Page 51 of Sometimes You Stay

He didn’t slow down. “Yeah?”

“Wait up.” She tried to reach for his arm but managed only to brush the edge of his fleece sleeve. Even that sent shock waves through her. “What’s the rush?”

“Nothing.” His word came out curt and seemed to be the trick to applying the brakes.

She slammed into his back, her cheek hitting his shoulder blade. Bouncing off, she rubbed the side of her face and peered up at him through one open eye. “What’s going on? You seem a little...” Ornery. Irritable. Cranky. She could have filled in a hundred words but settled for one. “Off.”

Finn jabbed a hand through his hair and squinted toward the horizon. “Just got off to a late start this morning. Kind of threw my whole day off.”

He didn’t know her half as well as she knew him if he thought she was going to buy that.

“You can be honest with me.” Laying her hand on his arm, she tried for a gentle smile. “What’s going on?”

His gaze narrowed on the spot where her fingers curled into his jacket. “Nothing.Really.” He shook his head and slammed his fists into his pockets. “I’m fine.”

“I’ve only known you for about a week, but seriously, you can’t expect me to believe that.” Sliding a hand from his elbow to his bicep, she squeezed gently. “You can tell me, you know. I won’t be here long enough to spill the tea.”

For a moment, he looked like he’d swallowed a golf ball. Finally, he cleared his throat. “I’m just worried about Bella. She’s three days past her due date, but she’s not progressing.”

Cretia had to bite back a sigh of relief. For the tiniest moment, she’d thought his mood had something to do with her.

Which was ridiculous.

She had no power to influence Finn Chaffey. How could she?

Forcing a smile, she nodded. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. If you need any help when the time comes...”

He raised an eyebrow as he took a step toward the house. “You have a lot of experience with that sort of thing?”

“Nope.”

Something made him snort. Whether it was her brutal honesty or the exaggerated pop of thep, she didn’t care. She’d made him grin—even if for just a second.

He opened the back door and strolled inside behind her, his footfalls audibly lighter than they’d been in the barn.

Okay, maybe she had a touch of influence on him.

He turned on the computer, and they waited as it whirred and hummed to life. After the screen turned on and blinked, he nodded toward the chair and backed away. “I’ll be in the barn if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Finn.” It came out all thick and throaty, as though she’d been thinking about things. Like kissing him. Which she had not been thinking about. Until right that minute.

Her cheeks flamed, and she ducked her head.

Mercifully, Finn took that as his cue to exit and disappeared through the back door.

Cretia set to work, entering the tracking number on the delivery service’s site. A spinning red circle showed the page was thinking. And thinking. And thinking.

It was either a sign of Finn’s ridiculously slow internet or that her laptop had found its way to the other side of the world. Almost certainly the former.

Trying to keep her eyes off the bank letter, she tapped her fingers against the desktop. The circle kept spinning.

“Come on.” She sighed, praying for more than the blank page the site had given her the day before.

Her phone had found its destination despite less-than-thorough tracking information. Maybe her laptop was just a day or so behind.

The page refreshed, the circle disappeared, and her stomach shot through the floor.

Estimated Delivery Date: Delayed

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