Hold Me Close (Ryker Falls #5) - Wendy Vella Page 0,67

Goldhirsh are poetry buddies. My guess is he leaned on the mayor to get these here,” Fin whispered in her ear. He only just resisted nipping it.

“Didn’t you go walking with your stick thingies this morning?” Maggs said, prying Fin’s fingers off hers and moving closer to Mr. Goldhirsh. “Doing so much exercise is not good for your recovery, surely?”

Mr. Goldhirsh was wrapped up to rival an Egyptian mummy. Even the lower half of his face was covered.

“Exercise within your limits, Maggs. It’s all a matter of understanding that.”

“You should come with us, young lady. We could do with a pretty face to look at,” one of the men said.

Fin stomped down the unreasonable snap of jealousy. These men could be her father, for pity’s sake. Get a grip.

“Dazza,” the man said, holding out his hand for Maggs to shake.

“Oh, I don’t think so. I’m not really much for hot sweaty exercise.”

And suddenly he was back in his bed with her under him. Fin shook his head to dislodge the erotic image.

“We’ll work on that,” Mr. Goldhirsh said. “See you later, boys.” He raised a hand as his friends cycled away. “Let’s get inside. It’s cold out here.”

“Hi, Miss Marla, Miss Sarah,” Fin said as they walked into the shop, which was bigger now. They’d knocked out a wall, you could buy books in part of it, and the tea shop had more tables. It was homey, which he loved, and the changes only enhanced that.

“Hello, you two. Have you worked out the handwriting, Maggs?”

“Sorry, I thought it would come to me, but it hasn’t, Miss Sarah.”

Good girl.

“Fin, sit. I need someone to taste test this tea, and even though you’re terrible at it, I live in hope that will one day change,” Miss Marla said.

“You’re not going to get all bent out of shape when I get it right, are you?” He sat. When one of the seniors of this town asked you to do something, you did it.

“As if you would.” Miss Marla chuckled. “No one but Joe can get it right.”

“Which is odd,” Fin said, “seeing as the guy drinks coffee.”

“Go on through with Mr. Goldhirsh, Maggs. The knitting club are straggling in. We’ll make tea and bring scones, and you can join in.”

“Oh, but knitting is not—”

“It’ll do you good to learn,” Miss Sarah said, placing a hand on her back and nudging her into the other room. “It’s soothing and helps us relax and empty our minds. Especially after the day you’ve had. I’m not going to mention what you didn’t tell us happened. I think you’ll have enough people doing that.”

“My mind could sure do with emptying,” he heard Maggs mutter.

He was then blindfolded and handed a cup. He’d long ago given up on working out how the gossip grapevine worked in this town. He doubted his friends would have gone out of their way to tell anyone what happed to Maggie in London, but it had traveled around town anyway.

“It’s hot, so sip it slowly.”

“I know the drill, Miss Marla; I’ve been doing it for years.” He took a mouthful, and a bouquet of flavors filled his mouth.

“You sweet on that girl, Fin?” Miss Marla asked him.

“Some.” He didn’t lie; these women could spot one a mile off.

“About time” was all she said.

“Something with roses?” Fin sniffed the cup in his hands. "And tea.”

“Not bad, actually. There is a Darjeeling tea, rose essence, and Assam tea.”

“Right, I was going to say that next,” Fin muttered as he heard the bell ring.

“You want a real man to do that for you, Miss Marla?”

“Real man,” Fin scoffed, taking off the blindfold. “Boy, you have no clue what that means,” he said to Jack.

“Is Maggie here?” Rory asked as she slipped around Jack.

“She is, and go easy on her. She’s had a rough day.”

Rory was short, feisty, and spoke her mind. She’d been born here and left; when she came back, it was fair to say she was pretty much hated by most people. Now she wasn’t. Engaged to a Trainer, she was now universally loved. Being one of the town’s vets helped too.

“I would never be hard on her!” Rory pressed a fist to her chest. “I remember what’s it like to have people pissed with you. It’s not pleasant.”

“Gotcha,” Fin said when she stalked by him.

“That went well.” Jack patted his cheek and followed his woman.

“Whipped puppy.” Fin threw the words at his friend.

“Hi, Fin.” Mandy wandered in with her knitting bag and her