Page 57 of Something Unforgettable

“If you think LA is awesome, wait till you see his apartment in New York,” Micah said. He pulled out his phone and scrolled, holding it up so Finn could see a picture of the Manhattan skyline taken from the balcony of a high-rise.

Finn’s throat got tight. He wanted that. Not the view, but to be there, with Xavi. That’s where he was right now. Finn got to hear his voice on the phone every night, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t enough.

“Can we talk about something else, please?”

“Sure, buddy.” Micah squeezed his shoulder. He got it. Nick had been away for months before he moved back to Split Rock. Micah had still had Ryan, but he’d told Finn they’d missed Nick like crazy.

Finn swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Thank you. It’s been a long week.”

“How’s Mac doing today? Are they going to release him soon?”

Finn shook his head. “They’re moving him to the rehab unit today. They want him moving better before he comes home because his balance is still off, and he gets confused easily.” The helplessness over Pops’s situation was the worst part. Finn hated all the waiting, but there was nothing he could do.

Micah and Izzy exchanged another glance, this one lacking humor.

“They haven’t figured out what’s wrong?” Micah asked.

Finn shrugged, avoiding their looks of concern as exhaustion tugged at him. “They haven’t found anything. I think they’re waiting on the results of one more test—the MRI? But so far there aren’t any answers.” He ran a hand through his hair, still not used to the shorter cut.

Micah gave him another spontaneous hug. “Did I tell you that Nicky is teaching Alice to drive?”

Finn could hug Micah again for the change of subject.

“Willingly?” he asked, then winced, worried about how that sounded. Alice worked out at the ranch with them. She was autistic and had very strong opinions about certain things—like how dangerous driving was. “I meant Alice, not Nick. I didn’t think she wanted to drive.”

Izzy snorted. “Understatement of the year right there.”

“Be nice,” Micah said, leaning over to smack him on the shoulder.

Izzy held his hands up in surrender. “I’m always nice.” That was a lie. Izzy was a good guy, but he wasn’t always nice.

“You know how Maggie couldn’t drive for months before she finally had surgery?”

Finn nodded. Maggie had had her hip replaced a while back. She was doing well now, though.

“Well, Alice doesn’t want to be in the same position. She’s determined to be more independent and not rely on Archer so much. Hence the driving lessons.”

That made sense. Archer was her twin brother and he did a lot for her.

“That’s great,” Finn said, just as the door opened and the first customer of the day walked in. “I better get to work. Thank you for stopping by.”

Izzy rolled his eyes. “We aren’t stopping by. We’re here to help.”

What? Finn blinked at him, then sent Micah a questioning glance. Micah just gave him alook.

“Ev said you have a bunch of deliveries today, and we all know you can’t make them with a broken arm. I’m gonna take care of that while Izzy helps with the heavy lifting here.”

Finn was dumbfounded. “I’m really okay. You don’t need to do that. I can figure it out.”

“I’m sure you can.” Micah nudged Finn with his shoulder. “But you don’t have to. We’re family, and family helps each other out.”

Family? Since when? Finn thought he was being hopeful thinking of Izzy as a friend. Micah was a friend for sure, but family?

Micah grinned. “Buddy, you’re dating my boyfriend’s ex-husband. In my world, that makes us brothers.”

Finn’s face went hot and his eyes burned, but he still managed a smile in return. Brothers. He liked the sound of that.

“And any brother of Micah’s is at least a cousin of mine,” Izzy said. He sounded sarcastic but his eyes were sincere. Maybe that was just Izzy’s default tone. “Shit, with the parents I got stuck with, I’ll take all the bonus family I can get.”

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