Page 21 of Finding Home with You

“I’m on my way.” The line goes dead, but I don’t hang up, holding the phone in my sweaty hand, I stare at the blank screen. I’m debating whether or not to call Ryan.

He’d want to know, but I have no idea how to explain to him that I’m terrified of a man knocking on my door. It sounds ridiculous because someone with a normal life would either open the door or ignore it.

As I’m processing what to do, I see Finn’s headlights flash through my front window and I let out a long slow breath.

I can hear Finn’s deep voice ask the man what he’s doing and in an unexpected turn the man answers casually. He doesn’t flee to the safety of his car; he doesn’t try to run, so I open my door and find the two of them standing on my porch.

As soon as the door opens, the man says my name and hands me a large manila envelope.

He’s not nearly as scary I assumed he would be, dressed in a pair of jeans and a Boston Red Sox hoodie, he looks like anyone you would meet on the street.

He asks if the name on the envelope is me and I look down at it, knowing it is, I nod my head.

“You have been served with a subpoena to testify before a grand jury in the trial of William Fitzgerald,” he says blankly, his voice flat and I say nothing in response. I knew this day would eventually come, but I still thought I could somehow avoid it. “Should you choose not to testify you could be held in direct contempt,” he continues and after that it all becomes a blur.

I’m no longer listening because this has become my worst nightmare. I’m being summoned to testify against my father, to tell everything I’ve kept hidden for years and it’s about to fuck up my world.

“You’re a hard person to find, Erin Fitzgerald,” he says cutting into my thoughts. “That name change threw me for a loop, but it was your total lack of any online presence that was the real struggle. You are a nobody now.”

I haven’t spoken to him and I won’t. I have nothing to say to this man, because I know he’s just the messenger. This is just a job for him; he has no connection to any of this and he has no idea how much I will be affected by this.

He wishes me well and leaves, climbing back into his car and disappearing down the same street I watched Ryan drive down just minutes earlier.

Finn runs a hand through his hair and lets out an exasperated sigh. He’s as sick of my shit as I am. I don’t blame him. He’s been the only one I fully confided in, the only one who knows how real this shit is about to get.

He’s the first one to speak as we walk back into my house. “This changes a whole hell of a lot,” he says, sounding just as confused by the situation.

Having to testify against my father opens up more chaos than I ever thought possible. When you come from a family like mine you don’t tell people your secrets, you don’t tell people on the outside anything. And if you do, there are usually some serious repercussions because of it.

It’s only a matter of time before my father finds me now, and his people will begin to show up. They will threaten my life and anyone who attempts to help me. It’s why, to quote the servers words, I became a nobody.

“It does,” I respond. “I don’t blame you if you want to bail on me. I get it. This is a shit situation and now you’re wrapped up in it.”

“It’s all good, Erin, but I need you to tell Ryan. I can’t help you beyond what happens here in Rockport, but he can. He knows people.”

Finn is one hundred percent right, but involving Ryan means involving someone else in this mess. Finn is in deeper than I expected, but this trial makes things so much worse.

I learned a thing or two over the years from my father. It’s why I was able to fade into the background for so many years. It’s how I was able to change my name, go to college, land a job and purchase a home all without a real identity.

At eighteen I pulled every penny from my trust fund and laundered it through fake businesses I started using multiple aliases. This is where Finn got involved. He called in some favors and helped me speed the process along, and he also purchased my home using money I gifted him through Kelsey and the Rockport Beach Inn.

Involving Kelsey and Finn was not something I wanted to do, but I had no one else, and I was trying to separate myself from anything to do with the Fitzgerald name. I honestly thought it had worked pretty well up until now.

Now, it’s all about to come crashing down and I hope I don’t end up taking Finn and Kelsey with me.

And now I know I need to get Ryan involved, but I don’t even know where to begin.

Chapter Nine

Ryan

The drive back to Boston seems to take longer than usual and it’s got nothing to do with the late hour. The roads are empty and I know at this rate, I’ll be back at work in half the time it normally takes me. It’s more that every mile I put between Erin and me feels more like twenty, and I have to force myself to keep going and not just turn my truck around and go back to Rockport.

Having to leave her all the time. Being apart from her, no matter how short a period of time that is, is starting to get ridiculous. I miss her more than I ever expected to and funnily enough it’s got nothing to do with us being naked. Yeah sure, the sex is amazing, but being with Erin is so much more than that. Now more than ever.

“Jesus, Ryan,” I say to the empty car. “You have it bad.”

The sound of an incoming text chimes out and I grab my phone and open the message.

---