Page 5 of His True North (Shattered Cove 5)

It was weird to have this stranger talking about him.

“Finn will need to communicate that to you, but I’d say to go slow. Trust your instincts.”

“Do you want some lasagna for dinner? I know it won’t be as good as Charli usually makes, but their stuffed manicotti was pretty good the other day,” his mother said, pulling him out of the memory.

He wouldn’t know what Charli’s food tasted like, but his mother had decided acting like nothing was different was the way to go, apparently. “Sounds good, Ma.”

After another beat of silence, she nudged Charli. “Don’t you want to tell him about what he’s missed since the accident?”

Charli’s eyes found his. “Bently and the boys all send their hellos. They said you’d better get better soon so they can kick your ass at basketball again.”

His lips curved of their own accord for the first time since he’d woken in this strange place in a foreign land. She’d given him the first taste of familiar, people he knew. And from the sounds of it, they hadn’t changed that much. “Good to know.”

She crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair, scanning the room, looking anywhere but at him.

“It will be so good to have you back home again, Finn. Won’t it, Charli?” His mother tried again.

“Yes,” Charli answered, her voice half relieved, half pained.

“And I bet you can’t wait to return to your own bed. Get back into the routine at The Shipwreck, Finn? And to your tinkering in the garage?” His mother pushed.

My own bed. He doubted it was the one he remembered at his parents’ house.

“Yeah,” he answered, mostly to appease his mother’s attempts at filling the silence.

“What about—”

Charli stood. “I’m going to take a walk and get some fresh air.”

“Okay, dear.” His mother’s tone was as soft as the expression on her face as she looked at Charli.

Finn risked a peek at the woman he had supposedly vowed to love and care for, in sickness and health, for the remainder of his life. Her dark hair was pulled into a messy bun on her head, her face clean and devoid of all makeup, highlighting the smattering of rust-colored freckles above her button nose. Her pink, pouty lips seemed soft, much like the woman they belonged to. Her cable-knit sweater hanging off one shoulder was wrinkled, most likely from spending her days in the chair in his hospital room. He couldn’t bear looking any lower. Her round belly reminded him that he had a lot more responsibility than just a wife coming soon. She was gorgeous, even with the bags of exhaustion under her eyes. But not familiar in any way.

What am I going to do?

Charli’s tired gaze flicked to him before she exited.

“You can go too, Ma. You don’t need to stay in this room just because I’m stuck here. My therapist should be in soon anyway to do some exercises with me before they do another evaluation.”

“I know. I just—I keep thinking about how we almost lost you. My only child.”

He reached out to take her small hand in his. “I’m fine, Ma. Promise. It’s all over. You don’t have to worry anymore.”

She snorted. “I’ve worried about you ever since you’ve been born. Afraid this world would take you from me. That they would see aggression where I saw energy. A threat, where I saw a strong, growing boy. You can’t tell me to stop doing something that comes with breathing as a Black mother.”

He squeezed her hand. There were no words to comfort her as she’d so readily offered him. “I’m healing. My motor skills are much better, and soon we’ll be back in Shattered Cove and you can make me your macaroni and cheese.”

She smiled. “Sounds like a plan. You and Charli can come over once you’re settled.”

Right. Charli. His wife. His pregnant wife. He closed his eyes and rested against the pillow, fighting the fear that battered his rib cage. He’d made it through the worst. Hadn’t he?

Now all he had to do was survive this next part.

3

Finn

Green trees whipped by outside the car window. Finn kept his focus trained anywhere but on the unfamiliar woman sitting next to him. His parents’ presence was the only thing tethering him to this new reality. He still couldn’t believe this was real. But every morning for the past two weeks he’d woken up to this nightmare.

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