“Good. I’ll tell him to expect you this morning then.” Grady left them alone again.
“Riley, just do it and get it over with. You can always see Sassie when Finn isn’t around and plead your case. I think it’s time to come clean and tell her how you feel, don’t you?” His mother rubbed his back in circles as she did when he was younger and stressed out.
“What if she says no? I’ll just make a fool of myself.”
“You did that last night. Coming clean with a declaration of love could be the best thing you ever do. Think over it. Do you want me to give you a lift to your car?”
He shook his head and stood, wrapping his arms around his mother. With a kiss to the top of her head, he let her go. “Thanks, Mom. I’m fine; the walk will do me good. And, hey, thanks for bringing me breakfast. The food in this place sucks.”
Beth grinned and left him alone. Riley stood for a moment, breathing deeply before walking out.
* * *
The bed moved and Sassie held out her hand, looking for the only body she shared the bed with.
“Morning, love.”
She opened her eyes and saw Finn looking down at her with a crooked grin. One side of his mouth was swollen and there was dried blood on his lips, but apart from that, he looked gorgeous, just as he always had.
“Hi. How do you feel?” Her sleep had been broken and tortured with dreams of Riley and Finn fighting over her.
“Me?” He shrugged his shoulders as he eased his body down on the bed beside her. “Fine. How about you?”
Sassie rolled back to one side of the bed and plumped up the pillows, laying her head down. Finn lifted his feet and lay back. “I’ll be fine, for sure. I had a chat with your policeman this morning.”
“I didn’t hear anyone at the door.”
Finn sighed. “I had to give him my phone number last night when I said I wanted to press charges.” He picked at the lace on the pillow. “Anyway, he and I had a chat. Since there’s no damage apart from to my pride, he convinced me to let your man come and apologize and we can call it even.”
She glanced at him. “That’s really big of you, Finn.”
“Aye, I know, love. I kind of figured that if I took it any further, there would be no hope of you getting him for yourself.” A wave of sadness flowed over his face that made her wary.
“Finn. What’s going on?” Sassie pulled herself up to a sitting position.
“Ah hell, I wasn’t going to tell you. I can’t help my feelings for you, girl. I’ve loved you since before you left to go exploring. I mean really love you—like…love you, if you follow.”
“Oh, fecking hell.” Sassie dropped back onto the pillows, rubbing her hands over her face. Her voice strained, she said, “I never meant to lead you on, Finn. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know, love, I know. T’was all my own doing, I know that.” He reached for her hand and gripped her fingers tightly.
Sassie’s jaw stiffened and her throat started to close up.
“It’s my own fault, I know that, so don’t go thinking you could have done anything about it.” There was a knock on the door and he rolled over and stood. “That will be himself, no doubt. I’ll see to him on my own, if you don’t mind. You can stay here until I’m finished, and then you can do what you want with him, or we can continue this facade. I’ll come clean when you say the word, all right?”
She closed her eyes and nodded her head, listening to him walk out of her bedroom.
* * *
Riley stood at the open door, watching Finn close the door of Sassie’s bedroom. His blood roared through his head, stars formed in front of his eyes, and it took all his composure to stay on his feet. The bastard looked as though he had just crawled out of her bed.
“Don’t you look well and rested then?” Finn stayed out of arm’s reach, a smirk on his face that Riley would love to wipe off with a repeat of last night’s effort. He wasn’t worth it. He just wasn’t worth it.
“I’ve come to apologize, not make small talk. I’m sorry I hit you last night.” Riley clenched his fists at his side. There, he’d fulfilled the request. “Do I take it the charges are dropped now?”
Finn grinned and gave a snort rather than a laugh. “For sure, for sure. I’ll tell Sassie you’ve been here but had to leave. Poor girl is still sleeping. We had a rather late night once we got home from the hospital. So much to catch up on.” The innuendo was clear and taunting.
“I’m really sorry I punched you like that. I should have hit you much harder and taken you out for good.” Riley turned on his heel, his breath coming fast and ragged. Keep walking, just keep walking.
With nothing else pressing on his time, Riley headed for the family ranch, hell-bent on getting out the frustration in the only way he knew how. He drove past the house, ignoring his mother waving from the garden, and pulled his car to a halt outside the barn in a skid of dust. He got out and slammed the door, opened it and slammed it again.
“Feel better?” Audrey stood inside, a bale of hay at her feet.
Looked like it was feeding time for the horses. “What do you think?” He walked into the shaded barn and kicked at the hay.
“Sounds to me like the woodpile is calling your name. Or you could talk about it. I have time to listen.”
“Nah, better do the wood first, then I can talk to you when I’m not ready to
