Page 76 of All Roads Lead to You

“Technically Chase was the first person to know. But Bill’s great. Once he knows, the rest of the town will before the end of the day.”

“True.” Her fingers squeezed his. “You’re a sneaky bugger, Finn Kelly.”

Warmth glowed in his chest at the teasing note in her voice. God, but he loved it when she said stuff like that to him. He wasn’t sure why.

Sure you do.

He shoved that thought away, hard.

“Nice use of Kiwi slang,” he said instead. “I think you’re getting the hang of it.”

She gave him a sassy grin that made him want to kiss her again. “I try.”

“Enjoy those sausage rolls, did you?” Bill said as they passed by the general store, his gaze dropping to their linked hands and then back up again.

“You could say that.” Finn paused by the wooden bench Bill was sitting on. Mystery thumped his tail but made no move to beg for treats. The dog knew that Finn was already taken. “Thanks, Bill. The eclairs were excellent too.”

Bill glanced at Beth, then back at him again. “You don’t say.”

Finn had another reason he’d wanted Bill Preston to be the first to know, not only that he and Beth were together but about the baby too; the townspeople were quite protective of their own, and Beth was an outsider. Bill had also been one of the people who hadn’t been happy with the influx from Deep River and had been vocal about it, and Finn didn’t want him being unpleasant to Beth out of some misguided protective impulse.

So he looked the old man in the eye and said, “Beth agreed last night to be my wife.” He paused a moment and then added, “And we’re expecting our first baby.”

Bill’s blue eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open.

Beth’s fingers in his tightened, and he gave her a little reassuring squeeze in return. If anyone was awful to her, he would punch them in the face, so help him.

“Is this true?” Bill just about leapt off his seat, staring at Beth, who’d gone three different shades of pink. “You’re expecting?”

“Yes. It’s true.”

Much to Finn’s shock, Bill suddenly turned to him and gave him a sharp, fierce hug. “Oh, my boy,” he said thickly. “I hoped you’d find happiness again and you have. That’s such wonderful news.” Then the old man released him and stepped back, looking up at Finn and grinning hugely, his blue eyes a touch misty. “Wonderful…just wonderful.”

Mystery gave a bark in agreement.

Finn was still struggling to process that when Bill went on, “And to such a lovely girl too.” He gave Beth the same misty-eyed glance but mercifully spared her a hug. “That’s special…just very, very special.”

Beth abruptly dropped Finn’s hand, stepped forward, and gave the old man a hug herself. “Thanks, Bill. I appreciate it.”

Bill smiled and patted Beth on the shoulder. “You take care of this one for me, won’t you?” Obviously meaning Finn.

“Of course I will,” Beth said. “Don’t you worry.” She reached out and took Finn’s hand again. “Come on, Mr. Kelly. We have some other people to tell.”

Then she pulled him away in the direction of the gallery.

“That was…unexpected,” he muttered, still unable to get over Bill’s reaction. “I thought he’d be less…”

“Like he was going to cry?” Beth was smiling. “He must care a lot about you.”

Finn could hear the question in her tone, and since there wasn’t any reason not to tell her, he said, “Bill used to look out for Chase and me when we were kids. Dad got into the drink after Mum died, and he often forgot to buy food, so Bill would give us stuff from the store. Make sure we got fed.”

They came to the door of the gallery and paused outside it.

Beth was looking at him concernedly. “Really? How awful for you. I didn’t know that.”

Finn shrugged. “Ancient history. It’s fine.” He decided not to tell her about how Bill had tried to push food and other things on him after Sheri had died.

What? Did you think people didn’t care?

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