Page 36 of Sometimes You Stay

And now she knew he had been denied a loan.

Only, she wasn’t supposed to know that. And she had no idea what the loan had been for.

But the man clearly did not have money to buy her new clothes.

Still, he insisted. “I’m offering to help you get some new clothes—in exchange for a little manual labor.”

“And I’m telling you I’ll transfer the money to you in advance.” And maybe throw in a little tip for his troubles.

“And I’m tellingyouthat I don’t need it.” His voice rose.

Hers dropped low. “Quit being so stubborn.”

“I’m trying to do something nice.”

“You are.” She couldn’t keep the huff out of her words. “You’re going to drive me to somewhere I can buy clothes.”

“Yes. And I’ll buy them for you.” His eyes flashed and his tone took on the same note that Marie’s had carried earlier that morning. The one that said an argument would not be welcome, at least according to Julia Mae.

But the little girl was nowhere to be seen. And Finn wasn’t her boss or giving her a roof over her head. “Then I’ll pay you back for them.”

He rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to.”

“I get that. But I am more than capable.”

“I’m sure you are.” His tone directly contradicted his words.

He clearly didn’t understand that she had brought in a healthy six figures the year before and the one before that. In profit. That didn’t include her travel, new gear, or other expenses. That was money going into her savings account. Money not going to pay for a house or any of the things to fill it. Money that was invested and growing. Money that meant she didn’t have to work for a while if she didn’t want to.

Except that she liked what she did. She liked having a plan for her day and her week and her year. She liked seeing the world, finding hidden treasures.

Besides, if she wasn’t traveling, she’d be in one spot. Stuck. Collecting only God knew what.

So she was going to keep doing this as long as she could.

And she didn’t need anyone’s help. Least of all Finn’s.

The problem was, if they kept arguing, they weren’t going to get anywhere near a clothing store today—let alone this week.

“Fine. You win.” She held up her hands in surrender.

“Really?”

Pasting on the sweetest smile she could manage, she nodded. “Really.”

If she decided to send him an anonymous donation after she left the island, so be it. He wouldn’t be able to argue then.

He still looked doubtful but simply said, “Let me feed the dogs. Then we can drive down to Charlottetown.”

“Maybe I could return my rental car?”

“Sure. You don’t need it as long as you’re in North Rustico.” With a wink, he added, “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

Nine

The next day Finn tried to drum up as much excitement about feeding his cow as he’d had arguing with Cretia. The whole drive to the Charlottetown airport, he’d watched her taillights and smiled when he thought of their conversation.

For a moment, he had wondered if she thought he needed her money. He did not. He was probably in a better financial position than she was. Especially since he didn’t have to replace his computer, phone, and wardrobe.

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