“Sure. Thanks.” I finish off the one I have before standing and strolling into the kitchen to toss it in the garbage. Finn’s already sitting in the chair as I make my way back in, and I’ve got a fresh, opened beer waiting for me on the table by the couch. “What about you?” I ask. “I know you were born and raised here, but have you traveled any?”
His lips thin as he nods. “A little, but not much.”
“Where to?”
“New York.”
I don’t know what I expected him to say, but that wasn’t it. “New York? You do not strike me as the type of man to take a vacation to somewhere like the East Coast.”
“It wasn’t a vacation,” he murmurs. “My ex-wife—Tucker’s mom—is a dancer. We went there when we first got together because she had an audition. I hated the place.”
“Big surprise there,” I tease, unable to help but chuckle at his completely apparent distaste for the state, but my curiosity piques at the mention of Tucker’s mom. I’ve wondered more than once about her because nobody has ever mentioned her. I don’t see her in pictures around the house, and Violet’s never said a word about her either. I want to ask, but would that be…inappropriate?
Finn seems to be in a pretty relaxed mood, so it couldn’t hurt, right?
“So, Tucker’s mom,” I murmur. “She’s alive?”
Looking at me out of the corner of his eye, he studies me for a moment, like he’s making sure I really said that.Why the fuck is that the question I went with?After a few tense moments where I worry he may kick me out of his house and fire me, he chuckles.
Actually chuckles. A deep, throaty sound that washes over me.
“She’s alive,” he confirms.
I bring the bottle up to my lips, taking a sip as I contemplate what I want to ask next. Finn’s eyes never leave mine, as if he’s anticipating more. My body heats under his gaze, a bead of sweat breaking out along my hairline.
“Is she in the picture at all?” I finally ask.
He shakes his head. “Nah. She moved away when Tucker was a baby.”
“Why?” The question comes out harsher than I intend it to, but I truly don’t understand how a parent could do that. I mean, I know it happens all the time, but still. “Sorry, that was rude. It’s just…Tucker is such an amazing kid. Why would she leave?”
Finn watches me for a tense moment before lifting his glass and taking a pull from the dark amber liquid. As he places it on the table, his pink tongue pokes out, wiping the moisture off his bottom lip, and my mouth dries at the sight.
“I’ve never talked about this,” he murmurs quietly, almost to himself. “Nobody asks that.”
I wince. “Sorry. You don’t have to answer.”
Shaking his head, he says, “It’s alright. Riley never wanted kids; she was very vocal about that. Dancing was her focus, and I respected that. At the time, I was young and didn’t know whether I did or not. We got pregnant by accident; she was on the pill, and we used condoms. From the minute I saw those two pink lines, I knew I wanted to be a dad. There was never a sliver of doubt in my mind, but I refused to tell Riley that because it’sher body, and I knew her goals. I didn’t want to pressure her one way or another. It had to be her choice as much as it killed me, knowing there was a chance she could decide to terminate.”
“So, what happened?”
I’m on the edge of my seat, feeling like I’m watching a soap opera, waiting to find out the twist.
“Her parents are very traditional, old-school southern Christian people,” he explains, and that tells me everything I need to know. “Abortion wasn’t an option, unless she wanted to disappoint her folks. So, we got married down at the courthouse and had Tucker several months later. I wasn’t all that shocked when she took off in the middle of the night when Tucker was about four months old.”
My eyes widen. “She left without saying anything?”
“She left a note, but yeah.” He nods, draining what’s left from his glass. I do the same. “It was a shock, but I wasn’t surprised, if that makes sense. I saw it coming, but that didn’t make it any less jarring to suddenly become a single father.”
That blows my mind. And makes me sad for Tucker. Although, I’m not sure why. He clearly gets more than enough love and attention here. The family he’s got is a pretty rad one, and I say that as somebody who’s only been around for a few weeks. That’s how evident it is. I don’t think he’s lacking or wanting for anything.
“And she’s never come back?” I ask, standing up to grab another beer. Gesturing with my empty bottle to his empty glass, I lift my brows in silent question.
“Just two fingers,” he says, handing it to me. Our fingers brush as I take it, and I can feel the touch throughout my whole body. It vibrates and sparks, stealing my breath from my lungs. My eyes fly up to meet his to see if he felt it too, and based on the harsh way he swallows, I’d say he did. Clearing his throat, he says, “She came back once when Tucker was a toddler, but notto see him. Her parents were movin’ to Florida after they retired, and she came back to help them. She signed over her parental rights during that same visit, and I haven’t seen her since.”
Handing him his drink, I can’t help but notice how he purposely avoids touching me this time.Yeah, he definitely felt it.
“That must’ve been hard for you. Are you angry at her for leaving?”
