The Birthday List(79)
She shrugged. “You’ve been so busy lately and it’s my fault. I can’t keep piling it on. With the truck and the hike and now you’ve got Nazboo all the time. I don’t want you to resent me by the time we get this all done. I’d rather have you than your help on this list.”
“Poppy, look at me.” When she did, I let her hand go to run my thumb up her cheek. “You have both. Me and my help. I want to fix up that truck. I want to be with Nazboo. I want to do whatever you need me to do. Okay?”
“I don’t want the list to come between us,” she whispered.
God, I love this woman. I loved her heart. Her dedication to see things through. I loved that she was trying to put me first. And even though it had backfired, I loved that she’d done this today because she was trying to lighten my load.
Those three little words almost slipped out of my mouth, but I swallowed them back. Maybe I’d muster the courage to say them when the list was over—when all of this was behind us. She wasn’t ready for them yet.
And I needed to know that when I said I love you, I’d hear it back.
Today wasn’t that day. We needed more time.
“I love that you’re dedicated to the list and I’m so damn proud that you’d do that for Jamie. But that list will never come between us.”
She relaxed, leaning further into my hand. She’d needed to hear those words just as much as I’d needed to say them.
Jamie’s list wasn’t going to come between us. I just had to make sure his memory—and my own insecurities—didn’t either.
“Are you ready?” I asked Finn.
He rolled his eyes. “Is anyone ever ready to have water thrown in their face?”
“Okay. Here goes.”
With a flick of my wrist, I threw the water in my glass into my brother’s face. He frowned, blinking it out of his eyes before grabbing the towel off the kitchen table.
Behind me, Molly silently slid me another glass of water. The moment the towel dropped from Finn’s face, I threw the second glass.
“Hey!” he shouted, sputtering the water out of his mouth. “What was that for?”
I grinned, glad my secret attack had worked. “That was for calling Cole to come bail me out of jail.”
Finn shook his head and went back to the towel.
It had been a week since my time behind bars—something I didn’t care to ever repeat. I’d been a nervous wreck the entire time, wondering what the judge would do to punish Jimmy and me, and by the time I’d arrived at the courthouse this morning, not even Cole’s touch could settle my anxiety.
“You should be glad I called Cole.” Finn tossed down the towel. “If he hadn’t convinced you and Jimmy not to commit perjury, things would have turned out a lot worse.”
I scoffed. “I never would have let Jimmy take the blame.”
No matter what Jimmy had wanted, I’d always planned to tell the truth and plead guilty—something else I didn’t care to ever repeat.
Never in my life had I been more humiliated than this morning as I’d stood in front of a judge and admitted to pulling a fire alarm, all because I was trying to honor my late husband’s birthday list.
“It’s over now.” Molly patted my shoulder. “You’ve paid the fine and marked the item off the list. Fire alarm,” she made a checkmark in the air, “check.”
After the hearing, Cole had gone back to the station while Jimmy and I had waited to pay our fines. I’d handed over a two-thousand-dollar check to the courthouse clerk, then taken Jimmy back to The Rainbow. The minute I’d gotten back to the restaurant, I’d pulled out the journal and crossed that item off the list. No tears. No twinge of sadness or longing. Just a grimace followed by pure joy that I’d never plot a crime again.
“No more misdemeanors, okay?” Finn asked.
“Promise.” I crossed my heart. “Thanks for letting me throw water in your face. I’m glad to know my brother is here to support me when my friends let me down.”
I shot an exaggerated glare at Molly but she laughed it off. “Some of us require makeup to get through the day.”
I’d begged Molly to let me do it, but she’d refused, claiming her mascara and foundation would not be victims of Jamie’s birthday list. So when Finn had come in with a clean face and a hungry belly, I’d given him a free lunch in exchange for his assistance.
“Okay. I’d better get back to work.” Finn came around the table and gave me a hug. Then he smiled at Molly. “See you tonight?”
Tonight? What was happening tonight?
She nodded. “Come over whenever. The kids are really excited.”
“I’m excited too.” He waved to us both before leaving the kitchen.
The second the door swung closed behind him, I spun on Molly. “Tonight?”
“He’s coming over for dinner.”
“What? That’s great!” My arms shot in the air. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
She shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”
“Yes, it is. You two seem to be getting along great lately and now dinner. What if he wants to get back together?” My spirits nearly shot through the roof at the possibility of a Finn-and-Molly reconciliation.