Page 95 of A Hard Fit

“Who painted it?” Bryson asked.

“I did.”

Bryson tilted his head. “What’s it supposed to be?”

“That’s rude,” Cali said.

“No, it’s okay.” Finn shoved his hands in his pockets. “That’s what’s so great about art. It doesn’t have to be just one thing. When I painted this, I was thinking about the feelings I get when I’m home.”

“You can paint feelings?” Bryson said, now tilting his head the other way.

“You sure can,” Finn said, smile tickling the corner of his mouth.

“Hmm.” Bryson looked up at his mom. “I’m hungry.”

Liz shrugged. “You ate all the snacks I packed.”

“It’s okay. I bought a few extra snacks,” Finn said. Rory had, in fact, teased him about all the snacks he had purchased.

Bryson lit up. “You did? What can I have?”

“That’s rude,” Cali said again, but she fell in behind Finn and her brother on their way to the kitchen.

Finn flung the pantry door wide. Bryson’s eyes glowed at the boxes of shiny wrappers laid out in neat stacks on the shelves before him. Even Cali looked impressed, up on tiptoe to check out the higher shelves.

“Oreos!” she squealed, right as Bryson spied the cereal.

“Frosted Flakes! Yes!” he cried

“And there’s more stuff in the freezer,” Finn said, grinning even bigger than the kids.

“Can I have some cereal?” Bryson asked hopefully.

Liz intervened. “Let’s get you settled first, then snacks.”

“Perfect. I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping,” Finn said. The bungalow only had two bedrooms, and one was jammed to the ceiling with canvases and tech gear. So, with Rory’s help, Finn had transformed the dining room into a guest room. On each side of the table he had laid out a mattress, then used tablecloths, blankets and chairs to turn each bed into a fort. At Rory’s suggestion, the inside was strung with fairy lights, and Finn had made some little shelves out of cardboard where he had left a bottle of water, a bag of crackers, tissue and a small box of Lego as a gift.

“This is awesome!” Bryson exclaimed, then dove headfirst into one side.

“So awesome,” Cali agreed, ducking into the other. She put her book on one of the shelves and lay back on the pillow, looking up at the fairy lights.

Liz hung back, smiling. “Thanks, Uncle Finn.”

“You’re welcome.”

There was something about the way Liz was looking at him—like she was…proud of him or some shit. He flushed and looked at his feet.

“I guess I’d better get going,” Liz said. “You have Beth’s number. She’s not too far away—I can be here in twenty minutes if you need me.” Liz was staying with a girlfriend in Oakport for the weekend, a nice little getaway for her, too.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Finn assured her.

“And they can call me before bed if they want.”

“You bet.”

“Come here and give me a hug,” she called to the kids, who were into the Lego boxes. They clambered out of their cubbies to wrap around their mom. “You’d better be good for Uncle Finn,” she said, blinking rapidly and kissing the top of their heads.

“We will!” the kids chorused.

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