Page 35 of Sometimes You Stay

“No, I mean, I like it. It makes your whole face brighter. And you have a little dimple in your chin. It’s really verycute. And—” She literally bit her lips together. She had to quit talking so much around him.

But something about Finn invited all of her inside thoughts to pour off her tongue.

“Should have been internal processing?”

She nodded. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make things uncomfortable.”

He waved her apology off like a bee on a sunny day. “Seriously? That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a while.”

“Maybe you need new friends.”

Throwing his head back, he let out a laugh that came from deep in his chest, all joy and humor. The sound was like the opposite of the LOLs or silly-face emojis she received in the comments when she posted a blooper video. Those were obligatory, nearly paid for. They were hardly real.

Finn’s laughter was filled with life and heart and truth. He didn’t hold back, and he didn’t seem to want to. It wrapped around her, warm and sustaining. And suddenly she wanted to say something funny again, just to get it to continue.

But her mind was blank, and she could only watch the cords of his throat slowly relax as the sound died down and his Adam’s apple stilled.

“Seeing as most of my friends have four legs, I guess I can’t blame them.”

Flames licked at her cheeks, and she pressed her fingers there to cover them.

Finn reached for a flake of hay and threw it into Roberta’s stall. “I doubt you came here to compliment my lack of facial hair, so what can I do for you today?”

“Right, yeah ... though it is very nice.”

He gave her a quick wink but didn’t comment on her lack of verbal control.

“I was hoping I might be able to use your computer again. I really need some more clothes.” With a little flourish of her hand, she showcased the same cropped jeans and blue sweater she’d been wearing for three days.

Finn, on the other hand, was wearing his third outfit in the same amount of time. Another Henley with its super-soft checked texture, sleeves pushed up to his elbows. The one the day before had been stormy gray, but today’s shirt was a bright blue that made his eyes nearly glow. And the navy fleece of his vest looked warm enough to cuddle against.

Not that she was considering that.

His wardrobe wasn’t exactly going to land him on the cover ofGQ, but he sure knew how to pick clothes that showed off his broad shoulders and athletic arms.

Moreover, he had enough clothes. Even if they were mostly Henleys.

Finn glanced over his shoulder toward the house, his eyebrows pinching together. “Yeah, sure. Of course you can ... but won’t that take a few days? You probably want them—need them?—sooner.”

Her internal processor finally kicked in, and she bit back the words just before asking him if she smelled funky. Though maybe the smell of the barn and its inhabitants covered whatever was still lingering in her outfit.

“I wish I could, but I don’t have any credit cards, or even a phone to do an electronic payment in a store.”

Blinking owlish eyes, he chewed on the middle of his lip. “But you have enough money?”

“If you’re asking if I’m broke”—she paused to put herhands on her hips—“the answer is no. If you’re asking if I have easy access to the money I do have, the answer is also no.”

His mouth twisted into a frown, all trace of his earlier merriment gone. “No, I wasn’t—I didn’t mean to imply—I just—” He heaved a big sigh. “I could buy you some new clothes. I can take you shopping. Today.”

“I don’t need you to—”

“Here’s the thing. I could use some help putting together a whelping bed, and in exchange—”

“No, that’s not the problem. I have the money. It’s just stuck in my account until—” She stopped and tilted her head, really looking at him. “But I could transfer it to you.”

“What? No. I don’t need your money.”

That wasn’t what she’d glimpsed the day before in the letter from the bank on his desk. She hadn’t been trying to read it. But it was hard not to see a big old “We regret to inform you” on the top line. And curiosity had gotten the better of her.

---