hat so her ears didn’t turn to ice, Maggie trudged up the small incline. Mr. Goldhirsh had told her fresh air and movement were important, so she was trying that out. Looking at her watch told her she was thirty minutes down, and feeling surprisingly fresh. She’d be able to have coffee and food soon too, which only improved her mood.

Maggs had not seen Fin over the last few days, which suggested to her he was hiding. She’d been to the main street twice and visited both Phil’s and Tea Total, plus ordered pizza and visited her friends. She usually saw him around, but he’d gone to ground.

What she’d witnessed that night at the lodge told her he was running from his demons, just like her.