Page 89 of Coming Home to You
I chuckle.“Like we never did stupid shit when we were kids.”
Finn laughs.“Yeah, but at least we were smart enough not to get caught.”
I nod my head.“Kinda important when your dad’s the chief of police.”
Pop looks up and smiles as the two of us walk into O’Loughlin’s.It’s pretty busy, so after Finn and I grab a couple of beers, we head to a quiet corner in the back so I can fill him in on my plans for the future.
“How’s everything going?”he asks as we sit down.“Shoulder okay?”
I nod.“Yeah, still pretty sore and I can’t really drive, but it’s getting there.”
“And Kels, she doing okay?”
I meet my brother’s stare, nodding again as I say, “She’s getting there, too.And I wanna thank you, Finn, for watching out for her.Not just for the last ten years, but for the week I was in hospital too.”
“No need to thank me, bro,” he says, taking a long pull of his beer.
“Well I am,” I tell him.“And I want you to know how much I appreciate it.”
Finn stares at me for a few seconds before nodding.“Any idea about what happens next?”he asks.“With work, and…” He trails off as though he isn’t sure how to say it.
I take a deep breath and fill him in on everything I’ve decided to do.“I’m still staying in Rockport, Finn,” I say.“I’m gonna quit the force.”
Finn’s face is shocked, his eyes locked on to mine as he says, “Quitting or transferring?”
I laugh.“Quitting, bro.Not sure Rockport could handle the two of us running it.”
“Not sure we could either,” he mutters and I know he’s right about that too.“So what, you’re really serious about taking over this place?”he asks.“How’d Pop take that?”
I glance over at Pop; watch him for a few seconds as he serves a couple of customers.Eventually, I turn back to Finn.“He took it well,” I say.“I’d even go so far as to say he thought it was the smartest move I’d made.”
Finn stares back at me, not saying anything and for a second I start to worry that he’s pissed I’m taking over the family pub.It never occurred to me that maybe Finn saw this as his right, the job to do when he eventually retired from the police force.Maybe he didn’t really believe me when I brought it up in the hospital, who knows.But then he smiles at me, a big grin that tells me I’ve got nothing to worry about.
“You’re okay with that?”I ask, just to make sure.
Finn starts laughing now as he says, “Fucking great idea, Beck.”
I exhale, my body relaxing knowing he’s totally onboard with my plans.“Good, because I didn’t want to step on your toes or anything,” I say.“And you know, this is a family pub, so it’s still half yours.”
Finn nods, but it’s in a way that says, don’t worry about it, I trust you.“Yeah, but it’s your baby now,” he says, smiling.“And at least I won’t have to worry about looking after all the drunken tourists that stumble in here now.”
We both grin as a loud cry comes from the pool table in the corner, where a group of tourists is playing.“Nope,” I say, shaking my head.“You won’t.”
Finn smiles and raises his glass in a toast.“It’s good to have you back, Beck,” he says, his eyes meeting mine.“Really good.”
I tap my glass against his.“Thanks bro, it’s good to be back,” I say, knowing both of us are talking about more than what’s happened in the past couple of weeks.
I’m finally home.
Epilogue
Two months later
Kelsey
The renovations on O’Loughlin’s are underway as tourist season draws to a close.It’s Labor Day weekend, the unofficial end to summer, something that would usually cause my mind to wander and a sadness to creep in.
For the last ten years I spent it alone on the back deck of the inn, bidding summer goodbye and thinking about all the amazing times I had with Beck when we were kids.
